Research methods

• hypothesis


  A prediction of what you think you will find
• questionnaire

  • a set of written questions which are completed by a number of respondents to gather desired information
  • cheap
  • may give honest answers as researcher is not present
  • low result rate
• qualitative data 


  written data
• quantitative data 


  numerical data
• positivism

  • the scientific approach to the social world
  • interested in measuring the relationship between society and human behaviour
• interpretivism

  • interested in why we act the way we do and the meaning we attach to our behaviour
• sampling 


  process by which participants are selected from the large population to represent the research population
• probability sampling 


  anyone included in the target population has an equal chance of being selected regardless of their age,gender, ethnicity etc
• random sampling

  • the sample is chosen compltely by random which means everyone has an equal chance of being selected
  • works well on large population
  • may not be representative
• stratified sampling

  • a sample selected to represent groups within a total population
  • representative of target population
  • time consuming
• systematic sampling

  • choosing participants from a sampling frame using a system
  • unbiased samples
  • not representative
• opportunity sampling 


  selecting people who are most easily available at the time of the study
• snowball sampling

  • participants are selected from an initial contact who puts the researcher in touch with other possible participants
  • easy to find participants
  • sample is small
• surveys

  • a study in the form of an interview or questionnaire that provides researchers with information about how people think and act
  • large amounts of quantitative data
  • representative
  • cost effective
  • time consuming
  • not always valid
• structured interview


  • set of question
  • easy to compare
  • quick and easy
  • people may lie
  • restricted answers so not valid
• unstructured interview

  • questions that are specifically intended to reveal qualitative data
  • open ended questions
• content analysis

  • research method using pre-determined categories to count how often something appears in the mass media
  • easy to access
  • does not deceive anyone
  • subjective
  • time consuming
• observation

  • watching with a purpose in order to gain information
• participant observation 


  research acts like a member of the group under study and basically does whatever they do
• non-participant observation 


  the researchers watches and observes without taking part in the activities of the group
• covert observation

  • the group being studied is unaware that the observation is happening
  • unethical
• overt observation


  the group being observe knows that the research is happening either because the researcher has explained what they are doing or because of their visible presence
• lab experiment 


  • an experiment where the environment is controlled and set up by the researcher
  • reliable
  • can establish the cause and effect
  • can cause deception
  • hawthorne effect
• field experiment 


  • an experiment set up in the real world usually with participants who are not aware that they are in a study
  • risk of hawthorne effect is reduced
  • cannot establish cause and effect
  • consent was not given
• hawthorne effect


  when people change their behaviour when they know they are being studied
• longitudinal study

  • studies in which data is collected at specific interval over a long period of time in order to measure changes over time
  • can identify causes
  • may not be representative
  • costly and time-consuming
• practical issues

  • time
  • funding
  • accessibility
  • availability of data
• theoretical issues

  • generalisability
  • validity
  • reliability
  • practicality
  • representativeness
• ethical issues

  • consent
  • deception
  • harm
  • privacy/confidentiality
• primary data


  data collected by the researcher themselves e.g surveys, interviews, observations
• secondary data


  data that already exists as collected by someone else e.g. official statistics
• factors that influence sociologists choice of research topic

  • personal interests and values
  • theoretical perspectives/political beliefs
  • opportunity
  • funding
  • society
• verstehen


  A German word meaning 'empathy'; the extent to which the researcher can empathise with a person's behaviour by putting themselves in their place.
• official statistics 


  Quantitative data gathered by the government or other official bodies. e.g. births, deaths, educations, crime and health statistics.
• public documents


  produced by organisations e.g OFSTED reports
• personal documents


  first personal accounts of social events e.g. letters, diaries
• triangulation 


  This is where sociologists use a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods.