Methods IN Context PDF

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Lecture notes on the different methods when conducting sociological/society study...

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INTR OD UCTI ON TO RESE ARCH METHODS PRIMARY DATA – information collected by sociologists themselves for their own purposes such as obtaining a first-hand ‘picture’ or testing a hypothesis such as:   

Social surveys (asking questions in questionnaire or interview form) Participant observation Experiments

Able to gather precise information to test hypothesis Costly and time consuming SECONDARY DATA – information that has been collected or created by someone else for their own purposes such as:  

Official statistics (produced by government, charities and businesses Documents such as letters, emails, diaries, photographs, official reports, novels, newspapers, the internet and TV broadcasts

Quick and cheap May not provide precise information to test hypothesis

QUANTITATIVE – numerical form e.g. statistics, opinion polls QUALITATIVE - written form that provides richer picture e.g. observations, interviews

REPRESENTATIVE – does the method account for everyone? RELIABLE – if the method was carried out again would the results be the same or consistent? VALID – is the method an accurate measure of the truth? OBJECTIVE – is the method biased? NO ONE MEHTOD IS TRULY RRVO!

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FA C T O R S I N F L U E N C I N G C H O I C E OF METHODS PRACTICAL TIME – different methods require different amounts of time and money = large scale surveys often employ dozens of skilled interviewers and data inputting staff so cost a great deal of money but are quicker to complete than observations e.g. Pryce took several months to complete his observation study of black communities in Bristol, research opportunity may arise meaning no time to prepare lengthy questionnaire or interview schedules (PATRICK)

FINANCE & FUNDING – research institutes, businesses and other organisations provide funding for research but this may require research to be in a particular form e.g. quantitative data, finance affects number of researchers, respondents and time e.g. postal questionnaires are cheaper as they don’t require interviewers talking to or analysing the behaviour of respondents

PERSONAL FACTORS – researchers may have commitments to their family or careers so may not be able to commit to long scale research or to dangerous research projects

RESEARCH SUBJECTS – some groups are less open e.g. criminals so structured research is not appropriate

ETHICAL

INFORMED CONSENT – respondents should be made aware of research and its possible effects

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CONFIDENTIALITY AND PRIVACY – right to anonymity, research can be non-identifiable to the individual e.g. name change

VULBERABLE GROUPS – special care should be taken when investigating groups that are vulnerable such as children, elderly and disabled

COVERT RESEARCH – tension between covert research and ethical problems as it is difficult to gain access to a group that may not want to be researched

THEORETICAL POSITIVISTS – quantitative data, detached from research, standardise and quantify how many, seek trends and patterns of behaviour, correlations and relationships between social characteristics (CAGE), see sociology as a science, value the importance of representativeness as wish to make general patterns and cause and effect statements about social behaviour, positivists favour a scientific approach emphasising the need for reliability and therefore they use structured research methods that can be repeated such as experiments, questionnaires and interviews INTERPRETIVISTS – qualitative data, attached to research, allows us to gain a richer picture and seek meaning behind how and why, methods such as participant observation or unstructured interviews reveal meaning behind how and why

WHAT FACTOR IS MOST IMPOTANT? PRACTICAL – limitation on method choice ETHICAL - limitation on method choice THEORETICAL – influence type of data e.g. quantitative or qualitative PET considerations are often interlinked e.g. qualitative data causes practical problems such as gaining trust and access, quantitative data causes practical problems such as sampling frames, geographical distribution of sample and question design TRIANGUALATION – combination of quantitative and qualitative methods so that strengths cancel out weaknesses

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RES EARCH PR OCES S CHOOSING A TOPIC PRACTICAL FACTORS – some topics may not be easily studied e.g. high level political decision making maybe in-accessible for a sociologist FUNDING BODIES – may influence topic because they may only fund studies of topics which they consider important e.g. government are more likely to fund research into to topics regarding their policies SOCIETY’S VALUES – change and the interest in a particular topic moves with them THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE – may affect participation in research e.g. feminists are more likely to study gender issues CHANCE – topic may arise spontaneously e.g. hospitalisation may result in the opportunity to complete a study in hospital ward (TUCKETT)

AIM: a statement that identifies what the sociologist intends to study, aim is often to collect data on a particular topic e.g. people’s leisure patterns HYPOTHESES: more specific than an aim, involves collecting data and proving it wright or wrong e.g. educational achievement is affected by gender OPERATIONALISING CONCEPTS: defining concepts or ideas in a way that they can be measured e.g. who is MC? Who is WC?

PILOT STUDY: a draft or practice of a method e.g. mock interview is used as a trial run, saves both time and money by fixing any problems

SAMPLING RANDOM SAMPLING = names pulled out of a hat, eliminates bias, smaller samples don’t cover CAGE SYSTEMATIC / QUASI-RANDOM SAMPLING = every nth person e.g. Every 10th person on the list STRATIFIED SAMPLING = break down into CAGE, then samples include set proportions of CAGE QUOTA SAMPLING = quota to fit characteristics NON-REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLING = CAGE not known, no sample frame e.g. criminals 4

SNOWBALL SAMPLING = information via other people e.g. police OPPORTUNITY SAMPLING = choosing individuals at easiest access

RES EARCH CHA RAC TERI STI CS

G AT E K E E P E R S VULNERABILITY S TA G E ( B A C K S TA G E ) O B J E C T I F Y I N G A N D VA LU E S S TAT U S ETHICS PL ACE R E C O R D I N G D ATA ACCESS AUTHORITY TIME LANGAUGE CONTROL

P R I M A RY R E S E A RC H M E T H O D S EXPERIMENTS Experiments are when researchers have a high level of control over a situation and can manipulate variables in order observe and discover cause and effect relationships LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS Give researcher more control over variables but are more artificial ADVANTAGES Positivists suggest that laboratory experiments are very reliable because they can be repeated exactly the same and produce reliable results, quantitative data that can be standardised and collected so show us cause and effect relationships

DISADVANTAGES Interpretivists suggests that laboratory experiments lack validity because they are artificial and don’t provide a true picture of the real world, identifying and controlling variables is impossible in the real world as humans have free will Hawthorne effect – aware they are in an experiment alters their behaviour so reduces validity Ethical issues – some laboratory experiment don’t gain the informed consent of participants due to ‘blinds’ such as placebos, emotional and physiological impact on respondents Limited application – lab is a small place so experiment is on a small scale so difficult to make representative

FIELD EXPERIMENTS Take place in the ‘real-world’ but researchers have less control over variables ADVANTAGES Less artificial as they take place in the real world so more valid Respondents are often unaware they are in an experiment so this increases validity as they are in their normal social environment and will react and act genuinely

DISADVANTAGES Less control over variables – field experiments don’t meet scientific criteria because sociologists have less control Limited application – few situations that can be adapted to become field experiments, complex hypothesis are problematic, only tend to measure what people do rather than why they do it Ethical problems – don’t gain informed consent

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Comparative method (thought experiment) involves two groups that are the same except for one characteristic e.g. Durkheim compared suicide rates of Protestants and Catholics = Catholics have a lower rate of suicide due to higher levels of social integration. Comparative method avoids artificiality, can be used to study past events, no ethical problems, no control over variables so can be proven to be true QUESTIONNAIRES Questionnaires are lists of written questions often closed Close ended questions = respondents most choose from a limited range of possible answers such as yes or no Open ended questions= respondents are free to give any answer Positivists favour as they are representative, reliable and objective However, often have a low response rate and interpretivists claim they lack validity as they are inflexible ADVANTAGES Practical advantages – quick, cheap CONNOR & DEWSON = posted x4,000 questionnaires around the country, no need to recruit trained interviewers, data is easy to quantify Reliability – respondents can be asked the same questions so it easy to make comparisons between answers

Useful for testing hypothesis as they show cause and effect relationship, favoured by positivists Objectivity – postal and online questionnaires have no influence of interviewer to respondent, positivists suggest this a good way in order to stay detached from research Representativeness – questionnaires can be produced and sent to a large sample e.g. postal questionnaires can be sent around the country, increases representativeness Fewer ethical considerations as respondents are not obligated to answer intrusive or sensitive questions

DISADVANTAGES Practical problems - time consuming, returning questionnaires may require a prize incentive which is an additional cost

Low response rate decreases representativeness HITE = only 4.5% of questionnaires returned from 100,000 Collection of questionnaire increases time and cost Questionnaires may be in complex and sophisticated language so only completed by well educated Inflexibility due to set questions so difficult to explore new areas Questionnaires are snapshots that give a picture of social reality at one moment in time when respondents answer the questions this decreases validity as questionnaires don’t capture change CICOUREL (interpretivist) = questionnaires lack validity and the only way to gain a valid picture is if the researcher can empathise and see from the respondents perspective Lying, forgetting and social desirability – questionnaires rely on the willingness of respondents to provide accurate answers Imposing the researcher’s meaning – researcher has chosen the question on what they believe important, close ended questionnaires mean that respondent answers fit researchers’ specific views therefore decreasing validity SHIPMAN = questionnaires impose straightjackets 7

that distort the respondents mean undermines validity of data INTERVIEWS Structured / formal – strict instructions on how to ask the questions, interview is conducted and standardized in the same way, same question, wording and tone ADVANTAGES Reliable – fixed list of questions makes it easier to standardise and then make comparisons between answers and changes over time Representativeness – quick to conduct so larger sample can be interviewed, allowing researcher to make greater generalisations Cheap form of interview, interviewer requires limited training and is straightforward Interviewer and interviewee contact means that importance and perseverance can be enforced Positivists suggest that structured interviews are useful as they provide quantitative data which can be quantified which allows researchers to seek patterns and produce cause and effect statements

DISADVANTAGES Lack of validity, limited opportunity to reword and explain questions and clarify misunderstanding, people may lie and give socially desirable answers Same questions but interviewees have different social characteristics so will respond differently to questions decreasing reliability Cost of hiring and training interviewers Sensitive issues are difficult to question if a rapport is not built between the interviewer and interviewee Feminists argue that structured methods are patriarchal as the interviewer not the female interviewee is in control, making it difficult for women to express their experience of oppression

Unstructured / informal – guided conversation, no set questions, overcome power & status inequality ADVANTAGES Rapport and sensitivity - increases validity as it puts the respondents at ease in order to open up Respondents view is expressed due to no set questions this increases validity Check understanding and can re-word questions will again put respondent at ease Flexibility due to no set questions, saves time and money no need to re-do question list Exploring topics and can develop ideas

DISADVANTAGES Time consuming, smaller sample size due to expense, cost of hiring skilled interviewer Representativeness decreased due to smaller sample size, harder to make generalisations Reliability is decreased as each individual is unique Answers can’t be quantified and measured, less useful for establishing cause and effect Interaction with interviewer decrease validity

Group interviews – up to a dozen or so being interviewed together can focus on group behaviour and influence (Willis learning to labour theory) ADVANTAGES Participants open up increasing validity Sharing ideas may stimulate thought and opinion Researcher can observe group dynamics and norms

DISADVANTAGES One or two individuals may dominate Researcher must keep group focused Peer pressure to conform to group norms

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OBSERVATIONS Non participant –avoids direct involvement with the group, keeping a distance Participant – joins in on activities of the group, involving themselves in their daily lives Overt – research subjects are aware they are being observed Covert – research subjects are not aware they are being observed Structured – systematically classifies behaviour observed into distinct categories Unstructured – observations recorded in whichever way they can be Participant Observation – effective way to uncover meaning, allows researcher to gain an insight into what people do and why they do it therefore interpretivists highly favour PO as they are valid ADVANTAGES Validity – naturalistic approach, observed in natural setting so behaviour of respondents is more authentic Gain a deeper understanding of social behaviour, gain a clearer richer picture so favoured by interpretivists Some closed groups are hard to research, PO gives an opportunity to research these groups flexibly e.g. criminals or religious sects

DISADVANTAGES PO is unscientific so disliked by positivists as there is no standardisation procedure of measurement so research can’t be reproduced , decreasing reliability Unrepresentative as investigations are often a one off based on a small scale as it is difficult to observe more than one person at once Problems with validity – Hawthorne effect, researcher presence may influence group behaviour, going native researcher may develop group mentality which affects interpretations, researcher is not an actual group member so may have misinterpreted meaning Ethical issues – covert PO means no informed consent and may put researcher in danger e.g. Humphrey’s study, researcher may witness or participate in illegal activities or else risk blowing their cover, difficult to ensure anonymity Practical problems – getting in, staying in, getting out due to emotional bonds with group

Overt VS Covert PO OVERT PO Problems with protecting research subjects’ identity May be denied if group refuses

Ethics Access Maintaining group membership Asking questions Validity of data

Once accepted, easy to maintain Can openly ask questions Hawthorne effect may alter subjects behaviour

COVERT PO Lack of informed consent Hard to gain entry may need to have same social characteristics Constant risk of cover being ‘blown’ Direct questioning may be dangerous Data is more valid as group acts normally

Structured Observation – identifies and measures patterns of behaviour, usually overt ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGES 9

Positivists – measurable, objective and a scientific approach to observations, standardise behaviour which allows cause and effect generalisations to be made

Loss of validity as counting the frequency of events doesn’t disclose information regarding meaning

Reliability – reliable data as the method is systematic and can be reproduced to reproduce similar results

Events may not fit into categories method is too deterministic some behaviour / events may overlap

Comparing data – quantitative data is quick and easy to compare, researcher can see patterns, relationships and trends in the data

Difficult to observe and record everything so must be completed on a small scale which decreases representativeness

S E C O N D A RY R E S E A RC H M E T H O D S

STATISTICS Quantitative data collected by government bodies ‘Hard’ statistics –simply counts the register such as births or deaths, not easily manipulated ‘Soft’ statistics – easily manipulated e.g. crime statistics ADVANTAGES Availability – cheap and easily accessible, easy to analyse and seek trends

Representativeness – based on a very large sample scale as the government want to be able to make generalisations based on the whole country e.g. divorce and marriage registration Cover important issues and aspects of social life e.g. birth, death, marriage, crime, education and divorce Prompts to develop research e.g. boys underachievement in education was first identifies using official statistics Background data provided such as social characteristics

DISADVANTAGES Definition and measurement – definitions may not be operationalised so may be interpreted differently by sociologists e.g. class can be measured by occupation or ownership of property Reliability – not as reliable as positivists claim as even the census has made recording errors and missed out households / obtained in-valid data Social construction – interpretivists argue that official statistics are a social construction as they are a process of negotiations – dark figure Marxists such as Irvine claim that statistics show MC in a more favourable light as they are produced by MC government Feminists argue official statistics are biased against women e.g. definitions of work in the census exclude unpaid housework

Quantitative data so favoured by positivists as data can be easily compared over time and are reliable as same collection procedure can be used to obtain data

DOCUMENTS Documents are secondary data created by individuals, groups and organisations Mainly qualitative data favoured by interpretivists as they produce valid data as the documents are an expression of meaning Positivists argue that they lack reliability and representativeness 11

PERSONAL e.g. letters, diaries, memoirs, autobiographies, notes and photo collections ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES Mostly written for personal purpose so have a Some groups such as the uneducated may not high degree of validity as they provide a genuine produce personal documents such as letters and insight diaries so their views may not be represented Cheap and save the researcher time Difficult to obtain Some documents are created without hindsight such as autobiographies – are a snapshot Letters are written with an audience in mind and affect what is recorded, so bias is likely to be present

PUBLIC e.g. ...