Research Methods Flashcards

Question

What are the advantages of systematic sampling?

Answer 1

- No bias from researcher - Quick, no skills needed - Repeatable

Answer 2

- No guarantee that it is representative

Answer 3

- Representative - No bias - Repeatable (similar samples each time)

Answer 4

- Less practical - Might get the categories wrong, the sampling frame must always categorise the data for the researcher but this is not guaranteed

Answer 5

- Representative - Repeatable

Answer 6

- Researcher bias

Answer 7

- Quicker than trying to find them themselves (as they are in hard to find groups) - More likely to find willing participants

Answer 8

- Not representative - Not practical - Not reliable - Unrepeatable —> another researcher might not have the initial contact that you do

Answer 9

- Fit for purpose —> studying groups needed to study - Time efficient - Large target population

Answer 10

- Not representative - No guarantee you can get everyone you need

Answer 11

- Practical - Quick

Answer 12

- Not representative - Not reliable - Researcher bias (even when unintended) - Dependent on people who are there at that time - Low response rate

Answer 13

- Practical - Really good for sensitive topics - High level of detail as they have chosen to take part

Answer 14

- Not representative - Not reliable - Not repeatable

Answer 15

- Disliked by interpretivists --> Don't like objective data and there is no meanings to it. - Liked by positivists --> Like objective and quantitative data, identifies cause and effect (social facts), macro approach.

Answer 16

- Repeatable --> standardised - Consistent --> same method of collection - Can be accepted and repeated by another researcher

Answer 17

- Identifies trends / patterns overtime. - But no explanation provided e.g. why boys are excluded more than girls. - Can be interpreted by researchers in ways which affect existing views --> researcher bias.

Answer 18

- Hard statistics --> every incidence collected - Large sample size

Answer 19

- Free - Easy access - Avaliable

Answer 20

- Anonymous - Researcher is not in direct contact with participants

Answer 21

- Interpretivism --> qualitative, understand meanings and motivations for behaviour - Positivism --> not objective, subject to interpretation of researcher

Answer 22

- Not consistent --> may only have access to part of these documents - Cannot be standardised --> different documents studied in different ways e.g. handwriting and vocab - Not repeatable --> different researchers interpret the documents differently

Answer 23

- Not going to lie deliberately --> no researcher effect or hawthorne effect - In depth --> shows meanings and feelings/behaviour (and reasons for it) --> potential for empathy (Verstehen) - Written by somebody else in village sometimes - Purpose of the documents being written - Elements of bias --> author? purpose? - Bias --> interpretation of researcher

Answer 24

- A range of different perspectives and experiences - Linked to sample size (good and bad) - Unaware of social characteristics of author - Historical documents --> only the wealthy could afford to learn to write, have portraits made etc.

Answer 25

- Time consuming - Lack of accessinility --> personal, sensitive information, don't wamt to give them up

Answer 26

- Precoded or closed questions (answer options provided, tick box) - Open ended or open questionnaires (space to write own answers) - Postal/mail or online self-completion questionnaires (complete away from researcher and send back)

Answer 27

- No researcher effect —> higher validity, personal information answered privately or anonymously. - Social desirability less of a problem —> don’t see the researcher and they are anonymous, less ‘pressure’ from presence of researcher to give socially acceptable answers. - Anonymity easier to be maintained —> ethics

Answer 28

- No information about participants —> affects the representativeness as they don’t know who actually responded to the questionnaire. - As the researcher isn’t there, they won’t mind not actually refusing or responding resulting in a low response rate. - Risk of participants misunderstanding questions, can’t personally ask the researcher —> no opportunity for clarification. - Less standardised —> different locations and environments (affects response), when it is completed can affect response.

Answer 29

- Liked by interpretivists as the participants can explain things in their own words. - High validity —> Verstehen, true picture, deep insight as the explanations and meanings are given in own words. - Ethical —> easy to gain consent. - Practical —> Quicker overall than other methods, cheap

Answer 30

- Disliked by positivists —> prefer objective and quantitative data, not measurable, trends/patterns - Low validity —> Social desirability, cannot ask for more information resulting in inaccurate responses as they may misunderstand the questions - Low representativeness —> Takes a while to fill out so people may not do them (low response rate = low sample size) - High response rate of people with big opinions on the subject, low response rate of those who struggle with education and language. - Not ethical —> May be asking sensitive information —> inappropriate for a questionnaire (risk of psychological harm) - Not practical —> More time consuming (more time to fill out, more time for researcher to read through)

Answer 31

- Liked by positivism —> quantitative data, quantify results and identify trends/patterns - High reliability —> Standardised as same questions used, same answer options, same order, same language (more repeatability) - High representativeness —> gain a large group of people’s responses as it will be fast so they won’t mind doing it (higher response rate = bigger sample size) - More ethical —> easy to gain consent - More practical —> less time consuming (get them done very quickly), cheaper

Answer 32

- Disliked by interpretivists (no reasons or meanings given) - Options chosen by researcher, not from the participants perspective - Validity —> Researcher bias —> have to make their own interpretations why the results are what they are (may misunderstand), answer options may not cover all options and researcher chooses the options causing bias. - Not very ethical —> may ask for sensitive information (risk of psychological harm)

Answer 33

- These are very similar to a questionnaire. - They use an interview schedule where the interviewer asks exactly the same questions, in the same order in the same tone of voice etc.

Answer 34

- These are like a conversation. - The interviewer has topics in mind to cover but few, if any, pre-set questions. - The interviewer can ask any questions, in any order, with different wording etc. - They can ask further questions depending on what the respondent says.

Answer 35

- These have the same questions but the interviewer can ask further questions for more information.

Answer 36

- Group interviews are when a number of people are interviewed at the same time. - Focus groups are a form of group interview that focus on specific topics.

Answer 37

Strengths: - Preferred by positivists --> Objective, can be checked (theoretical) - Reliability --> Standardised --> Other interviewers can interview using same questions and structure and compare the findings - Reliability --> Consistent questions with every participant --> Can't deviate from script - Practical --> Lack of skills or training needed, Less time consuming --> No additional questions --> Representativeness --> Bigger sample size.

Answer 38

- Disliked by interpretivists --> No room for further questions to get better meanings - Ethical --> More risk of psychological harm --> Can't deviate or change questions based on participants, impersonal - Validity --> No verstehen avaliable --> Detached, participants cannot elaborate on answers, questions reflect the researchers views and what they see as important

Answer 39

- Participants can develop answers off other participants. - Practical --> Less time consuming --> interviewing a group at once --> larger sample size --> include a wider range of characteristics, consider a range of views --> Representativeness - Validity --> Can check if the views are widely shared

Answer 40

- Pressure can be felt on some of the participants to feel like they have to go along with the group - Validity --> Difficult to manage --> can go off topic - Representativeness --> Some members dominate - Validity --> Others agree with dominant members --> Social desirability --> people don't want to express inpopular news infront of others - Ethical --> Inappropriate for sensitive topics

Answer 41

ANN OAKLEY: "Becoming a Mother" - Feminists, like Oakley, see structured interviews as detached, objective and the scientific nature of them as oppressive and patriarchal, they prefer unstructured interviews. - Conducted 178 interviews with most the women being interviewed twice before the birth of their child and twice afterwards. In some cases, she was present at the birth. - Each woman was interviewed for a total of 9 hours on average. - She found that the women often wanted to ask her questions, Oakley decided to answer the questions as openly and honestly as possible, sometimes even discussing her own experiences of childbirth. - She also helped out with childcare or housework whilst interviewing. - Some women anted to help out more and would ring Oakley with other pieces of information they seemed necessary. - This approach to her research allowed her to get closer to the people she was interviewing.

Answer 42

- Liked by interpretivists --> Get more details and meanings, able to empathise (Verstehen) and get a true picture --> Allowed to elaborate and ask/prompt more questions reducing social desirability. - Validity --> Can build a rapport (Verstehen) --> Reducing social desirability - Ethical --> Less psychological harm caused --> Allows women to talk about their experiences of childbirth at own pace --> Very sensitive topic --> Ability to change questioning --> Easy to gain consent - Accuracy --> feel more comfortable with Oakley therefore could be more likely to tell the truth, feel comfortable enough to open up as it is like a conversation.

Answer 43

- Reliability --> Cannot be standardised, therefore cannot be repeated by other researchers --> inconsistent --> every mother interviewed differently and asked different questions. - Disliked by positivists --> cannot be compared or checked, not objective. - Validity --> More chance of researcher effect taking place --> body language and tone less likely to be controlled. - Representativeness --> Lack of generalisability --> Only around 55 mothers interviewed, doesn't represent every mother --> Small sample as it is time consuming. - Practical --> Time consuming --> Oakley interviewed every mother herself individually --> the interviewers need training; need skills to build rapport. - Validity --> Social desirability --> Oakley is older and more experienced.

Answer 44

- The researcher observes the group without taking part.

Answer 45

- The researcher takes part in the everyday life of the group while observing.

Answer 46

- The researcher makes it clear to the people they are studying that they are observing them.

Answer 47

- The researcher doesn’t inform the people they are studying that they are observing them.

Answer 48

- Getting in: Overt/Covert, need to make contact with the group and then trust which depends on personal skills. - Staying in: Note taking may disrupt groups behaviour, problems with how close to get with group, how to not lose trust, researchers objectivity, illegal behaviour to stay in group, danger of going native, researcher may not notice things about the group as longer the spend with them, more chance of it seeming normal. - Getting out: Issues with leaving the group without damaging relationships, becoming sufficiently detached to write an impartial account and making sure members of the group cannot be identified.

Answer 49

- Theoretical --> Liked by interpretivists --> Can understand the meanings and motivations. - Ecological validity --> Natural environment --> Can behave normally - Led by the participants and respond to this - Validity --> Gain Verstehen --> Experiencing same things --> Can build rapport / trust with participants --> behave normally (less Hawthorne effect and social desireability)

Answer 50

- Reliability --> Not repeatable --> Not standardised - Validity --> Presence of researcher can lead to the hawthorne effect - Theoretical and Validity --> Risk of going 'native' --> Researcher bias --> Sympathetic to group (not objective) --> Positivism, cannot repeat or check - Practical --> Difficult to notetake --> May forget things - Unrepresentative --> Difficult to access multiple groups/settings --> Smaller sample as it is time consuming - Ethical --> If covert --> No consent, Researchers may have to engage in illegal acts

Answer 51

- Easier to maintain anonymity - Less likely to be at risk of harm --> Not involved - More repeatable and standardised --> Easier to use observation schedule - Easier to record observations --> Less likely to forget = accurate - Less time consuming --> More observations --> Large sample = More representative - More objective --> Less bias --> Less risk of going native

Answer 52

- Validity --> Difficult to gain a deeper sympathetic understanding --> No verstehen (detached) - Validity --> Social desirability/Hawthorne effect --> Harder to hide observation - Difficult to observe information --> Easy to miss information - Validity --> Detached --> May interpret what observed differently/in line with own views --> Researcher bias

Answer 53

- Ethical --> Easier to gain consent --> No deception - Practical --> Less time consuming --> No trust/rapport needed - Validity --> Easier to record observations --> More accurate - Practical --> Easier for accessible groups

Answer 54

- Validity --> People unaware they are being studied --> Behave as they normally would --> Less Hawthorne effect, social desirability - Gain more insight --> Participants may be more open - Validity and Theoretical --> Adopt a role --> Gain Verstehen --> Interpretivism --> Understand meanings/motivations

Answer 55

- Theoretical --> Liked by positivists as they are a scientific method that enables them to develop cause and effect relationships. - Reliability --> Can be replicated so they are highly repeatable --> the other researcher can specify precisely what steps were followed, so others can repeat these in the future. A detached method, the researchers feelings and opinions have no effect on the conduct or outcome of the experiment.

Answer 56

- Theoretical --> Disliked by interpretivists --> Argue humans are fundamentally different from plants which are studied by natural scientists. We have free will unlike these objects, meaning our behaviour cannot be explained in terms of cause and effect. - Validity --> A laboratory is not a normal or natural environment. It is therefore likely that any behaviour in these conditions is also unnatural or artificial. - Validity --> If people know that they are being studied, they may act differently. - Validity --> It may be difficult to identify one variable which causes a social issue/behaviour. - Ethics --> It may be difficult to get the informed consent of groups such as children or people with learning difficulties who may be unable to understand the nature and purpose of the experiment. --> Experiments cause harm, especially to those in the experimental group.

Answer 57

- Experiments that take place in the real world under normal social conditions, but following similar procedures to the laboratory experiment. - They have similar advantages and disadvantages to the laboratory experiment, such as they may involve the researcher misleading the participants. - Field experiments have mainly been carried out by interpretivists.

Answer 58

- Rosenthal and Jacobsen ‘Pygmalion in the Classroom’: investigated whether teachers expectations affect pupils’ educational performance. Pupils were given an IQ test at the beginning and end of the process and there was a ‘control’ group of pupils who hadn’t been labelled positively so progress could be compared. This experiment has been repeated with many similar results. However there are ethical issues with experimenting on children and interfering with their education. - Bandura ‘Social Learning through Imitation’: has been criticised for being unable to generalise findings from an unrepresentative group of children; ethical issues about training children to act aggressively; and whether the children were being aggressive or just playing with the doll the way they had been shown by the adults. The main criticism is that it was in an unrealistic environment and that may make the results invalid.

Answer 59

- A longitudinal study selects a sample from whom data is collected by repeated surveys at regular intervals over a period of years. Each of these surveys is sometimes referred to as a ‘wave’ or ‘sweep’. - These studies make it possible to study change over time and provide details on the changes that occur. As long as the sample remains the same, it may be possible to discover the causes of changes by comparing earlier studies with later ones.

Answer 60

- It is necessary to select a sample who are available and willing to assist over a long period of time. - It is likely the original sample size will decrease. - Those in the sample are conscious of the fact they are being studied. This may result in the Hawthorne effect. - Most funding agencies are unwilling to take on a commitment over a long period of time.

Answer 61

- This involves the intensive study of a single example of whatever it is the sociologist wishes to investigate. They can be carried out using almost any research method, though the more qualitative methods are more common. - Life histories are case studies which usually focus on one individual or one small group. They are most commonly obtained through unstructured interviews backed up with reference to personal documents such as diaries and letters. - Case studies and life histories do not claim to be representative. However, some researchers claim they can make an important contribution to our knowledge about an area and theories, for example, can be tested. - They may be useful in generating new hypotheses which can then be tested by further research. - They enable the researcher to see the world from the point of view of the individual and give more detail and understanding than surveys or quantitative measurements.

Answer 62

- They may not be representative. - They may not be reliable or valid. - Life histories raise questions about the accuracy of recall of facts and the benefit of hindsight may generate a reinterpretation of the past.

Research Methods Flashcards

(86 cards)