Research Methods

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Types of Data- Primary and Secondary

 Primary data is information collected by sociologists themselves for their own

purpose. These purposes may be to obtain a first-hand ‘picture’ of a group or society,
or to test a hypothesis (an untested theory).
 Three methods to gather primary data:
 Personal participation/ Observation
 Experiments
 Interviews or questionnaires
Secondary data is information that has been collected or created by someone else for
their own purposes, but which the sociologist can then use.
 Two methods to gather secondary data:
 Statistics
 Written data
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 Primary data Secondary data

Advantages The data is contemporary and up It’s a quick and cheap way of
to date. doing research.
It is relevant to the sociologist’s Provides the basis of
study, gathering the exact data information and comparison.
they require.

Disadvantages People may act differently or lie It may not provide the exact data
when they know they are under as the data is not specific to the
surveillance. study.

It is expensive and often requires The data may be outdated and

long periods of time. its accuracy is unknown.

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Qualitative and Quantitative Data

 Quantitative data refers to information in a numerical form. This data is

preferred by positivists (to be discussed in a later section). Examples of
quantitative data include GCSE statistics; how many marriages end in divorce;
the proportion of over 60 year olds in the population.
 Qualitative data refers to data in the form of words rather than numbers. It
concentrates on presenting the quality of the way of life described rather
than on presenting statistics; it focuses on giving a ‘feel’ for what something
is like. Much of this research consists of word-for-word quotations from those
being studied. This data is preferred by Interpretivists (to be discussed in a
later section). Examples include what it feels like to be a victim of violent
crime or what motivates people to join a religious sect. Qualitative data can
provide rich descriptions of people’s feelings and experiences. It can also
refer to other types of data which is non-numerical (e.g. photos).
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 PRIMARY SOURCES SECONDARY SOURCES
QUANTITATIVE DATA Structured Questionnaires Official statistics
Structured Interviews
Numerical, statistical, Experiments (e.g. media and
percentages, trends, ratios, violence)
science, objective POSITIVIST (study society like
a science) POSITIVIST (study society like a
science)
QUALITATIVE DATA Overt participant observation Letters
Description, words, Unstructured Interviews Personal histories
subjective, about people’s Opinion poll data on voting Photographs
feelings and experiences, behaviour Diaries
gives a “feel” for something, INTERPRETIVIST or INTERPRETIVIST or
empathy ANTI-POSITIVIST ANTI – POSITIVIST
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Factors influencing the choice of
method
Practical issues

Time and money Funding bodies

The amount of money allocated to your study will influence the period of time you have to Depending on who and how much funders are willing to give will control the cost
conduct the study and the number of participants involved. effectiveness. The method will have to be approved by the funders and so those undertaking
the task will have to follow what the funding bodies prefer.
I.e. One with low money and time may mean a questionnaire will take place rather than a
case study.
Personal skills & characteristics Subject matter

Whether the researcher is good with people and their level of personal skills will influence Some issues are more willingly addressed then others, such as child abuse or political views.
how they will collect the data. This will affect the funding or responses from the public and a method will have to be
chosen to suit the delicacy of the situation.

Research opportunity Access & safety of the researcher

Depending on when and how an opportunity to conduct a study arises will influence how it Because of the safety of the researcher it may or may not be possible for a field study to take
is performed. If an event caused the research to take place then people’s responses may be place, the access to certain data or people may change whether the study could take place
different depending on life aspects. As a result, a more fitting method will have to be or what questions/actions may be allowed. This will determine the sequence of methods
chosen. used.

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 Ethical issues
Informed consent Confidentiality & privacy

Certain depths to a study may occur if consent is given. Depending on the type of method, the rules and type of
Because it is difficult for consent to always be given the data that are collected may vary. This causes a change
method will have to be changed to suit the rules and in the method to suit the people being asked and also
guidelines depending on the level of consent. how the results will be presented.
Effects on research participants Vulnerable groups

If the research is done via an experiment then more Research will have to be conducted so that the
guidelines will have to be followed than if a participants’ vulnerability is not exploited or so they
questionnaire was completed. This is because the effects become stressed etc. (i.e. Rape victims)
different research aims and the method used will have
to change to make sure participants are not harmed in
any way.
Covert research & deception

Lack of knowledge in why they are participating in the

research may distress or outrage the participants upon
debriefing. However it would allow for more accurate
results without demanding characteristics i.e. in a covert
participant observation compared to an overt
observation.

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Theoretical Issues
 Reliability
 The extent to which a test or procedure produces similar results under constant conditions on all
occasions. Data is reliable when different researchers using the same method (test-retest
reliability), or the same researcher using it at another time (inter-rater reliability), obtain the same
results.
 For example, if one person tests the temperature of water at boiling point, then another person
does it a week later, you would expect the results to be the same; this is reliable- as long as the
data collection instrument (i.e. the thermometer) is trustworthy.
 A survey using structured questionnaires tends to be reliable. The same results should be gained,
regardless of who is asking the questions. This is particularly so with regard to simple structured
questions (for example, a person’s age or gender).
 Issues for reliability:
 It is very difficult to get reliable results in sociology because people are very unreliable!
 Asking questions through unstructured interviews tends to produce unreliable results because the
interviewer is relying on their own interpretations. Responses may also differ according to social
characteristics.
 Likewise, participant observation tends to produce unreliable results as the observation situation is
virtually impossible to replicate.

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Validity
 The extent to which a research method measures or describes what it is supposed
to. In other words, does it give a ‘true’ picture of what is being studied?
 Qualitative methods (such as unstructured interviews) tend to produce valid data
since the interviewer can spend time probing and questioning the respondent and
really make them think about their answers.
 Structured questionnaires tend to be low in validity because they are often a
measure of what people think they ought to say (social desirability) and what
they think, rather than what they actually do (demand characteristics). Also,
people do not spend much time thinking about answers and the closed-ended
nature of questions may restrict all possible answers/maybe ambiguous in
meaning.
 Issues for validity:
 People lie– what people say they do and what they actually do can be very
different!
 The researcher may change what has been said to suit their hypothesis.
 The respondent may not act/speak normally because they are aware they are
being researched- observer/interviewer effect.
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 Face/Ecological validity – on the face of it, does the measure fit the concept?
Face validity is simply achieved by asking others with experience in the field
whether they think the measure seems to be measuring the concept. This is
essentially an intuitive process.
 Concurrent validity –the researchers simply compare the results of one
measure to another which is known to be valid (known as a ‘criterion
measure). For example with gamblers, betting accounts give us a valid
indication of how much they actually win or lose, but wording of questions
designed to measure ‘how much they win or lose in a given period’ can yield
vastly different results. Some questions provide results which are closer to
the hard-financial statistics, and these can be said to have the highest degree
of concurrent validity.
 Predictive validity – here a researcher uses a future criterion measure to
assess the validity of existing measures. For example we might assess the
validity of BTECs as measurement of academic intelligence by looking at how
well BTEC students do at university compared to A-level students with
equivalent grades.

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 Construct validity – here the researcher is encouraged to deduce hypotheses
from a theory that is relevant to the concept. However, there are problems
with this approach as the theory and the process of deduction might be
misguided!
 Convergent validity – here the researcher compares her measures to measures
of the same concept developed through other methods. Probably the most
obvious example of this is the British Crime Survey as a test of the ‘validity’ of
Police Crime Statistics’. The BCS shows us that different crimes, as measured
by PCR have different levels of construct validity – Vehicle Theft is relatively
high, vandalism is relatively low, for example.

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Representativeness / Generalisability
 This is related to sampling technique. How far is the individual or group under
study typical of the research population?
 If they are typical, then what is true of them is also true of others. We can
therefore generalise from this sample.
 Researchers who use quantitative data can use complex statistical tools to
enable them to see how representativeness their sample is.
 Research based on in-depth qualitative methods must always be questioned in
terms of representativeness because they tend to have involved very few
people.

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Theoretical issues - Methodological
perspective
Positivism
 Positivists see the process of studying society as a science; aiming to repeat research, generate statistics, numbers,
trends, ratios and comparisons that are high in RELIABILITY and OBJECTIVITY. These findings can then be turned
into UNIVERSAL LAWS just like scientific ones and the researcher can remain VALUE FREE and objective. Therefore,
society can be understood, predicted and controlled.
 Reliability– to get to the truth of the matter and to do so consistently, however many times the research is
repeated. If the question means different things to different people then it is not reliable as it can be interpreted
differently and generates inconsistent answers. All completed questionnaires or interviews must be the same. In
short, a reliable method is one, that when repeated, gives the same results.
 Quantitative methods - Positivists tend to use these as the research focuses on measurement and the collection of
numerical data (statistics and number crunching). This reflects their belief in a scientific approach. Also, by using
scientific quantitative data the researcher can generate CAUSE and EFFECT relationships.
 The differences between common sense and sociology, is that sociologists base what they say on evidence. They
carry out research.
 Positive sociologists collect quantitative data, which is data in the form of numbers. Their research can be
replicated, while interpretative sociologists collect qualitative data in the form of words and claim their data gives
a true picture of the people they are researching. It is high in validity
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 Interpretivism
 Interpretivists argue that the study of society as a science is not possible as the
things in it (people!) are not identical and cannot be treated as the same. To
assume that they all behave in a similar manner to pieces of coal or certain
chemicals is fundamentally wrong. Humans have emotions and passions which
make them individually different. Therefore, a different approach is needed in
order to gain a ‘true’ understanding of an individual’s meanings, experiences
and reasons for their behaviour, an in-depth enquiry as to why the individual
behaved as they did. This will produce more VALID findings.
 Validity– The ability to find out what the researcher was supposed to find out
and to produce truthful information. Also, researchers will interpret the
findings in different ways so that the conclusions may be SUBJECTIVE - this is
unavoidable, claim anti-positivists. The real aim of sociological research should
be to experience the social world of the people you are studying; to develop
EMPATHY with them and put yourself in their ‘shoes’ (sometimes referred to as
VERSTEHEN).
 Max Weber

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 Positivism
 These sociologists believe that social phenomena are as real as natural
phenomena. This means that they should study what they can see (empirically)
objectively, measure, and count. Therefore, they claim society should be
studied scientifically avoiding any personal involvement. In turn, this use of
quantitative data can then generate statistics, numbers, trends, ratios and
comparisons. Social facts can then be established.

 Anti-positivism (Interpretivism)
 Social phenomena are different to natural phenomena. People are active,
conscious beings who act with intention and purpose. People have passions and
emotions and cannot therefore be studied the same way as chemicals or atoms.
Sociologists need to uncover meanings, shared understandings and truthful
detailed reasons as to why people might behave the way they do. Qualitative
data is useful for giving the researcher a ‘feel’ for what something is like with
descriptions and depth.

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Realism
 This approach aims to bridge the gap between Positivism and Interpretivism,
they argue that there are underlying social structures that can explain
observable events. But they also argue that it is possible to study the meanings
people attach to actions even if they can’t be directly observed. i.e. class
consciousness. Thus sociology can be a science in terms of an ‘open system’,
where variables cannot be controlled, which makes predictions more difficult;
this is similar to meteorologists. Thus research cannot be reliable as it is
difficult to repeat.
 They want to understand the structural mechanisms that cannot be seen whilst
being as objective, systematic and logical as possible. This means they can
uncover underlying causal mechanisms that lead to observable events.
 They adopt the positivist approach of trying to quantify aspects of society and
comparing one theory against another theory using empirical data and a range
of methods. Thus they support the idea of mixed method research which
breaks down the divisions between quantitative and qualitative data.

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Feminism
 They believe most sociological research reflects a patriarchal society and benefits men;
they call this ‘malestream’- a rational and scientific approach that excludes female
experiences. They challenge this research because they believe it is often generalised to
everyone, even though it focuses on male activities, i.e. domestic labour and childcare are
ignored.
 As a result they often focus on research topics that are relevant and sympathetic to
women’s experiences. These aims include exposure of women’s oppression, challenging
male power and domination, and raising political awareness of issues pertinent to women;
i.e. child abuse.
 Feminists tend to gather qualitative data and often use interviews that aim to break down
the hierarchal nature of the interviewer and interviewee, leading to a more collaborative
approach. Robert’s believes this is possible by reflexivity, where researchers are more
honest with the interviewees and draw on their own experiences for information (slightly
interpretivist). However some modern feminists argue the powerful quantitative methods
of data collection could be used and be as useful as qualitative data, giving access to
money and status.
 This approach is criticised for lacking objectivity and not breaking down the hierarchy as
the relationship may be affected by class and ethnicity. In addition, there may be ethical
issues associated with this, participants may be deceived into thinking they are friends
with the researchers. It is also likely to be high in validity but lack reliability, have a small
sample size- unrepresentative and ungeneralisable.
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 The range of methods
It may not be useful to think of research methods as falling
into two completely separate compartments. It is better to
think of them as being on a scale, as shown below

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Mixed Method Research
Both Qualitative and Quantitative methods
The multiple or mixed methods approach has generally been used in two broad ways although the
reasons for using each approach often overlap
 Methodological pluralism – this is where the researcher employs more than one method of
research in order to build up a fuller and more comprehensive picture of social life. For example,
qualitative research might be used to produce extracts of conversations that gives life to the ‘why’
and ‘how’ of the patterns and trends revealed by the statistics produced by official reports or
questionnaires.
 Triangulation – this refers to the use of multiple or mixed methods to cross-check and verify the
reliability of a particular research tool and the validity of the data collected. Usually, triangulation
involves combining quantitative and qualitative methods in order to check on the accuracy of the
data gathered by each method. For example, questionnaire responses might be checked by carrying
out interviews with key respondents.
 Fitness for purpose – this means that researchers will select the method(s) most suitable for the
collection of the data they require, and as long as the method fits what they need (the purpose) it
really does not matter if it produces quantitative or qualitative data. The idea of mixed methods
Fatimais that
Khan it enables the researcher to break free from the qualitative / quantitative divide, thus
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allowing greater flexibility.

Problems

 Mixed methods researchers need to be highly skilled in collecting and

analysing qualitative and quantitative data. But there are disadvantages to
mixed methods research: it is time consuming, costly and if the findings from
different methods contradict each other it can be very complex to analyse.
 Example: Bhatti’s (1999) research uses interviews with children, their parents
and teachers, a closed questionnaire survey and participant observation
inside and outside the classroom to construct an ethnographic account of
Asian children at home and school. The use of such combinations of
quantitative and qualitative methods (mixed methods) has actually been the
norm for some time.

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Sample Selection
 A research population refers to all those people who could be included in
the survey. Chances are, there will be a very large number of people,
possibly several million, depending on the subject of the research, and there
is no way that the researcher is going to be able to deliver a questionnaire to
them all, still less interview them face to face.
 A sampling frame is a list of all the members of the research population. E.g.
Electoral register or the post-code address file.

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Research Methods
Social Surveys
A social survey is a method of obtaining large amounts of data, usually in a
statistical form, from a large number of people by asking participants questions
about their lives, attitudes, opinions or behaviour. It usually takes the form of a
self-completion questionnaire or a structured interview. Whichever survey
method is used, the social survey has been the most widely used method of social
research. E.g. Census, Crime Surveys, General Household Survey
 Positivists see the survey method as:
 Reliable– controlled conditions, easily replicated and statistical info is solid.
 Valid- scientific and so are objective/ value-free as they remove the biased
researcher.
 Representative- large scale info that is then able to be compared between
different people in the population.
 Interpretivists see the survey method as lacking in validity because it is a
cold, artificial device that will only produce artificial responses.
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Non-representative sampling
 As we have seen, the purpose of
sampling is usually to ensure that
the people we include in our
study are representative of the
research population. However,
for both practical and theoretical
reasons, not all studies use
representative sampling
techniques.

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 Types of non-random sampling:
 Snowball sampling – when only one person or a few people are selected in the
study who then go and recruit other members from the same target
population. (I.e. a study on prostitute reasons)
 Purposive sampling – when a sociologist seeks out people they specifically
want in a study.

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Experiments
 Experiments aim to measure the effect which one or more independent
variables have on a dependent variable. Positivists favour this method
 The aim is to isolate and measure as precisely as possible the exact effect
independent variables have on dependent variables.
 Experiments typically aim to test a ‘hypothesis’ – a prediction about how one
variable will effect another.
 There are two main types* of experimental method: The Laboratory
experiment, the field experiment and the comparative method.
 Laboratory Experiments take place in an artificial, controlled environment such as
a laboratory.
 Field Experiments – take place in a real world context such as a school or a
hospital.

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Advantages of lab experiments

 Theoretical – The controlled conditions of laboratory experiments allow researchers to isolate variables:
you can precisely measure the exact effect of one thing on another.
 Theoretical – You can establish cause and effect relationships.
 Theoretical – You can collect ‘objective’ knowledge – about how facts ‘out there’ affect individuals.
 Theoretical – Good Reliability because it is easy to replicate the exact same conditions.
 Theoretical – Good Reliability because of the high level of detachment between the researcher and the
respondent.
 Practical – Easy to attract funding because of the prestige of science.
 Practical – Take place in one setting so researchers can conduct research like any other day-job – no
need to chase respondents.
 Ethical – Most laboratory experiments seek to gain informed consent, often a requirement to get
funding.
 Ethical – Legality – lab experiments rarely ask participants to do anything illegal.
 Ethical – Findings benefit society – both Milgram and Zimbardo would claim the shocking findings of their
research outweigh the harms done to respondents.
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 Disadvantages of Lab Experiments
 Theoretical – They are reductionist: human behaviour cannot be explained through simple cause and effect
relationships (people are not ‘puppets’).
 Theoretical – Laboratory experiments lack external validity – the artificial environment is so far removed from
real-life that the results tell us very little about how respondents would actually act in real life.
 Theoretical – The Hawthorne Effect may further reduce validity – respondents may act differently just because
they know they are part of an experiment.
 Theoretical – They are small scale and thus unrepresentative.
 Practical – It is impractical to observe large scale social processes in a laboratory – you cannot get whole towns,
let alone countries of people into the small scale setting of a laboratory.
 Practical – Time – Small samples mean you will need to conduct consecutive experiments on small groups if you
want large samples, which will take time
 Ethical – Deception and lack of informed consent – it is often necessary to deceive subjects as to the true nature
of the experiment so that they do not act differently. Links to the Hawthorne Effect.
 Ethical – Some specific experiments have resulted in harm to respondents – in the Milgram experiment for
example.
 Ethical – Interpretivists may be uncomfortable with the unequal relationships between researcher and respondent
– the researcher takes on the role of the expert, who decides what is worth knowing in advance of the experiment

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Advantages of Field Experiments over
Laboratory Experiments
 Theoretical – They generally have better validity than lab experiments
because they take place in real life settings
 Theoretical – Better external validity – because they take place in normally
occurring, real-world social settings.
 Practical – Larger scale settings – you can do field experiments in schools or
workplaces, so you can observe large scale social processes, which isn’t
possible with laboratory experiments.
 Practical – a researcher can ‘set up’ a field experiment and let it run for a
year, and then come back later.

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The relative disadvantages of Field
Experiments
 Theoretical – It is not possible to control variables as closely as with laboratory
experiments – because it’s impossible to observe respondents 100% of the time.
 Theoretical – Reliability is weaker – because it’s more difficult to replicate the
exact context of the research again.
 Theoretical – The Hawthorne Effect (or Experimental Effect) may reduce the
validity of results.
 Practical Problems – access is likely to be more of a problem with lab
experiments. Schools and workplaces might be reluctant to allow researchers in.
 Ethical Problems – As with lab experiments – it is often possible to not inform
people that an experiment is taking place in order for them to act naturally, so
the issues of deception and lack of informed consent apply here too, as does the
issue of harm.
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Longitudinal Studies
Longitudinal surveys are surveys that are carried out at regular intervals over a
period of time.
Example of a longitudinal study is the work of the Child Health and Education
Survey. This is a study of children born in the second week of April, 1970. Over
16,500 were born and 13,135 were traced and studied in 1975.
JWB Douglas: Longitudinal study about working class kids and parents and
student encouragement. Started with 5,362 children and ended up with 4,720.
There are many reasons for this including migration, sudden refusal to
participate and the difficulty of tracing people.
Advantages Disadvantages
More accurate picture over time Sample Decay
More variables can be identified Costly
Less Representative
Relevance reduces over time
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Questionnaires

Questionnaires are lists of questions compiled by the researcher and completed

by the respondent. There are different types of questionnaires / question
design.
1. Closed questions – Questions with a one word answer.
2. Open-ended questions – Questions that may have many different responses.
3. Measurement scales – how variables are measured (nominal, interval, ratio,
ordinal)

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 Advantages of questionnaires Disadvantages of questionnaires

Low costs on both administrative costs and Postal questionnaires can be expensive and have
materials. They are also very quick to complete low response rates, accessing a sample can be
and not time consuming. (practical) difficult. (p)
No chance of researcher influence in face-to-face However this means you can’t check the
encounters as the researcher is not present when truthfulness of the answer, reducing the validity.
questionnaires are filled out. (T) (theoretical)
Standardised answers to standardised questions: But, pre-coded and standardised questions can be
all respondents are faced with the same off-putting to participants, resulting in a low
questions in the same order and format. (P) response rate. (ethical)
Potential to pre-code the answers and the The questionnaire is only as good as the questions
availability of SPSS makes data analysis more it contains. If the questions are misinterpreted
straight forward. (P) then the data will be low in validity. (P)

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 Interviews
 Like questionnaires, interviews involve asking questions. The main difference
is that questionnaires are completed by the respondent (self-completion),
whereas interviews involve a social interaction between the interviewer and
respondent.
 Advantages of face-to-face interviews, as opposed to a self-completion
questionnaire:
1. You can be assured that the respondent will be giving serious answers and will
reply to the questions.
2. Researchers can explore questions that didn’t occur to them in the beginning
and ask respondents to elaborate their answers.

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Structured or formal interviews

 Standardised interview schedule

 Reliable data because questions are asked in one way
 Close ended questions
 Interviewer in structured interviews is like an ‘information collecting
machine’ who remains objective and maintains a distance between
themselves and their respondents.

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Unstructured/ethnographic interviews

 In an unstructured interview the respondent is encouraged to talk at length

about issues raised by the interviewer. Every effort is made to create a
‘rapport’
 High in validity
 Example: Ann Oakley, for example, interviewed mothers on their experiences
of pregnancy and childbirth she did not use an interview schedule at all,
preferring an ‘unstructured discussion’ where the respondent can, to some
extent, control the direction of the interview.

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Semi-structured interviews

 same set of questions in all interviews

 Open and close ended
 Order can be determined

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 Group Interviews
 8-10 people
 The respondents answer questions in turn OR in others, (focus groups), participants are encouraged
to talk to each other
 Guided rather than led by the interviewer (often called a facilitator) whose job is to manage the
group dynamics by establishing trust
 Loader et al (1998) used focus groups with a range of citizens belonging to various age-groups to
document levels of anxiety and fear about crime
Advantages of group interviews Disadvantages of group interviews
 More relaxed environment.  May be over taken by group ‘leader’
 Quicker and cheaper than doing  Less questions may be asked in time.
individually.
 Less intimidated by interviewer.  Questions may lead to inter-group
conflict.
 More ideas shared and built.  The researcher has less control over the interview

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 Interview issue Explanation / examples
Interviewer bias The interviewer may ask leading questions; (e.g. “wouldn’t you agree that…) – more of an
issue in unstructured interviews. Interviewers may influence the respondents’ answers by
their facial expression, body language, or tone of voice. The interviewer may form
expectations about the interviewee on the basis of their age, class, personality, etc. i.e. –
the interviewer may stereotype or label them as a certain ‘type’
Artificiality The interviewer will ask questions in an environment that the participant is not used to,
they may find it hard to answer honestly as the questions are not what they would normally
expect in that situation and they find it hard to think of the correct answer. It would be
very clinical and precise –more of an issue in structured interviews. (low ecological validity)
Status and power The participant may feel they have to answer a question in a certain way or answer it even
inequalities though it causes distress as they feel intimidated by the cold, clinical and professional
interviewer. The participant may feel inferior or feel they have a lower status that causes
them to voice their true opinion less, decreasing validity.

Interview Effects
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Cultural differences The interviewer may be of a different race that the participant may hold racist connotations
about or have been persecuted by in the past, causing them to answer the questions less
accurately. They may also not want to answer as the truth may be disrespectful to the
interviewer’s position/ race or vice versa. (less reliability and validity)
Demand Demand characteristics is where respondents may be concerned about how the researcher
characteristics and sees them and then adjust their behaviour to what the respondent thinks the interviewer is
social desirability after (or demands). Social desirability in one effect of demand characteristics. It involves the
over-reporting of desirable things, like giving to charity, and the underreporting of
‘undesirable’ things such as racist attitudes. They may also wish not to appear ignorant and
so, instead of saying that they don’t know or don’t understand the question, they offer any
answer at all rather than none.
Ethical issues Some questions asked may be invasive or insulting/ distressing for the participant to answer;
however they may feel they have to because the situation demands it.

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Increasing Interview Validity
1. Include a variety of open and closed questions in a semi-structured format or
a mixture of structured and unstructured.
2. Ask questions that involve a person’s opinion.
3. Respondent validation (double checking the results and cross referencing the
results

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 Positivists favour structured interviews because they achieve the main
positivist goals of reliability and representativeness.
 Standardised questions and answers produce reliable data because other
researchers can replicate the interview.
 Pre-coded responses allow us to produce quantitative data, identify and
measure behaviour patterns, and establish cause-and-effect relationships.
 Interpretivists reject structured interviews because they impose the
researcher’s framework of ideas on interviewees.
 Interpretivists favour unstructured interviews because they achieve the main
interpretivist goal of validity.
 Absence of a pre-set structure means interviewees can discuss what is
important to them.
 Open-ended questions allow interviewees to express themselves in their own
words and produce qualitative data.
 Positivists reject unstructured interviews because each one is unique and
cannot be replicated

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 Observation
 One method that sociologists use to find out about things in society is
observation. They actually watch the phenomena that they are researching;
such as an Ofsted inspector watching a classroom for evidence of good
teaching. When trying to understand about observational methods the
following terms are very important.
 COVERT –secret
 OVERT – open; people know about the presence of the researcher.
 PARTICIPANT – the researcher joins in with the activity that is being observed.
 NON-PARTICIPANT - the researcher does not join in with the activity that is
being observed.

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 Humphreys studied homosexual activity in public toilets. He pretended to be a
“gay voyeur” but he did not join in. (covert and non-participant)
 Parker studied youths who stole from cars. They knew he was a researcher and
he refused to become involved in their activities. (open and non-participant)
 Patrick studied violent Glasgow gangs. He joined in their activities. The gangs
did not know his real identity. (covert and participant- but ethics of deception
and harm)
 Whyte studied inner city male street gangs. He “hung around” with them but
they knew he was a researcher. (open and participant)

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Participant observation
Participant observation is favoured by Interpretivists and is the main method used within the approach of
ethnography.
Advantages
 Gain a better understanding because the researcher experiences the same things in the same context
through the eyes of the participant.
 Provides new insights into challenging behaviour
 Helps get the “truth” because people behave naturally, unaware that they are being observed.
 Developing a strong relationship with the participant allows the researcher to dig deep and obtain
views not normally given. This increases validity.
 It allows access to difficult areas e.g. offenders.
Disadvantages
 The researcher becomes biased as they get too close to participant.
 The researcher influences the behaviour of the group. Therefore, they do not act naturally.
 The researcher actively deceives people.
 It is very difficult to prove the researcher’s findings.
 The findings are often subjective. Simply one person’s opinion.
 The findings are very specific, they cannot be generalised to the population etc.
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Non-participant observation

Advantages
 The researcher is less likely to be biased because they do not get “too close”.
 They are less likely to influence the group. Findings are therefore more valid.
Disadvantages
 Findings are superficial – by not joining in the researcher cannot fully
experience or understand.
 People being watched tend to alter their behaviour. Findings will not be valid
or true.

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Covert technique

Advantages
 Gain access to “forbidden areas” – sometimes the only way to build trust and
access the truth.
 The group will continue to act normally. Therefore, more valid findings.

Disadvantages
 It’s dangerous!!
 It’s ethically and morally suspect. It could be illegal, deceitful, morally
compromising (do you join in? tell police?)

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Overt
Advantages
 Because the researcher is not involved they may be seen as impartial and,
therefore, more trustworthy.
 The researcher does not get sucked into “ethical dilemmas”. Therefore, more
honesty.
Disadvantages
 The researcher is seen as an “outsider”. Therefore, not let into secrets and
findings are limited

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 Ethnography
 Ethnography literally means writing about the way of life, or culture, of social
groups
 participant observation and often unstructured interviews
 The purpose of ethnography is to describe the culture and life-style of the
group of people being studied in a way that is as faithful as possible
 Ethnography’s gather qualitative data to allow a picture to be painted of
someone’s life and opinions. (More lifelike)
 Ethnography’s are associated with Interpretivism as they collect subjective
data that is as valid and truthful as possible, using interviews and diaries, etc

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 Content Analysis
 Content analysis is a method used to analyse qualitative data (non-numerical data).
In its most common form it is a technique that allows a researcher to take qualitative
data and to transform it into quantitative data
Aadvantages
 It is a reliable way to analyse qualitative data as the coding units are not open to
interpretation and so are applied in the same way over time and with different
researchers
 It is an easy technique to use and is not too time consuming
 It allows a statistical analysis to be conducted if required as there is usually
quantitative data as a result of the procedure
Disadvantages
 only describes the data it cannot extract any deeper meaning or explanation for the
data patterns arising
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 Secondary sources
Official statistics are numerical data collected by Government. They cover a vast
range of information on things like births and deaths to illness and crime. They
are generally preferred by positivists and rejected by anti-positivists. It is possible
to divide them into two types:
1. Hard statistics on things like death and proportions of men and women (fewer
problems).
2. Soft statistics like crime rates or suicide rates (harder to measure).

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 Advantages
 Published statistics are readily available and cost little or nothing to use.
 Sample sizes are often very large which increases the representativeness of the data.
Positivists like this because it enables them to generalise about the population as a whole.
Surveys like the General Household Survey are too expensive for sociologists too carry out
as they are on a limited budget.
 Comparison over time periods can be made because the data is collected fortnightly,
monthly, annually or every ten years. This enables trends and patterns to be spotted which
is something which positivists like. Durkheim was able to use suicide statistics to identify
patterns over time and between countries and then begin to understand the causes of
behaviour.
 Disadvantages
 Not most reliable measures, open to manipulation
 The data reflects the definitions and terms of the Government, these may be different to
that of the sociologist and may be controlled by powerful groups. For instance Official
definitions of class which are based on occupation fail to locate the ruling class. This means
that Marxist sociologists would find little use for statistics on health or crime because they
cannot identify the criminality or life chances of the ruling class.
 Governments will manipulate the statistics to benefit themselves and may be politically
biased. E.g. classified documents etc
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 Interpretivists argue that statistics are socially constructed e.g. Atkinson’s
Coroner's Study
Unofficial Statistics
 Research organisations
 Market Research
 University Research

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 Documents
Type of document Explanation and examples
Public documents Written records are kept by all kinds of agencies and some may be available to researchers. The government
produces a wide range of documentary evidence including laws, public inquiry reports, political speeches,
OFSTED reports, minutes of council meetings. Commercial firms, too, keep records of their decision-making
procedures and financial transactions.
Personal documents Written or visual records that are kept by individuals and not normally meant to be seen by the public eye or
used in research. Different types of documents may be used for research, such as letters for a historical slant in
their research or diaries to help understand the point of view of an individual and their actions. Photos may be
analysed for qualitative data as well. These may
include letters, diaries, photographs, messages and emails.
Biographies / autobiographies Autobiographies are dependent on the memory of the writer and therefore must be treated with caution. They
are often ‘stories’ that people tell, aiming at convincing their audience that they are trustworthy and likeable.
Hobbs argues that true crime autobiographies (e.g. Mad Frankie Fraser) show the attractions of a life of crime
and an insight into the lives of professional criminals. Biographies are dependent on the interpretation and
values of the author so must also be treated with caution.
Literature Novels and plays can be useful sources of information, in terms of past cultural practices. E.g. the novels of Jane
Austen can teach us about the patriarchal practices in 18 th century England; the content of children’s books can
further our understanding of gender role socialisation.
Historical documents These are similar to public documents; however they are based on the past. These are evidence from a true
account of a past event or time period and so have historical value. This true account may be based on a mixture
of the above document forms, including any statistical information from those times (i.e. census)

Print and visual media Used to study a wide range of topics such as representations of gender in magazines (Ferguson, McRobie), the
potential effects of TV violence on young people (Buckingham, Morrison), how young people may be using the
Fatima Khan 03224954474 mass media to construct their identities. The main method used for analysing the media has been content
analysis which, in its basic form, counts the frequency of particular words, images or category of articles.
 Advantages of personal documents Disadvantages of personal documents

They are cheap and easy to access. We do not know how credible or authentic they are. (i.e. we do not know
how far we can trust the document)

They are permanent and unlikely to be destroyed by We do not know how representative they are of the actual event or of
other people. other people’s experiences/opinion.

Their interpretation could be checked by another Researchers may have problems interpreting their meaning if they are in a
researcher or someone who may have knew the person. different language, code or language style to the present time.

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 Glossary
Research questions The questions asked by the researcher in an interview etc, to aid his research.
Operationalisation To put a concept into a measurable form by using indicators.
Primary data Information collected by sociologists themselves for their own purpose; these
purposes may be to obtain a first-hand ‘picture’ of a group or society, or to test
a hypothesis.
Secondary data Information that has been collected or created by someone else for their own
purposes, but which the sociologist can then use for their own research.
Random sampling A non-systematic approach to selecting a sample.
Non-random sampling A systematic approach to selecting a sample (i.e. snowball or purposive
sampling)
Access How to get in touch with the target population or a sample of the target
population.
Ethics What is seen as morally right or wrong when conducting research, such as
confidentiality, anonymity, privacy and the right to withdraw.
Pilot study A small scale test of the actual research instrument involved, run in advance of
the main fieldwork and done to test the utility of the research design.
Validity Where the data provides a true picture of the social reality of those being
researched.
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 Reliability The ability to repeat research and gain the same or similar
results.
Representativeness The extent to which the sample selected is a fair reflection of the
target population.
Generalisability How far we can say the results are accurate for the rest of the
population.
Questionnaires A document containing all the open and closed questions for a
survey that is used to gather information in research.
Structured A form of interview where the questions are pre chosen and
interviews standardised (spoken questionnaire).
Statistical data A form in which to present data gathered numerically, the data is
either based on official or non-official statistics.
Content analysis A process that reduces freely occurring text to a smaller summary
or representation of its meaning (favoured by positivists. May
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include counting word frequency).
 Patterns and trends Links that can be found between data gathered during analysis, favoured by
positivists.
Cause and effect How something happened and then what the result of that action was and how it
affected society.
Positivism A sociologist who argues the social world can be studied in a logical, systematic,
objective and scientific way.
Objectivity The ability to explore/research the social world without bias; to be as scientific as
possible; an approach favoured by positivists.
Value freedom Research carried out without the values of the researcher intruding on the
research design or the analysis of the data.
Observation When sociologists watch the phenomena that they are researching, this may be in a
covert or overt operation that involves them being a participant or not.
Semi-structured interviews Interviews with set questions that can be rearranged, the interviewer can also can
probe for more information and ask additional questions; he has control over the
proceedings. A combination of open and closed questions can be used to gather a
variety of data but they are generally open-ended, collecting qualitative data.

Unstructured interviews Have no set questions but a range of topics that the interviewer wishes to cover.
The interviewer has complete control and this is used to gather qualitative data.

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 Personal documents Documents which hold a record of a person’s life, normally in their own words. I.e. letters,
diaries or photos.
Ethnography The act of observing the behaviour of a social group directly and producing a written document.
Normally participant observation techniques.
Focus groups A research strategy involving intensive discussion and the interviewing of small groups on a given
issue, normally over a period of time.
Meanings & experiences How people think about the world and social relationships based on their experiences.
Verstehen & empathy Understanding people’s actions so that we can identify with them (does not involve emotional
attachment).
Rapport A relationship in which the people or groups concerned understand each other's feelings or
ideas and communicate well.

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