Flashcards on Choosing a Research Method (3.1)

To obtain data about society, sociologists use a range of different methods and sources. These can be classified in a number of ways. Firstly, data will either be primary or secondary. What is meant by this?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using primary data?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using secondary data?

Data can also be categorised as either quantitative or qualitative. What is meant by this?

Due to the vast range of methods available, it can be difficult to choose the most appropriate form to adopt. Different methods have different strengths and weaknesses, which must be considered. What are the practical problems that different methods present?

What are the ethical problems that different methods present?

What are the theoretical problems that different methods present?

What is usually the most important factor in deciding which method to use?

Despite favouring a particular kind of method, there are constraints that may impact a sociologist's choice. Even pure chance can determine the method used. Give an example of this:

What factors influence a sociologist's choice of topic?

Once a topic and method has been chosen, what is the next state?

What is the advantage of having a hypothesis?

Why do positivists favour hypotheses as a starting point for research?

What is the difference between hypotheses and aims?

However, what advantage comes with using an aim, rather than a hypothesis?

Which perspective often favours a broad aim?

What term is used to refer to the process of converting a sociological concept into something measurable?

Operationalising a concept seems easy, but issues arrive where different sociologists operationalise the same concept in different ways. What does this complicate?

Which perspective is eager to operationalise concepts?

Which perspective is uninterested in operationalising concepts?

What do sociologists who use social surveys often carry out before conducting their main survey?

What do pilot studies involve?

Give an example of a pair of march of progress sociologists who carried out a pilot study:

Sociologists often aim to produce generalisations that apply to all cases of the their topic. However, it is simply not possible to interview and examine every case. What must sociologists do in order to make generalisations?

Which perspective is particularly attracted to representative samples?

To choose a sample, what does a sociologist first require?

Once they have a sampling frame, the sociologist can choose a sample. In doing so, they must ensure that the sample is representative of wider society. There are various sampling techniques used to ensure a representative sample. What are they?

What is random sampling?

What is quasi-random sampling?

What is stratified random sampling?

What is quota sampling?

What is the most common purpose of sampling?

However, not all studies use representative sampling techniques. Why?

Where it isn't possible to obtain a representative sample, sociologists sometimes use snowball sampling. What is this?

Alternatively, sociologists may use opportunity sampling. What is this?