Sociology Research Methods

What is Triangulation?

What is primary data?

What is secondary data?

What is quantitative data?

What is qualitative data?

How must a sociologist analyse their results?

How should a sociologist report their findings?

Outline the sociological research process

What is ethnography (fieldwork)

What is participant observation?

Name three advantages to PO

Name three disadvantages of PO

What is non-participant observation.

What is the 'Hawthorne effect'?

What types of interviews can be used in sociological research?

Why are social surveys used in sociological research?

Which two formats can a questionnaire be conducted in?

What are the disadvantages to using a questionnaire?

When is sampling used?

Other than representative and random sampling, what types of sampling are there?

What is a disadvantage of sampling?

How are random samples gathered?

In which two ways can comparative research be conducted?

Why do some sociologists favour experimentation?

Why do some sociologist NOT favour experimentation?

What is a longitudinal study?

How would a sociologist use content analysis?

What factors should be considered when evaluating a piece of sociological research?

What is the 'positivist perspective'?

What is the symbolic interactionist or 'anti-positivist' perspective?

What are 'social facts'?

How did social facts affect how Durkheim believed the study of society should be approached?

Define 'reliability'

Define 'validity'

How can research be valid but not reliable?

How is research reliable but not valid?

What are some ethical considerations in sociological research?