Research Methods

Questão	Responda
Advantages of Official Statistics	Reliable, easy and cheap to access, large sample, historical trends, up to date
Disadvantages of Official Statistics	Doesn't show understanding (whys), open to public abuse, decision to publish may be bias
advantages of closed question surveys	reliable/standardised, large samples, less time consuming, cheaper, postal reaches many regions, less research imposition
disadvantages of closed question surveys	not valid, low response rate, poor design (may be bias/leading)
advantages of closed question interviews	provide quantitative data, can be analysed, comparable, conduct quickly increasing sample size
disadvantages of closed question interviews	social desirability (acting how you want them to act), important questions can't be asked
advantages of observed behaviour	see natural behaviour, valid
disadvantages of observed behaviour	misinterpret behaviour, Hawthorne effect, people become too attached/going native
what are the types of random sampling?	systematic, random and stratified
what are the non random sampling techniques?	snowball, volunteer, quota, purposive, opportunity
what is simple random sampling?	selecting a number of units (individuals/houses) from the sampling frame. usually computer generated
what is systematic sampling?	picking out every nth person
what are the advantages of systematic sampling?	equal chance of being chosen so no bias larger samples can be reasonably representative
disadvantages of systematic sampling	might get a disproportionate number of people from the wrong category not always representative
what is stratified sampling?	divide research population into different sampling frames then use systematic sampling to select the group for research
advantages of stratified sampling	no bias representative
disadvantages of stratified sampling	limited sample size if people refuse to take part
what is quota sampling?	decides how many of each category of person should be used. then goes and looks for right people until quota is filled
advantages of quota sampling	people fit specific characteristics for research, people likely to be interested in the research
disadvantages of quota sampling	danger of bias, can't be generalised, not necessarily representative, may only stop 'co-operative people'
what is purposive sampling?	researcher chooses individuals that fit the nature of the research. occurs when a researcher chooses a particular group or place to study as it is known to be the type wanted e.g. goths or headteachers
advantages of purposive sampling	representative people fit specific characteristics people likely to be interested
disadvantages of purposive sampling	danger of bias might not be generalisable
what is opportunity sampling?	making the most of an opportunity to find the target population. for example going to an African church to interview African people
Advantages of opportunity sampling	people want to take part
disadvantages of opportunity sampling	not generalisable not representative as only certain types of people will take part
what is snowball sampling	used when difficult to gain access. find and interview one person who fits the characteristics and asks them to bring/suggest other candidates
advantages of snowball sampling	sample can grow as large as you want specific expertise in study
disadvantages of snowball sampling	not generalisable not representative as only certain types take part
what is triangulation	a technique that facilitates validation of data through cross verification from two or more sources, increasing validity
advantages of triangulation	qualitative and quantitative, valid, check reliability of sources, check your own interpretation/conclusion
disadvantages of triangulation	time consuming expensive some sociologists argue that some methods are unacceptable from their theoretical perspective
what are four problems with sampling?	access (e.g. drug rings), sampling bias (when some members of the target population are excluded), Time, Informed consent (don't want to take part)
advantages of quantitative methods	reliable, comparable, measurable, representative, generalisable, large scale, patterns and trends
disadvantages of quantitative methods	lack validity can be misinterpreted research is only as good as the questions asked
advantages of qualitative data	valid (closer to reality) verstehen/more personal detailed/in depth understand the 'whys' individual responses are reflected in the data
disadvantages of qualitative data	subjective, not reliable, not measurable, not generalisable (small sample size), misinterpretations, not scientific
four features of qualitative data identified by Bryman	1. seeing through the eyes of the people being studied (verstehen) 2. description and emphasis on context (understand actions) 3. emphasis on process (over time) 4. flexibility (respondent answers how they want and focus on what they want to talk about)
practical issues of qualitative research	recording data (passwords), financial costs, access (gate keeper?), safety, time, building rapport, Hawthorne effect
ethical issues when conducting research	access, safety/harm (emotional, physical, mental), participants (shouldn't alter their lives), permission/informed consent, right to withdraw, building rapport, confidentiality (can't talk about it), anonymity (can't be traced back), debrief, right to privacy
advantages of interviews	understand from participant's perspective; discover meanings, values, opinions and beliefs; build rapport; approach sensitive topics
disadvantages of interviews	potential bias (hawthorne, rely on memories), researcher imposition, Interviewer Effect, Qualitative (subjective, relies on interpretations of researcher), can be hard to compare
types of interviews	structured unstructured semi-structured
types of observation	non participant (doesn't make contact with the group) participant (makes contact) overt covert
advantages of covert observation	reduces the Hawthorne Effect Increases validity
Disadvantages of covert observation	ethical issues has to keep up an act cannot openly take notes so relies on memory cannot ask naive but important questions

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	Criado por becky sharrock mais de 7 anos atrás