Research Methods

Research Methods

1. Experiments

   • Laboratory
     • Artificial environment where the researcher controls the variables to discover their effect
     • Practical
       • KEAT AND URRY (1982) argue that lab experiments are only suitable for studying closed questions where all the relevant variables can be controlled
       • Individuals are unique
         • Can't match members of the control and experimental groups exactly
       • We can't control the variables that were acting in the past
       • Study Small samples
       • Hawthorne Effect
     • Ethical
       • Informed consent means gaining subjects permission to take part
         • Might not act normally
       • Harm to subject - research should not harm the subjects without compelling justification
       • Treating subjects fairly
     • Theoretical
       • Positivists favor lab experiments for their reliability but do recognise problems
       • Reliability and hypothesis testing
         • Easy to re-run the experiment
         • Quantitative data - can be compared
         • The researcher manipulates the variables and records the results
       • Representativeness
         • Small findings may mean they can't be generalised
         • Lack of external validity: the more control, the more unlike the real world
         • Internal validity may be lacking because of the artificiality of the lab experiment
       • Interpretivism and free will
         • Our actions are based on meanings and not caused by external factors
   • Field
     • Natural and valid, but reduced control over the variables
     • Subject doesn't know they are in an experiment

2. Questionnaires

3. Interviews

4. Observation

5. Official Statistics

6. Secondary Documents