Unit 1 — Theory and Methods

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Paradigms

Structuralism

A macro sociological approach that views society as a set of structures in which individuals play definite roles. It is the actions of the individuals that matters, not the individuals themselves. Identity is largely imposed by society; individuals have little free thought. Positivist.

Consensus-Based Views

These views hold that society should and is fundamentally based on consensus (agreement between groups on a set of shared values)

Functionalism

Believe all aspects of society have functions that work to keep it stable, like how organs work together to form organ systems to keep an organism stable. Criticized for being unable to account for social change.

Conflict-Based Views

These views hold that society is based on conflict between groups with disagreements on issues such as wealth, power, and status.

Marxism

A perspective that argues society is based on conflicts between classes — the bourgeoisie (owners of wealth and property) and the proletariat (working class). The bourgeoisie exploit the working class, oppressing them so they are forced to work while never being paid enough. Believe exploitation must be ended; critics argue this is impossible or will lead to greater oppression.

Feminism

A perspective that argues society is based on conflicts between the genders and is patriarchal (male-dominated). There are liberal feminists who believe major advances have been made, radical feminists who believe that society still remains fundamentally patriarchal, and socialist/Marxist feminists who believe both class and gender conflicts exist in society.

Interpretivism

A micro sociological approach that views individuals as being in control of society. Interpretivists are interested in identity -- which they argue is not imposed by society but chosen by individuals themselves. Argue that scientific methods (positivist) cannot be used to study society. Prefer qualitative data.

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Data/Information

Primary Data ; data collected firsthand by the sociologist

researcher has full control

more accurate and relevant

time-consuming and expensive

difficult to access target group

Secondary Data ; information collected earlier by others and later used by the sociologist

saves time, money, effort

useful for historical purposes

can be biased or irrelevant or unreliable

Quantitative Data ; data represented in numerical form; objective; factual.

useful for comparing statistics/numbers/trends and identifying correlations

more reliable, can be replicated and reproduced in other research

more likely to be free of personal biases

can be artificial and forced, doesn't feel human-like/natural

superficial; only reveals 'what', 'when', 'where', 'how' -- does not reveal reasons

cannot be developed further

Qualitative Data ; data that is not numerical; 'why'; subjective; personal.

complex reasons for behavior can be captured

greater freedom to capture subjects in natural habitat

more likely to be valid, show how people really behave

difficult to generalize since it involves small groups/individuals

depth of the research will make it difficult to replicate; unreliable

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Research — Practical, Ethical, and Theoretical Issues

Practical Issues

Getting funding/choosing a topic

Finding existing evidence

Choosing the types of data

Choosing the research method

Getting representative samples/responses

Ethical Issues

Anonymity — keeping respondents' identities private

Confidentiality — keeping respondents' responses private

Deception — lying about the research project

Informed Consent — get consent of respondents before research

Invasion of Privacy — participants choose whether to answer or not

Safety — no physical/mental harm should occur to participants

Theoretical Issues

Interpretivism/Positivism

Validity — the extent to which research findings reflect reality/paint a true picture of the research aims.

Reliability — the extent to which research findings can be confirmed by replicating the research.

Representativeness — research needs to be representative of (applicable to) the population to be generalised.

Researcher bias — the researcher can be biased; positivists say we must strive to be as objective as possible; interpretivists argue that objectivity is not possible and so researchers should be open about their own biases and let readers judge their reliability/validity.

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Research Process

Identifying a problem/Choosing a topic — researcher may be influenced by several factors such as funding, time, personal experience/observations, knowledge about it, social changes/developments, practicality, ethical issues

Literature review — all relevant information is gathered from books, academic journals, etc.

Hypothesis setting — a hypothesis is developed to test (not always in interpretivist research)

Choosing data/methods — research method and the type of data produced is decided

Pilot test — small-scale version of a research project to find improvements/change errors to avoid wasting money/time

Sampling — a (usually) representative of the survey population sample will be chosen from the sampling frame.

Random Sampling ; everyone has equal chance of being selected

Pros: unbiased, quick/easy

Cons: not representative

Stratified Sampling ; frame stratified into proportional groups and randomly selected

Pros: representative

Cons: time-consuming

Snowball Sampling ; researcher asks one person to meet others

Pros: useful for hard to contact groups

Cons: not generalisable

Quota Sampling ; researcher picks participants to fill their quota

Pros: quick and easy

Cons: biased

Opportunity Sampling ; researcher chooses participants nearest to them

Pros: easy, especially for students

Cons: not representative, biased

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Research Methods

Primary — Quantitative

Questionnaires/Social Surveys ; self-completed questionnaires (postal) or structured interviews (telephone). Questions are closed/pre-coded (limited number of responses), scaled, or open questions

Self-completed:

cheaper, more accessible, no researcher bias, convenient

low response rate, respondents might not answer/misunderstand, might be unvalid

Structured Interviews:

reliable since questions are predetermined, valid since interviewer can clarify

respondents might lie/interviewer effect, interviewer might be biased