Flashcards
Methods in Context
Cards in this deck (19)
- 1Sociologists sometimes use field experiments to study aspects of classroom life such as teacher expectations and pupils' self-concepts.Experiments
(application to classroom) - 2They are often relatively simple and easy to repeat. Although experiments in in educational settings may not be exactly replicable, schools have broadly similar features and so experiments can still be repeated in broadly similar ways.Experiments
(reliability) - 3Some experiments have used pupils in real learning situations. However, there are particular ethical issues with carrying out experiments on young people. They are more vulnerable and less able to understand what is happening to them.Experiments
(Ethical problems) - 4Experiments are small-scale and can usually only examine a single aspect of behaviour. Larger issues in education, such as social class and achievement, cannot easily be studied using this method.Experiments
(Limited application) - 5They require researchers to control the variables in the situation. However, schools are large, complex institutions and many variables affect the behaviour of teachers and pupils, e.g. class size, streaming, type of school. It is impossible even to identify, let alone control, all the variables.Experiments
(Controlling all variables) - 6It is very easy to gather large amounts of data quickly and cheaply from pupils, teachers or eduucational establiishments.Questionnaires
(Practical issues) - 7schools are a good source of ready-made sampling frames. they keep lists of pupils and staff, and these can provide accurate sampling frames from which to draw a representative sample. Schools also have ready-made opportunity samples of pupils and teachers.Questionnaires
(Sampling frames) - 8When conducted in schools they are higher than in other areas. Once a headteacher has put their authority behind the research, teachers and pupils may be under pressure to cooperate.Questionnaires
(Response rate) - 9Children generally have a shorter attention span than adults and so a short questionnaire can be more effective than lengthy interviews. However this limits the amount of information that can be gathered.Questionnaires
(Researching pupils) - 10Turning abstract ideas such as 'deferred gratification' into a measurable form is particularly difficult when researching pupils. Young people have a poorer grasp of abstract ideas, so they are less likely to understand some of the researchers questions.Questionnaires
(operationilising concepts) - 11Schools may not keep lists that reflect researcher's interests, e.g. the researcher may wish to investigate ethnicity, but the school may not keep lists of pupils sorted by their ethnic origin.Questionnaires
(Samples) - 12The life-experiences of children are narrower, so they may not actually know the answers to questions. Consequently, questionnaires may be of little value.Questionnaires
(validity) - 13Structured interviews usually take less time than unstructured interviews and so they are less disruptive to schools' activities. Therefore researchers are more likely to receive official support for the research. The hierarchical structure of the school may then work in their favour.Structured interviews
(Response rate) - 14Easy to replicate. Therefore large-scale patterns in educational behaviour can be identified, e.g. gender in subject choice.Structured interviews
(Reliability) - 15As young people tend to have better verbal than literacy skills, interviews may be more successful than written questionnaires as a method of obtaining valid answers. However, the formal nature of structured interviews means pupils are unlikely to feel at ease and therefore may be quiet.Structured interviews
(validity) - 16It is more difficult to create questions for use with young people because their linguistics and intellectual skills are not fully developed. As a result, they may not understand long complex sentences or some abstract concepts.Structured interviews
(Question design) - 17Parental permission may be required to interview children. Whether or not this is given depends partly on the sensitivity of the research topic.structured interviews
(Ethical issues) - 18Parental permission may be required to interview children. Whether or not this is given depends partly on the sensitivity of the research topic, e.g. sex education.structured interviews
(Ethical issues) - 19Pupils and teachers are not equal in power and status, and this affects their behaviour. Pupils often alter their responses to seek adult approval by giving untrue but socially acceptable answers. This will reduce the validity of the interview data.structured interviews
(Power and status differences)
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- A2 Sociology (Research methods ) Flashcards on Methods in Context, created by James Dobson on 08/06/2017.
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- James Dobson
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