Research Design

Research Design

1. Sociologists pick a topic based on their own preference and knowledge.

   • 1) Sociologists often specialise in different fields of the subject and therefore will often choose a topic that they have experience or knowledge of. For example, Steve Bruce speacialises in religion.
     • 2) Sociologists try to pick a topic that they'll find enjoyable and intresting to research. It's best not to try a peice of research that you won't enjoy as it only leads to a poorly constructed report that may be either flawed or just plain boring.
       • 3) Also, certain topics become popular in sociology at different times. For exmaple, research in the mid twentiteth century often focused on stratification and the class system. Nowadays, the focus if sociologists has moved on to other topics such as world socioogy. To gain prestige, funding and public or academic intrests, sociologists are more likely to focus their research on topics that are currently in vogue.
         • 4) Sociologists and other academics who want to make a chnage in socicety prefer research that could help develop solutions to social problems.
           • 5) Sociologists may feel that a particular issue is nelected by other researchers, so they'll research the issue to try and plug the gap and encourage others to embrace the issue as well.

2. Funding and cooperation for research have an impact on the choice of topic.

   • 1) There are a wide range of potential sources of funding. Some research is funded by charites, e.g the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Some is funded by industry. Some is funded by the government. A lot of quantative studies are done directly by government agencies.
     • 2) The organisation which funds the research is sometimes called a gatekeeper, because it often has the final say in the choice of topic, they way that the topic is researched or whether a topic gets researched at all.
       • 3) Additionally, a researcher needs to decide hther or not they will be able to get the copperation of the groups they'll be studying if they choose a particualr topic. If potential subjects refuse to give their help for the research, then the topic may not be viable.

3. The researcher's career in sociology is another factor in selecting a topic

   • 1) Sociologists have their eye , just like everyone else. Reserachers would jump at the chance to conduct a study that imporves their employability. Intresting, original or popular topics that are well researched, with good clear results,improve an academic's chance of having their work published. Getting work published, particualrly in one of the big sociological journals, really improves a researcher's standing in academia.
     • 2) A quick way for a sociologist to prgroress in their career is to respond to another sociologist's work. The aim can be either to prove the other sociologits worng, or to add something to their research. Paratically speaking, this could either mean investiagting the same topic.,but usong slightly different mthods, or investigating a different group of people.
       • 3) This can mean that particualr social groups are researched a lot. For example, routine office workers are frequetnly researched in order to test out therories of startfication, some systems classify the as working ckass and some as middle class. Each sociologist who wants to disaprove or add to earlier research on classifaction has to research yet another bunch of routine office workers. Beekeepers never get this level of intrest from scoiologists.

4. Reviewing the field is curcial to a good research topic

   • 1) Reviewing and criticising existing data and litriature is an imporatnat feature in any sociological report. It requires the resaercher to spend time rading articles, publications and other sources of information already produced on the subject.
     • 2) The researcher can then analyses this material to help clarify the issues around the subject.
       • 3) Reviewing the field gives the resaercher useful information on the types of methodology, used in previous studies. They can see whether specific methods e.g structured interviews, worked int eh oast. They can see if research smaples were big enough, and form ideas about how big their own sample should be.