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Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods
Fichas del conjunto (23)
- 1What are laboratory experiments?Quantitative, positivist method.
A controlled experiment in an artificial environment.
The experimental group are exposed to a variable which the researcher believes may have an effect.
The control group are in conditions that are kept constant. - 2What are the practical issues with laboratory experiments?Individuals are complex: you cannot perfectly match a member of the control/experimental groups.
Small samples: can only conduct lab experiments on small groups.
The Hawthorne Effect: Behaviour occurring in laboratory experiments may also be artificial.
Experimenter bias: Affects the outcome. - 3What are the ethical issues with laboratory experiments?Informed consent: Required from each participant.
Harm to subjects: Temporary harm may be justified ethically if the results yield significant social benefits. - 4What are the theoretical issues with laboratory experiments?They lack validity and are unsuitable for studying the meanings behind actions.
- 5What are field experiments?They differ to laboratory experiments as they -
Take place in the subject's natural surroundings rather than a laboratory.
Subjects do not know they are part of an experiment, avoiding the Hawthorne Effect. - 6What are the practical issues with field experiments?The more realistic the situation is made, the less control the researcher has over the variables.
- 7What are the ethical issues with field experiments?They involve carrying out experiments on participants without their consent.
However, this may sometimes be excused if no harm comes to the participants. - 8What are questionnaires?They are written sets of questions that require written answers from participants.
The questions mat be close-ended (with a limited range of possible answers) or open-ended (respondents are free to give any answer) - 9What are the practical issues of using questionnaires?Although data is quick and cheap to collect, it may be limited and superficial.
Postal questionnaires have low response rates.
It may be necessary to add incentives such as a prize draw, adding to the cost.
Questionnaires are rigid and inflexible. - 10What are the theoretical issues of using questionnaires?Interpretivists criticise questionnaires for lacking both validity and verstehen - they provide no information as to the meanings behind individuals' actions.
Detachment: The lack of contact between researcher and respondent.
Lying/forgetting/trying to impress with responses. - 11What are structured interviews?Formal interviews conducted in the same structured manner each time, with the same questions, wording, tone of voice etc.
- 12What are the practical issues with structured interviews?Although they are quicker to conduct than unstructured interviews (and cheaper) they only provide a snapshot at one moment in time.
They are unsuitable for investigating unfamiliar topics so the researcher requires previous knowledge. - 13What are the theoretical issues with structured interviews?Interpretivists believe that these do not uncover the meanings that actors use to construct their own social realities.
Closed questions force individuals to choose from pre-set answers, creating a false picture if no answers fit.
Researchers do not have the freedom to clarify misunderstandings. - 14Why do feminists criticise structured interviews?They argue the relationship between researcher and interviewee mimics the structured hierarchy of patriarchy
Ann Oakley sees this as a positivist, "masculine" approach to research, and not furthering the interests of the people it researches. - 15What are official statistics?They are produced by the government and other official bodies and are a major source of quantitative secondary data.
They are large scale and of easy access to sociologists, and allow comparisons to be made on a large scale. - 16What are the practical issues with official statistics?The statistics are for government benefit and not made for sociologists, so therefore may not suit all research purposes - e.g the French do not collect data on the race, religion or ethnicity of its citizens and therefore this cannot be studied through official statistics.
- 17What are the theoretical issues with official statistics?They give no validity, or verstehen.
They are not always reliable - members of the public may fill in forms (such as the Census) incorrectly.
Interpretivists such as Cicourel see statistics as social constructs and not objective, real social facts. - 18What is the Marxist view of official statistics?They reject the positivist claim that they are objective facts. They do not see them as the labels applied by officials - they instead regard official statistics as serving the interests of capitalism.
They conceal them as concealing/distorting reality and maintaining capitalist power. - 19What is the feminist view of official statistics?They are created by the state, and therefore maintain patriarchal oppression.
They legitimate gender inequality and maintain women's subordination - e.g there are few statistics collected on women's unpaid domestic labour. - 20What are unstructured interviews?Unlike structured interviews, the interviewer is free to vary the questions, clarify any misunderstandings and pursue whatever line of questioning they feel is appropriate at the time.
- 21What are the practical issues with unstructured interviews?Although being informal allows rapport to be developed, it also requires a researcher to undergo more training to deal with sensitive issues.
This also makes it more expensive to train interviewers,and the interview is more time consuming to conduct and the sample will inevitably be smaller. - 22What are the theoretical issues with unstructured interviews?Positivists reject the use of unstructured interviews as they give no reliability.
They are also not replicable - as they offer deeply valid information, you will not be able to gather the same information twice.
Positivists think the close relationship between interviewer and interviewee undermines their validity. - 23What are participant observations?
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- Descripción
- Fichas sobre Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods, creado por Chloe Adams el 16/04/2017.
- Creado por
- Chloe Adams · abr 2017
- Actualizado
- 17 abr 2017
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