sociology research methods

sociology research methods

1. closed questions - respondent has to choose between several answers (multiple choice). The answers are therefore easy to process on a computer and summarise into statistics.

2. open ended questions- allows respondents to give more detailed answers which means the responses are more varied and difficult to convert into statistics

3. quantitative methods

   • postal questionnaires
     • advantages
       • its a quick and cheap way of collecting info from large samples
       • researcher isnt present so the respondent may not feel preassured to give socially acceptable answers
     • disadvantages
       • respondent might misunderstand or skip questions
       • questions may be incomplete
       • unstuitable for some people i.e. homeless or illiterate
       • response rate is usually low
   • questionnaires and structured interviews
     • advantages
       • answers can be compared to identify attitudes
       • provide quantitative data - data that can be presented in a graph
       • standardised questions- they're repeated for reliability
     • disadvantages
       • pre-set questions dont allow new issues to emerge
       • closed questions mean that the researcher decides questions and answers
       • lack in validity as people say one thing but dont necessarily do it
       • feminists argue that there unequal power between the respondent and the researcher
   • longitudinal studies - follows the same group of people over time. after the initial survey there are follow up surveys/interviews which allows the researcher to study changes in participants behaviours, values and opinions over time
     • disadvantages
       • they're expensive and time consuming
       • problems with maintaing contact with participants
       • people may change their minds and want to leave the study
   • social surveys- social survey consists of a list of standardised questions and each respondent answers an identical set of questions

4. qualitative methods

   • unstructured interviews
     • advantages
       • interviews can ask follow up questions and explore complex issues
       • interviewees can develop their answers and introduce issues the researcher hasnt thought of
       • sociologists can gather detailed and valid data
       • sociologists can build a stronger connection with the interviewees which allows them to investigate sensitive topics
     • disadvantages
       • time consuming and expensive
       • need a skilled interviewer to keep conversations going and encourage interviewees to open up
       • interviewer bias could occur which could result in invalid results
       • its difficult to make generalisations and the sample is usually small and unrepresentative
   • participant observation
     • advantages
       • researcher can study a group in its natural setting and observe the activities that they participate in. ethnography- the study of peoples culture in everyday settings
       • it usually carried out over time which allows researchers to build up trust and hear things that they wouldnt normally have access to
       • gathers valid data
       • the researcher can see things from group members perspectives and develop a deeper understanding of their behaviour
     • disadvantages
       • its difficult to gain entry into groups and gain trust
       • its time consuming and expensive
       • the researchers presence may influence the groups behaviour which results in the validity of the results being affected
       • difficult to generalise about simular group as the study is unique and hard to replicate to check the reliability
     • the researcher joins a group and participates in daily activities to investigate it
   • non-participant observation
     • advantages
       • can take notes freely
       • less likely to get drawn into the groups activities
       • observers may be less influenced by their personal feelings about the group
     • disadvantages
       • observers may not understand things the way group members do
       • observer effect may invalidate the findings
     • the researcher studies the group without participating in them

5. secondary sources of data

   • official stats- data complied by the government departments and agencies
   • content analysis- is a way of dealing with qualitative secondary sources systematically i.e. adverts om tv