Types of methods

Types of methods

1. questionnaires

   • closed questions
     • multiple choice
     • tick box
     • yes or no Q's
   • precoded questions
     • pre-written answers, a scale is created, devised to give the most accurate anwser
     • advantage- quick to complete, quantitative, easy to repeat
     • disadvantage- cannot explain the answer, low validity, no reasoning
   • open ended questions
     • write your opinion
     • qualitative data
     • respondents own words
     • advantages- can follow up, more depth to answers
     • disadvantages- harder to compare, bias interpretations

2. statistics

   • official
     • numerical observations created by the government used to make decisions about society
     • gathered through surveys and census
   • unofficial
     • quantitative data by non-government organisations
     • one off surveys for a specific purpose
   • census
     • advantages- easy to compare, shows change over time, high validity and reliability, representitive of sample size
     • disadvantages- doesn't cover all social groups, may not be an honest response.

3. observations

   • advantage- allows an insight into everyday life and behaviour
   • participant observation
     • sociologist immerses them selves into the lifestyle
     • overt- the group know that they are being observed
     • covert- pretends to be an authentic member of the group
   • non-participant observation (direct)
     • researcher sits and observes the activity, the observer is detached and un-obtrusive, focuses on particular behaviour
     • advantages- minimised impact on the researched, doesn't require skill,
     • disadvantages- time consuming, expensive, may be observing artificial behaviour