Flashcards
Sociological research methods - flashcards
Cards in this deck (17)
- 1PositivismAn approach to sociology that believes society can be studied using similar scientific techniques to those used to in the natural sciences
- 2InterpretivismA sociological perspective that suggests that to understand society it is necessary to understand the meanings people give to their behavior, and how this is influenced by the behavior and interpretation of others. The focus of the research is therefore on individuals or small groups rather than society as a whole
- 3CorrelationA mutual relationship or connection between two or more things
- 4CausationThe relationship between cause and effect
- 5ObjectivityApproaching topics with an open mind, avoiding bias, and being prepared to submit research evidence to scrutiny by other researchers
- 6ValidityThis is concerned with notions of truth - how far the findings of research actually provide a true, genuine/authentic picture of what is being studied
- 7SubjectiveBased on influential personal or feelings, tastes or opinions
- 8Positivists prefer...Quantitative data so they can uncover patterns of behaviour and uncover the social laws which determine our actions
- 9Interpretivists prefer...Qualitative data so they can understand the meaning behind actions/behaviour
- 10ReliabilityRefers to the extent to which a research method is replicable
- 11Practical issues...- money
- time
- access to participants
- pressure to publish data
- characteristics of the researcher
- resources used
- access to data - 12Ethical issues...- privacy issues
- confidentiality
- sensitivity/empathetic
- consent - 13Theoretical...- positivists
- interpretivists - 14Research populationEveryone in the group being studied
- 15SampleSmaller part of a whole group (known as the research population) being studied
- 16Sampling frameList of all those who make up the research population
- 17Problems in creating a representative sample...- may not know the social characteristics of the research population
- may have limited information about the research subjects
- finding respondents to fit all the characteristics required of a representative sample
- there may be too many factors to be taken into consideration
- a low response rate may reduce representativeness
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- A level Sociology Flashcards on Sociological research methods - flashcards, created by Veronica Hamer on 11/10/2017.
- Created by
- Veronica Hamer
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- Created by Kirsty Lowless · Oct 13, 2014
- Copied by Veronica Hamer · Oct 11, 2017
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