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- 1what is validity?validity is when research/method measures what it sets out to measure. it gives a true and genuine picture of what something is really like
- 2what is reliability?reliability is when a method/research can be repeated by another sociologist and gain the same or similar results
- 3what is representative?when something is described as being representative it is typical or a cross section of the entire research population. it gives a sound basis for making generalisations
- 4what is an experiment?an experiment is when the sociologist creates an artificial environment in which they manipulate the variables and observe the subjects to see how they react.
- 5list the different types of experiment?laboratory experiment
field experiment
the comparative method (the thought experiment) - 6what is a field experiment?a field experiment, is simply an experiment within the subjects natural surrounding. the subject generally does not know they are being studied
- 7what is a questionnaire?a questionnaire is a form of social survey, in which the subject is given or sent out a list of questions which they answer.
- 8what is an interview?an interview is also a form of social survey. in the same way as questionnaires the subject is required to answer a list of questions, however with an interview the questions are asked orally and there is face to face interaction between the interviewer and interviewee
- 9list the different types of interview?structured and unstructured
- 10what is observation?observation is when the researcher simply watches and takes note of how the subject behaves in certain circumstances
- 11list the types of observation.Covert- this is when the researchers identity is hidden
Overt- this is when the researchers identity is known
Non-participant- this is when the researcher simply watches and does not take part
Participant- this is when the researcher takes part. - 12name 2 secondary methods.Official statistics and Documents
- 13what are official statistics?they are a form of quantitative data collected by the government or other organisations
- 14what are documents?documents are a form of qualitative data (any written data, including images), which were not created for the purpose of sociology
- 15list the types of documents.Public
personal
Historical - 16name any other methods.Case studies
Longitudinal studies - 17which methods to positivists prefer?positivists prefer the laboratory experiment, questionnaires, structured interviews and official statistics.
- 18why do positivists prefer these methods?positivists prefer these methods because they can be used to identify cause-and-effect relationships, they produce quantitative data and they achieve their main goals of reliability and representativeness.
- 19which methods do interpretivists prefer?they prefer field experiments, unstructured interviews, observation (covert participant) and documents.
- 20why do interpretivists prefer these methods?they prefer these methods as they provide qualitative data and achieve their main goal of validity.
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- Flashcards on Untitled, created by jademc2k9 on 16/05/2014.
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