research methods

the research process
1. aims
  1. hypothesis
    1. consdering previous reserch on topic
      1. operationalisation (breaking down the hyposeis into questions
        data collection
        pilot studdies
        interpreting data
        test hypothesis
        confirm hypothesis
        theory (made up of confirmed hypothesis)
practical factors that might influence the choice of research topic
1. time
  1. when
  2. how long
    1. longitudinal studies - years
2. enviroment + culture
  1. context
    1. what are you going into
      1. own background
        beliefs - biases - prejudice
3. cost, funding
  1. research is not cheap
    1. secondary data is cheeper
4. gatekeeping/acess
5. ethics
  1. BSA
  2. confidentiality
  3. safety of group
sampling
1. target population
  1. interested in particular groups
  2. don't want to study everyone
2. is studying a smaller group taken from the wider population
3. population
  1. the total group the researcher is interested in
4. sampling unit
  1. the individual thing or person in that population
5. sampling frame
  1. is a list of all in population
    1. e.g. electoral register
6. sample bias
  1. any difference between the sample and the larger population
sociologists
1. haste - Joined up texting - 2005
  1. sampling
    1. random - systematic - purposive - volenteer
  2. questionnaires used
    1. open, closed and multiple choice
  3. issues raised
    1. only targeted certain groups, then why was not answered, lack of collaboration with schools
2. bursey - one of the lads
  1. methods
    1. unstructured interviews
      1. -gave detailed accounts - lots of interviews - wide variety of people
      2. -did not ask the professional players - unclear the view of who made it
    2. participant observations
      1. -got involved with what was happening - looked at 4 different teams
      2. -not able to get inside their heads - did not look at mainly white team - may loose objectivity
3. holden - 'happily ever after'
  1. looked at intergration-ethnicity
    1. childrens play in local parks
  2. methodology
    1. secondary research
      1. background knowledge
    2. non-participant observation
      1. quantitative data
    3. parental questionnaire
    4. park observations
    5. school observations
4. the making of a moonie - 1984
  1. carried reserch on religous groups
  2. methodology
    1. questionare
    2. initial questions
    3. in depth interviews
    4. participant observation
  3. valid since taken over a period of time
  4. limited reliability - people have different relationships
  5. slightly generalised
5. a glasgow gang observed
  1. participant observation
  2. not reliable or valid
  3. no hawthorne effect
  4. no consent - not ethical
6. loud humphys and the tea room sex study
  1. type of men who gain sexual pleasue in toilet
  2. covert, active participant observation
  3. structured interviews
  4. valid data - no horthorne effect - only small group of people
sampling methods
1. random sampling
  1. every member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected
  2. sysyematic
    1. every Nth member of the target population being selected
  3. stratified
    1. different subgroups in the target population are identified - then people randomly selected in proportion
    2. most representative
2. non-random
  1. snowball
    1. one contact will recruit other contacts
  2. volunteer
    1. where participants put themselfs forward to be studied
  3. opportunity
    1. uses a sample of people who are available at the time
  4. purposive
    1. researcher has a clear idea of the sample
  5. quota
    1. clear number of people and chosen from certain chracteristics
P vs I
1. positivism
  1. sociology should be studied in a scientific manner
    1. facts that can then be studied
  2. data - statistical - measurable
  3. large scale sample
  4. reliability is needed
  5. needs to be objective
2. interpretivism
  1. society cannot be treated as a science
  2. needs to gain both depth and understanding
  3. research should be small scale
  4. validity is important
  5. research can be subjective
methods
1. interviews
  1. stuctured
  2. unstuctured
  3. semi - structured
  4. group
2. questionares
  1. open
  2. closed
  3. measurement scales
3. content analysis
  1. formal
  2. thematic
  3. textual
  4. audience
4. ethonography
5. mixed methods
  1. triangulation
  2. methodological pluralism
6. longitudinal studies

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	Created by lucy ferrigno almost 5 years ago