Practical Issues Influencing Research Methods

Summary

• Time, money and resources
• Requirements of funding bodies
• Personal skills and characteristics of the researcher
• Subject matter
• Research opportunity
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Time, Money and Researchers

• Different methods require different amounts of time and money to initiate.
• For example, large-scale surveys may require numerous people to complete. In order to pay data-inputting staff, money is a necessity.
• By contrast, smaller scale research, perhaps carried out by the sociologist alone, would be cheaper to execute, but may take several years to complete.
• The researcher’s access to resources can be a major factor in determining which methods they employ. A well-known professor will probably have access to more research funds than a young student, for example.
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Requirements of Funding Bodies

• Various funding bodies such as research institutes and businesses may provide funding for different sociological studies.
• As money is a necessity in conducting research, it is vital that the funding body approves of the research being done, as they may decide to withdraw funding otherwise.
• For example, a government department funding research into educational achievement may have targets for pass rates and so require quantitative data to see whether these targets are being achieved. This means the sociologist will have to use a method capable of producing such data, such as questionnaires or structured interviews.
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Personal Skills and Characteristics

• Each sociologist possesses different personal skills and this may affect their ability to use different methods.
• For example, participant observation usually requires the ability to mix easily with others as well as good powers of observation and recall, while depth interviews call for an ability to establish a rapport (relationship of empathy and trust) with the interviewee.
• Not all sociologists have these qualities and so some may have difficulty using these methods.
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Subject Matter

• The subject matter can influence a sociologist's choice of method.
• For example, it might prove difficult for a male sociologist to study an all-female group by means of participant observation, while written questionnaires may be useless for studying those who cannot read or write.
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Research Opportunity

• Sometimes the opportunity to carry out research occurs unexpectedly and this means that it may not be possible to use structured methods such as questionnaires, which take longer to prepare
• For example, a Glasgow gang leader offered the sociologist James Patrick (1973) the chance ‘out of the blue’ to spend time with his gang. With little time to prepare, Patrick had no option but to use participant observation.
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