Research methods

Question 1

What are the other forms of interviews?

Accepted Answer

focus groups, semi-structured interviews, group interviews

Question 2

which technique... making the most of situations in which the sample is likely to be found

Accepted Answer

opportunity

Question 3

which of the following is a technique where the observer is immersed in the lifestyle of Ps.?

Accepted Answer

participant observation

Question 4

What is a hypothesis? (1)

Accepted Answer

an informed guess broken down into aims and objectives

Question 5

what are the two random sampling techniques used in sociological research?

Accepted Answer

stratified sampling, systematic sampling

Question 6

What are two weaknesses of the observation method?

Accepted Answer

observer or researcher effect, observers can become closely attached and bias

Question 7

What are the two broad theoretical approaches within sociology?

Accepted Answer

Interpretivism, Positivism

Question 8

What are 3 components of interpretivist research?

Accepted Answer

Consider verstehen and empathy, avoiding researcher imposition, value meaning and experiences

Question 9

What is primary data?

Accepted Answer

Data collected first hand by a researcher

Question 10

Which of the following theorists were very influenced by the positivist approach?

Accepted Answer

Durkheim, Marx

Question 11

which technique...involves researchers choosing individuals that fit the nature of the research

Accepted Answer

purposive

Question 12

what are some weaknesses of using official statistics?

Accepted Answer

they might not represent a complete picture, stats are socially constructed so sometimes can be bias

Question 13

What are 2 components of the hypothetico-deductive method?

Accepted Answer

systematic observation and data collection, set, revise or reject a hypothesis

Question 14

which technique... involves randomly choosing a number then picking every '7th' Ps?

Accepted Answer

systematic

Question 15

Positivism refers to...

Accepted Answer

treating people as objects who can then be directly observed, a set of assumptions about how to study the social world

Question 16

What is operationalisation? (1)

Accepted Answer

how the hypothesis can be explicitly tested

Question 17

what are strengths of structured interview?

Accepted Answer

aims and objectives can be clearly explained, you can use tick boxes and gain quantitative data

Question 18

What are two types of mixed method?

Accepted Answer

Methodological pluralism, Triangulation

Question 19

What are some of the non-random sampling techniques used in sociological research?

Accepted Answer

quota sampling, opportunity sampling

Question 20

which technique... is like stratified but researcher decides how many of each category

Accepted Answer

quota

Question 21

what are two weaknesses of using the questionnaire method? (2)

Accepted Answer

Some people can't be bothered to reply, questions may be bias in their focus

Question 22

which of these are the best examples of secondary data?

Accepted Answer

media reports and products, official statistics

Question 23

which of the following are examples of social problems? (x 2)

Accepted Answer

domestic abuse, crime

Question 24

What is an unstructured interview? (2)

Accepted Answer

informal guided conversation guided by the interviewer, a process preferred by interpretivists

Question 25

which of the following is when the observer is immersed but unknowingly to the Ps. (1)

Accepted Answer

covert observation

Question 26

what are two strengths of using a questionnaire method?

Accepted Answer

samples can be larger and consequently more representative, less time consuming and cheaper than other methods

Question 27

which of the terms means 'writing about the way life, or culture, of social groups'?

Accepted Answer

Ethnography

Question 28

why are pilot studies useful? (x1)

Accepted Answer

to eliminate bias and forsee any problems with research

Question 29

which of these types of social surveys are used in sociological research?

Accepted Answer

questionnaires, longitudinal surveys

Question 30

which technique...involves dividing the population into frames and then randomly selecting

Accepted Answer

statified

Question 31

which technique...when a suitable person is found and then recommends someone else suitable

Accepted Answer

snowball

Question 32

What factors influence the choice of research topic? x2

Accepted Answer

social problems, sociological problems

Question 33

positivists argue that research methods should exhibit these ideal features (x3 answers)

Accepted Answer

scientifically reliable, quantitative, objective and value free

Research methods

Questions 33

Research methods

Questions 33