Why Do Sociologists Conduct Research

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Why do sociologists conduct research? Identify the key differences between qualitative and quantitative research methods? And positivist and interpretivist research methods?

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If you were going to conduct a research project and choose quantitative research methods identify

the numerous methods you could use and say whether your research would be primary or

secondary.

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If you were going to conduct a research project and choose qualitative research methods identify

the numerous methods you could use and say whether your research would be primary or

secondary

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Using the template/grid below draw a map/diagram illustrating the numerous influences which

decide which method social researchers choose to use:

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Influences on the choice of research method used by sociologists

Identify the key difference between positivist and interpretivist research methods (make certain you

use the terms qualitative and quantitative in your answer)

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Identify the differences between primary and secondary data

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Provide some examples of some existing primary research conducted in schools

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Using the templates below identify the advantages and disadvantages of qualitative secondary

sources:

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The advantages of qualitative secondary sources are:

The advantages of qualitative secondary sources are:

The disadvantages of qualitative secondary sources are:

Using the templates below identify the advantages and disadvantages of quantitative secondary

sources:

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The advantages of quantitative secondary sources are:

The advantages of quantitative secondary sources are:

The disadvantages of quantitative secondary sources are:

The disadvantages of quantitative secondary sources are:

What is the experimental (laboratory) method of research?

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What are the advantages of the laboratory method?

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What are the problems associated with the experimental method?

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What is the relationship between the Hawthorne effect and the experimental method?

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What are field experiments?

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Why was the Comparative method useful in Durkheim’s study of suicide?

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Different Sampling Methods - Complete the following grids and provide an example for each section

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Systematic sampling is:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Systematic sampling is:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Stratified random sampling is:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Stratified random sampling is:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Quota sampling is:_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Quota sampling is:_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Snowball sampling is____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Snowball sampling is____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Random sampling is:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Random sampling is:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Imagine you are going to conduct some research in your 6th Form about the quality of 6th Form

teaching in your school. You know there are 300 students studying at AS and A2 level.

Why is it vital you carry out a pilot study before embarking on such a project? Identify two aspects

you’d have to test-out before conducting your actual research.

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a) What would be a representative sample from this number of students (please explain your

answer) and which would be the most appropriate sample method to use (please justify

your choice) and could you create a sample frame?

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Multistage or cluster sampling is:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Multistage or cluster sampling is:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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For the same project identify as many ethical issues you would have to address while conducting and

preparing for research project in a school?

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Again referring to the above project, which research method would you choose to use and identify

why your choice improves reliability?

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Finally once you have conducted your research would your findings be valid considering your sample

size and sample method? What is the relationship between representativeness, validity and

generalization and why is this relationship important to your project?

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Do questionnaires collect qualitative or quantitative data? Provide evidence to support your answer.

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When designing either open-ended (unstructured) or closed (pre-coded or structured)

questionnaires you need to consider several important issues when designing them, these are:

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When designing a questionnaire I need to consider the following pointsWhen designing a questionnaire I

need to consider the following points

Below are the strengths and weaknesses of pre-coded (closed) questionnaires:

Strengths Weaknesses

Below are the strengths and weaknesses of open-ended (unstructured) questionnaires:


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What are postal questionnaires and what is the normal method of delivery and collection?

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What are the advantages/disadvantages of postal questionnaires?


Now you are going to conduct some research in your 6th Form. Your project’s aim is to find out if 6th Form teachers ‘label’ students. You know there are 300 students studying at AS and A2 level and you have decided to use closed -questionnaires for your social survey. You now need to design a closed-questionnaire with ten questions related to the aim, your questionnaire is going to use the ‘scaling-method’ for respondents’ responses. Once you’ve designed your questionnaire you need to conduct a pilot study. Overleaf is a grid to help you address all the issues you might face. Fill this grid so you make sure you address all the issues before you conduct your pilot study.

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Theoretical considerations:

Position of the researcher

Issues of reliability and validity

Type of data required

Practical considerations:

Cost

Time

Access to respondents

Sample size and type

Ethical considerations (particularly in a school):

CRB check

Rights of respondents

Anonymity

Confidentiality

Disclosure/publication

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Now conduct your pilot study. Once completed make any necessary alterations to your

questionnaire.

In the grid below identify all the possible research methods open to sociologists and select which are

qualitative and qualitative.

Quantitative Qualitative

What are structured interviews?

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Identify the strengths and weaknesses of structured interviews


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Where and why might you use a structured interview rather than a pre-coded questionnaire?

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What are unstructured interviews?

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Identify the strengths and weaknesses of unstructured interviews


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Where and why might you use an unstructured interview rather than a pre-coded questionnaire or

structured interview? Of the three which is seen as the most reliable?

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Imagine you are going to conduct the same research project examining labelling by teachers in an

inner city school. The majority of the school’s pupils are from ethnic minorities. You have decided to

conduct a number of open interviews with a sample of Year 11 students who are all taught by

teachers who are all white. Identify several ways interviewer bias might affect the validity of social

research?

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How might you overcome this interviewer bias?

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What is the difference between participant and non-participant observation?

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Identify the strengths and weaknesses of participant observation


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Identify the strengths and weaknesses of non-participant observation


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You’ve decided to observe teachers in a classroom setting to see if they label students in lessons. In

order to decided which is the best observational method to use you are going to conduct a pilot

study to see which the best method is. How will you record what you observe? What ethical

problems will you face with each method?

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Identify the ways triangulation helps social researchers.

Methods combined Examples21

Why do some sociologists conduct longitudinal studies?

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Why are case studies and life histories useful to social researchers?

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Why Do Sociologists Conduct Research

Health & Medicine

Transcript of Why Do Sociologists Conduct Research