Research Methods Learning goals: To understand factors affecting choice of research methods and topics To understand the research process As a sociologist, what different factors do you need to consider before carrying out research? Pair and Share

Primary and Secondary sources of data https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSdnd9MznPk Watch the video and make notes on the different types of data: Primary Data Secondary Data

Qualitative and Quantitative sources of data https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwFsRZv4oHA Watch the video and make notes on the different types of data: Qualitative Data Quantitative Data

Factors influencing choice of methods What factors influence a sociologist’s choice of methods (e.g. interview, observation, social experiment, questionnaire) ? Practical issues Ethical issues Theoretical issues

Kaira is studying sociology at university Kaira is studying sociology at university. Her mid-term project requires her to investigate parental expectations in education. What methods can she employ? What are her limitations? (think about practical, ethical and theoretical)

Factors influencing choice of methods Time and money available – large surveys or observations can be time consuming and expensive to complete and take a long time to analyse Aims of the researcher – researchers could sometimes try and twist the data so it confirms hypothesis, so they might choose a method they think will give them the results they want What is known about the field you are investigating – if someone has already carried out a survey in one field a sociologist might choose to interview participants instead, for example. Whether the researcher is interested in the subject or not – if the researcher is not interested in the subject area they might choose a quicker and less time consuming method than if they were very interested by it Whether the research is ethical or not – it could be that in one scenario using a certain method could be unethical. For example, interviewing a recently bereaved family could be unethical, so they would choose a different method. Whether the method is suitable – for example using a written questionnaire could be difficult for investigating criminals, many of whom could be illiterate. Theoretical beliefs of the researcher – different researchers will have different views on what research type to use. For example positivists are more likely to choose something that will yield quantitative results such as a closed survey.

Questions to consider Give one example of a quantitative primary method and a qualitative secondary source Explain one practical issue which might affect a sociologist’s choice of research methods? Illustrate your answer with an example.

A qualified sociologist wants to research gangs in London A qualified sociologist wants to research gangs in London. What are some of the practical/ethical/theoretical issues?

The process of research Formulating an aim or hypothesis Operationalising concepts The Pilot Study Samples and Sampling

Questions Give one example of a quantitative primary method and a qualitative secondary source What practical methods might affect a sociologist’s choice of research methods? Identify three ethical issues sociologists face What is a hypothesis? Define the following terms a) research population, b)sample c) sampling frame What measure might you use to operationalise the idea of ‘social class’

Glossary You can now create a glossary of all the key terms learnt this lesson!