Do now! Review your Self Assessment checklist from last lesson. In the second column, complete again for bullet points 1-4. Have any changed? Remember green tick if confident, blank if reasonably happy and red cross if concerned. If you were not here last lesson then please complete the whole self assessment now.

Revision Topic Week 1 Social Inequality mock exam Studying Society (Social structures, processes & issues) Week 2 Studying Society (Research methods, ethical issues) Week 3 Education Week 4 Family Week 5 Crime & Deviance EASTER Week 6 Mass Media Week 7 Power Week 8 Social Inequality Revise all topics / exam practice Week 9 Revise all topics / exam practice UNIT 1 Exam (prov. 17 th May) UNIT 2 Exam (prov 22 nd May)

Studying Society Revision 2 Key concepts revised today  Describe research process  Advantages & disadvantages of forms of social survey  Advantages & disadvantages of direct, participant & non-participant observation  Distinguish between primary & secondary sources of data & state advantages & disadvantages  Be aware of ethical issues that might arise as part of research process Starter: 1)List as many methods of research as you can remember. Ext: Are they quantitative or qualitative?

The process of research Research aims & hypothesis A theory you’re looking to prove/disprove Carrying out a pilot study Small-scale trial run to check your questions etc Selecting a sample Who are you going to ask? How? Collecting the data Primary/secondary? Quantitative/qualitative? Analysing the data Interpreting/making sense of the data. Making graphs etc Evaluating Did you prove/disprove your hypothesis?

One reason is because a pilot study often shows up mistakes or problems. For example, by piloting a questionnaire, a sociologist can check whether the wording of questions is clear to the respondents. The sociologist can also check that the questionnaire doesn’t take too long to complete. If it takes up too much time or some questions are unclear, the sociologist can change the questionnaire before sending out lots of copies. Exam Practice Identify and explain one reason why sociologists use a pilot study in questionnaire-based research. (4 marks)

Picking the questions… Open questions: Respondents can give a full answer Closed questions: Respondents choose from a small selection of answers e.g. yes/no Graded responses: Respondents grade their answers e.g. strongly agree, agree, disagree etc This will depend on whether you are looking for quantitative or qualitative data

Qualitative or quantitative?

Quantitative (i.e. quantity – numbers, stats, graphs etc) Qualitative (i.e. quality – interviews, open questions etc) Social survey Questionnaires Structured interviews (closed questions) Some forms of observation (e.g. counting number of times boys are told off in a lesson) Government official statistics British Crime Survey Census Interviews (open questions, unstructured) Most forms of observation (participant/non-participant, covert/overt) Focus group Questionnaires (open questions) Historical documents Personal documents (letters, diaries etc) Mass Media (films, documentaries etc) Why might a sociologist use secondary data? Why might they prefer primary data?

Quantitative research – i.e. counting or measuring Questionnaires, Surveys etc AdvantagesDisadvantages Can compare data easily (graphs, statistics etc) Can reach large samples (e.g. postal questionnaires) Can be less time consuming (as don’t have to meet face to face) Accurate data as not led by observer Can carry out longitudinal studies i.e. over a long period of time Statistics don’t answer question of why? Closed questions may be misunderstood so may lack validity May limit responses Think of an example of research that would be suited to quantitative research.

Qualitative research – i.e. ethnographic (whole answer rather than just statistics) There are two main methods of qualitative research: 1)Observations 2)Interviews 3)(Questionnaires – open questions)

Observations Participant observation Non-participant observation Overt observation Covert observation Researcher takes part in activities in order to study it e.g. joins a gang. Researcher observes from a distance e.g. observing a lesson. Respondents know they are being observed. Respondents do not know they are being observed. n.b observations could also be quantitative if noting statistics

Observations Participant observation Non-participant observation Overt observation Covert observation Researcher takes part in activities in order to study it e.g. joins a gang. Researcher observes from a distance e.g. observing a lesson. Respondents know they are being observed. Respondents do not know they are being observed. n.b observations could also be quantitative if noting statistics

Each method of observation has its advantages and disadvantages… Research method AdvantageDisadvantage Participant observation Non-participant observation Overt observation Covert observation Observer can be a part of the process so can really see & experience what is going on Can be dangerous for observer Observer remains safeObserver cannot get a feel for what is happening Ethical“observer effect” means respondents may act differently Respondents act as they normally would Unethical

Qualitative research – i.e. observing or interviewing AdvantagesDisadvantages Can provide full picture of answers and reasons behind them (ethnographic) Can be used to inform answers to social issues Not easy to compare May be time consuming to analyse Observer may be biased when interpreting Think of an example of research that would be suited to qualitative research.

Which research method & why? 1)Criminal behaviour at football matches 2)Attitudes towards single mothers 3)GCSE subject choices of boys and girls 4)Which political parties are most popular The best research method is triangulation i.e. test the accuracy of one method by checking it against research from another method.

The process of research Research aims & hypothesis A theory you’re looking to prove/disprove Carrying out a pilot study Small-scale trial run to check your questions etc Selecting a sample Who are you going to ask? How? Collecting the data Primary/secondary? Quantitative/qualitative? Analysing the data Interpreting/making sense of the data. Making graphs etc Evaluating Did you prove/disprove your hypothesis?

Sampling – who are you going to ask? Random Stratified Systematic Quota Snowball Opportunistic Set quota controls e.g. age, sex, ethnicity etc. For example “I will only question teenage girls.” Use a sampling frame (list) and choose respondents using a pattern e.g. “I will question every 10 th person on this list.” Ask a small group of people and then get them to pass it on to another set of people e.g “I will ask 10 single mums and then get them to ask another 10 single mums.” Use a sampling frame (list) and choose respondents randomly so that everyone has an equal chance of being chosen e.g. “I will choose a random 10 people from this list.” Select the group based on the makeup of a certain strata e.g. “There are 60% girls and 40% boys in this school. Therefore, 60% of those I sample will be girls and 40% boys.” Questioning anyone available

Sampling – who are you going to ask? Random Stratified Systematic Quota Snowball Opportunistic Set quota controls e.g. age, sex, ethnicity etc. For example “I will only question teenage girls.” Use a sampling frame (list) and choose respondents using a pattern e.g. “I will question every 10 th person on this list.” Ask a small group of people and then get them to pass it on to another set of people e.g “I will ask 10 single mums and then get them to ask another 10 single mums.” Use a sampling frame (list) and choose respondents randomly so that everyone has an equal chance of being chosen e.g. “I will choose a random 10 people from this list.” Select the group based on the makeup of a certain strata e.g. “There are 60% girls and 40% boys in this school. Therefore, 60% of those I sample will be girls and 40% boys.” Questioning anyone available

Ethical issues Anonymity = can you ensure that no-one finds out who your respondents are? Confidentiality = can you ensure that private answers are kept private? Informed consent = do your respondents understand what they are consenting to?

Exam Questions – There will always be a set of questions asking you to plan a research project (e) As a sociologist, you have been asked to investigate attitudes towards citizenship education among students in a large comprehensive school. (i) Identify and explain one possible ethical issue that you might need to address while you are carrying out your research (4 marks) (ii) Identify one secondary source of information that you would use in your study and explain why you would use this source (4 marks) (iii) Identify one primary method of research that you would use in your study and explain why this method would be better than another primary method for collecting the data that you need (6 marks)