1. 5 basics before we get started
Sociology will be a new subject to you all so it will take time to get used it and all the subject specific key terms, please never be afraid to ask what something means or to check if your understanding is right, asking questions is what makes great sociologists.
There is a lot of content to cover so attending all lessons on time, and completing all homework is a must if we're going to fit it all it.
You will have 2 x1hr 30 exams which will have a mixture between short and long answer questions ranging from marks.
Sociology AS is split into three units, research methods, Education with methods in context and families and households.
We are going to start with the research methods and education units. Your research methods lessons will be on Wednesday’s and your Education unit lessons will be on Thursday and Friday. Please always label your work and file it in the correct place so that you don’t get confused. This website: is where you can find each week’s lesson slides.

2. Get you thinking: Why were the percentages so different
Get you thinking: Why were the percentages so different? & why would thinking about this help researchers to design their studies?
Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine recently sent txt messages to 1000 people with a link to an online provider of DIY STI testing kits. Those who signed up were posted a kit with instructions. After mailing them back, they received their results within seven days.
The study found that 50% of people who received this txt message completed the DIY test. In comparison, when 1000 other people were sent a text message with details of their local sexual health clinics, only 27% went for a test.
Source New Scientist March 2018

3. Something more sociology related…
Why might the notes student passed in class be more useful to us when researching attitudes to education than the teachers mark book of test scores underneath?
Build

4. Think about the reasons…
In a large scale survey sent out to 20,000 American homes over 40% of respondents said they went to church every week, researchers realised that this would mean most churches would be packed with people, with every seat taken when they visited them this was the reality.
What does this tell us about conducting research?
Develop Understanding

5. Build Natural/ Field Experiments lab Experiments Large Scale Surveys
Small Scale Surveys (Case Studies)
Comparative Method
Questionnaires
Unstructured (Informal) Interviews
Structured (Formal) Interviews
Analysing Diaries
Non-Participant Observations
Participant Observations
Newspaper Articles
Auto/ Biographies
Life Histories
Analysing Official Statistics
Documentaries (TV/ Radio)
Build

6. Things that sociologists have discovered….
How could sociologists have found these out?
By the end of year one girls are ahead of boys by between7 and 17% in all 7 learning areas
Girls priorities in life changed from the 1970’s to the 1990’s it used to be all about marriage and children, by the 1990’s girls wanted educational success and career far more.
Working class boys are more likely to be laughed at for working hard in school by their mates than middle class boys or girls from any social-economic background.
Childhood is a modern concept, it didn’t exist in the middle ages.
The age of women when they have children has increased but the number of children they have has decreased.
Being labelled as a ‘failure’ by teachers and the education has different impacts on different people.
Racism exists within the criminal justice system.
The less a country spends on welfare (i.e. looking after its most vulnerable) the more people it sends to prison

7. Primary and secondary data
Primary data
Information that was not present before the research began  generated by the researcher.
Look at your list from earlier, which methods do you think would be sources of primary data?
Secondary data
Refers to data which already exists.
Look at your list from earlier, which methods do you think would be sources of secondary data?

8. Quantitative and qualitative data
Quantitative data
Data in the form of numbers e.g. Generation sensible statistics This is particularly useful for measuring the strength of relationships between various factors.
The examples above would be useful for measuring relationships between age and deviant behaviours, and to see patterns over time.
But what won’t the numbers be able to tell us?
Qualitative data
Refers to all data not in the form of numbers – includes descriptive data from observations, quotes from interviews, written sources, pictures, films and recorded music.
This type of data can often provide a richer and more in-depth picture of social life than the numbers provided by quantitative data.
What potential problems might there be with carrying out research which collects qualitative data?

9. Natural/ Field Experiments lab Experiments
Qualitative Data
Quantitative Data
Natural/ Field Experiments
lab Experiments
Comparative Method
Small Scale Surveys (Case Studies)
Primary Data Collection:
Large Scale Surveys
Questionnaires (Closed Ended/ Pre-Coded Qs)
Questionnaires (Open-Ended Qs)
Unstructured (Informal) Interviews
Structured (Formal) Interviews
Participant Observations
Non-Participant Observations
Diaries
Official Statistics
Secondary Data Collection:
Newspaper Articles
Auto/ Biographies
Life Histories
Documentaries (TV/ Radio)

10. So why does all this matter?
When we are considering the theories sociologists develop or the discoveries they uncover, and the conclusions they draw we need to think carefully about how they sociologist has found this out.
Have they used a research method that means their findings can be applied to the wider population? Would the same results be found if the research was carried out with a different group of people or in a different place?
Be able to accurately analyse the research methodology of sociologists means that you will have a better understanding of the things they have found out and you will have whole section on research methods in your paper 1 so we have to get to grips with it!
Develop Understanding

11. Factors influencing choice of method
Practical Issues:
Different methods use up various amounts of resources e.g. the researcher might need to employ people to carry out surveys & input data which is expensive. Participant Observations are cheap but take up lots of time.
Time & Money:
Governments, Businesses, Universities etc may require different types of data & therefore the researcher has limited choices e.g. Governments like to collect Statistical Data to inform Social policy.
Funding Bodies:
Each researcher is different & therefore may be limited in their choices of methods e.g. if hey need to blend into a group, / have good obs. Skills / patience / Memory etc.
Personal Skills & Characteristics:
If the topic requires opinions, feelings, thoughts on just plain facts and figures will impact on choice of method. Also whether or not the subject is sensitive or difficult to study needs considering.
Subject Matter:
Research Opportunity:
In some cases research opportunities may occur unexpectedly & therefore effects the researchers time & planning.
Factors influencing choice of method

12. Factors influencing choice of methods
Ethical Issues:
…What are Ethics?...
Participants should be able to refuse being researched. The researcher should be open & honest about the research so that informed consent can be given by the participant. They should be able to opt out of the research if they so wish.
Consent:
All participant identities should be kept confidential to prevent any negative effects. Participants have the right to refuse information.
Confidentiality & Privacy:
No psychological or physical harm should come to the participants. Also, participants should not be placed in any illegal or immoral situations.
Danger & Harm:
Extra care & attention should be give to any group/ participants that are deemed as vulnerable in terms if age, gender, disability, ethnicity, physical or mental health.
Vulnerable Groups:
This is when the researcher goes ‘Under Cover’ & keeps their identity as a researcher hidden from the participants. This obviously creates many ethical problems as deceit, lying, lack of consent etc.
Covert Research:
Factors influencing choice of methods

13. Factors influencing choice of methods
Theoretical Issues:
These reflect how the researcher sees society as working e.g. can behaviour be predicted? Are individuals more important than overall structure of society?
(Replicability) A reliable method is one that, when repeated by another researcher, the same results will be obtained.
Reliability:
This applies to Quantitative Methods like Experiments.
(Truthfulness) A valid method is one that produces a true, full picture of what is being studied. It is not Repeatable as different results could occur every time the method is implemented.
Validity:
This applies to Qualitative Methods like Participant Observations.
Representativeness:
Whether or not the participants are a good cross-section of the group the researcher is interested in. If the participant ‘Sample’ is a good cross-section then the information obtained from them can be ‘Generalised’ to the bigger group.
Generally speaking, the bigger the sample, the more Representative it becomes.
Methodological Perspective:
There are 2 main groups of sociologists who have conflicting views on how society works. These are known as POSITIVISTS & INTERPRETIVISTS (we’ll go into more detail later)
Factors influencing choice of methods

14. Validity or reliability?
Look at both statements, which is an example of reliability and which is an example of validity?
A pupil from a low income household explained to me in detail about all the experiences in school that she’d missed out on due to the cost, how other pupils teased her for not having the best shoes and how having to drop her little brother into school everyday so that her mum could get to her second job meant that she was later for school each day. After the discussion I felt I really knew what being in poverty at school is like.
Council tax bands across the city were investigated using a simple questionnaire where respondents ticked which payment bracket they fell into. The council gave these out at the start of tax year and again in the following April when the tax year ended, results were the same even though different people handed out each set of questionnaires.

15. Homework For next Wednesday’s lesson
Read and make notes on samples and sampling page 96-98