Notes on Sociology

Choosing a investigate method Webb, R. , Westergaard, H. , Trobe, K. , Steel, L. , (2008) AS Level Sociology, Bren bothod Napier Press p. 162 Sociologists use a clutch of different enquiry methods and sources of knowledge to collect information and test their theories. In this Topic, we shall identify the main methods and sources used in Sociology. We shall to a fault look at the different types of data that these methods produce. We shall also examine the factors that ascertain sociologists woof of what bailiwick they query, and at some of the main practical, theoretical and honorable (moral) factors that affect their excerption of which methods to employ.Types of data P. 163 Sociologists use a wide variety of different methods and sources to run data (information or evidence) ab proscribed society. To make sense of this variety, we receive the axe crystalise them into Primary and secondary sources of data. numerical and qualitative data. Primary and secondary sou rces of data Primary data is information collected by sociologists themselves for their own purposes. These purposes whitethorn be to detect a first hand picture of a base or society, or to test a hypothesis (an untried theory).Methods for gathering primary data imply Social surveys these involve petition pile questions in a written questionnaire or an interview. Participant reflection the sociologist joins in with the activities of the concourse he or she is analyzeing. Experiments sociologists r bely use laboratory experiments, but they some sequences use field experiments and the comparative method. A oversized advantage of utilize primary data is that sociologists whitethorn be fit to gather precisely the information they need to test their hypotheses.However, doing so chiffonier often be costly and time consuming. Secondary data is information that has been collected by someone else for their own purposes, but which the sociologist can hence use. Sources of s econdary data include Official statistics produced by governing body on a wide swerve of issues, much(prenominal) as crime, disjoin, health and unemployment, as comfortably as some other statistics produced by charities, businesses, churches and other organisations. Documents such(prenominal)(prenominal) as letters, diaries, photographs, official (government) reports, novels, newspapers and television broadcasts.Using secondary data can be a quick and cheap way of doing look into, since someone else has already produced the information. However, those who produce it whitethorn non be interested in the same questions as sociologists, and so secondary sources whitethorn not provide exactly the information that sociologists need. Quantitative and qualitative data Quantitative data refers to information in a numerical form. Examples of duodecimal data include official statistics on how many a(prenominal) an(prenominal) girls passed five or to a greater extent GCSEs or on th e percentage of marriages destruction in divorce.Similarly, information collected by opinion polls and grocery store research surveys often comes in the form of valued data for example, on the proportion of the electorate intending to vote for a particular party or how many people exact holidays abroad. Qualitative data, by contrast gives a smelling for what something is interchangeable for example, what it feels like to get good GCSE results, or for ones marriage to end in divorce. Evidence gathered by employ instrumentalist utterance aims to give us a sense of what it feels like to be in that persons shoes.These methods can provide sizeable descriptions of these peoples feelings and experiences. Factors influencing prime(prenominal) of method P. 164 Given the wide range of methods available, how do we select the right one for our research? Different methods and sources of data have different strengths and limitations and we need to be able to evaluate these when selec ting which to use. We can look at these strengths and limitations in terms of a number of practical, ethical (moral) and theoretical issues. Practical issues Different methods present different practical problems. These include Time and cashDifferent methods require different amounts of time and money and this may baffle the sociologists choice. For example, large scale surveys may employ dozens of interviewers and data inputting cater and cost a great deal of money. By contrast, a down(p) scale project involving a lone researcher exploitation thespian observation may be cheaper to carry out, but it can take back several years to complete. The researchers access to resources can be a major factor in determining which methods they employ. A well known professor will probably have access to more research funds than a young student, for example.Requirements of backing bodies Research institutes, businesses and other organisations that provide the funding for research may re quire the results to be in a particular form. For example, a government department funding research into educational achievement may have targets for pass rates and so require quantitative data to strike whether these targets are being achieved. This agency the sociologist will have to use a method capable of producing such data, such as questionnaires or structured interviews. Personal skills and characteristicsEach sociologist possesses different individualised skills, and this may affect their superpower to use different methods. For example, participant observation usually requires the ability to mix easily with others as well as good powers of observation and recall, while in depth interviews call for an ability to establish a rapport (relationship of empathy and trust) with the interviewee. Not all sociologists have these qualities and so some may have difficulty using these methods. Subject yield It may be much harder to field of force a particular group or subject by one method than by some other.For example, it readiness prove difficult for a male sociologist to get wind an all female group by believes of participant observation, while written questionnaires may be useless for studying those who cannot read. Research fortune Sometimes the opportunity to carry out research occurs unexpectedly and this means that it may not be possible to use unstructured methods such as questionnaires, which take longer to prepare. For example, a Glasgow gang leader offered James Patrick (1973) the ascertain out of the blue to spend time with his gang.With little time to prepare, Patrick had no cream but to use participant observation. In other circumstances, the researcher may have been able to set up the research opportunity guardedly beforehand and have plenty of time to select their methods. P. 165 good issues Ethics refers to moral issues of right and wrong. Methods that sociologists use to study people may raise a range of ethical questions. The British Sociological knowledge sets out guidelines for the conduct of research, including the follo surviveg principles Informed applyResearch participants (the people being studied) should be offered the right to refuse. The researcher should also tell them about all germane(predicate) aspects of the research so that they can make a fully conscious decision. Consent should be obtained before research begins, and if the study is lengthy, again at intervals byout the process. Confidentiality and privacy Researchers should keep the identity of research participants secret in order to help to prevent possible negative make on them. Researchers should also respect the privacy of research participants.Personal information concerning research participants should be kept confidential. Effects on research participants Researchers need to be aware of the possible effects of their work on those they study. These could include police intervention, vilify to employment prospects, amic able exclusion and psychological damage. Wherever possible, researchers should try to betoken and prevent such harmful effects. Vulnerable groups Special care should be taken where research participants are particularly vulnerable because of their age, disability, or somatogenetic or mental health.For example, when studying pip-squeakren in schools, researchers should have regard for issues of child protection. They should obtain the consent of both the child and the parent, and they should provide information in language that the child can understand. Covert research Covert research is when the researchers identity and research purpose are cabalistic from the people being studied. This can create serious ethical problems, such as deceiving or lying to people in order to win their trust or obtain information. Clearly, it is impossible to gain informed consent while at the same time keeping the research or its purpose secret.However, some sociologists argue that the use of covert methods may be justified in certain circumstances. These may include gaining access to areas of fond life closed to investigation by secretive, deviant or unchewable groups. Theoretical issues This refers to questions about what we think society is like and whether we can obtain an accurate, truthful picture of it. Our views on these issues will affect the kinds of methods we favour using. hardness A valid method is one that produces a true or genuine picture of what something is really like.It allows the researcher to get closer to the truth. numerous sociologists argue that qualitative methods such as participant observation give us a more valid or truthful figure of what it is like to be a member of a group than quantitative methods such as questionnaires can. This is because participant observation can give us a deeper insight through first hand experience. Reliability another(prenominal) word for reliability is replicability. A replica is an exact copy of something, so a legitimate method is one which, when resorted by another researcher, gives the same results.For example, in Physics or Chemistry, different researchers can repeat the same experiment and obtain the same results every time. In Sociology, quantitative methods such as written questionnaires tend to produce more reliable results than qualitative methods such as unstructured interviews. p. 166 Representativeness Representativeness refers to whether or not the people we study are a typical cross section of the group we are interested in. Imagine, for example, that we regard to know about the effects of divorce on children.It would take a great deal of time and money to study every child of divorced parents, and we might only be able to afford to study a sample of, say, 100 such children. However, if we ensure that our sample is articulation or typical of the wider population, we can then(prenominal) use our findings to make generalisations about all children of divorced parents, wit hout actually having to study all of them. Large scale quantitative surveys that use sophisticated sample distribution techniques to select their sample are more plausibly to produce representative data.Methodological aspect Sociologists choice of method is also influenced by their methodological place their view of what society is like and how we should study it. There are two contrasting spots on the choice of methods positivism and interpretivism. Positivists choose quantitative data, want to secure patterns of behaviour, see Sociology as a science. Interpretivists select qualitative data, attempt to understand social actors contents, reject the view that Sociology is a science.Why do positivists and Interpretivists pick different types of data? Positivists and Interpretivists collect and use different types of data positivists prefer quantitative data, while Interpretivists prefer qualitative. This is because they make different assumptions about the record of soc iety and how we should study it. Positivists Assume that society has an objective factual man it exists out there, just like the physical world. Society exerts an influence over its members, systematically shaping their behaviour patterns. Positivist research uses quantitative data to uncover and measure these patterns of behaviour. By analysing quantitative data, positivists seek to discover the objective scientific laws of cause and effect that place behaviour. Positivists thus prefer questionnaires, structured interviews, experiments and official statistics. These produce data that is both reliable and representative. Interpretivists rid of the idea of an objective social reality we construct reality through the meanings we give to situations, not the product of external forces. Our actions are based on the meanings we give to situations, not the product of external forces. Interpretivist research uses qualitative data to uncover and describe the social actors universe of meaning. By interpreting qualitative data, Interpretivists seek to gain a intrinsic understanding of actors meanings and life worlds. Interpretivists thus prefer participant observation, unstructured interviews, and personalised documents. These produce data that is valid. Functionalists and Marxists often take a positivist approach.They see society as a large scale (macro level) structure that shapes our behaviour. By contrast, interactionists favour an interpretivist approach. They take a micro level view of society, focalisation on small scale, face to face interactions. The sociologists theoretical perspective is usually the most important factor when choosing which method to use. Whenever possible, they will want to obtain the type of data quantitative or qualitative that their perspective views as most appropriate.However, practical and ethical factors usually limit the choice of method. Just because a sociologist prefers a particular kind of data, doesnt mean that they can simply go ahead and gather it. Time, resources, access, consent, privacy and so on are all constraints on their choice. Finally, even sheer chance may determine the method used. For example, David Tuckett (2001) describes how one postgraduate Sociology student bring himself taken ill with tuberculosis and confined to a hospital ward, so he used this as an opportunity to conduct a participant observation study.Choice of radical p. 167. Before choosing which method to use, sociologists need to decide what outcome they wish to study. Several factors influence their choice Theoretical perspective The sociologists theoretical perspective is a major influence upon their choice of research topic. For example, a New Right researcher may study the effects of public assistance benefits on the growth of lone parent families, since the idea of welfare dependency is central to their standpoint.By contrast, a feminist researcher is more likely to choose to study domestic violen ce, as opposition to gender burdensomeness lies at the heart of Feminist theory. Societys values Sociologists themselves are part of the society they study and thus are influenced by its values. As these values change, so does the focus of research. The rise of Feminism in the sixties and 1970s led to a focus on gender discrimination and the environmentalist concerns of the 21st century have generated interest in verdure crimes such as serious pollution or the unlawful maneuver of nuclear material.Funding bodies Most research requires funding from an external body. These bodies include government agencies, charitable organisations and businesses. As the funding body is paying for the research, it will determine the topic to be investigated. For example, one of the major social concerns of New labour governments after 1997 was the social exclusion of some disadvantaged groups. As a result, government departments were keen to fund research projects to investigate the causes and e ffects of social exclusion. Practical factorsPractical factors, such as the inaccessibility of certain situations to the researcher, may also restrict what topic they are able to study. For example, although sociologists may wish to study the ways in which global corporations make their decisions, this may not be possible because these are made in secrecy. Summary Sociologists test their theories using quantitative or qualitative data. Sociologists obtain primary data themselves, using methods including questionnaires, interviews and observation. Secondary data are produced by others but used by sociologists.In choosing a method, sociologists take several issues into account Practical issues include time and funding. Ethical issues include whether the researcher deceives the subjects. Theoretical issues include validity (does the method give a truthful picture? ), reliability (can it be replicated? ) and representativeness (does it study a typical cross section? ). Perspective a lso affects choice of method. Positivists prefer quantitative data interpretivists favour qualitative data. Choice of topic is also affected by societys values and funding bodies.