1. Research methods used in sociological
research

2.  Experiments
 Social surveys (incl questionnaires)
 Informal/unstructured interviews
 Observation (participant and non-participant)
 Use of secondary data

3. Validity
 If the findings of
research reflect the
reality they describe
then they are valid.
 I.E. Information
obtained is truthful
Reliability
 If the findings can be
checked by another
researcher and the
results obtained will
be the same
 Can someone else
doing the same
research, in the same
way, get the same
results?

4. Sociological research can produce two different
kinds of data:
 Quantitative -research based on numbers and
statistics, presented in bar charts, graphs, tables
etc ( easier and faster to analyse, may be
limited in scope)
 Qualitative – Descriptive research in form of
words, views explained in words, not
quantified (difficult to analyse, needs to be
coded)

6. Experiments
(p.28-9)  Usually start with a hypothesis
 Take place in controlled
environment (variables all the
same)
 Not common in sociology
(difficult with humans)
 ‘Positivists’ approve of this
method- ‘sociology should be more
scientific’
 Need to be objective-not let own
values influence outcome

7. Experiments
•Hawthorne Effect
-If subjects know they
are being studied their
behaviour is affected
and the outcome
changed – results
becoming invalid
•Based on research in
Hawthorne factory in
USA
•Ref: textbook p.28
Problems with experiments
 Hawthorne Effect
 Ethics – concealing real
purpose of research –is it
right to deceive?
 Artificiality-tests short term
effects, situations are not
natural, measure short term
changes
Ref: textbook p.29

8. Elementary school , California 1968

9. Questions
•Could this have
been done in a
laboratory?
•Why have a
‘control’ group?
•Which two
variables were
found to relate to
each other?
An example of a field experiment
 Researchers: Rosenthal and
Jacobson
 Place/time: San Francisco primary
school ,1960s
 Investigated effect of teacher’s
expectations on academic
performance
 Researchers said 20% to be ‘high-
attainers’ based on IQ test. (not
true)
 Children (randomly selected) did
improve performance dramatically
over 18 months

10. Self-completion
1. Posted to/ handed to
respondent
2. Low response rate (don’t
bother to reply)
3. Cheaper
4. Sometimes misunderstood
5. Can reach larger group
6. Said to be reliable because
can be carried out by other
researchers
7. May not be valid-pre-set
questions close off
possible answers/issues
Interview
1. Researcher reads out
questions, records
respondent’s answers
2. Good response rate
3. Expensive (pay staff)
4. Questions can be
explained if necessary
5. More time-consuming
6. May be more valid
because respondent can
give intended response

11. What is a pilot study?
 A small
scale, preliminary test
of the questionnaire
 Putting problems
right at an early stage
can save time, effort
and money later on
Aim:
 it helps researchers
spot problems early
on, before the research
is fully underway
 By testing out the
questionnaire out on a
few people first,
difficult questions can
be re-written or
removed

12. Open
 Allows respondent to
answer in own way
 Harder to make it
quantitative (to
produce as a statistic)
 More likely to reflect
what respondent
wanted to say (valid)
truthfully
Closed
 ‘Fixed-choice’ question:
two way or multiple
choice
 Can be scaled (strongly
agree, agree etc)
 Easy to analyse and
quantify (present as
graph etc)
 May limit respondent’s
response

13. Closed (fixed choice)questions:
 Q. Outline your reasons for choosing to study
sociology:
 I wanted to try something new
 It was recommended to me by a teacher
 I think it will help me with my future career
 I didn’t know what else to choose
Open-ended questions:
 Q. Why did you opt for sociology at IGCSE?
 ____________________________________

14.  Think carefully about what you want to find out
 Use questions respondent wants to and is able to answer
 Word the questions in an unprejudiced way
 Respect respondents right to refuse to answer
 Choose a sample carefully (the smaller group which is
representative of the larger group you want to
investigate)
 Carry out a pilot study first (a very small trial group)
 Use a combination of both open and closed questions
in your questionnaire

15. Unstructured
interviews
Seem like informal
conversations but
are guided by
skilled, trained
interviewers

16.  Widely used technique in social research
 Needs good interpersonal skills and careful
preparation
 Suitable for sensitive topics
 Can produce valid data although it is not easily
replicated (i.e. Less likely to be reliable)
 There are two types of interviews: structured
and unstructured ( for’ Structured Interviews’
see questionnaires p.30,31)

17. STRENGTHS
LIMITATIONS
 Higher response rate (than
self-completion
questionnaires)
 Respondents can answer
in own words (greater
validity)
 More personal issues may
be explored, candidate
may feel they can trust the
interviewer after rapport
had been developed
 Interviewer needs to be skilled
 Interviewer bias /effect* may
interfere with course of interview or
results
 Recording of content time-
consuming/difficult/difficult to
categorise data as much might be off
topic/difficult to generalise from
 Takes long time (interview itself)
and more costly than S.C.Q.
 Can’t be checked for reliability
 *Interview bias occurs when the
interviewer may lead, distort or present
data in a biased way. /Influences the
way the interviewee answers questions:
can include characteristics such as
ethnicity, age , gender etc.

18.  In real life, both structured and unstructured
interviews are not always two distinctly different
options. They vary in the degree to which they are one
or the other.
 Different research projects are suited to different
interview approaches
 If you need to count something..opt for the structured
interview
 If you want to find out why people behave in
particular way..opt for unstructured interviews-
 Focus group
 -popular.
Group discusses topics while interviewer
listens, makes notes (market research/political parties)

19. Write out and learn definitions for the
following:
 Interview bias
 Sample
 Pilot study
 Respondent
 Open-ended questions
 Self-completion questionnaire
 Response rate
 Hawthorne effect
 Ethical issue
 Hypothesis
 Generalisations