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Answer
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Hint
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Research Opportunity
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This is a practical issue. 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 the sociologist James Patrick (1973) the chance 'out of the blue' to spend time with his gang. With little time to prepare, Patrick had no option but to use participant observation. In other circumstances, the researcher might have been able to set up the research opportunity carefully beforehand and have plenty of time to select their methods.
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Secondary Data
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This is information that has been collected or created by someone else for their own purposes, but which the sociologist can then use. Sources of this include: official statistics and documents. Using this can be a quick and cheap way of doing research, since someone else has already produced the information. However, those who produce it may not be interested in the same questions as sociologists, and so secondary sources may not provide exactly the information that sociologists need. |
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Primary Data
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This is information collected by sociologists themselves for their own purposes. These purposes may be to obtain a first-hand 'picture' of a group or society, or to test a hypothesis (untested theory). Methods for gathering this include: social surveys, participant observation and experiments. A big advantage of using this is that sociologists may be able to gather precisely the information they need to test their hypotheses. However, doing so can often be costly and time consuming. |
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Requirements of Funding Bodies
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This is a practical issue. Research institutes, businesses and other organisations that provide the funding for research may require 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 see whether these targets are being achieved. This means the sociologist will have to use a method capable of producing such data, such as questionnaires or structured interviews.
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Qualitative Data
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This is information that gives a 'feel' for what something is like - for example, what it feels like to get good GCSE results, or for one's marriage to end in divorce. Evidence gathered by using participant observation aims to give us a sense of what it feels like to be a member of a particular group. Similarly, in-depth interviews that probe deeply into a person's views can give us an insight into what it is like to be in that person's 'shoes'. These methods can provide rich descriptions of people's feelings and experiences. Examples: participant observation, unstructured interviews, letters and newspaper articles. |
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Covert Research
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This is an ethical issue. This is when the researcher's identity and research purpose are hidden 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 these methods may be justified in certain circumstances. These may include gaining access to secretive, dangerous or powerful groups. |
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Confidentiality and Privacy
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This is an ethical issue. Researchers should keep the identity of research participants secret in order to help to prevent possible negative effects on them. Researchers should also respect their privacy. Personal information concerning research participants should be kept confidential.
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Vulnerable Groups
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This is an ethical issue. Special care should be taken where research participants are particularly vulnerable because of their age, disability, or physical or mental health. For example, when studying children 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.
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Subject Matter
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This is a practical issue. It may be much harder to study a particular group or subject by one method than by another. For example, it might prove difficult for a male sociologist to study an all-female group by means of participant observation, while written questionnaires may be useless for studying those who cannot read or write.
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Informed Consent
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This is an ethical issue. Research participants should be offered the right to refuse to be involved. The researcher should also tell them about all relevant aspects of the research so that they can make a fully informed decision. Consent should be obtained before research begins and, if the study is lengthy, again at intervals throughout the process.
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Personal Skills and Characteristics
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This is a practical issue. Each sociologist possesses different personal skills and this may affect their ability 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 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.
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Harm to Research Participants
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This is an ethical issue. Researchers need to be aware of the possible effects of their work on those they study. These could include police intervention, harm to employment prospects, social exclusion and psychological damage. Wherever possible, researchers should anticipate and prevent such harm.
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Quantitative Data
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This refers to information in a numerical form. Examples of this include official statistics on how many girls passed 5 or more GCSEs, the percentage of marriages ending in divorce or the number of people who are unemployed. Similarly, information collected by opinion polls and market research surveys often comes in the form of this - for example, on the proportion of the electorate intending to vote for a particular party or how many people take holidays abroad. Examples: questionnaires, structured interviews and official statistics. |
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Time and Money
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This is a practical issue. Different methods require different amounts of time and money and this may influence the sociologist's choice. For example, large-scale surveys may employ dozens of interviewers and data-inputting staff and cost a great deal of money. By contrast, a small-scale project involving a lone researcher using participant observation may be cheaper to carry out, but it can take several years to complete. The researcher's 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. |
