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Factors influencing choice of Methods

Factors influencing choice of Methods. Practical issues. Time and money- large scale surveys may employ dozens of interviewers and cost a great deal of money. By contrast, a small scale project involving a lone researcher may take several years to complete

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Factors influencing choice of Methods

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  1. Factors influencing choice of Methods

  2. Practical issues • Time and money- large scale surveys may employ dozens of interviewers and cost a great deal of money. By contrast, a small scale project involving a lone researcher may take several years to complete • Requirements of funding bodies- Research institutes may require results to be in a particular form • Personal skills- Each sociologist has different personal skills and this may affect their ability to use different methods

  3. More practical issues • Subject matter- It may be harder to study a particular group or subject by one method than by another • Research opportunity- Sometimes the opportunity to carry out research occurs unexpectedly and this means that it may not be possible to use methods that take longer to prepare

  4. Ethical issues • Informed consent- Consent should be obtained by the researcher • Confidentiality- Researchers should keep the identity of research participants secret in order to help to prevent possible negative effects on them • Effects on research participants- Researchers should try to anticipate and prevent possible harmful effects on their subjects

  5. More ethical issues • Vulnerable groups- Special care should be taken where research participants are vulnerable because of their age, disability or physical or mental health • Covert research- Some sociologists argue that the use of covert methods may be justified in certain circumstances . These may include gaining access to areas of social life closed to investigation by secretive, deviant or powerful groups

  6. Theoretical issues • Validity- 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 • Reliability- A reliable method is one which when repeated by another researcher , gives the same results • Methodological perspective- Sociologists are influenced by their view of what society is like and how we should study it. There are two contrasting perspectives on the choice of methods: Positivism and Interpretivism

  7. Factors influencing choice of topic

  8. Theoretical perspective- A sociologists theoretical perspective is a major influence on their choice of topic • Society’s values- focus of research changes over time e.g. 60s and 70s focus on gender inequality- environmentalist concerns in 21st century • Funding bodies- As the funding body is paying for the research, it will determine the topic to be investigated • Practical factors-The inaccessibility of certain situations to the researcher may also restrict what topic they are able to study

  9. Task • Using p-g 164/165 explain how ‘practical’ and ‘ethical’ factors influence a researchers choice of method • Using p-g 165 explain the difference between ‘Validity’ and ‘Reliability’ • Using p-g 166 copy Box 20-why do positivists and interpretivists prefer different types of data • Using p-g 167 explain what factors influence a researchers choice of topic

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