Research

What factors effect how sociologist choose what to study?

Social problems

Sociological problems

Funding

Social policies / personal interests

What is a social/sociological problem?

A social condition that causes problems/disruptions in society

What is a positivist?

They assume there is objective structure to reality and rigorous research will yield truth about reality

What is an interpretivist?

They don’t believe there is objective truth, to understand society we need to look at subjective experiences

What is meant if something is macro?

It takes a large-scale approach

What is meant if something is micro?

It takes a small-scale approach

What type of approach would a positivist take?

Macro

What type of approach would an interpretivist take?

Micro

What would be a positivist view on society?

Society constraints individuals therefore they examine the social structures causing constraint

What would be an interpretivist view on society?

Individuals and groups create society therefore it is necessary to understand their individual motivations

What type of data collecting method would a positivist use?

Quantitative

What is meant by a quantitative approach?

Statistical, concerned with measurement e.g. large-scale surveys, structured questionnaires/interviews, non-participant observation

What type of data collecting method would an interpretivist take?

Qualitative

What is meant by a qualitative approach?

Aimed at understanding meanings e.g. newspapers, personal documents, unstructured questionnaires/interviews, participant observation, small-scale studies of group interaction

What acronym is use to evaluate research?

Practical issues

Ethical issues

Reliability

Validity

Evidence

Representative (generalisable)

Theoretical approach

Ethical

Data