 The key concept when looking at research methods is to determine the ways in which sociologist go about developing theories.  A theory is a general explanation of how and why social life follows the patterns it does.  A good theory in sociology is one that explains patterns using evidence.

 Quantitive and qualitative methods of research including their strengths and limitations as well as the various research designs,  Sources of data which includes questionnaires, interviews, participant and non participant observations, as well as experiments, documents, official statistics which you will evaluate in order to determine their strengths and limitations.

 The distinction between primary and secondary data, between quantitative and qualitative data.  The relationship between positivism, interpretivism and sociological methods; the nature of “social facts”,  The theoretical, practical and ethical consideration influencing of topic, choice of methods and the conduct of research.

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 On your table group complete page one of your introduction to research methods workbook.  Challenge yourself: How did you come to your conclusions ?

 Primary Data: information collected by sociologist themselves for their own purpose, in order to get a 1 st hand picture of a group, society or even to test a hypothesis.  Hypothesis: an untested theory

 Social surveys,  Participant observations,  Experiments

 Costly  Time consumin g  Enables sociologist to gather exactly the information that they seek.

 Secondary data: information that has been collected or created by someone else for their own purpose but which another sociologist can use. 1. Official statistics, 2. Documents

 Conflicting interest between those using it,  May not necessarily produce the information you might be after,  Quick,  Cheap,

 Complete page 2 of your introduction to research method workbook.

 Quantitative data: refers to data in numerical form (official statistics on GCSEs result),  Qualitative data: refers to data which gives researchers a feel for what something is like (giving someone a idea of what it would feel like to be part of a certain group)  Note the definition on your RM workbook

 Different methods and sources of data have different strengths and weaknesses and we need to be able to evaluate these when selecting which to use.  Key question: How do we select the right research method?

Issues in terms of practicality when looking at the research methods.

1. Time and Money, 2. Requirements of funding bodies, 3. Personal skills and characteristics 4. Subject matter, 5. Research opportunity

Issues of right and wrong which are supported through ethical code set by various agencies

 Informed consent,  Confidentiality,  Privacy,  Effects in research participants,  Vulnerable groups,  Covert research,

Questions about what society is like and whether our research can obtain true and realistic picture of society

 Validity,  Reliability,  Representativeness,  Methodological perspective

 Sociologist choice of method is also influenced by their perspectives (their view of what society is like and how we should study it)  Two contrasting choice of methods: 1. Positivism, 2. Interpretivism

 Prefer quantitative data,  Seek to discover patterns of behaviour,  Sees sociology as a science thus it can be studied scientifically  Prefer qualitative data,  Seek to understand social actors meaning,  Rejects the view that sociology is a science

Sociologist before choosing a research methods to use, sociologist must decide on a topic.

 Theoretical perspectives,  Society’s values,  Funding bodies,  Practical factors