Social Research Methods

    Content analysis
    Quantitative content analysis is an approach that aims to:
    Bryman (p285) explains that content analysis involves quantifying the content of a text or document according to predetermined categories, which is alleged to be a scientifically rigorous, ‘objective’ strategy. Because of the concentration on quantification of utterances in analysed texts, this is quite obviously a quantitative strategy, so answer (d) cannot be correct. It is not so much a research method, in the sense of data-gathering, as it is an approach to data analysis but this is handled so distinctively that most researchers refer to it as a method.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 285
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Research designs
    In an experimental design, the dependent variable is:
    When conducting an experiment, it is essential to manipulate one variable, (conventionally called “independent”) so that changes in another (the dependent variable) can be identified as indicating a causal relationship. There is nothing ambiguous about this process in the slightest, nor do personal values intrude. Recalling that many “independent variables” cannot be manipulated in an actual social context, experimentation may be the only way of getting close to an identification of a causal relationship between variables.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 44
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    The nature of qualitative research
    Why has qualitative research been seen to have an affinity with feminism?
    Following question nine, we could argue further that quantitative research is “incompatible with feminism” (Bryman, p403). Feminist researchers such as Mies (1993, cited on page 03) suggested that quantitative research either ignores women or buries them in statistics and Maynard (1998, cited on page 403) believed women’s voices are silenced because the predetermined categories of quantitative research emphasizes what is already known. By contrast, qualitative research allows women’s voices to be heard and empowers them by involving them in more egalitarian research relationships.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 403
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Ethics and politics in social research
    Which of the following ideas is not associated with the stance of situation ethics?
    One of the four main ethical stances that Bryman identifies (see Key concept 6.1 on page 123) is that of situation ethics. This is the belief that there are no absolute rules of ethical research and that each case must be examined individually. It may be that there was no other way of studying a particularly important phenomenon and so “the end justifies the means” and the researcher had “no choice” but to use this method. However, this approach of “principled relativism” is not the same as the belief that “anything goes”, for it still demands that we draw a line between ethical and unethical conduct and rule out some practices.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 123,124
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Using IBM SPSS statistics
    How is a variable name different from a variable label?
    Clicking the tab on the bottom of the Data Editor screen will switch the programme to the ‘Variable View’. You are limited to eight characters for the variable name, so there is a limit on how you can express the variable for the purposes of SPSS calculations. However, you can enter a longer and more meaningful name as a variable label. SPSS will use the label for all printed output. An example within the Gym example-dataset would be reasons. A variable label provides a more detailed description of what this means, and serves as a memo to oneself: for example: reasons for visiting gym.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 355
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Interviewing in qualitative research
    Which of the following is not a type of qualitative interview?
    The two main types of qualitative interview are the ‘unstructured’ and the ‘semi-structured’ interviews. ‘Qualitative interview’ as an expression actually covers a multitude, from interviews in ethnographic research to focus groups. The theme could be an entire life history or an oral history of specific events, apart from a more general exploration of concepts. All types of qualitative interview differ from structured interviews (such as surveys), which have a more rigidly defined format and are used more in quantitative research.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 468-469
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Mixed methods research: combining quantitative and qualitative research
    How might qualitative research help with the analysis of quantitative data?
    When a quantitative researcher is examining the relationship between two variables, they may find that this is obscured or moderated by an intervening variable. Qualitative research can help to identify such extraneous factors, or can be used simply to tell the researcher more about what the variables mean to the participants, which in turn helps them to understand the ambiguous findings.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 649
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Writing up social research
    What is the purpose of the conclusion in a research report?
    Almost all written accounts of social research end with a conclusion, either as a separate section or as part of the discussion section. The purpose is to remind the reader of the key findings of the research and relate these back to the original research questions or hypotheses. The conclusion serves as a bridge between this piece of work and anything that may follow. It points directions for further research, therefore, partly through reflecting on the limitations of the work in the light of hindsight.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 667-668, 671-672, 674, 678
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Breaking down the quantitative/qualitative divide
    How is it argued that qualitative research can have “empiricist overtones”?
    The natural science model uses an empiricist approach, meaning that valid knowledge is restricted to that perceived through the senses alone. Since much qualitative research stresses the need for direct observation and direct involvement with people, there is an implicit acceptance of empiricism in their approaches. A definition of grounded theory can read like “a manifesto for empiricism” (Bryman, p622). In this sense, much qualitative research seems to depend on the existence of a social world existing independently of individual actors. The problem of social meaning arises as a reaction to empiricism, leading to the concept of the social world in constant flux, constituting a process rather than phenomena.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 622
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Structured interviewing
    The acronym “CATI” stands for:
    Like many other acronyms, “CATI” could represent many phrases. In the context of structured interviewing in social research, CATI stands for “computer-assisted telephone interviewing”. Using this technique, the interviewer uses a computer with a pre-loaded questionnaire when making the call. Responses are then keyed in as appropriate, indicated by the question’s instructions and coding. This technique may save considerable amounts of time later, if a computer programme such as SPSS is used for data recording and analysis (see chapter 15), because data can be entered directly while phoning. “CAPI”, or “computer-assisted personal interviewing”, tries to bring the benefits of the computer to the face-to-face interview setting. It is easy to imagine extended use of small-scale computers as an aid to interviewing in the future.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 204
    Author: rikazzz Comment