Social Research Methods

    Structured interviewing
    Which of the following might you include in an introductory letter to respondents?
    Before face-to-face interviewing, or telephone interviewing indeed, it is recommended that an introductory letter be sent to respondents. This will make the interview less of a ‘cold-call’ in general and may drive up the response rate for phone interviews. Why should a prospective respondent give you some of their valuable time, in any case? Many people are wary of sales-pitches disguised as “research” and will welcome an introduction explaining the nature of the research, your role, possible funders of the research, likely applications of the research. All respondents have the right to anonymity and confidentiality of personal data but it is seemly to remind them of those rights.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 207, Tips and skills
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Self-administered questionnaires
    Why is it generally better to present fixed choice answers in vertical rather than horizontal form?
    Naturally if you place the possible responses vertically they take up more lines on the page, not less. “Tips and skills” on page 227 demonstrates this quite clearly. On the other hand, setting out questions in this way may make the overall questionnaire appear longer than it really is, which, apart from wasting paper (in a postal survey) might discourage the respondent from completing the questionnaire. Closed-ended questions should not seem to offer more than one answer and if the vertical layout is used, this should be more obvious to the respondent.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 227
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Ethics and politics in social research
    Why is it “easier said than done” to ensure that the principle of informed consent is adhered to?
    Homan (1991:73, cited on page 129) suggests that it is “easier said than done” to follow the principle of informed consent because of a number of factors. It may not be practical and realistic to tell every participant in a large study all the background information about it. The researcher sometimes wants to withhold certain (minor) details about the procedure so that people will not be dissuaded from taking part, and doing so helps to avoid reactive effects, in that participants are less likely to make their behaviour conform to the researcher’s expectations.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 129
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Ethics and politics in social research
    Whose side did Becker suggest the social researcher should take?
    Becker (1967, cited in “Thinking deeply 6.2” on page 143) argued that some degree of partiality was inevitable in social research, as we cannot help but “take sides” with certain groups whom we are studying. He said that accusations of bias were less likely when the researcher simply reinforced a dominant ideology, and more likely when they took the side of the “underdog”, or less privileged groups in society. In spite of this, Becker thought that it was important for sociologists of deviance, in particular, to give a voice to these oppressed minorities, but he did maintain that we should avoid “sentimental”, one-sided and theoretically weak research. It should be possible, though, to present both sides’ views and even when one side only is shown, it can be done without displaying a particular sympathy
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 143
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Sampling in qualitative research
    Generic purposive sampling can be characterized as being:
    The very nature of purposive sampling makes it relatively free from fixed constraints but we use the terms “fixed” and “contingent” to refer to sampling on a once-off basis or conducted sequentially. Similarly, “a priori’ and “contingent” refer to the terms we use for criteria for sample selection – being determined in advance, or changing as the research progresses. Bryman uses the label of ‘generic purposive sampling’ to refer to sampling done purposively but not (necessarily) in order to generate theory. This means that generic purposive sampling remains ‘purposive’ but will mostly be fixed rather than sequential and the criteria will be set ‘a priori’ (at the outset) rather than being contingent on data gathered.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 412-414
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Planning a research project and formulating research questions
    How can you tell if your research questions are really good?
    It is important to formulate some clear research questions from the outset of your project, because completely open-ended research can lead to the collection of too much data and a lack of focus for the analysis. If you decide on some fairly specific research questions before designing your project, it will help to guide your literature search, data collection and analysis, as well as form a coherent argument throughout your dissertation. So if your questions are clear, researchable, connected to the literature and linked closely together, you have good questions. Easy!
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 83
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Writing up social research
    Why does Bryman praise the theory section in the Kelley and De Graaf (1997) article?
    In his general introduction (p664), Bryman argues in favour of outlining the research questions at an early stage. He says that a “totally open-ended research focus is risky” and can lead to a lack of focus. Later, he demonstrates the care with which Kelly and De Graaf (1997) articulate their hypotheses, derived from a reflection on existing ideas and research (p669-670). He concludes that the “research questions are spelled out in a very specific way” (p672), which helps to underpin the entire argument of the article.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 664,669-670,672
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Structured interviewing
    A show card is:
    Most questions in a structured interview have in-built prompts because they have been closed by limiting the possible responses. However, it is often possible to show a list of possibilities on a card, hence the expression ‘show card’. Instructions will be given to interviewers before a particular question to “show card number 2”, for example. The value of a show card is that it can be used a number of times throughout an interview, particularly for lists that are longer than usual, or that might be too hard to keep in memory. All information on a show card could have been contained within the interview schedule itself, so it is not a situation where we show the cards to some respondents but not to others.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 214
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Language in qualitative research
    In CA, the term “indexicality” means that:
    Ethnomethodology is a study of the methods people use to create social meaning. The position is one of asserting that there is no objective reality of social facts. Instead, these are constructed continuously in ways that are taken for granted by people. “Indexicality” means that we can only understand actions through a consideration of their contexts, so in CA it stands for the way in which spoken words are rendered meaningful by the context in which they are uttered and the shared background knowledge that the conversationalists have. “Reflexivity” means that we understand actions as building blocks of the social world and not just as predicates of it. In CA, this means that talk is not seen to be a direct representation of a pre-existing social world but rather as constitutive of that world.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 526
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    The nature of quantitative research
    The importance of measurement in quantitative research is that:
    Under the heading, “Why measure?” on page 152, the author offers three reasons for our concern with measurement in research. Firstly, it “allows us to delineate fine differences between” cases or people. General observation might be enough to detect extremes of opinion but measurement is needed for the more subtle variations that actually exist. Establishing a measure once allows us (or others) to use it again, later on, with the same people or with others, providing a consistent benchmark. Finally, by studying co-relationships, we have a basis for studying how closely concepts relate to each other. So, answer (d) is correct: “all of the above”!
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 152
    Author: rikazzz Comment