Social Research Methods

    The nature of qualitative research
    Which of the following is not a component of Guba & Lincoln’s criterion, “trustworthiness”?
    The criterion of trustworthiness was proposed by Guba & Lincoln (1994, cited on page 384) as a qualitative research alternative to quantitative measures of validity and reliability. Its four components are credibility (a counterpart to internal validity), transferability (a counterpart to external validity), dependability (to parallel reliability) and confirmability (as a parallel for objectivity). Qualitative researchers do, indeed, use terms like reliability and validity but usually not in the ways implied by quantitative research methodologies, and this provokes criticism. Guba and Lincoln’s terms are nuanced to suggest the inherent distinction of qualitative research as concentrating on human values.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 384-386
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Planning a research project and formulating research questions
    What practical steps can you take before you actually start your research?
    Before writing your research proposal, when you are beginning to gather your thoughts, there are practical steps you can take. All of the answers shown for this question are correct, because they can stop you from moving too far down a particular track only to discover later, or be told later, that it simply isn’t feasible. You can have access to a tape recorder but do you really know how to use it, or change its batteries? Your institution is a subscriber to SPSS but can you use it? This is the time to learn about these things, not when trying to conduct an interview or after your questionnaires have been returned.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 86 and read the Checklist on pages 87, 88
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Sampling in quantitative research
    What effect does increasing the sample size have upon the sampling error?
    Sampling theory (see fig 8.8 on p182) tells us that sampling error is measured in terms of the ‘standard error of the mean’, which means, briefly, that there will always be a high probability of having a sampling error of a particular size. By comparing the standard error in our own research (in other words, the standard deviation in our own sample from the simple average) with the generally expected standard error, we can arrive at the actual sampling error of our own research. This may sound complicated but, like question 4, our concern should be with claiming for our research findings only what can be fairly and honestly applied to the entire population. We can increase the size of our sample to reduce the sampling error but, unless we research the entire population, we can never eliminate it. This is actually good news for researchers because a sample can actually be quite small and still yield good results, “plus or minus a certain %”.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 182-184
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Structured observation
    Which of the following is a problem associated with survey research?
    When respondents read a survey questionnaire, they may not always interpret particular questions correctly and they may, inadvertently, skip a key word in the question and so answer inappropriately. Usually this can be traced to a defect in the manner of phrasing the question but the point, here, is the damage has been done. “Tips and skills” on page 267 lists the most significant problems of survey research as a tool in studying behaviour, including the problem of omission. Objectivity and non-involvement (and hence little risk of “going native”) are claimed as advantages of survey methodologies.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 267
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Research designs
    Cross cultural studies are an example of:
    Bryman prefers “to reserve the term ‘case study’ for those instances where the ‘case’ is the focus of interest in its own right.” The case study design is usually focused on those aspects which could only have happened at that time, in that place, for whatever reason. The comparative design typically studies two contrasting cases, so that a better understanding of social phenomena can be formed. Clearly, cross-cultural studies are a good example, therefore, of comparative design in action. If you gave answer (a) you were moving in the right direction but you need more than one case; if you gave answer (c) you should go back to question 2 and page 41; answer (d) is also incorrect for reasons to be found in question 9.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 64-69
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    The nature and process of social research
    When planning to do social research, it is better to:
    The importance of theory in social research is to help us to understand more clearly how we see the world. The more we think about this the more we realize how impractical it is to ignore ‘theory’. Having an open mind is essential when it comes to analysing our data, but which data? Familiarity with the literature on the topic is important because it helps us to figure out our research questions and consequently, the kind of data we need. Doing a pilot study is highly recommended once we have established a research plan, not before.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 4
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Writing up social research
    Which of the following is not normally included in a written account of qualitative research?
    The stages of a report of a piece of qualitative research are broadly similar to those of a quantitative report, but there are some noticeable differences. In particular, the presentation and discussion of the results tend to be more interwoven, and the author will discuss the findings in relation to more open-ended research questions rather than hypotheses. Much qualitative research is inductive, meaning hypotheses are more likely to emerge as conclusions than to have been set in advance for testing.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 672-674
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Documents as sources of data
    How does qualitative content analysis differ from quantitative content analysis?
    Whereas quantitative content analysis usually involves counting the number of times a particular word or theme appears in a text, qualitative analysis adheres more to the principles of grounded theory: conceptual ideas emerge from the data, so that the researcher is constantly involved in revising themes or categories emerging from the document analysis. It can be argued that qualitative content analysis allows the researcher to “discover” new ways of interpreting the text.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 563
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Using IBM SPSS statistics
    When cross-tabulating two variables, it is conventional to:
    It is conventional to represent an inferred relationship between two variables in this way because it makes tables easier to read. Typically this is done when you feel you can make a claim of causality, so that a change in the independent variable produces a change in the dependent variable. Similarly, when producing a bar chart or scatter-plot, you should assign the independent variable to the x axis (to produce columns) and the dependent variable to the y axis (to produce horizontal readings).
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 367,
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Ethnography and participant observation
    What is meant by the term “going native”?
    Key concept 19.3 on page 439 discusses the risks faced by ethnographers, not just in participant-observer roles, as they become more and more familiar with, and sympathetic to, the people they are observing. The danger is that the researcher can forget the original purpose of the research and the data gathered becomes increasingly difficult to manage and analyse. It does not happen automatically, nor is it predicated on a particular ethnographer role.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 439
    Author: rikazzz Comment