...Using examples discuss the strengths and weaknesses of interactionist research methods. Part B One method of research used by Interactionists is known as the un-structured interview. They are less strict than an ordinary interview and are similar to that of an everyday conversation. Although it will be based around a specific subject or topic it allows the interviewee to go deeper into the question and give a more in-depth opinion. Unstructured interviews are commonly, open-ended and flexible as they can go beyond the question. (reference) whilst having an specific topic for the overall direction of the interview’s structure the flexibleness of the style can enter areas which may not be or have seemed not to be important. Although unstructured interviews are helpful they do hold some weakness, firstly the process can be expensive and take a great amount of time for discussion with more than just one person to improve reliability. A great deal of time is also spent in collecting and analysing the answers given afterwards due to key words, progression of trends and so on. Furthermore it is known that some participants to put themselves in a favourable position to the reality. Lastly it can be difficult to separate bias from opinion if the interviewer becomes friendly with the interviewee. However in comparison to this, it allows the interviewer the opportunity to come across in a more friendly and open manner than an appearance which may make the interviewee feel tense...
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...Participant Observation is a method of data collection that takes advantage of the human ability to empathise. Unlike other research methods participant observation allows the sociologist to look at people in their natural environment. Participant observation is often associated with qualitative research, although the use of observation is not confined to researchers advocating any particular methodological approach. Sociologists such as Ned Polsky and Nigel Fielding have used participant observation to research different topics. This essay will explore the usefulness of the use of participant observation in sociological research, and its drawbacks. One of the most important decisions that participant observers have to make is how to approach the social group they wish to join. They can either choose to be a covert or an overt participant observer. A covert participant observer will declare their true identity and purpose whereas an overt participant observer will keep this hidden. Whilst some researchers choose to only be partially open, others strongly advocate being open from the start and argue that it is both morally and practically the best way to carry out participant observation. Ned Polsky suggests that it is morally correct to be truthful and that the research can easily be ruined if the covert participant observer is uncovered. However, leading overt research can sometimes have its drawbacks as the group may behave artificially so as to present themselves in a better...
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...Sociology A) A fixed list of categories based on characteristic/ behaviours, often ticked at regular time intervals by the observer. B) –Unlike non-participant observation, participant observation ensures that there is next to no room for the researcher to take a subjective opinion when recording observations, meaning they will probably be more accurate, and true to life. C) Informed consent is unlikely to have been achieved if no one knows that they are being observed, this is not good because they do not know what the observation entails, so it is impossible for them to give their consent. Hand in hand with this is deception, if the observation is being carried out without the participants knowing, then the observer is lying to them about who they are if it is participant observation, or have left them completely in the dark if it is non participant observation, either way the participant is not aware of what is actually happening, as a direct response to the observers’ actions. D) Overt observation is where the group being observed is fully aware that they are being studied; whereas in a covert observation the research group is unaware that they are being studied. One practical issue with using an overt observation is gaining access to particular groups to research. For example, if the group the observer wishes to study is involved in illegal activities or is some sort of gang, i.e. football hooligans/ Patrick gang study, then they may refuse to be studied if asked...
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...integrated with the contextual milieu or qualitative variances (Williamson, 2006). According to Nomalungelo (2012), the positivist viewpoint is aligned with traditional western-based science, limiting in its integration of research with other qualitative approaches, paradigms and world views. Conversely, constructivism, as described by Nomalungelo (2012), is knowledge produced from intersection of human interaction and social processes, resulting in dynamic development of qualitative knowledge as the viewer creates varying interpretations from a continuously shifting, contextual social reality. Therefore, the discovery of new meanings and realities are reached by various observers, so that no one perspective mediates the reality. In sociology, according to Tischler (2011), the objective is to engage the scientific method acquiring better knowledge and understanding of human behavior in social situations, thus looking for patterns and predictability of behavior among people and society. Regarding cultural anthropology, social scientists study...
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...PapersHome Page » Social Issues Assess the Strengths and Limitations of Participant Observation for the Study of Labelling in Schools. In: Social Issues Assess the Strengths and Limitations of Participant Observation for the Study of Labelling in Schools. The term labelling is used when someone attaches a person with a meaning or definition to them. For example, a teacher may use labelling to label students with titles such as bright or thick, trouble maker or hardworking. Participant observation is where a researcher takes part in the event or ordinary life of a group while observing it. There are two types of types of participant observation- covert and overt observation. Covert observation is when the study is carried out undercover, and the researcher’s real identity and purpose are kept a secret. Overt observation is the complete opposite where the researcher makes their true identity and purpose known to those being studied. The provided text looks into researching gender relations in school. Gender relations can cause many issues for the researcher, especially if the researcher is of a different gender. The item suggests that teachers working in the school may disguise their sexist attitudes because they have a professional duty to treat all pupils the same but they may find it hard to put up with this act when being observed over a long period of time. A strength of participant observation is that results are usually valid. Rather than getting a participant to fill out...
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...AQA Qualifications A-level Sociology SCLY2/Education with Research Methods; Health with Research Methods Report on the Examination (Specification 2190) June 2013 Version: 1 Further copies of this Report are available from aqa.org.uk Copyright © 2013 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. AQA retains the copyright on all its publications. However, registered schools/colleges for AQA are permitted to copy material from this booklet for their own internal use, with the following important exception: AQA cannot give permission to schools/colleges to photocopy any material that is acknowledged to a third party even for internal use within the centre. REPORT ON THE EXAMINATION – A-level Sociology – SCLY2 – June 2013 SCLY2 General Most students appeared to have sufficient time to answer all questions to the best of their ability and very few committed rubric errors such as answering questions from both sections of the paper. There were some outstandingly good answers from well-prepared students; more generally, students seem to have found the set questions accessible. However, it is worth reiterating two points made in previous examination series in relation to AO2 skills. Firstly, students continue to fall short when it comes to evaluating knowledge of sociological material. Secondly, some schools and colleges appear not to be focusing sufficiently on the importance of the skill of Application in answering the Methods in Context questions 05 and 14. The legibility of handwriting...
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...SOCIOLOGY – AQA – UNIT 4 - CRIME AND DEVIANCE The exam is split into 3 questions: • Q.1 is a pure methods section which contains two parts a) 12 marks and b) 21 marks. You should spend 45 minuets on this question. • Q.2 is a method in context question. Part a) is for 9 marks [could also be a 3 and 6 mark question] and part b) is for 15 marks. You should spend 30 minuets on this question. • Q.3 is a theories essay for 33 marks. THIS QUESTION IS SYNOPTIC! You should spend 45 minuets on this question. Below is a list of all the areas and studies you need to know for each section of the exam. Don’t worry if you don’t know all the studies, each college/school are likely to teach slightly different ones, just make sure you know about that amount for each section. Q.1 For the first two pure crime parts you need to know: Functionalist theories of crime and deviance Durkheim – Social control, social regulation including suicide Merton-Strain theory, blocked aspirations Cohen – Status frustration Cloward and Ohlin – Deviant subcultures New Right/Right Realism James Wilson – Strict law enforcement needed Wilson and Kelling – Broken windows, zero tolerance Murray – Cultural deprivation, single parents and ineffective, the underclass Erdos – Families without fathers Subcultural theories Cohen – Delinquent subcultures Cloward and Ohlin – Delinquency and opportunity, criminal, conflict and retreatist...
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...process of assigning a precise method for measuring a term being examined for use in a particular study Validity: the extent to which an instrument measures what it is intended to measure Reliability: likelihood of obtaining consistent results using the same measure Generalizability: the extent to which we complain our findings inform us about a group larger than the one we studied Reflectivity: analyzing and critically considering our own role in, and affect on, our research Feminists methodology: a set of systems or methods that treat w omen’s experience as legitimate empirical theoretical resources that promote social science for women, thinking public sociology but for a specific half of the public and that take into account the researcher as much as the overt subject matter Participant Observation: a qualitative research method that seeks to observe social actions and practice Survey: an order series of questions intended to elicit information from respondents Historical Methods: research that collects data from written reports newspaper articles, journals, transcripts, television, programs, diaries, artwork, and other artifacts that date to a prior time under study Comparative Research: a methodology by which two or more such as...
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...Student subcultures * Teacher-student relationships are not the only interactions of interest to sociologists. * Those between students and their peers are arguably as, if not more, important in constructing the sociology of the classroom. * Sociologists are interested in understanding the nature of anti-school subcultures – GROUPS OF STUDENTS WHO OPPOSE THE AUTHORITY OF THE SCHOOL. Research study: David Hargreaves (1973) * Based on interviews with boys in inner-city secondary-modern schools, Hargreaves argues anti-school subcultures are formed as a response to negative labelling, which allows individuals access to only the lowest status in the school. * As a result, students subvert the culture of the school to gain access to higher status – e.g. by attaching prestige to the disruption of lessons – therefore, gaining approval from their peers. * Not all students subcultures oppose the school in such dramatic ways, and Peter Woods (1981) argues that the division between pro- and anti-school subculture is simplistic. * Instead, he identifies 8 different PUPIL ADAPTATIONS or responses to the culture of the school. * These range from wholehearted subscription to the school’s norms and values through to open rebellion. * In between are a number of more subtle adaptations, but without subscribing to its goal and values – e.g. attending college only to obtain Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) payments. * Sociologists have also studies...
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... Introduction of Sociology SOC 111 Question: What is Sociology? Date of Submission: 7th Nov 2012 Mode of Submission: Coordinator Examiner: Mr.Olomi This paper proposes to show up, examine the concept of sociology and also to discuss the objective of sociology and its importance. The term Sociology as quoted by Geoffrey, et al, (1970 p.201) from the new dictionary of sociology state that, ‘sociology is the study of human social life, groups and societies’. It is amazing and compelling enterprise, having as its subject matter our own behavior as social being. The scope of sociology is very wide, ranging from the analysis of passing encounters between individual in the street up to the investigation of world-wide social processes. To support dictionary, sociology is the study of societies in a scientific way. Before the emergence of sociology, there was no systematic and scientific attempt to study human society with all its complexities. Sociology has made it possible to study society in a scientific manner. This scientific knowledge about human society is needed in order to achieve progress in various fields. Father more; Sociology is the study of the social lives of humans, groups and societies. It concerns itself with the social rules and processes that bind and separate people not only as individuals, but as members of associations, groups, and institutions Sociology is interested in our...
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...“Asses the view that interpretivist methods are the most appropiate methods for researching society” Bryman argued that Interpretive Sociology, also known as Phenomenological approaches, is set out to understand varieties of human behaviour by being able to emphatize with it. In order to do this, interpretive sociologist use interpretivist methods. This essay will asses wheter these methods are the most appropiate ones for researching society, focusing on Ethnographic research, Focus groups and Sampling. First of all, it is important to understand why do interpretive researchers prefer interpretivist methods, also known as qualitative methods. Qualitative methods are any type of methods that aim to undercover the meaning of social action rather than measuring it. Qualitative research allows to search for the meaning for participants of events, situations and actions. Interpretivist argue that a full understanding of society can only be presented by understanding how individuals build up their patterns of interactions. This type of research usually studies small scale groups in specific situations, which allows the researchers to preserve the individuality of each in their analyses. This provides them with a detailed understanding of the events, actions and meaning. In contrast to positivist research, qualitative researches dont necessarily have an idea of what they are looking for in a research, but instead, start with a particular area of interest and follow the lead...
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...conventions. Keywords: deviance, sanctions, homosexuality SEXUAL DEVIANCE I have expressed an interest in the topic of sexual deviance because it has a personal application in my life at the present time. I am seeking some additional information into the subject and wonder why it is so objectionable to just about all societies. The mass media is a sounding board for the mass audience and is the premier agent that reflects back to society what it is that we accept and what it is we reject. There are a number of social norms that govern sex concerning what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. We will discuss the three different theories of sociology along with mass media and its implications. SOCIAL RELEVANCE Sexual deviance is a violation of society’s sex norms, which is displayed as inappropiate behavior due to “beliefs, actions, or conditions,” (Goode, 2011). As a result of either his actions or beliefs the person becomes labeled and regarded as an undesirable or objectionable individual. Formal (police, courts) or informal (avoidance,...
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...Interpretivism was developed from the work of Weber, Dewey, Cooley, Thomas and Mead. Weber’s ‘Verstehen’ (empathetic understanding of human behaviour) sociology emphasised the meaning of social action as understood by the social actors involved. Mead (1934) emphasised the concept of self in understanding social action. Interpretivists tend to prefer analysing individuals and groups that play an active role in creating society. Therefore necessary to understand their individual meanings and motivations, involving a micro or small scale approach. Whereas Positivists think that society acts as a constraint on individuals and is therefore necessary to examine these social structural constraints, involving a macro or large scale approach. Positivist’s methods could be inappropriate for investigating society because they are associated with structural perspectives. Positivists see society as puppets on a string and say that we are controlled and constrained by social forces. Individuals represent behaviour at the institutional level of society and people experience structures as forces that push us to behave in ways that shape our individual behavioural choices. For example the rules of language structure the way we socially interact. Positivists often collect quantitative data in their work; Using methods such as structured observations, official statistics, questionnaires and social surveys. All these allow for the collection of factual...
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...Participant Observation At this stage, we choose one of the field word methods which is the Participant Observation and focus on examining it. We will explain what Participant Observation is about. For example, where does it originated from, what is the aim of applying this field work method, the roles of the researcher using Participant Observation as their field work method, the ways to conduct Participant Observation, the difficulties or concerns while applying this field work method may encounter and other information related. First of all, Participant Observation is the most common field work method that applied by researchers. It is also the most effective and efficient way to get all the information that the researchers want. By the term Participant Observation, it means that the researcher needs to immerse himself or herself in a new culture. He or she participates in people’s daily lives, speaks their language, observes their behavior and customs then records what he or she sees and hears. Though observation, anthropologists can collect data for meaningful analysis. Participant Observation is the field work that anthropologists conduct in their research sites. Most anthropological field work takes a year or more although applied anthropologists usually conduct their field work within a couple of months or less. Participant Observation is the field work that anthropologists conduct in their research sites. It is the most important strategy to collect...
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...AQA AS Sociology SCLY2: Education with Sociological Research Methods Student Guide Introduction According to sociologist Michael Rutter we spend 15000 hours in the education system. Consequently the schooling process has a large role in forming our personalities. For some, education also manages to act as a way of socialising people into the norms and values that are seen to be important for a particular society. For others it can be seen as a source of conflict particularly when issues surrounding gender, class and ethnicity are put under the sociologists, ‘microscope’. It also provides an excellent indicator of how political ideology affects social policy, with the changing of governments impacting on educational policy. Some questions sociologists are interested in about education are: * Why do some pupils achieve more than others? * What is the relationship between education and the economy? * What is the purpose of education? * Do pupil’s school experiences vary? Assessment The course will be assessed by examination only. The examination will consist of various short answer question and essay style questions. Date of Exam: June 2010 Duration: 2 hr The Unit 2 exam is worth 60% of your final AS level grade. There will be 90 marks available on the paper. You will answer one question on the chosen topic, one question on sociological research methods in context and one question on research methods. Assessment Objectives ...
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