AQA A-Level Sociology Theory and Methods overview quiz quiz

Reliability is whether a study gives a true, in-depth picture; validity is simply whether the study can be repeated to obtain the very same results again

They mean exactly the same thing, so the two terms can always be used interchangeably

Reliability applies only to unstructured interviews, while validity applies only to large-scale written surveys

Reliability is whether a study can be repeated with the same results; validity is whether it gives a true, in-depth picture

Quantitative data, because it is reliable and allows the search for cause-and-effect laws

Qualitative data, because rich personal accounts give the empathetic understanding of verstehen

Secondary data only, because it is cheap and quick to obtain without doing any fieldwork

No data at all, because positivists prefer purely abstract theorising over empirical research

Widely shared opinions that happen to be held by the majority of people in a society

External, measurable forces that exist outside individuals and constrain behaviour

Established truths about society that cannot be questioned or challenged by anyone

The subjective meanings and interpretations that people attach to their own actions

Measuring external social facts objectively, in the same detached way as a natural scientist

Predicting future human behaviour using fixed cause-and-effect laws drawn from statistics

Empathetic understanding of the meanings behind people's actions

Avoiding all direct contact with research subjects to protect the study's objectivity

Can be conclusively proved true beyond any possible doubt by gathering enough evidence

Is widely accepted by the majority of practising sociologists in the field at the time

Relies solely on quantitative data gathered from surveys, experiments and statistics

Could in principle be proved false (falsified) by evidence

It lacks a single shared paradigm and has competing perspectives

It relies far too heavily on quantitative data drawn from surveys and official statistics

It never makes any predictions at all about how people or societies will behave in future

It studies only deep unobservable social structures that can never be directly measured

Values should play absolutely no part at any single stage of the research process

Values are needed to choose the topic, but the research itself must be objective

Research should always openly take the side of the oppressed and committed groups

Objectivity is wholly impossible, so the researcher's own values should dominate throughout

Symbolic interactionism

Phenomenology

Functionalism

Postmodernism

A machine, whose separate parts each perform a fixed mechanical function for the whole

A biological organism, whose interdependent organs work together to keep the body alive

A competitive marketplace, where rational individuals exchange goods to maximise their gain

A theatre, where people manage impressions front stage and back stage

Authenticity

Reliability

Falsifiability

Operationalisation