Eduqas A-Level Sociology Component 2 methods of sociological enquiry overview quiz quiz

Quantitative methods, because society is made of measurable social facts

Qualitative methods, in order to uncover the subjective meanings behind people's actions

Only personal documents, because they are cheap to gather and easy to analyse quickly

Covert participant observation, because it gives the researcher high levels of validity

A statistical correlation between two measurable social variables in a dataset

Empathetic understanding of the meanings behind people's actions

A type of random sampling used to build a representative sample of a population

The reliability of a study, meaning it gives the same result whenever it is repeated

They are the same thing; the two words simply describe how trustworthy a study's findings are

Reliability is the truthfulness of the data, whereas validity is simply whether the study can be repeated

Reliability is repeatability; validity is whether it measures what it claims and gives a true picture

Both reliability and validity mean the same as representativeness, whether the sample is typical

Questionnaires are far too expensive to print, post out and process in large numbers

Respondents are unable to read the questions, so the questionnaire cannot be filled in

There is no sampling frame available, so a representative sample cannot be drawn at all

The researcher's pre-set questions and categories shape the answers, lowering validity

It involves deception and a lack of informed consent

It is far too reliable, giving the very same result every time it is repeated

It can only ever produce quantitative data, never any rich qualitative detail

It is always perfectly representative, so its findings can be generalised widely

The length of the document and how much it cost to produce in the first place

Authenticity, credibility, representativeness and meaning

Reliability alone, that is whether the document gives the same result when reread

The sample size, meaning how many separate documents have been gathered together

Reaching hidden, hard-to-find groups that have no available sampling frame

Studying the past, by drawing on historical records and personal documents

Producing a representative sample by sampling groups in proportion

Avoiding all ethical issues, since no informed consent is ever needed for it

Choosing a research topic and deciding which area of social life the study will investigate

Running a small pilot study in order to test the research design before the main study is carried out

Combining two or more methods together to offset their weaknesses and cross-check findings

Turning an abstract concept into a measurable indicator, such as defining class as occupation

Combining two or more methods or data types to offset weaknesses and cross-check findings

Using a team of exactly three separate researchers to study the same group of people

A particular sampling technique that divides the population into three equal strata

A type of official statistic that is gathered and then published by the government each single year

Sociology can easily be made value-free if the researcher simply stays objective throughout

All sociology is value-laden, and 'value-free' sociology really serves the powerful

Values only ever affect the researcher's choice of method, never the findings of the study

Value freedom is irrelevant to sociology, since values play no part in research of any kind