How are research methods examined in OCR Sociology?

Research methods are examined in Component 2, Researching and understanding social inequalities, a 2 hour 15 minute paper worth 105 marks. Section A combines short Outline questions with medium Outline and explain questions (around 10 marks) and a research-methods Evaluate question (around 15 marks). Crucially, methods are studied through the lens of social inequality, so questions ask you to apply a method to a named context such as low-paid workers or a minority ethnic group, not in the abstract.

What is the difference between positivism and interpretivism?

Positivists (Comte, Durkheim) argue sociology should be scientific, studying measurable social facts with quantitative methods that are reliable and representative, to find patterns and laws. Interpretivists (following Weber's Verstehen) argue society is built from people's meanings, so they prefer qualitative methods that are valid and in-depth. This theoretical divide is one of the three reasons a method is chosen, alongside practical and ethical factors.

What is the PET framework?

PET stands for the practical, ethical and theoretical factors that shape the choice of method. Practical factors include time, cost, access and skills. Ethical factors include informed consent, confidentiality, protection from harm and the right to withdraw (the British Sociological Association guidelines). Theoretical factors include the positivist preference for reliable quantitative data versus the interpretivist preference for valid qualitative data. Strong answers use PET to structure an evaluation.

What is the difference between validity and reliability?

Validity is whether research truly measures what it claims to measure, capturing a real, truthful picture. Reliability is whether the research can be repeated and produce the same results. Positivists prioritise reliability and representativeness, favouring structured methods; interpretivists prioritise validity and depth, favouring unstructured methods. There is often a trade-off: structured methods are reliable but less valid, unstructured methods valid but less reliable.

How should I revise research methods?

Learn the positivism versus interpretivism divide and the PET framework, because they explain every method choice. For each method (questionnaires, interviews, observation, experiments, official statistics, documents) know its practical, ethical and theoretical strengths and limitations. Practise applying methods to a named inequality context, since that is how OCR asks the questions, and rehearse the 10-mark Outline and explain and the 15-mark Evaluate questions with OCR past papers.

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OCR A-Level Sociology Component 2: research methods, a complete overview

A complete overview of research methods in OCR A-Level Sociology Component 2. Explains positivism versus interpretivism, the practical, ethical and theoretical (PET) framework, the main primary and secondary methods, sampling and the key concepts of validity and reliability, and how the methods questions are examined alongside social inequality.

Generated by Claude Opus 4.816 min readH580/02Updated 2026-06-02

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How methods are examined
Positivism, interpretivism and the research process
The PET framework
The methods
Sampling and the quality of data
How methods are examined

Research methods are examined in OCR Component 2, Researching and understanding social inequalities, and they are taught through the study of inequality. This overview ties the methods together and explains how the paper is examined. Each section has a matching dot-point page.

How methods are examined

Component 2 lasts 2 hours 15 minutes for 105 marks, worth 35 per cent of the A-level. Section A mixes short Outline questions, medium Outline and explain questions (around 10 marks, AO1 and AO2) and a research-methods Evaluate question (around 15 marks, AO1, AO2 and AO3). The key feature is application to inequality: questions name a context (low-paid workers, a minority ethnic group) and ask you to evaluate a method for studying it.

Positivism, interpretivism and the research process

The methods rest on a philosophical divide. Positivists (Comte, Durkheim) want a scientific sociology of measurable social facts, using quantitative methods that are reliable and representative. Interpretivists (Weber's Verstehen) want empathetic understanding of meanings, using qualitative methods that are valid and deep. The research process runs through choosing a topic, forming a hypothesis or question, operationalising concepts, sampling, a pilot study, data collection and analysis.

The PET framework

The choice of method is shaped by Practical factors (time, cost, access, skills), Ethical factors (informed consent, confidentiality, protection from harm, the right to withdraw, the British Sociological Association guidelines) and Theoretical factors (positivist reliability versus interpretivist validity). Using PET to structure an evaluation is the route to the top marks.

The methods

Self-report methods: questionnaires (closed and open) and interviews (structured, unstructured, semi-structured, group), with the interviewer effect and the validity versus reliability trade-off.
Observation and experiments: participant and non-participant, overt and covert observation (the Hawthorne effect, going native); laboratory, field, comparative and natural experiments.
Secondary data: official statistics (hard and soft, the interpretivist critique that they are socially constructed), documents (personal, public, historical) and content analysis.

Sampling and the quality of data

A sample is drawn from a sampling frame using techniques such as random, stratified, snowball and quota sampling. Data is judged by validity, reliability, representativeness and generalisability, with operationalisation turning abstract concepts into measurable indicators and triangulation combining methods.

How methods are examined

Outline and explain (AO1 and AO2). Two developed points applied to a context.
Evaluate (AO3-heavy). Strengths and limitations of a method for a named inequality, structured with PET and a judgement.

Sources & how we know this

OCR AS and A Level Sociology (H180, H580) specification — OCR (2015)