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Researching and understanding social inequalities (Component 2)

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What can observation and experiments tell sociologists, and what are their practical, ethical and theoretical problems?

Component 2: observation (participant and non-participant, overt and covert) and experiments (laboratory, field, comparative and natural), their practical, ethical and theoretical strengths and limitations, and concepts including the Hawthorne effect and going native.
An OCR A-Level Sociology Component 2 guide to observation and experiments. Covers participant and non-participant, overt and covert observation, laboratory, field, comparative and natural experiments, the Hawthorne effect and going native, with the PET framework and exam skills the methods paper rewards.
15 min answer →

How do positivism and interpretivism shape the methods sociologists choose, and how does the research process unfold?

Component 2: the philosophical foundations of sociological research, including positivism and interpretivism, primary and secondary data, quantitative and qualitative data, and the stages of the research process.
An OCR A-Level Sociology Component 2 guide to the foundations of research. Covers positivism (Comte, Durkheim) versus interpretivism (Weber, Verstehen), realism, primary and secondary data, quantitative and qualitative data, and the stages of the research process, with the theorists and exam skills the methods paper rewards.
15 min answer →

How do sociologists select samples, judge the quality of their data, and conduct research ethically?

Component 2: sampling techniques and the sampling frame, the key concepts of validity, reliability, representativeness, generalisability and operationalisation, triangulation, and the ethical principles governing sociological research.
An OCR A-Level Sociology Component 2 guide to sampling, the quality of data and research ethics. Covers the sampling frame and techniques (random, stratified, snowball, quota), validity, reliability, representativeness, generalisability, operationalisation, triangulation, and the British Sociological Association ethical guidelines, with the exam skills the methods paper rewards.
14 min answer →

How useful are official statistics and documents as sources for studying social inequality, and what are their limitations?

Component 2: secondary sources of data, including official statistics (hard and soft) and documents (personal, public and historical), content analysis, and the practical, ethical and theoretical strengths and limitations of secondary data.
An OCR A-Level Sociology Component 2 guide to secondary data. Covers official statistics (hard and soft), personal, public and historical documents, content analysis, and the strengths and limitations of secondary sources, including the interpretivist critique of statistics, with the PET framework and exam skills the methods paper rewards.
14 min answer →

What are the strengths and limitations of questionnaires and interviews for researching social inequality?

Component 2: self-report methods including questionnaires (closed and open) and interviews (structured, unstructured, semi-structured and group), their practical, ethical and theoretical strengths and limitations, and the interviewer effect.
An OCR A-Level Sociology Component 2 guide to self-report methods. Covers questionnaires (closed and open), structured, unstructured, semi-structured and group interviews, the interviewer effect, the validity versus reliability trade-off, and feminist methodology (Oakley), with the PET framework and exam skills the methods paper rewards.
15 min answer →