Methodology
Transcript: simple random sampling METHODOLGY another type of interview is the focus group, this is when a group of respondents come together to discuss the related topic and the researcher is present and able to make notes or input questions to the conversation Snowball Sampling Who do i do my method(s) on? this type of interview is the equivelant of an open questionnaire. The unstructured interview is very different to the other styles, it's more like a conversation between the interviewer and the respondent, certain topics to be covered but no unstructured interview is ever the same. The data drawn from this will be qualitative a covert observation is one that is done secretely, so the observed are unaware they are being watched. REMEMBER: for really reliable results a structured interview is an interview that has preplanned questions that the interviewer simply reads to the respondent, its the equivelant of a closed questionnaire. Making the results quantitative data Observation Semi structured interview Overt TRIANGULATE Interviews Covert Participant observation Access this is just an issue that means you can't find out what you want to, maybe not having access to someone to interview or unable to find some information you need, by various hold backs A closed questionnaire uses questions that require 'tick box' answers such as 'Are you male or female?'. It's quantitative data.This is an incredibly reliable method as the results are very easily compared. it depends the subject you're studying, if you are looking at a subject to do with a certain C.A.G.E or a topic effecting a particular C.A.G.E it makes sense to envolve people of that relative C.A.G.E to your methods. However if you're looking at society as a whole you have to choose your sample, here are some ways to decide your sample group; methods! this is where the group being observed are aware the research is happening, they may have been informed by the researcher of their task or they know because of the researchers presence. this is not a representitve sample, you would make contact with one respondent and then the respondent will offer more names and the sociologist gets a sample. Unstructured interview this method is used to research the media, it works by choosing categories and to basically talley the amount it appears or is mentioned, such as if watching a female tennis game talley the amount of comments made about her physically and talley the sporting comments and compare the data. You must make sure all your categories and terms are operationalised so you don't make mistakes, you must do this to make your primary research reliable. this is a very cheap and accurate way to find your respondents. you have to ask a certain number of people from specific C.A.G.E's, this isn't random and only works if you know a lot about the group you're studying. Simple Stratified this is known as the 'fly on the wall' observation, it envolves no contact whatsoever with the researcher and the situation being observed, note taking is allowed. The population is divide into (strata) groups and the sample is taken from the sub-groups. Sysematic Sampling What practical issues could i face? Open Questionnaire Questionnaires we don't have enough time to conduct as much research as you want or to do it in enough detail. such as watch every tennis match ever made for content analysis. Closed Questionnaire Focus Groups stratified random sampling What Methods are there to choose from? this method is simply envolving every nth person from the sampling frame. e.g population consists of 1000 people, you would take every 10th name from the sampling frame. this relates to time, as they say time is money! unfortunately students dont have an unlimited access to money, so cant afford to travel etc... Content analysis participant observation involves the researcher taking on role of a member of the group that they're observing. The group is aware of the researchers aims. Structured interview Quota Sampling this is the most simple way to choose samples as it's like drawing names from a hat. The problem with it is that you may not get a representive from every society group. remeber you can always have a mixed questionnaire including some open and some closed questions! This will improve the validity and reliability of your results Non-participant observation your this is a type of interview that is in the middle of a structured and unstructured interview (the clues in the title). This is a useful method as it enables you to have preplanned questions but also allows you to miss out or add in questions that you feel is relevent to the respondents points. An open questionnaire is a survey that asks questions that require the respondents personal thoughts or feelings. Like 'How do you feel about...?'. Open questionnaires is qualitative data it's very valid as it's truthful and gives detailed answers.