Podcast
Questions and Answers
What is the main characteristic of a case study?
What is the main characteristic of a case study?
Which research method is commonly associated with case studies?
Which research method is commonly associated with case studies?
What is one advantage of using case studies in research?
What is one advantage of using case studies in research?
How do small-scale case studies sometimes contribute to research?
How do small-scale case studies sometimes contribute to research?
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Which method other than participant observation is commonly used in case studies?
Which method other than participant observation is commonly used in case studies?
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Why are case studies considered cost-effective in certain scenarios?
Why are case studies considered cost-effective in certain scenarios?
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Which type of survey is explicitly designed to produce a 'snapshot' of behavior at any given time?
Which type of survey is explicitly designed to produce a 'snapshot' of behavior at any given time?
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What is the primary reason it is difficult to generalize from case studies?
What is the primary reason it is difficult to generalize from case studies?
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Why are censuses mainly carried out by governments?
Why are censuses mainly carried out by governments?
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What is the purpose of ethnography as a research method?
What is the purpose of ethnography as a research method?
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Why are cross-sectional surveys considered descriptive?
Why are cross-sectional surveys considered descriptive?
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'The aim is to analyze both correlations and causations between different phenomena.' Which type of survey does this statement best describe?
'The aim is to analyze both correlations and causations between different phenomena.' Which type of survey does this statement best describe?
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'By comparing standardised groups, it is possible to explain differences' - Which type of survey methodology does this statement align with?
'By comparing standardised groups, it is possible to explain differences' - Which type of survey methodology does this statement align with?
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'Make generalizations about behavior' is a primary goal of which type of survey?
'Make generalizations about behavior' is a primary goal of which type of survey?
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'A way of researching which tries to achieve a detailed, in-depth understanding of a group of people or of a social situation.' - Which research method does this define?
'A way of researching which tries to achieve a detailed, in-depth understanding of a group of people or of a social situation.' - Which research method does this define?
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'It might be possible to draw comparisons between similar groups.' This statement refers to which type of study?
'It might be possible to draw comparisons between similar groups.' This statement refers to which type of study?
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What type of research involves tracking changes among a representative sample over time?
What type of research involves tracking changes among a representative sample over time?
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Which method is strongly associated with participant observation in sociology?
Which method is strongly associated with participant observation in sociology?
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What is a major limitation of longitudinal surveys?
What is a major limitation of longitudinal surveys?
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What type of research involves researchers living among the people they study?
What type of research involves researchers living among the people they study?
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Why can high levels of sample attrition be problematic in longitudinal surveys?
Why can high levels of sample attrition be problematic in longitudinal surveys?
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Which type of study can reveal trends that would otherwise remain hidden?
Which type of study can reveal trends that would otherwise remain hidden?
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How are longitudinal surveys usually conducted over time?
How are longitudinal surveys usually conducted over time?
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Which method allows researchers to make correlations and causal relationships?
Which method allows researchers to make correlations and causal relationships?
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What do researchers criticize longitudinal studies for?
What do researchers criticize longitudinal studies for?
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Study Notes
Approaches to Sociological Research
Case Studies
- Study the characteristics of a particular group or 'case', such as Westwood's (1984) 12-month participant observation study of female workers in a 'Stitchco' factory.
- Not a research method, but a technique that uses different methods to generate data, usually based on qualitative methods.
- Strengths: provides great depth and detail of information, high validity, cost-effective, and helps uncover meanings people give to everyday behavior.
- Limitations: practical limitations, time-consuming, and difficult to generalize due to focus on small groups.
Social Surveys
- Types: cross-sectional surveys and longitudinal studies.
- Cross-sectional surveys:
- Designed to produce a 'snapshot' of behavior at a given time.
- Qualitative forms: descriptive, aiming to illustrate a particular type of behavior.
- Quantitative forms: analytic, aiming to analyze correlations and causations between phenomena.
- Examples: Durkheim's study of suicide, Census for England and Wales.
- Strengths: high in reliability, provide valuable information for research and policy-making.
- Limitations: doubts about validity, may not count hard-to-reach populations.
Ethnography
- Aims to achieve a detailed, in-depth understanding of a group of people or social situation.
- Originated in anthropology, now used in sociology.
- Methods: participant observation (overt or covert), unstructured interviews, qualitative documents, and collection of quantitative data.
- Examples: Zimbabwe's Migrants and South Africa's Border Farms by Maxim Bolt.
- Strengths: provides detailed, in-depth understanding of social situations.
- Limitations: practical difficulties, such as researcher bias and maintaining researcher-subject relationships.
Longitudinal Studies
- Track changes among a representative sample over time, from a few months to many years.
- Methods: questionnaires, non-participant observation, and other methods.
- Strengths: identify and track personal and social changes, reveal trends, and suggest correlations and causal relationships.
- Limitations: sample attrition, reduce representativeness of the sample over time, lack depth and validity.
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Description
Learn about the use of case studies in sociological research, including different research methods such as social surveys, ethnography, and longitudinal studies. Explore examples like Westwood's 12-month participant observation study of female workers in a 'Stitchco' factory.
