Sociological Research Methods

From Item A, examine one strength of using statistics to research one-person households.

Identify and explain one disadvantage of using unstructured interviews to investigate one-person households.

Identify one practical issue you would need to consider when using postal questionnaires to investigate role relationships within the family and explain how you would deal with this issue in your investigation.

SOURCE TEXT: Item C Becky Francis studied the ways in which gender affects students learning in school. Her research involved three different London secondary schools. The schools were all mixed-sex, with a large majority of working-class pupils. Francis used observation to record classroom interaction and student behaviour during GCSE lessons. She also carried out individual interviews. Francis observed two top set lessons and two lower set lessons in both English and Maths in each school. She was unable to accurately record all the interaction because of the sheer noise levels in some of the classes. This limited the classroom observation. In the majority of the lessons observed, boys dominated the classroom interaction. They were louder, and more disruptive than the girls and took up more of the teachers' attention. Source: Francis, B, The Impact of Gender Constructions on Pupils' Learning and Educational Choices, 2005. QUESTION: From Item C, examine one weakness of the research.

Identify and explain one advantage of using non-participant observation to investigate classroom interactions as shown in Item C.

Identify and explain one advantage of using structured interviews to investigate working-class students' experiences of school.

Identify and explain one disadvantage of using snowball sampling to investigate the effects of streaming on students' experience of school.

SOURCE TEXT: Item A There are concerns from some social commentators about the relatively high level of youth crime in society. The Ministry of Justice produced a report entitled 'Youth Justice Statistics: 2018 to 2019', in which they presented the national statistics on recorded criminal behaviour amongst young people (below the age of 18). The report stated that there were 21 700 children either cautioned or sentenced in that time. Of this group: • 85% were male • 15% were female • 73% were White • 27% were Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic • 23% were aged 10–14 • 77% were aged 15–17. Source: Ministry of Justice, 2020 QUESTION: From Item A, examine one weakness of using government-reported statistics to research youth crime.

Identify and explain one disadvantage of using overt observation to study anti-social behaviour amongst young people.

SOURCE TEXT: Item B Carlen was interested in explaining female criminality, and conducted ground-breaking research. She conducted her research using unstructured interviews with 39 women between the ages of 15 and 46, all of whom had been convicted of one or more crimes. According to Carlen, four major reasons were given by the women as to the cause of their criminality: poverty; being in residential care; drug and alcohol addiction; and the quest for excitement. Although all the women had committed at least one crime for financial gain, most of them agreed that it was one of these four factors which led them to develop criminal careers. Source: Carlen, P, Women, Crime and Poverty, (1988) QUESTION: From Item B, identify and describe the research method used by Carlen, including what you know of her perspective on female criminality.

Identify one disadvantage of using a qualitative method to investigate criminal behaviour and explain how you would deal with this in your investigation.

SOURCE TEXT: Item C The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) produced a report on university enrolment by personal characteristics from 2014/15 to 2018/19. This report found that the vast majority of students that attend university are from white backgrounds, although the number of students from minority ethnic backgrounds is increasing year on year. [Image of a bar chart showing university enrolment by ethnicity from 2014-15 to 2018-19] Source: HESA 2020 QUESTION: From Item C, examine one strength of the research.

Identify and explain one advantage of using ethnography as a research method to investigate life chances.