1.2.3

Research Design

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Factors that Affect the Choice of Topic 

The sociologist’s perspective, society's values, practical factors and funding can all affect the choice of topic in a sociological study.

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The sociologist’s perspective

  •  The theoretical viewpoint the sociologist has will affect what they want to study.
  • E.g. Marxists would be interested in class inequalities in society.  
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Society’s values

  • When values in society change so does the focus of the research sociologists undertake.
  • For example the increase of feminism in 1960’s led to further research on gender equality.   
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Practical factors

  • Accessibility can be a barrier to studying a topic.
  • For example studying global corporations may prove difficult to gain a sample and an insight.  
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Funding bodies

  • To undertake research sociologists often need funding to cover the costs of their study.
  • There are funding bodies who can provide economic support such as the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
  • As the funding body is paying for the research they may state what they want to be studied. 

The Research Process 

When a sociologist conducts their research there are several stages that take place before the research is published. These are covered below.

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Formulation of a hypothesis

  • A hypothesis is a general explanation that can be tested by collecting evidence that can be proved or disproved.
  • This is presented as a statement e.g.:
    • Middle class students outperform working class students.
  • The sociologist will then either confirm or disprove this.
  • Positivists favour this approach as it is scientific.
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Formulation of an aim

  • An aim is more appropriate than a hypothesis in some research studies.
  • An aim is broader and outlines what the researcher intends to study. 
  • Intepretivists favour this approach as it allows the research to be guided by the participants. 
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Choice of method

  • Next a sociologist must choose their method.
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Operationalising concepts

  • This is where the concepts within the sociologists aim/hypothesis are broken down to identify how they will be measured (operationalised).
  • E.g. identify how to measure the concept of social class. 
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Pilot study

  •  A pilot study is a draft version of the research which is carried out on a small sample.  
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Data collection

  • The research is carried out in full. 
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Publish findings

  • The sociologist interprets the data and analyses their data to identify their conclusions.
  • A report will be written that details the sociologist's research process and their findings which will then be published.  

Jump to other topics

1Theory & Methods

2Education with Methods in Context

3Option 1: Culture & Identity

4Option 1: Families & Households

5Option 1: Health

6Option 1: Work, Poverty & Welfare

7Option 2: Beliefs in Society

8Option 2: Global Development

9Option 2: The Media

10Crime & Deviance

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