6.1.6

Surveys

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Surveys

Surveys

Surveys

  • A survey is a method that allows sociologists to take a snapshot of what is going on at a particular time and a particular place.
  • A survey can be in the form of:
    • Questionnaires.
    • Structured interviews.
  • They gather quantitative data as they are easier to analyse and draw patterns.
Advantages of surveys

Advantages of surveys

  • Relatively cheap in comparison to other methods that might need experienced and trained professionals e.g. interviews.
  • Quantitative data in large-scale.
  • Easily identified patterns and trends.
  • Reliable as they can easily be replicated.
Advantages cont.

Advantages cont.

  • Representative since they are done over a large scale, and also includes many variables that can usually affect the result.
  • Being representative means that generalisations can easily be made.
Disadvantages of surveys

Disadvantages of surveys

  • May lack validity as they are not as in-depth as other research methods, such as unstructured interviews.
  • Participants may lie because:
    • They might feel embarrassed and want to be accepted by the researchers.
    • They might not realise how a lie can distort the real image of the world around us.
Disadvantages cont.

Disadvantages cont.

  • Time consuming.
  • A low response rate might lead to a non-representative sample that doesn’t reflect reality.

Research Methods and Surveys

Postal and online questionnaires

Postal and online questionnaires

  • They are large-scale surveys.
  • They are cheap.
  • They have a low response rate (less than 50%). This is because:
    • People are asked to give up some of their free time to help sociologists.
Telephone surveys

Telephone surveys

  • They are large-scale surveys.
  • They are cheap.
  • They are quick.
  • They might not be representative as people who work and people who are in school or university might not be at home during normal office hours.
  • However, this problem seems to be solved nowadays since mobile phones mean that these people can be reached at any time.
Opinion polls

Opinion polls

  • Opinion polls are used to gauge the intentions of voters.
  • They aren’t always reflective of the actual vote results.
Jump to other topics
1

The Sociological Approach

1.1

Introduction to Sociology

1.1.1What is Sociology?1.1.2Culture & Socialisation
1.2

Sociological Approaches

1.2.1Marxism1.2.2Marxism 21.2.3Functionalism1.2.4Feminism
1.3

The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate

1.3.1The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate1.3.2End of Topic Test - The Sociological Approach
2

Families

2.1

Functions of Families

2.1.1Functionalist Views on Family2.1.2Marxist Views on Family2.1.3Feminist Views on Family
2.2

Family Forms

2.2.1What is a Family?2.2.2Nuclear Family2.2.3Families in a Global Context2.2.4The Rapoports & Family Diversity2.2.5Causes of Family Diversity2.2.6End of Topic Test - Family Forms
2.3

Conjugal Role Relationships

2.3.1Conjugal Roles
2.4

Changing Relationships Within Families

2.4.1Timeline2.4.2Domestic Abuse2.4.3Symmetrical Family
2.5

Criticisms of Families

2.5.1Functionalist Views of Families2.5.2Marxist Views of Families2.5.3Feminist Views of Families2.5.4Declining Marriage Rate2.5.5End of Topic Test - Criticisms of Families
2.6

Divorce

2.6.1Reasons For Rise in Divorce Rate2.6.2Consequences of Divorce2.6.3Functionalist Views2.6.4Marxist Views2.6.5Feminist Views2.6.6End of Topic Test - Divorce
3

Education

3.1

Roles & Functions of Education

3.1.1The Functionalist Approach3.1.2Evaluating Different Perspectives3.1.3Types of School3.1.4Alternative Education3.1.5State & Private Schools
3.2

Processes Within Schools

3.2.1Internal Processes3.2.2External Processes
3.3

Educational Achievement

3.3.1Measuring Educational Success3.3.2Social Class & Education3.3.3Social Class & External Factors3.3.4Gender & Education3.3.5Ethnicity & Education3.3.6Parental Choice3.3.7History of UK Education Policy3.3.8Recent UK Education Policy3.3.9End of Topic Test - Education
4

Crime & Deviance

4.1

The Social Construction of Crime

4.1.1Defining Crime & Deviance4.1.2Sociological Explanations of Crime4.1.3Interactionist Explanations of Crime4.1.4Alternative Explanations of Crime
4.2

Social Control

4.2.1Informal Social Control4.2.2Formal Social Control4.2.3End of Topic Test - Social Construction of Crime
4.3

Criminal & Deviant Behaviour

4.3.1Explanations of Crime4.3.2Social Class & Crime4.3.3Gender & Crime4.3.4Ethnicity & Crime4.3.5Age & Crime4.3.6Criminal Responsibility4.3.7The Prison System4.3.8Media Reporting of Crime4.3.9Functionalist Explanations of Crime
4.4

Data on Crime

4.4.1Measuring Crime4.4.2End of Topic Test - Criminal & Deviant Behaviour
5

Social Stratification

5.1

Social Stratification

5.1.1What is Social Stratification?5.1.2Functionalism5.1.3Socio-Economic Class5.1.4Socio-Economic Class 25.1.5Life Chances5.1.6The Affluent Worker5.1.7End of Topic Test - Social Stratifictaion
5.2

Poverty as a Social Issue

5.2.1Defining Poverty5.2.2Factors Affecting Poverty5.2.3Explanations of Poverty5.2.4Impact of Globalisation5.2.5End of Topic Test - Poverty as a Social Issue
5.3

Power & Authority

5.3.1Weber5.3.2Sociological Perspectives5.3.3Power Relationships5.3.4End of Topic Test - Power & Authority
6

Sociological Research Methods

6.1

Research Methods

6.1.1Research Design6.1.2The Scientific Method6.1.3Other Considerations6.1.4Primary Sources6.1.5Secondary Sources6.1.6Surveys6.1.7Sampling6.1.8Questionnaires6.1.9Interviews6.1.10Observation6.1.11Statistics6.1.12Case Studies6.1.13Longitudinal Studies6.1.14Ethnography6.1.15Experiments6.1.16Small Scale Research6.1.17End of Topic Test - Research Methods

Practice questions on Surveys

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  1. 1
    What kind of data does a survey collect?Multiple choice
  2. 2
    A survey can take the form of:Fill in the list
  3. 3
    What type of research method is typically used to gauge the intentions of voters?Multiple choice
  4. 4
    What are the advantages of telephone surveys?Fill in the list
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Secondary Sources

Sampling