Research Design
Sociology: AQA A Level, topic 1.2.3
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
- Interpretivists favour this approach as it allows the research to be guided by the participants.
Choice of method
- Next a sociologist must choose their method.
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.
Pilot study
- A pilot study is a draft version of the research which is carried out on a small sample.
Data collection
- The research is carried out in full.
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.
Test yourself on Research Design
The Research Process
Hypotheses vs aims