Methods of sociologocal resarch

QUANTITATIVE METHODS

Sampling
Probability sampling

What to measure?
Knowledge
Attitudes
Possible activity

Steps to create questionnaire
Defining aim and objectives
Defining theoretical approach
List of future variables
List of possible analytical procedures
Work with existing questionnaires
Defining questions
Pilot survey
Final changes

Questions
Open
Last book you have read?
Semistuctured
What is you nationality?
Ukrainian
Russian
Other_______________
Structured
Mark your attitude towards political party X on the scale
Where 1 is very positive – 7 is very negative
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

How to formulate questions?
Whether everyone would be able to understand question and answer?
Whether everyone would be able to understand question same way?
Whether everyone would be willing to answer the question?

Length of the questionnaire
Price
Time
Number of non-response
Quality of answers

Field work
We can not change questions during the fieldwork
Big number of non-responses
Possible unpleasant experience

Qualitative research

Definition
Qualitative research is an interpretative approach concerned with understanding the meanings which people attach to phenomena (actions, decisions, beliefs, values etc.) within their social worlds. (J.Ritchie & J.Lewis: 2003)
Qualitative research is usually interested in three sings: social routines, their conditions, and the subjective experiences of those, who take part in them. (Carspecken & Cordeiro, 1995)

Important features
Aims are directed at providing in-depth and interpreted understanding of the social world of research participants
Importance of participants’ frames of reference
Volume and richness of qualitative data; data are very detailed, information rich and extensive
Output tends to focus on the interpretation of social meaning through mapping and “re-presenting” the social world of research participants.

In-depth interview

In-depth interview: definition
Form of conversation with a purpose (~1,5-2 hours).
Provides an opportunity for detailed investigation of people’s personal perspectives, for in-depth understanding of the personal context within which the research phenomena are located, and for VERY DETAILED SUBJECT COVERAGE.

In-depth interview: types
Structured – scenario of an interview is based on a detailed list of content mapping questions
(-) researcher is imposing his/her understanding of social phenomena on interviewee
(+) easy to compare
(+) relatively easy to conduct

In-depth interview: types
Semistructured – scenario of an interview is based on broadly defined thematic lines, no specific questions are defined
(“childhood”, “education”, “work”, “family”)
(-) more difficult to compare big number of interviews
(-) more difficult for unskilled interviewers
(+) allows a lot of flexibility, gives more “voice” to narrator

In-depth interview: types
Unstructured – 3 stages.
I stage – no questions with an exception of an opening one (Tell me the story of our life…)
II stage – only narrative questions are allowed (You told that …,)
III stage – other questions. Limited number of prepared questions of any character are allowed.

In-depth interview: types
(-) difficult to compare big number of interviews
(-) even more difficult to conduct for unskilled interviewers
(+) allows a lot of flexibility, gives more “voice” to narrator
(+) this type of interview gives us much deeper understanding of what is really important, what really matters to our respondents

Focus group discussion

Focus group discussion: definition
FGD – involves several (6-10) participants brought together to discuss the research topic as a group. Provides an opportunity for direct and explicit discussion of differences as it emerges in the group.
We study more opinions, but in comparison to an in-depth interview less questions can be asked

Observation

Participant observation
Participant observation – researcher joins the constituent study population or its organizational or community setting to record actions, interactions and events that occur.
(+) we can study and experience social phenomena in their natural setting
(-) time-consuming, rises many ethical issues

Observation
Observation – offers opportunity to record and analyze behavior and interactions as they occur, although not as a member of the study population.
Autoethnography - “ ‘figural anthropology’ of the self” (Lionnet, 1991), “generative autobiography” (Alexander, 2000).

Textual analysis

Textual analysis: types
Conversational analysis involves a detailed examination of “talk interactions” to determine how conversation is constructed and enacted. The aim is to investigate social intercourse, as it occurs in natural settings, is “an attempt to describe peoples methods for producing orderly social interaction” (Silverman, 2001)

Textual analysis: types
Discourse analysis is “concerned with texts as social practices”.
It alerts us to the intimate connections between meaning, power and knowledge (Potter & Wetherell, 1987).

Textual analysis: types
Content analysis “claims to offer an “objective”, “systematic” and “quantitative” analysis of documentary content” (Ball, 1992). It allows to examine the major elements or categories present in, and communicated by certain texts as well as to compare frequencies of those categories.

Content-analysis
However, content analysis does not allow the possibility for a researcher to uncover variability in the construction of different texts, to compare it and to assess the functions this variation is framing.
Nor does it take into account motives for the reproduction of a specific theme or/and context in which these themes were reproduced. It also fragments and decontextualizes data.

Sampling

Sampling
Qualitative research uses non-probability sampling, where units are deliberately selected to reflect particular features of or groups within the sampled population.

? Regions