Social research methods
A.P. Kelly
SC2145, 2790145
2011
Undergraduate study in
Economics, Management,
Finance and the Social Sciences
This is an extract from a subject guide for an undergraduate course offered as part of the
University of London International Programmes in Economics, Management, Finance and
the Social Sciences. Materials for these programmes are developed by academics at the
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
For more information, see: www.londoninternational.ac.uk
This guide was prepared for the University of London International Programmes by:
Aidan P. Kelly, BA, MA, Lecturer in Social Research Methods, Department of Sociology,
Goldsmiths, University of London.
This is one of a series of subject guides published by the University.We regret that due to
pressure of work the author is unable to enter into any correspondence relating to, or arising
from, the guide. If you have any comments on this subject guide, favourable or unfavourable,
please use the form at the back of this guide.
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Published by: University of London
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Reprinted with minor revisions 2011
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Contents
i
Contents
Introduction............................................................................................................ 1
What this course is about .............................................................................................. 1
Aims ............................................................................................................................. 1
Learning outcomes........................................................................................................ 2
Syllabus......................................................................................................................... 2
The importance of social research methods .................................................................... 2
Structure of the course................................................................................................... 5
Prerequisite................................................................................................................... 6
Essential reading ........................................................................................................... 6
Further reading.............................................................................................................. 6
Online study resources................................................................................................... 8
Using the internet.......................................................................................................... 9
How to use the textbook and readings ........................................................................ 10
Hours of study and use of this subject guide................................................................. 12
The examination and examination advice..................................................................... 13
Part A: Social research strategies......................................................................... 15
Chapter 1: What is social research?...................................................................... 17
Aims and objectives..................................................................................................... 17
Learning outcomes...................................................................................................... 17
Essential reading ......................................................................................................... 17
Further reading............................................................................................................ 17
Websites ..................................................................................................................... 17
Works cited................................................................................................................. 18
Introduction ................................................................................................................ 18
Research strategies...................................................................................................... 19
Research design .......................................................................................................... 24
Research methods for data collection and analysis ....................................................... 27
Principles and practice in social research...................................................................... 30
Social research and academic sociology ....................................................................... 30
The reaction against positivism and the paradigm wars ................................................ 31
Methodological awareness in sociology and social research.......................................... 32
The biographical context.............................................................................................. 34
Conclusions................................................................................................................. 35
A reminder of your learning outcomes.......................................................................... 36
Sample examination questions..................................................................................... 36
Chapter 2: Concepts in social research ................................................................ 37
Aims and objectives..................................................................................................... 37
Learning outcomes...................................................................................................... 37
Essential reading ......................................................................................................... 37
Further reading............................................................................................................ 37
Websites ..................................................................................................................... 38
Works cited................................................................................................................. 38
Introduction ................................................................................................................ 38
What is a concept?...................................................................................................... 38
Theory, concepts and concept formation....................................................................... 40
145 Social research methods
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Concept formation in sociology: the case of social exclusion......................................... 41
Operational definitions in quantitative social research .................................................. 41
Coding and recoding in quantitative social research ..................................................... 42
Linking concepts and the outcomes of social research .................................................. 43
‘Sensitising’ concepts................................................................................................... 43
Social exclusion in qualitative social research ............................................................... 44
Retroduction and ‘double-fitting’ ................................................................................. 44
Conceptual modelling.................................................................................................. 44
Conclusions................................................................................................................. 45
A reminder of your learning outcomes.......................................................................... 45
Sample examination questions..................................................................................... 46
Part B: Qualitative social research........................................................................ 47
Chapter 3: Designing qualitative social research................................................. 49
Aims and objectives..................................................................................................... 49
Learning outcomes...................................................................................................... 49
Essential reading ......................................................................................................... 49
Further reading............................................................................................................ 49
Works cited................................................................................................................. 49
Introduction ................................................................................................................ 50
Sources of qualitative data........................................................................................... 53
Non-probability sampling and theoretical sampling ...................................................... 56
Prestructuring of qualitative research design ................................................................ 57
Conclusions................................................................................................................. 57
A reminder of your learning outcomes.......................................................................... 58
Sample examination questions..................................................................................... 58
Chapter 4: Qualitative data analysis .................................................................... 59
Aims and objectives..................................................................................................... 59
Learning outcomes...................................................................................................... 59
Essential reading ......................................................................................................... 59
Further reading............................................................................................................ 59
Websites ..................................................................................................................... 59
Works cited................................................................................................................. 59
Introduction ................................................................................................................ 60
Research questions and qualitative analysis ................................................................. 60
Validity in qualitative data analysis............................................................................... 64
Conclusions................................................................................................................. 65
A reminder of your learning outcomes.......................................................................... 66
Sample examination questions..................................................................................... 66
Part C: Quantitative social research ..................................................................... 67
Chapter 5: Designing quantitative social research .............................................. 69
Aims and objectives..................................................................................................... 69
Learning outcomes...................................................................................................... 69
Essential reading ......................................................................................................... 69
Further reading............................................................................................................ 69
Works cited ................................................................................................................ 69
Introduction ................................................................................................................ 70
Research questions and quantitative designs................................................................ 72
Descriptive quantitative social research........................................................................ 72
Hypothesis testing and evaluation research.................................................................. 72
Interpretative model building....................................................................................... 73
Synthetic model building.............................................................................................. 74
Contents
iii
Causal models in quantitative social research............................................................... 75
Validity in social survey research .................................................................................. 76
Causal inference in the classical scientific experiment................................................... 78
The panel study........................................................................................................... 79
The social survey – the random sample ‘one-group, post-test only design’ .................... 80
Causal modelling and survey design............................................................................. 81
Designing social surveys: interview schedules and questionnaires ................................. 82
Multi-dimensional attitude scales................................................................................. 83
Sample design, sampling theory and statistical inference.............................................. 84
Secondary analysis of large-scale social surveys............................................................ 85
Conclusions................................................................................................................. 86
A reminder of your learning outcomes ......................................................................... 86
Sample examination questions..................................................................................... 87
Chapter 6: Analysing quantitative data ............................................................... 89
Aims and objectives..................................................................................................... 89
Learning outcomes...................................................................................................... 89
Essential reading ......................................................................................................... 89
Further reading............................................................................................................ 89
Websites ..................................................................................................................... 90
Introduction ................................................................................................................ 90
Univariate analysis....................................................................................................... 91
Sampling distributions, standard error and confidence intervals .................................... 91
Exploring causal models .............................................................................................. 93
Bivariate data analysis................................................................................................. 93
Measures of association and bivariate tables................................................................ 95
Measures of association based on proportionate reduction in error (PRE) ..................... 95
Measures of association based on Chi-square: Cramer’s V ........................................... 96
Which measure of association do we use in our crosstabulations?................................ 97
Multivariate analysis.................................................................................................. 101
The elaboration paradigm.......................................................................................... 105
Causal modelling and path analysis ........................................................................... 110
The assessment of indirect effects.............................................................................. 113
Conclusions............................................................................................................... 115
A reminder of your learning outcomes........................................................................ 115
Sample examination questions................................................................................... 116
Part D: The context of social research................................................................ 119
Chapter 7: The ethics and politics of social research......................................... 121
Aims and objectives................................................................................................... 121
Learning outcomes.................................................................................................... 121
Essential reading ....................................................................................................... 121
Further reading.......................................................................................................... 121
Websites ................................................................................................................... 121
Works cited............................................................................................................... 122
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 122
The ethics of social research....................................................................................... 122
Feminism and the politics of social research ............................................................... 125
The politics of identity................................................................................................ 126
Conclusions............................................................................................................... 127
A reminder of your learning outcomes........................................................................ 128
Sample examination questions................................................................................... 128
Appendix: Sample examination paper............................................................... 129
Notes
145 Social research methods
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Introduction
1
Introduction
What this course is about
Welcome to this course – 145 Social research methods. This subject
guide aims to help you learn about social research. In this introduction, I
want to point out some features of learning about social research methods
and discuss how to use this guide and its associated readings.
Social research methods is a technical subject that has its own language
and this language must be used in a very precise way. When studying
social research methods what may seem to be everyday terms, such as
‘validity’ have a much more specific meaning. In this course, the precise
meaning of technical terms has to be learned and then used carefully,
especially in the examination. That is why one of your first tasks will be to
start a glossary of your own.
As students of social sciences, you will be familiar with the idea of
sociology as a multi-paradigm discipline: sociology does not have a single
paradigm of interlinked theory and method. Debates and controversies
abound! By far the deepest divide, up until recently, has concerned the
philosophical basis of sociological research and the choice of appropriate
social research methods. This divide has a long history and it widened
considerably during the 1970s. Many textbooks introduce sociology
students to the debate between the positivists who argued that social
science was similar in method to the natural sciences, and the antipositivists
who argued that the nature of the subject matter made the
idea of a social science a contradiction in terms. The division between
positivism and anti-positivism has become synonymous with that between
qualitative and quantitative social research strategies. The so-called
‘paradigm-wars’ between these opposing strategies are thought to be
outdated, but the conflicting perspectives live on in the structure of
textbooks on social research methods and in this subject guide. It seems
impossible to teach social research methods in any other way than to
consider quantitative and qualitative approaches separately. As far as the
practice of social research is concerned, it is also important to keep in
mind three developments:
• the increased willingness to use both quantitative and qualitative
strategies
• the argument that choice of strategy is based on the research question
and what sort of answers are to be pursued
• the shift of emphasis in the paradigm wars, away from quantity versus
quality, to the debate questioning the existence of a social reality that is
independent of our means of studying it.
This subject guide retains the old distinction between qualitative and
quantitative research strategies as it is reflected in the essential textbook.
Aims
This course is designed to:
• describe the key components of social research
• develop skills and knowledge about quantitative and qualitative social
research
• identify criteria used to evaluate the quality of social research.
145 Social research methods
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Learning outcomes
By the end of the course, and having completed the Essential reading and
activities, you should be able to:
• formulate researchable questions
• define a research strategy and design a research project to answer a
research question
• discuss the practice and principles of qualitative and quantitative social
research
• use skills and knowledge acquired in the course to evaluate the quality
of published research by sociologists and other social scientists.
Syllabus
The contexts of Social Research: Social research as a professional activity.
The market for social research outputs. The contexts of data collection.
Social research and academic sociology. Philosophy and the practice of
social research. The cultural context and ethnocentrism. Developing
research proposals in context.
Models and Modelling in Social Research: Ontological and epistemological
status of models. Models and researchable questions. Exploratory and
Confirmatory approaches to model building. Flexibility in Research Design.
The use of models in quantitative and qualitative social research.
Concepts in Social Research: Approaches to concept formation in Sociology.
Theory and concepts. Induction and deduction. The use of concepts in
qualitative and quantitative social research. Coding qualitative data.
Operationalising concepts. Complex concepts: property spaces.
Qualitative Social Research: Sources of qualitative data: the interview,
focus groups, participant observation and field work methods, documents.
Sampling in qualitative social research: grounded theory and theoretical
sampling. Analytic induction and qualitative classification analysis. Small
N research and case studies: ‘thick’ description.
Quantitative Social Research: Sources of quantitative data: the social survey,
administrative and official statistics. Secondary analysis of survey data.
Designing social surveys. Quasi-experimental designs. Units and levels of
analysis. Graphics and visualising data. Explanation and causal inference.
Deciphering and Evaluating Social Research Outputs: The components of a
social research publication. Identifying components. Reconstructing the
research project. Validity in quantitative and qualitative research.
The importance of social research methods
We only need to consider one important aspect of modern societies
to justify the importance of learning about social research methods.
Whatever the merits of the description, the phrase ‘the information
society’ conveys the importance of ‘data’ in all its forms to everyday life in
the contemporary world. Large corporations and governments construct
massive datasets and have teams of employees who work as ‘data miners’
to interrogate these datasets. Consider the following instances:
• Modern supermarkets such as Tesco collect data on every consumer
who has their store card. The consumer is then sent special offer
vouchers targeted to reflect their purchasing history which increases
the chances of the consumer revisiting the store.
Introduction
3
• Political parties use opinion surveys and focus groups to monitor the
likely reaction to new policy developments or to indicate the points of
advantage the party has over its political rivals.
Governments and large businesses are increasingly evidence-based in their
approach to decision making. It is a feature of contemporary societies
that people make, or claim to make, decisions based on data: data about
impact of medicines, data about impact of marketing campaigns, data
about sports performance. If it moves, that movement is being recorded
and stored on a database somewhere. Nowhere is private and protected
from data collectors: mobile phones record calls made and their duration
and ‘spy’ software invades our personal computers to record keystrokes
and websites visited often without our knowledge or permission. Search
engines such as Google also collect the same kind of data about the
websites we visit.
Apart from our worries about the invasion of privacy represented by these
developments, the very existence of these data mines should sensitise us to
the need to understand how data is constructed, collected and analysed.
Knowledge of research methods will lead us to analyse the data collection
techniques used and the potential impact of the methods on the analysis
of the data collected. Conclusions that others may draw from the analysis
of such data can be scrutinised using principles and techniques of social
research methods. In everyday life everyone will be affected by the results
of analysed data, it is therefore important that we learn how to scrutinise
the strategies, methods and techniques of those that produced these
findings.
Example: Breastfeeding and educational achievement
The Guardian newspaper has published research findings that suggest
that children of mothers who breastfeed achieve better results in school.
Knowledge of research methods will mean that you are extremely sceptical
about such results presented in the media. This result might be an
instance of the spurious relationship resulting from a failure to meet the
criteria of causal inference. If highly educated mothers are more likely to
breastfeed their children and highly educated mothers are more likely to
have children who do well at examinations, then it will be the case that
breastfeeding will appear to be related to examination passes, but it will
be an association that is not a causal relationship between two variables.
The association is a product of a common antecedent variable – the
mother’s education.
In learning about social research, it is important to recognise the different
types of knowledge that you will gain:
• insights into the practical implications of debates over the philosophy
of social science for the conduct of social research
• knowledge of how the choice of research strategy, e.g. quantitative
or qualitative research, reflects the research question addressed and
constrains the possible outcomes of social research
• knowledge of the technical requirements or ‘best practices’ that govern
and inform contemporary social research and the criteria used by
professional audiences to evaluate social research.
Having access to the body of knowledge about research methods will allow
you to acquire three key skills:
• the ability to be systematic in the design and conduct of your own
research and in the description and evaluation of others’ research
145 Social research methods
4
• the ability to deploy an informed scepticism when making judgments
about your own and others’ social research
• the ability to place research projects, including your own, within a specific
social context. This includes an ethical context, a political context and
an academic context as well as the immediate context of data collection
that may influence or may have influenced the construction of the data
collected.
Knowledge of social research methods will provide you with a checklist of
issues surrounding the conduct of social research. Thus when confronted with
a journal article reporting on a research project, you will have a new way of
reading that article. Your reading will be informed by your ability to identify
the key components of a project and a knowledge of the potential weaknesses
of the research. It will then deploy a properly informed skepticism – an
unwillingness to accept the validity of arguments and evidence until a set of
criteria has been applied.
One of the significant advantages of Bryman’s book Social Research Methods
is his continual reference to actual empirical studies. You may also wish to
consult the book by Devine and Heath entitled Sociological Research Methods
in Context (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 1999), which summarises and comments
on eight recent sociological studies. Without referring to these and other
empirical studies, learning about social research methods can become a
very artificial, even abstract experience. Since there are limits to the amount
of research you can conduct on your own while doing this course, I urge
you to develop knowledge of actual examples of the way in which research
methods are used and with what results. In this way, you can judge research
by the outcomes of social research processes: what findings do the methods
produce and how useful are they in advancing your understanding of the
social world? This seems far more sensible than evaluating a research method
by reference to some pre-existing philosophical scheme such as positivism
and interpretivism. Although it is important to understand the philosophical
underpinnings of research strategies, these, in my view, have become far too
dominant in the practice of teaching social research methods. What I want
you to be able to say after taking this course is that you have:
• studied a range of social research methods
• seen what kind of research results from a choice or choices of method
• acquired an awareness of the contribution research can make both to our
understanding of the social world and to the way it is changing.
Thus, whatever political views you may have about current social
arrangements you should be able to conduct empirical social research that
can inform debates about these and you can evaluate the research of other
sociologists and assess its relevance for current social debates.
Not all students have the ambition to become professional social researchers.
However, all social science students should recognise the valuable intellectual
and practical skills that are acquired through knowledge of social research
methods.
My own approach to social research may be described as a pragmatic realism.
I assume that there is a social world out there, independent of our private
conceptions, which we can explore and attempt to model. This assumption
allows me to conduct research that may or may not lead me to find out
things we do not already know. If the results enhance understanding of the
social world then this justifies spending time and resources on the conduct of
social research. What other justification can there be for the conduct of social
research?
Introduction
5
Structure of the course
This course is divided into three problem areas that you are required to
address:
Parts A and D: The nature of social research and The context of
social research
In Part A of the guide, you will be learning about the nature of social
research and its key components. This involves exploring the process of
social research and the specific issues of deduction and induction in social
research especially in relation to concepts and concept formation.
As well as knowing how to do social research, it is important to
understand the social and intellectual factors that influence the nature of
social research. In Part A, these include:
• philosophical positions and methodological awareness
• practical matters such as the people and places involved.
And in Part D, the following influences on research practice are reviewed:
• ethical constraints and values
• the politics of social research, including the influence of feminist
politics on the conduct of social research.
Part B: Qualitative social research
In Part B, we will be looking in detail at qualitative social research,
including:
• the research questions typical of qualitative research
• the balance between induction and deduction in the qualitative
research process
• the sources of qualitative data including ethnography, participant
observations, interviews and documents
• issues relating to time order and comparison in selection of sites,
subjects and data
• the process of analysing qualitative data
• the criteria used to evaluate the quality of qualitative research.
Part C: Quantitative social research
In Part C, we will be examining quantitative social research, including:
• the research questions typical of quantitative research
• the balance between induction and deduction in the quantitative
research process
• the sources of quantitative data
• issues relating to sampling and experimental design, including time
order, selection of sites, comparison groups
• the process of analysing quantitative data, including establishing causal
inferences
• the criteria of validity and reliability in quantitative social research.
145 Social research methods
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Prerequisite
If you are studying this course as part of a BSc degree, you must already
have studied 21 Principles of Sociology. You may wish to refresh
your understanding of social research you gained from 21 Principles of
Sociology, especially Chapters 2 and 3.
Essential reading
The Essential reading for this course is from one textbook:
Bryman, A. Social Research Methods. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004)
second edition [ISBN 9780199264469].
Detailed reading references in this subject guide refer to the edition of the
set textbook listed above. New editions of this textbook may have been
published by the time you study this course. You can use a more recent
edition of any of the books; use the detailed chapter and section headings
and the index to identify relevant readings. Also check the virtual learning
environment (VLE) regularly for updated guidance on readings.
Further reading
Please note that as long as you read the Essential reading you are then free
to read around the subject area in any text, paper or online resource. You
will need to support your learning by reading as widely as possible and by
thinking about how these principles apply in the real world. To help you
read extensively, you have free access to the VLE and University of London
Online Library (see below).
* = edited collection which contains many supplementary readings.
** = particularly recommended reading.
** Ali, S. et al. ‘Politics, Identities and Research’ in Seale, C. (ed.) Researching
Society and Culture. (London: Sage Publications, 2004) [ISBN
9780761955986].
Aneshensel, C.S. Theory-Based Data Analysis for the Social Sciences. (London:
Pine Forges Press, 2002) [ISBN 978-0761987369].
** Arbor, S. ‘Secondary Analysis of Survey Data’ in Gilbert, N. (ed.) Researching
Social Life. (London: Sage Publications, 2002) second edition [ISBN
9780761972457].
Blalock, H. ‘Are there really any constructive alternatives to causal modeling’,
Sociological Methodology 21 (1991), pp.325–35.
Blalock, H. ‘The Operationalism Controversy’ in Blalock, H. and A.B. Blalock
(eds) Methodology in Social Research. (London, New York: McGraw-Hill,
1971) [ISBN 0070941815].
Blumer, H. ‘The Ethics of Social Research’ in Gilbert, N. (ed.) Researching
Social Life. (London: Sage Publications, 2002) second edition [ISBN
9780761972457].
Bryman, A. Quantity and Quality in Social Research. (London: Routledge, 1988)
[ISBN 9780415078986].
Bryman, A. ‘Paradigm Peace and the Implications for Quality’, International
Journal of Social Research Methodology, 9(2) 2006, pp.111–26.
Byrne, B. ‘Qualitative Interviewing’ in Seale, C. (ed.) Researching Society and
Culture. (London: Sage Publications, 2004) [ISBN 9780761955986].
Dale A., S. Arber and M. Procter Doing Secondary Analysis. (London: Allen and
Unwin, 1988) [ISBN 9780043120422] Chapters 8–11.
* Devine, F. and S. Heath Sociological Research Methods in Context.
(Basingstoke: Palgrave, 1999) [ISBN 9780333666326] Chapters 1, 7 and
10.
Introduction
7
Devine, F. and S. Heath Sociological Research Methods in Context. (Basingstoke:
Palgrave, 1999) [ISBN 9780333666326] Chapter 9 ‘Disarming Patriarchy’.
De Vaus, D. Analyzing Social Science Data. (London: Sage Publications 2002)
[ISBN 978-0761959380]. Especially Chapter 32, ‘How and When to
Use Cross Tabulations’ and Chapter 35, ‘How to Interpret a Correlation
Coefficient’.
De Vaus, D. Surveys in Social Research. (London: Routledge, 2002) fifth edition
[ISBN 9780415268585].
De Vaus, D. Research Design in Social Research. (London: Sage Publications,
2001) [ISBN 9780761953470] Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 12.
** Fielding, J. ‘Coding and Managing Data’ in Gilbert, N. (ed.) Researching
Social Life. (London: Sage Publications, 2002) second edition [ISBN
9780761972457].
Fielding, N. ‘Ethnography’ in Gilbert, N. (ed.) Researching Social Life. (London:
Sage Publications, 2002) second edition [ISBN 9780761972457].
Gilbert, N. ‘Research Theory and Method’ in Gilbert, N. (ed.) Researching
Social Life. (London: Sage Publications, 2002) second edition [ISBN
9780761972457].
* Gilbert, N. (ed.) Researching Social Life. (London: Sage Publications, 2002)
second edition [ISBN 9780761972457].
Hammersley, M. The Politics of Social Research. (London: Sage Publications,
1995) [ISBN 9780803977198].
Healey, J. Statistics: a Tool for Social Research. (Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth,
2005) seventh edition [ISBN 9780534627942].
Kirk, J. and J. Miller Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Social Research.
(London: Sage Publications, 1986) [ISBN 9780803924703].
Layder, D. Sociological Practice: Linking Theory and Social Research. (London:
Sage Publications Ltd., 1998) [ISBN 9780761954293] Chapters 3, 4 and 5.
Lewins, A. ‘Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis’ in Gilbert, N. (ed.)
Researching Social Life. (London: Sage Publications, 2002) second edition
[ISBN 9780761972457].
Marsh, C. The Survey Method: the Contribution of Surveys to Sociological
Explanation. (London: Unwin Hyman, 1982) [ISBN 9780043100158].
Procter, M. ‘Analysing Survey Data’ in Gilbert, N. (ed.) Researching Social Life.
(London: Sage Publications, 2002) second edition [ISBN 9780761972457].
Ritchie, J. and J. Lewis Qualitative Research Practice. (London: Sage
Publications, 2003) [ISBN 9780761971108].
Robson, C. Real World Research. (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2002)
second edition [ISBN 9780631213055] Chapter 2 ‘Approaches to Social
Research’.
* Seale, C (ed.) Researching Society and Culture. (London: Sage Publications,
2004) second edition [ISBN 9780761941965].
** Seale, C. ‘Coding and Analysing Data’ in Seale, C. (ed.) Researching Society
and Culture. (London: Sage Publications, 2004) [ISBN 9780761955986].
** Seale, C. ‘Statistical Reasoning: Causal Arguments and Multivariate
Analysis’ in Seale, C. (ed.) Researching Society and Culture. (London: Sage
Publications, 2004) [ISBN 9780761955986].
Seale, C. et al. The Quality of Qualitative Research. (London: Sage Publications,
1999) [ISBN 9780761955986] Chapters: ‘Trust Truth and Philosophy’,
‘Guiding Ideals’ and ‘Grounding Theory’.
Tonkiss, F. ‘Analysing Text and Speech’ in Seale, C. (ed.) Researching Society and
Culture. (London: Sage Publications, 2004) [ISBN 9780761955986].
Tonkiss, F. ‘Focus Groups’ in Seale, C (ed.) Researching Society and Culture.
(London: Sage Publications, 2004) [ISBN 9780761955986].
Wooffitt, R. Conversation Analysis and Discourse Analysis. (London: Sage
Publications, 2005) [ISBN 9780761974260].
145 Social research methods
8
Online study resources
In addition to the subject guide and the Essential reading, it is crucial that
you take advantage of the study resources that are available online for this
course, including the virtual learning environment (VLE) and the Online
Library.
You can access the VLE, the Online Library and your University of London
email account via the Student Portal at:
http://my.londoninternational.ac.uk
You should have received your login details for the Student Portal with
your official offer, which was emailed to the address that you gave
on your application form. You have probably already logged in to the
Student Portal in order to register! As soon as you registered, you will
automatically have been granted access to the VLE, Online Library and
your fully functional University of London email account.
If you forget your login details at any point, please email uolia.support@
london.ac.uk quoting your student number.
The VLE
The VLE, which complements this subject guide, has been designed to
enhance your learning experience, providing additional support and a
sense of community. It forms an important part of your study experience
with the University of London and you should access it regularly.
The VLE provides a range of resources for EMFSS courses:
• Self-testing activities: Doing these allows you to test your own
understanding of subject material.
• Electronic study materials: The printed materials that you receive from
the University of London are available to download, including updated
reading lists and references.
• Past examination papers and Examiners’ commentaries: These provide
advice on how each examination question might best be answered.
• A student discussion forum: This is an open space for you to discuss
interests and experiences, seek support from your peers, work
collaboratively to solve problems and discuss subject material.
• Videos: There are recorded academic introductions to the subject,
interviews and debates and, for some courses, audio-visual tutorials
and conclusions.
• Recorded lectures: For some courses, where appropriate, the sessions
from previous years’ Study Weekends have been recorded and made
available.
• Study skills: Expert advice on preparing for examinations and
developing your digital literacy skills.
• Feedback forms.
Some of these resources are available for certain courses only, but we
are expanding our provision all the time and you should check the VLE
regularly for updates.
Making use of the Online Library
The Online Library contains a huge array of journal articles and other
resources to help you read widely and extensively.
Introduction
9
To access the majority of resources via the Online Library you will either
need to use your University of London Student Portal login details, or you
will be required to register and use an Athens login: http://tinyurl.com/
ollathens
The easiest way to locate relevant content and journal articles in the
Online Library is to use the Summon search engine.
If you are having trouble finding an article listed in a reading list, try
removing any punctuation from the title, such as single quotation marks,
question marks and colons.
For further advice, please see the online help pages: www.external.shl.lon.
ac.uk/summon/about.php
Using the internet
The internet is a vast and increasingly valuable source of information,
knowledge, arguments and research findings.
Unless otherwise stated, all websites in this subject guide were accessed in
April 2011. We cannot guarantee, however, that they will stay current and
you may need to perform an internet search to find the relevant pages.
To start finding out more about social research methods, try this website:
www.intute.ac.uk/socialsciences/researchtools/
Here you can find many links and addresses related to directories and
gateways that provide an entry point for resources collated specifically
for a chosen area that you could search and browse. In addition, there
are article references and abstracts databases which provide searchable
information about where you can find publications and articles in journals.
There are also research information databases that let you explore details
of current research and data, including both quantitative and qualitative
data.
The following databases provide a good starting point for identifying
publications about social research methods:
http://wok.mimas.ac.uk/ Social Science Citation Index (SSCI), accessible
via the ISI Web of Knowledge (WOK), indexes around 5,000 journals
spanning 50 social science disciplines and covers scientific and technical
items. It covers most of the major journals that address research methods
dating back to 1973. From a search, you can obtain titles and, for over half
the author abstracts, you can retrieve titles of citations references.
http://zetoc.mimas.ac.uk/ ZETOC is a searchable database of the British
Library’s Electronic Table of Contents (ETO). This includes almost 15
million journal articles from over 20,000 journals, and titles of papers
from over 70,000 volumes of research proceedings.
www.csa.com/factsheets/assia-set-c.php Applied Social Science Index and
Abstracts (ASSIAnet) provides online abstracts from around 650 UK, US
and international journals in the field of health and social science dating
back to 1987.
Online access to web sources may be restricted to students and staff at
higher educational institutions. You should always consult your own
library to see which ones they subscribe to.
To search the web for supplementary tutorial assistance from course
145 Social research methods
10
documents use Google scholar as available on the free browser from
Firefox (www.mozilla.com/en-US/). Many online resources explain
concepts and techniques used in social research. You can also consult the
website, (www.oup.com), which provides a list of selected web links made
available to those who have purchased the Bryman text.
Online journals and texts
Online journals and texts allow you to read publications and documents
such as official and unofficial reports, reviews, on-going debates and press
articles. Freely accessible full text peer-reviewed journals include the
following:
• Sociological Research Online is an online journal that publishes
high quality applied sociology articles, focusing on theoretical,
empirical and methodological discussions. www.socresonline.org.uk/
• Social Research Update is a quarterly electronic journal that covers
new developments in social research. Each issue covers a different
research methods topic spanning qualitative and quantitative methods.
It is pitched at a level that can be appreciated by both novice and
expert reader. www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/sru/
• The Qualitative Report is an online journal dedicated to qualitative
research and critical inquiry and which serves as a forum and sounding
board for researchers, scholars and practitioners. www.nova.edu/ssss/
QR/index.html
• Forum for Qualitative Social Research (FQS) is a free
multilingual online journal for qualitative research that aims to
promote discussion and cooperation between qualitative researchers
from different countries and social science disciplines.
www.qualitative-research.net/
Examples of journals of interest for social research methods that allow you
to browse tables of contents and/or abstracts online are:
• Sociological Methodology is an annual volume on methods of
research in the social sciences.
• Social Science Research is a quarterly journal that publishes papers
devoted to quantitative social science research and methodology.
• International Journal of Social Research Methodology
(IJSRM) is a relatively new journal covering a mix of academic and
theoretically slanted methodological articles and articles relating to
research practice in professional and service settings.
How to use the textbook and readings
This subject guide aims to assist your private study, including the reading
of the course textbook and other more specialist readings. It is a guide to
the required reading and directs you to approach the reading with certain
questions or issues in mind.
I have chosen not to follow the same structure as Bryman and you will
be required to take what you have learned from Bryman and other
readings and bring it to this subject guide. I wish to avoid presenting social
research in a way that allows qualitative research to be seen as a critical
reaction to quantitative social research. Also, I wish to engage your mind
in a creative and exploratory way with the practice of social research.
Introduction
11
The kinds of research questions addressed by qualitative social research
allows this to happen more spontaneously. In addition, taking a slightly
different approach provides more of a test of your understanding of what
you have read in the textbook. This subject guide requires you to use the
Bryman textbook and readings in a creative way. There is no substitute for
reading Bryman and supplementing this with some of the further reading
I suggest. You must not rely on this subject guide alone. This guide alone
does not provide a basis for the successful completion of the course.
I would begin this course by reading and making notes on whole chapters
of Bryman in the following sequence:
Part A of the subject guide
• Chapter 1 Social research strategies
• Chapter 2 Research designs
• Chapter 3 The nature of quantitative social research
• Chapter 13 The nature of qualitative social research
Part B of the subject guide
• Chapter 14 Ethnography and participant observation
• Chapter 15 Interviewing or Chapter 16 Focus groups
• Chapter 19 Qualitative data analysis
• Chapters 21 and 22 on combining qualitative and quantitative social
research
Part C of the subject guide
• Chapter 7 Asking questions
• Chapter 5 Structured interviewing
• Chapter 4 Sampling
• Chapter 10 Secondary Analysis
• Chapter 11 Quantitative Data Analysis
Part D of the subject guide
• Chapter 25 The ethics and politics of social research
Logics and ‘logics in use’
In his book The Conduct of Inquiry, Abraham Kaplan makes a distinction
between the logic that governs the production of social science and the
logic as it is presented in finished published accounts of social science
research.
Social scientists present their work in a recognisably logical way. There
are beginnings, endings and ordered steps governed by rules along the
path from initial hypothesis to research conclusions. Similarly, when social
scientists are writing textbooks on research methods they often follow a
similar practice. I have also attempted to display social research methods
as a sequence of topics. However, it can be misleading to view the process
of research in this way because the process of learning about research
methods is not a linear progression of incremental steps.
The reconstructed logic of methodology textbooks can be a misleading
version of the actual research process. Although some parts of the research
145 Social research methods
12
process can be mechanistic or highly structured processes, others are not.
In the case of qualitative social research, rules of conduct have not been
fully developed and the consequence is that ‘rules’ are constructed by the
researcher during the process of data collection and analysis. In qualitative
research, the absence of rules generates the need for creativity and
flexibility that are seen as an advantage rather than a drawback.
There must be a sequence to learning about the various topics covered in
a social research methods course. However, it is often apparent to students
and tutors that the first topics covered would be easier to understand
if the students had already completed the topics that follow! It is quite
normal to teach students how to design research before covering matters
of data analysis, even though it is considerably easier to understand how
to ask research questions and design social research when the problems of
data analysis and the shaping of research outcomes have been addressed.
Learning social research methods is iterative, not sequential, and this
means that you will need more than one run through of the complete
materials to understand properly each of the topics that make up social
research.
Learning by doing
This subject guide has to convey knowledge of research methods by
means of addressing required readings and assessing students’ ability
to reproduce descriptions, evidence and arguments under examination
conditions. This has to be the case in the nature of the degree programme
offered by the University of London. It is not possible to assess students’
ability to apply what they have learnt through projects or coursework
exercises requiring the collection and analysing of data.
There is no reason why you should not practise qualitative observation and
perhaps some restricted form of simple counting in your everyday life. We
will be requiring you to undertake social research practice yourself at some
stage. However, I would encourage you to begin to address your everyday
life as an apprentice social researcher. There is no reason why you should
not become a trained observer of social life, developing a systematic
approach to the observation of selected social settings. For example:
• Social interaction in bus queues and on bus journeys. How do people
start up conversations with strangers? What is the content of the
conversations you overhear?
• Collect your local newspapers for several weeks and list the content of
stories and the priority given to stories by their placement in the paper.
Classification is something you can practice in a wide range of social
settings. At a sports event, can you identify and classify different types of
sports fans by their demeanour at the fixture concerned?
This will be taken up again in the chapter on qualitative research methods.
Hours of study and use of this subject guide
If you are intending to study this course over the period of one year, we
would expect you to be spending at least seven hours per week on it.
On the following page is a map of the sequence of reading and the
associated preparation for your examination that you are strongly advised
to follow during the academic year. If you are taking longer than one year
to study the course, then adjust this table accordingly.
Introduction
13
The examination and examination advice
Important: the information and advice given here are based on the
examination structure used at the time this guide was written. Please
note that subject guides may be used for several years. Because of this
we strongly advise you to always check both the current Regulations for
relevant information about the examination, and the VLE where you
should be advised of any forthcoming changes. You should also carefully
check the rubric/instructions on the paper you actually sit and follow
those instructions.
The examination paper is divided into three sections and you have
three hours to answer three questions, choosing one question from
each section.
At the end of each chapter in this guide, you are provided with sample
examination questions which can be answered using this subject guide and
the essential readings identified. You cannot rely on this guide alone; it is
a guide to the reading of the textbook and other readings that you must
study thoroughly if you are to pass the examination.
A general piece of advice on the examination is to use, as much as
possible, examples of social research that illustrate or support your
argument. This will allow you to convey to the examiners how the
arguments and debates over social research methods are actually reflected
in the way empirical social research is conducted by professional research
practitioners.
Remember, it is important to check the VLE for:
• up-to-date information on examination and assessment arrangements
for this course
• where available, past examination papers and Examiners’
commentaries for the course which give advice on how each question
might best be answered.
145 Social research methods
14
Month Practical Sections and topics
September/ October Read the introduction to the
subject guide.
Buy Bryman, Social Research
Methods
October Complete reading and note
taking on Chapters 1, 2, 13 and
3 of the textbook.
Prepare outline examination
answers on the nature of
social research strategies.
November Complete reading and note
taking on Chapters 14, 15 or
16, 19 of the textbook.
Begin observing and making
field notes on everyday social
situations.
December Complete reading and note
taking on Chapters 21 and 22
of the textbook.
Practise answering one
question from Part A of the
example paper.
Prepare outline examination
answers on Qualitative Design
January Complete reading and note
taking on Chapters 7, 5, 4 and
10 of the textbook.
Prepare outline examination
answers on Qualitative
Analysis.
February Complete reading and note
taking on Chapters 11 and 12
of the textbook.
Practise answering one
question from Part B of the
example paper.
Prepare outline examination
answers on Quantitative
Design.
Complete reading and note
taking on Chapters 25, 26 and
24 of the textbook.
Practise answering two
questions from Part B of the
example paper
Prepare outline examination
answers on Quantitative
Analysis
March Practise answering two
questions from Part C of the
example paper.
Prepare outline examination
answers on the Ethics and
Politics of Social Research.
April Practise full examination paper
answers under untimed and
then timed conditions.
15
Part A: Social research strategies
Part A: Social research strategies
In Part A, we look in detail at the two main social research strategies.
We then focus specifically on the nature and role of concepts in social
research. We will cover the following topics:
• the nature of social research and its key components
• how these components vary in quantitative and qualitative research
strategies
• concepts and how they are formed in qualitative and quantitative
research strategies
• how these concepts are linked in theoretical schemes or models.
The first chapter of this guide ‘What is Social Research?’ is perhaps
the most important chapter of the book as it defines the distinctive
qualitative and quantitative strategies that Bryman, in the course
textbook, has used as an approach to learning about social research
methods. This first chapter is concerned with the underlying philosophical
positions associated with qualitative and quantitative social research.
These opposing philosophical stances, often termed positivism and
interpretivism, are the basis of the so-called ‘paradigm wars’ that have
dominated debates about methods in many social science disciplines and
in the practice of social research.
The chapter will attempt to re-orient your perspective on social research
methods away from these philosophical inputs, to focus more on research
questions and particularly on research outcomes. This focus on outcomes
arises from a pragmatic stance that insists that, although social research
necessarily involves reflection and reflexivity, the purpose of research
is to seek understanding in order to change social arrangements. This
is consistent with Bryman’s view that while philosophical stances are
important to understand, they should not be seen as the only influences of
the practice of social research.
Notes
145 Social research methods
16
Chapter 1:What is social research?
17
Chapter 1: What is social research?
Aims and objectives
This chapter will:
• introduce you to the nature of social research
• define research strategy, research design and research method
• illustrate how the above differ in the two major approaches to social
research
• consider the link between philosophies of social science and the
practice of social research
• define the intellectual and social contexts influencing the practice of
social research.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this chapter and having completed the Essential reading and
activities, you should be able to:
• explain the difference between research strategies, research designs
and research methods
• discuss the nature of quantitative and qualitative research strategies
• demonstrate an understanding of the relevance of philosophy
(epistemology and ontology) to the practice of social research
• distinguish between types of methodological awareness and assess their
implications for the practice of social research
• describe the intellectual and social factors that influence the conduct of
social research.
Essential reading
Bryman, A. Social Research Methods, Chapter 1, pp.75–78 and pp.279–84.
Further reading
Bryman, A. ‘Paradigm Peace and the Implications for Quality’, International
Journal of Social Research Methodology 9(2) 2006, pp.111–26.
Bryman, A. Quantity and Quality in Social Research. (London: Routledge, 1988)
[ISBN 9780415078986].
Devine, F. and S. Heath Sociological Research Methods in Context. (Basingstoke:
Palgrave, 1999) [ISBN 0333666321] Chapter 1 and Chapter 10.
Robson, C. Real World Research. (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2002)
second edition [ISBN 9780631213055] Chapter ‘Approaches to Social
Research’.
Seale, C. et al. The Quality of Qualitative Research. (London: Sage Publications,
1999) [ISBN 9780761955986] Chapter 3 on ‘Trust Truth and Philosophy’
and Chapter 4 on ‘Guiding Ideals’.
Websites
www.intute.ac.uk/socialsciences/researchtools/
SRA, government social research, BSA
145 Social research methods
18
Works cited
Bechhofer, F. (1996) ‘Quantitative Research in British Sociology: Has it Changed
since 1986?’ Sociology, 30, and 3, pp.583–91.
Becker, H.S., B. Geer and E.C. Hughes Boys in White: Student Culture in Medical
School. (Chicago; London: University of Chicago, 1961).
Berger, P. and Luckmann, T. The Social Construction of Reality. (London: Allen
Lane, 1966).
Blalock, H.M. (1989) ‘The Real and Unrealised Contributions of Quantitative
Sociology’, American Sociological Review, 54, June, pp.447–60.
Blumer, H. ‘What is Wrong with Social Theory’, American Sociological Review, 19
1954, pp.3–10.
Cicourel, A.V. Method and Measurement in Sociology. (New York Free Press,
1966).
Douglas, J. The Social Meanings of Suicide. (Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 1967).
Durkheim, E. Suicide: a Study in Sociology. Translated by J.A. Spaulding and G.
Gibson (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1952).
Edwards, R. Contested Terrain. (New York: Basic Books, 1979).
Glaser, B. and Strauss, A. The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for
Qualitative Research. (Chicago: Aldine, 1967).
Goldthorpe, J.H. ‘Progress in Sociology: the Case of Social Mobility Research’,
Sociology Working Papers 2003–08 at: www.sociology.ox.ac.uk/swp.html
Goldthorpe, J.H. The Affluent Worker in the Class Structure. (London: Cambridge
University Press, 1969).
Hammersley, M. ‘The Paradigm Wars: Reports from the Front’, British Journal of
the Sociology of Education, 13(1) 1992, pp.131–43.
Law, J. and Singleton, V. ‘Object Lessons’, Centre for Science Studies, Lancaster
University (2003) at: www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/sociology/papers/Law-
Singleton-Object-Lessons.pdf
Law, J. After Method: Mess in Social Science Research. (London: Routledge, 2006).
May, C. ‘Methodological Pluralism, British Sociology and the Evidence Based
State: a Reply to Payne et al.’, Sociology, 39(3) 2005, pp.519–28.
Oakley, A. ‘Gender Methodology and People’s Ways of Knowing: Some Problems
with Feminism and the Paradigm Debate in Social Science’ Sociology, 32(4)
1998, pp.707–31.
Oakley, A. ‘Paradigm Wars: Some Thoughts on a Personal and Public Trajectory’,
International Journal of Social Research Methodology 2(3) 1999, pp.247–54.
Payne, G., M. Williams and M. Chamberlain ‘Methodological Pluralism in British
Sociology’, Sociology, 38(1) 2004, pp.153–63.
Selvin, H. ‘Durkheim’s Suicide: Further Thoughts on a Methodological Classic’
in Nisbet, R.A. (ed.) Emile Durkheim. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall,
1965).
Williams, M. ‘Social Research – the Emergence of a Discipline?’, International
Journal and Social Research Methodology, 3(2) 2000, pp.157–66.
Zimmerman, D. ‘Record-keeping and the Intake Process in a Public Welfare
Agency’ in S. Wheeler (ed.) On Record: Files and Dossiers in American Life.
(New York: Russell Sage, 1969) pp.319–54.
Introduction
Social research is a practical activity aimed at answering a research
question by means of a research strategy, a research design and a method
(or methods) of data collection and analysis. Any research strategy has
implications for research design and the use of methods of data collection
and analysis (research methods). In this chapter, we will be very much
concerned with the three components of social research:
Chapter 1:What is social research?
19
• strategy
• design
• method.
In learning about social research in this chapter, we will be examining
two major research strategies: quantitative and qualitative. When we talk
of quantitative research strategies, we mean counting the numbers of
people (or other social units such as groups, households, or communities)
in defined categories. For example, Durkheim used counts of the number
of people (per thousand) in a community who had committed suicide.
Qualitative research strategies record and analyse talk and actions, or
analyse text that someone has written. This distinction between quantitative
and qualitative social research serves as a vehicle to learn how to describe
strategy, design and method in social research.
Social research is a technical subject and has a precise language. Although
not every term used has been defined in the literature in exactly the same
way, it is important for the purposes of this course that you are both clear
and consistent in the use of technical language. Accordingly, this chapter
includes a large number of definitions that you will need to:
• remember
• understand
• apply.
Activity: starting a glossary
You will find it useful to construct your own glossary that will force you to define key
concepts and will be a reminder of their precise meanings. Social research has a technical
language that you must use with precision.You may keep your glossary on cards with a
card index system or you may order them in a Microsoft Word file.
To understand what social research is about you must clearly understand
what is meant by each of the following:
• a research strategy
• a research design
• a research method.
We will now examine each of these in turn.
Research strategies
A research strategy is a collection of philosophical and theoretical
commitments that may influence decisions made about the research design
and the choice of specific methods of data collection and analysis. Strategy
also relates closely to the questions the research can address and determines
the type of findings that can result from the research. In this chapter, I
will be using the distinction between qualitative and quantitative research
strategies to introduce you to the defining characteristics of social research.
Qualitative research strategies are meaning-centred and informed by the
interpretivist tradition in social theory. In this tradition, the description
and explanation of the social world must refer to subjective meanings.
Interpretivist research aims to reveal the meaningful aspects of cultures as
in the case of social anthropology and Chicago School of sociology. This
tradition has used ethnographic methods to reveal the meaning of ‘other’
cultures, including sub-cultures in urban and rural areas. Ethnography
involves observing communities, interviewing individuals, reading the
145 Social research methods
20
text found in documents, and collecting this data directly in the natural
context shared by those being studied. This use of the natural context is
essential if the researcher is to learn to see the social world as it is seen by
those being studied. The aim of ethnographic methods is learning to see
the social world as it is seen by those being studied. Qualitative research
often aims to explain social action in terms of the subjective meanings of
the actor and the constructions placed upon their actions by themselves
and other actors. Ethnography is a way of accessing those meanings. Thus
if we attempt to understand the reason why some young women decide
to have children (‘the problem of teenage pregnancy’), we must refer to
the ‘frame of reference’ that informs such decisions. Although constructed
as ‘a problem’ by policy makers, teenage pregnancy may represent an
attractive change of lifestyle for young women since it can lead to greater
autonomy and status. An interpretivist sociological explanation provides a
meaningful account of the action concerned.
For quantitative social research, the social world consists of contingent
relationships between well-defined concepts. Quantitative research
strategies emphasise the measurement of concepts and can be described
as variable-centred in contrast to meaning-centred. Examples of variables
include the annual income of a household or the number of children in
a household. A sample of data collected for these variables will tell us
what the averages are and how typical they are. If we are using systematic
randomly sampled data, we can estimate the accuracy of our descriptions
for the population as a whole. There may be contingent relations between
variables, for example, income may influence the number of children in
a household. There is no certainty or determinism, only defined ‘odds’,
that an income level will be associated with the number of children. These
contingencies are often relatively stable, but may vary between regions
and may change over time.
In sophisticated data analysis, we would want to assess:
• the explanatory power of each variable
• how much confidence we can have in the estimates of explanatory
power.
Subjective meanings are not necessary for these contingencies to operate
effectively. After all, the consequences of smoking were experienced by
those who died of lung cancer whether or not they subjectively attached
that risk to their smoking behaviour.
So far, we have seen that qualitative and quantitative social research have
very different core themes: one is meaning-centred, and one is variablecentred.
These distinctions are not mutually exclusive in research practice,
but here they are used to help us identify the differing aims of each of
the two major research strategies. Qualitative research seeks to reveal
subjective meanings in cultures and sub-cultures, while quantitative social
research seeks to establish contingent relationships between variables.
Activity: identifying types of research projects
Using the short summaries of research projects in the Bryman textbook place the research
projects described in Box 2.17 p.44 and Box 2.24 p.49 in the cells in the following table:
Qualitative research Quantitative research
Descriptive research
Explanatory research
Table 1.1 Summaries of research projects
Chapter 1:What is social research?
21
Epistemology and research strategies
All aspects of social research tend to imply a specific intellectual stance in
relation to epistemology. Epistemology concerns the theory of knowledge
and is the study of how we can come to accept that a research finding is
‘true’. Qualitative social research seeks to establish knowledge of the social
world by the study of people’s own interpretations of the social world.
Those who practice quantitative social research use a version of the natural
science method for establishing knowledge and are often called positivists.
Positivism is not the only way of describing those who favour a scientific
approach and those that argue that quantitative data analysis provides
important insights into the social world. I prefer the term ‘realism’ since
this conveys a commitment to a scientific approach, but has a much more
sophisticated view of the process of scientific research than that conveyed
by the term positivism.
Ontology and research strategies
Ontology refers to the nature of the social: ‘social constructs’ for
interpretivists and ‘social objects’ for positivists. The contrasting
epistemologies of positivism and interpretivism are linked to contrasting
versions of ontology namely objectivism and constructionism. In Durkheim’s
classic study Suicide, he aimed to establish sociology as a discipline in the
French academy by arguing and demonstrating that ‘social facts’, such as
the suicide rates of a community, were social objects, that they were ‘things’
that were:
• external to the people in that community
• constrained a number of them to commit suicide.
His research sought to establish that the measured variation in the objective
conditions of social integration, prevailing in different regions and nations,
determined the suicide rate in those regions and nations. He did this using
the classical techniques of multivariate analysis (Selvin, 1965).
In the interpretivist tradition, Douglas (1967) displays the rival ontology
used in qualitative strategies. He shows that suicide is a social construct by
describing:
• how the label ‘suicide’ was attached to an action as a result of a process
of negotiation that constructed the meaning of the action
• how even in the classic, discipline-defining study of Suicide Durkheim
was unable to explain variations in suicide rates without some references
of the social meanings of the social facts of suicide.
It is widely accepted in contemporary sociology that the social involves both
meaningful construction and objectification and that these two processes
are continuous and inseparable (Berger and Luckmann, 1966). However,
quantitative research is predominantly concerned with the influence of
‘object-like’ institutionalised constructions on social action, while qualitative
research is concerned with the process of constructing and negotiating
‘fluid-like’ social constructs.
The difference between the two approaches can be made clear by examining
the case of attitudes, such as political attitudes. In quantitative attitude
research, it is assumed that people have varying attitudes to political parties
and that these can be recorded using standardised measuring instruments
such as questionnaires. Thus ‘attitude’ is presumed to be a reasonably
coherent and stable set of values and beliefs that can be measured by
asking people a series of questions about political issues. What is called
‘multi-dimensional attitude scaling’ measures subject’s attitudes and then
145 Social research methods
22
correlates these summary scales with other social variables such as gender,
income, social status, etc. that explain variations in attitudes to political
parties. Attitudes are assumed stable social objects that can be used to
explain why people support and vote for political parties.
For interpretivists, multi-dimensional attitude scaling imposes the
researcher’s construction of meaning on the subject’s own perspective.
Surveys pre-structure the subjective in order to develop standardised
measures. Using the qualitative research strategy one could first explore the
assumed coherence stability of ‘attitudes’ by analysing their expression in
specific contexts such as a focus group. We will be exploring the validity of
attitude measurement in a subsequent chapter, but it is worth considering
why most political parties now use focus groups rather that relying solely
on survey methods to establish public opinion on political issues. Focus
group methods collect data on the expression of attitudes in a more
natural setting of a group discussion. The attitudes expressed to a survey
interviewer may be influenced by the specific context of the interview.
In survey research, the attitude is expressed in the researcher’s words as
defined in the questionnaire, and the research cannot measure how stable
or sincerely held the attitude or opinion is. Focus group methods access
attitudes largely in the form of the subject’s own words, and the method
allows for the possibility that attitudes can be measured by the developed
position on an issue taken by a group after some discussion. The more
natural the research situation, the more valid the respondent’s measured
attitudes are likely to be.
Qualitative research strategy Quantitative research strategy
Defining
characteristics
Meaning-centred Variable-centred
Descriptive aims Detailed descriptions of
core meanings of a culture.
Interpretation of the meaning of
action.
Summary descriptions (averages
and variation) of social variables
and the degree of confidence in
these estimates.
Relationship
between theory
and research
Theory generation by means
of revealing or reporting the
constructions of reality in talk and
text including official documents.
Theory testing via the
establishment within a specified
context of contingent relationships
between variables taken as
representing theoretical constructs.
Epistemology Interpretivism.The human
nature of social objects requires
reference to the subjective
meaning when explaining social
action.Theory is generated by
analysis of the subjective.
Positivist or post-positivistic.
Theoretical models are developed
by deduction and tested by
measurement of concepts
and applying criteria of causal
inference.
Ontology The ‘social world’ is constructed
in our attempts to understand it
and act upon it.
There is a knowable social world
independent of our constructions
of it.
Theoretical
perspectives
Symbolic Interactionism to
post-modernism. Social structure
is formed by institutionalised
meanings and constructs.
Structural behaviourism. Meanings
and action derive from occupancy
of structured social locations.
Table 1.2 The components of social research strategies
Chapter 1:What is social research?
23
It is possible that survey methods can measure some well-defined
attitudes. For example, people’s attitudes to the British monarchy may be
regarded as unproblematic to measure. However, survey methods may
be less suited to establish attitudes to topics that are more remote from
everyday experience and less well defined, such as the use of stem cell
research in medicine.
This example flags up the possibility that relevance of ontological
commitments to research practice is itself an empirical question. In their
study of alcoholic liver disease, Law and Singleton describe how the
patient experience and organisational processes that are supposed to
structure pathways through diagnosis, treatment and outcome are in fact
ill-defined with unstable and problematic connections between activity
and outcomes. In these circumstances, they argue, orthodox approaches
to social research may not capture what they call ‘a mess’ (Law and
Singleton, 2003). However, it is incorrect to assert that ‘mess’ characterises
every social context. Some social contexts are highly structured with
well-defined social processes that secure a fairly stable and regular set of
outcomes. For these contexts what he terms ‘standard research methods’
remain important (Law, 2006, 4).
We can think of gender socialisation and education as involving relatively
well-defined institutionalised social processes that are productive of stable
and regular outcomes. Goldthorpe (2003), for example, has used a case of
social mobility research, to react against the abandonment of traditional
(quantitative) research strategies. Some ontological assumptions suit some
but not all research topics.
We have established that the two major strategies of social research
have contrasting stances on both epistemology and ontology. The third
component of the research strategy concerns the relationship between
theory and research.
Theory and research strategies
Qualitative research is often described as inductive. Induction describes
the process of constructing and validating theory using data analysis. Data
analysis precedes theory construction. One methodology for qualitative
and inductive theory construction is ‘grounded theory’ (Glaser and Strauss,
1967). Grounded theory involves working as closely as possible with the
constructs used by the people who are being studied and building up
from these to abstract concepts that may be linked together in qualitative
models of processes or meaning systems. Quantitative social research is
usually organised around the aim of testing theory. A common practice
in quantitative social research is to review both theoretical and research
literature with the aim of summarising previous research in the form
of a causal model. This model of the contingent relationships between
theoretical concepts is then translated into a model of variables or
indicators of concepts that informs a research design. The data analysis
is then conducted to evaluate the relative importance of each causal
variable in the model or to determine whether the most important causal
mechanisms are operating to determine outcomes (Blalock, 1989).
It is important to see how these three components of research strategy
tend to ‘hang together’: an interpretivist epistemology, constructivist
ontology and an inductive view of the relationship between theory and
research, positivistic epistemology, objectivist ontology and a deductive
view of the research process. This synergy between elements of research
strategy facilitates learning about social research, but you must expect to
come across quantitative research that uses inductive ‘data dredging’ or
145 Social research methods
24
qualitative research that aims to test theories using a realist ontology and
deductive logic.
Activity: clarifying key concepts in social research
Having read and made notes on Bryman’s Chapter 1, what do you understand by the
following?
• Epistemology
• Ontology
• Induction
• Deduction.
Try to remember definitions then check with your own glossary or notes taken from Bryman.
Research design
A research design provides a framework for the collection and analysis of
data. This framework references three dimensions:
• the scale of data collection (includes defining units and spatial limits)
• the use of time order
• the use of inter-group comparisons or the comparative dimension.
Scale
Research designs can be large scale or small scale depending on what the
key requirement is: an in-depth study of a small number of people (usually
to generate ideas) or a large-scale study of systematically selected subjects
that can be taken as representative of a wider population. Most research
designs are a compromise between these equally desirable requirements.
In an ideal world, it would be desirable to have many detailed observations
on a large number of subjects, but this would be very expensive and
impractical to organise. As we shall see throughout this course, practical
matters compromise the pursuit of ideals in social research. Since the scale
of research is measured in units, a research design must define what the
unit of analysis is. A unit might be a person or a household, a school or an
area of a country in quantitative research. In qualitative research, the unit
of analysis might be a person to be interviewed, but it could also be a wide
range of other units such as a fragment of talk or text or one of a number of
documents or narratives. Scale determines the actual or potential number
of units to be included in the research. Units are selected within a specific
spatial context that forms an important part of a research design. The
research design will thus include a definition of the space within which the
data is collected. This might be a nation-state, a region, a town, city, or a
smaller location such as an organisation or part of an organisation such as
medical clinic or classroom.
Time order
Time order refers to measurement of change or collection of data over time.
We can study classroom behaviour of children over a six-month period or
we can survey opinions from one year to the next to see if people change
their attitudes to political issues. The changes recorded in the data can be
used to establish the sequence of events, for example, first, this happens,
then that happens, or if this happens, then that follows, in most cases.
In qualitative research, we might want to identify stages in professional
socialisation. For example, are professional ideals in medicine developed,
reinforced or abandoned during professional training (Geer, et al., 1961)?
Chapter 1:What is social research?
25
In quantitative social research, it would be necessary to collect data over
time if we wanted to know whether good teaching practices produced high
achievement or whether the presence of high-achieving students stimulated
the adoption of ‘good’ teaching practices.
Comparison
A basic feature of most social research is comparison or implied comparison.
Systematic comparison is a basic feature of much social research. The term
comparative method is often restricted to studies comparing two or more
national cultures, but in its broader sense it is a feature common to all
social research. Even when there is no direct comparison involved, implicit
comparison is used. For example, when studying the informal sub-culture
of male schoolchildren we may be comparing them with girls even though
girls are not included in the research design.
Making comparisons between groups often begs the question: why are
the differences observed? If two groups have different ways of organising
marriage partnerships, the question arises as to why this is. The answer
may lie in another characteristic of the group or the way it has evolved in
its own specific context.
Comparison group research is a characteristic of the classical experiment. In
a randomised clinical trial (RCT) for a new drug, volunteers are randomly
allocated to two groups. First, the health status of each group would be
assessed and then over time both groups take a unit of treatment (e.g. a
pill). The treatment group are given the drug under trial; the other
group, known as the control group, receive a placebo. After the course
of treatment is finished, both groups are assessed for health status. If the
treatment has been effective, the health status of the treatment group
should have increased significantly more than that of the control group.
Because we have selected the subjects at random, the only difference
between the groups was whether they took the treatment or the placebo,
all other rival explanations for differences in health outcomes having been
eliminated by random allocation of volunteer subjects to each group.
Comparison group research is also undertaken in non-experimental designs.
Comparison groups allow the researcher to assess the impact of variables
in context or show how qualitative sequences may vary across contexts. For
example, in the 1980s, the dramatic increase in levels of unemployment
in the UK prompted a number of qualitative studies of the impact of high
unemployment. One such study by Avtar Brah reports interesting insights
into the experience of Asian Youth (Brah, 2005). It was not part of her
research aims, but the use of a comparison group of white youths might
have shown the Asian experience to be distinctive. Comparison groups are
useful to establish whether findings are common to all groups or are unique
features of specific groups.
Activity: choosing a research design
Part 1
Why would a researcher adopt each of the following dimensions of research design?
• a small-scale study
• a large-scale study
• a comparative study
• a non-comparative study
• a study that collected data over time
• a ‘one-shot’ or cross-sectional study.
145 Social research methods
26
Part 2
The Goldthorpe et al. study of The Affluent Worker is described by Bryman (2004, 56)
as a case study design since it was based on a single town – Luton.They concluded
that the ‘privatised’ community experience in Luton was associated with ‘instrumental
collectivism’ or the use of trade union power for monetary gain rather than pursuit of
wider political goals. How might the addition of comparison groups of Liverpool and East
London car workers have compromised or enhanced the findings of the Luton study?
Similarly, if they had returned to the same research sites three years later, what would a
time order dimension have added to the possible conclusions?
Research design involves the following three components:
• Scale that determines the number of units to be selected; a sampling
component that defines both the unit(s) of analysis and the ways in
which these are to be included in the study; a spatial element that
defines where the research is to take place.
• A time component that defines the beginning and end of data collection
and any stages in between.
• The use of comparison or comparison groups.
As we shall see later on in this chapter, it is unrealistic to view social
research designs as flowing directly from a set of theoretical and
philosophical commitments. It is a useful learning device to see the link
between research strategy and research design as this is reflected in
the separate components of research design. Table 1.3 shows how the
components of research design vary according to the research strategy
deployed to answer the research question.
Research design
components
Qualitative research
strategy
Quantitative research
strategy
Research question e.g. how do disciplinary
incidents get raised and
resolved in the classroom?
e.g. what social factors
explain variations in access to
the internet?
Spatial elements: where
research activity is located
Small number of school sites:
better few but in-depth
National sample of
households: better many with
minimum detail
Sampling: Non-random sample of
incidents guided by need for
theory construction
Random sample of
respondents guided by the
need to be representative
a. what units are to be
selected?
Discipline incidents in
classroom lessons
Households and the members
within the household
b. how many units are to
be selected?
Enough to generate theory Enough to be confident in
findings
c. how are units to be
included in the study?
Informal theory-guided
selection and additions to
sample
Choice of multi-stage,
randomly selected sample of
households
Time elements Process-oriented study that
may seek to establish stages
in a process or a typical
sequence of events
Time order required to
establish causality.Annual
revisit to panel of households
to measure changes over time
Comparison groups Not typical In experimental designs and
comparative studies
Table 1.3 Components of research design by research strategy
Chapter 1:What is social research?
27
Research methods for data collection and analysis
This subject guide is called Social research methods, but the term ‘research
methods’ in this guide is reserved for those research instruments that are
constructed to either guide or standardise data collection. Qualitative
social research uses a variety of data collection methods. The classic
method is ethnography: studying people by description of the culture
and action. In participant observation studies the researcher attempts
to take the place and play out the roles of someone who belongs to the
social group being studied. The participant observation may be covert, or
undertaken with the understanding of those being observed. Qualitative
research also involves non-participant or more artificial settings such
as the interview and the focus group. The research methods chosen
by qualitative social researchers reflect five specific methodological
commitments:
• depicting the social world as seen through the eyes of subjects
• description in context
• emphasis on process
• flexibility and limited structure
• concepts and theory grounded in data.
Qualitative research methods allow the researcher to discover how the
social world is constructed by the people studied. The aim of the research
may be to report how the culture of the people observed challenges
popular but false stereotypical perceptions. Qualitative research may
reveal aspects of the social world that may or may not be recognised by
those being studied. The sociologist might reveal the taken for granted
assumptions that are often found or hidden rules governing decisionmaking.
For example, in the 1970s, Zimmerman (1969) studied a welfare
agency in which the following rules applied:
• Whatever a client said that bore on their ineligibility for welfare
benefits was taken at face value, believed and not subject to further
investigation.
• Whatever a client said that bore on their eligibility for welfare benefits
was not believed unless there was documentation supplied to support
the truth of the statements made.
The commitment to seeing the social world through the eyes of the subject
reflects a commitment to understanding the social world via gaining access
to the subjective meanings by which it is understood by participants.
The outcome of qualitative social research is an enhanced ‘interpretative
understanding’ of the social world.
The qualitative researcher’s commitment to description-in-context
reflects the belief that all action is to be understood as a reflection of the
qualitative context in which it takes place. Describing the context in detail
is required to comprehend what might otherwise be incomprehensible
behaviours.
Qualitative social research is distinctive in its concern with social processes.
Whereas quantitative research often takes cross-sectional snapshots of
the social world at one moment in time, the design features of qualitative
research reflect a concern to see how social processes emerge within
the wider context. The use of techniques such as participant observation
illustrates this commitment to process. A strong example of this tradition
comes under studies of ‘becoming’, or more formally, in the study of
145 Social research methods
28
status passage. Whether it is concerned with becoming a marijuana user, a
qualified medical practitioner, or a Moonie, qualitative research is keen to
establish stages in the process of transition from one social status to another.
Qualitative research designs are characterised by flexibility and limited
structure: the idea is to let analysis and findings emerge from the
data over the time-period of the study. Research questions, concepts
and theory may not be defined or may only be defined as ‘working
framework’ that is subject to change during the unit of the project. This
approach is crystallised in Blumer’s famous call for ‘sensitising concepts’
in social research (Blumer, 1954). Concepts and theory are grounded
in data because any premature closure of concept formation and theory
development is to be avoided.
Quantitative social research is most often associated with social surveys.
Survey analysis is used most frequently to collect information from large
samples of individuals. These samples are selected to be representative of
whole populations. Quantitative social research can also take other forms.
Government administrative systems routinely collect data and this can be
analysed using social research methods. Government statistics are compiled
on an area basis and researchers can attempt to establish descriptive and
causal findings from an analysis of the data.
Quantitative techniques can also be used in the structured observation
of social settings and in the content analysis of large text files such as
newspaper archives. Even qualitative social researchers can advocate some
limited use of counting. In using these data sources, quantitative social
researchers are often seen to exemplify the following preoccupations:
• measurement of concepts to test and refine theories
• causal inference and model building
• generalisation of findings
• replication of studies.
Measurement is important in quantitative social research because it is the
only way of demonstrating the contingent relationships between concepts.
To establish that social class influences life expectancy, it is necessary to
measure class by placing individuals within a social class classification
scheme. If we then use data measuring the age at which people die, it is
possible to see if there are social class differences in the mean age at death.
Without measurement, it is impossible to establish contingency. Where
there is a lack of measurement, we are unable to test the related theoretical
ideas. A practical example concerns car insurance. If insurance companies
could get accurate estimates of how well people drive, then they would use
this data to predict accident rates and thus determine insurance premiums.
Instead they use a number of proxy measures of driving ability such as age,
number of previous claims, number of driving convictions etc. In social
research we measure education by the qualifications gained but this is not
necessarily a precise guide to knowledge and skills.
Measurement and the establishment of contingency are not sufficient
since such contingencies may reflect chance or spurious relationships
between concepts. To establish the validity of a contingency relationship,
quantitative social research must establish that the findings meet
the criteria of causal inference. A valid model is a set of contingent
relationships between concepts that has been established by both
measurement and causal inference. What are these criteria of causal
inference? They are association, time order and lack of spuriousness.
Chapter 1:What is social research?
29
• Association: for the units being studied the values of one variable
are dependent on the values of another (i.e. there is a contingent
relationship between two variables).
• Time order: or a change in the values of one (so-called ‘independent’)
variable at t1
results in a change in the value of the other (or dependent
variable) at t2
.
• Lack of spuriousness: establishing that the contingent relationship
between the dependent and the independent variable is not the
product of a third common or antecedent variable.
Quantitative social research requires quite complex multivariate analysis to
establish that the contingent relationship between two variables is ‘true’ or
to establish in what contexts it is true. Thus we might want to conclude that
in most advanced industrial societies (context) there is a close relationship,
controlling for other influences (such as age, gender and parental social
class), between educational achievement and occupational status.
There are two further preoccupations to consider. Quantitative social
research often uses research designs based on systematic sampling
techniques that ensure that the findings relating to a sample can be
generalised to the wider population from which the sample was drawn.
Using techniques of statistical inference and significance tests, the degree
of confidence in the generalisation can be established. Test results show
whether confidence is established at the 95 per cent, 99 per cent or 99.9
per cent levels. Such tests can only be used with systematic random
sampling and this is usually found only in quantitative social research.
The transparency of data collection techniques and methods of analysis
in quantitative social research means that the replication of studies is
relatively straightforward. Although replication remains rare in practice,
the possibility of confirming or rejecting the findings of previous studies is
possible. In qualitative social research, improvements are being made to
increase the degree of transparency and the archiving of qualitative data
does facilitate replication of the data analysis stage.
Quantitative social research is variable-centred. It seeks to test and
develop theoretical models of concepts by measurement and causal
inference. In measuring concepts such as education, these social objects
reflect real underlying causal forces. If they did not then there would
be no contingent relationships between measured social objects. In
measurement, the research is reifying social constructs, making them
object-like and the validity of measurement is confirmed where contingent
relationships can be established and thus useful research findings result
since our knowledge of the forces of the acting is enhanced.
Research method
components
Qualitative research
strategy
Quantitative research
strategy
Methods/instruments of
data collection
Aims to maximise openness
of response in interviews/
unstructured interview/
focus groups.
Aims to standardise
meaning of response in
survey questionnaires and
records of official activities.
Data analysis strategy Revealing implicit meanings.
Coding text to categories
and modelling connections
and/or sequences to convey
plausibility.
Estimating descriptions
and (causal) associations
between variables to meet
criteria for inference.
Table 1.4 Example research methods by research strategy
145 Social research methods
30
The research strategies we have outlined in section 1.1 are linked to
research designs and to the criteria that are applied to evaluate the validity
of social research findings. Our consideration of validity criteria is left
to later chapters, as are some of the more technical aspects of research
design.
Activity: the main components of research design
What are the main components of research designs?
Principles and practice in social research
In this second section of the chapter, we examine some of the influences
on the practice of social research. Social research takes place within an
intellectual and social context. Certainly, the conduct of social research
is influenced by intellectual concerns such as the philosophy of social
science (epistemology and ontology) and sociological theories. However,
it is necessary to correct the view that philosophical and theoretical
considerations are the dominant influence on social research practice. The
practice of social research is influenced directly by:
• The methodological awareness of the researcher(s) that is influenced
by career biography and training opportunities. This methodological
awareness defines the relationship between theoretical and philosophic
issues and research practice.
• The practical constraints and facilities that are present in the
immediate context of social research, the context of data collection, the
relationship between the researcher funding agencies and those being
researched.
The influences on social research practice are summarised in Figure 1.1.
Social research and academic sociology
It might be thought that academic influences on research strategy and
design are all-powerful. After all, social researchers can only claim a
degree of validity for their research findings since research is scrutinised
by other researchers in the professional community. Failure to comply with
these established standards can mean the research will not be published
and the credibility and reputation of the social researcher is seriously
undermined.
However, there are many disciplinary and sub-disciplinary groups with
their own methodological preferences. Sociologists vary considerably
in the stance they take on theoretical and methodological issues, but
there have been distinct theoretical and philosophical trends that have
influenced research strategies and research designs of sociologists.
There is a tendency in British academic sociology to emphasise the
theoretical and philosophical inputs to the research process rather than
the potential outcomes. Professional social researchers, on the other hand,
must produce findings that can be ‘warranted’ as knowledge by their
rather different research community. Both academic and professional
social researchers may be required to be more outcome- and audienceoriented
if they are seeking external funding for research.
Social scientists may choose research strategies that reflect long-held
and much cherished tenets about the philosophy of social science, but
methodological decisions are affected by the specific social context. Among
these influences are research funding and publishing opportunities, intraprofessional
rivalries, power relations between academics and those who
Chapter 1:What is social research?
31
take part in research (Oakley, 1999). Social research is a social product
shaped by the context in which it is produced. It is influenced by cultural
(including intellectual), material conditions and practical constraints and
facilities.
Although all researchers should strive to implement the ideal research
design, it is impossible to do so in practice because the conduct of research
involves compromises with circumstances in which it is conducted. It
would also be wrong to suggest that all research complied in every way
possible with the prescribed ways of conducting research.
Type of research The audience and its expectations
Doctoral research Funded by individuals and government
grants.The need to meet the expectations
of available supervisors and internal and
external Examiners.
Academic research Funded by Government Research
Councils run by senior academics but
also by charities, industries etc.The need
to meet the requirements of journal and
book publishing referees.
Funded academic research The need to meet general research
quality standards as applied by academic
judges.
The need to meet expectations defined
by research funded under specific funding
programmes such as the e-society
programme
Government social research Government issues invitations to tender
stating requirements. Guidelines govern
what projects and methodologies are
likely to be acceptable.
Private sector research In market research and public opinion
polling strictly commercial considerations
will tend to define what research is done
and the costs of carrying it out.
Table 1.5 The audiences for social research
The reaction against positivism and the paradigm wars
Evidence suggests that interpretivism won ‘the paradigm war’ and
positivism, as represented by quantitative social research, lost. Bechhofer
(1996), in a survey of articles in the top British Sociology journals, found
that two thirds of articles published contained no quantitative data, and
only 16 per cent of articles contained any serious statistical analysis.
Sociologists, he concluded, were ‘illiterate’ as a far as quantitative
literature is concerned and he detected ‘a profound distaste and contempt’
for what was termed ‘number crunching’, empiricism and positivism. A
recent analysis of articles and conference papers found between 14–16
per cent were quantitative and only a further 7 per cent were using mixed
methods. Around 80 per cent were either non-empirical or used qualitative
data only (Williams, Hodgkinson and Payne, 2004). Of the conference
papers for 1999 and 2000 none used multivariate analysis and only 6 per
cent of journal articles used the technique.
145 Social research methods
32
If sociological research has a qualitative bias this is not the case with social
research in general. Much of the research conducted outside academic
departments is quantitative. Quantitative sociology is also conducted by
sociologists in academic departments other than sociology, such as social
policy, health, education, urban studies and human geography. Much
empirical research has been marginalised by the sociological mainstream
only to flourish in these other institutional contexts (May, 2005).
The increasingly technical nature of all social research has given rise to
an increasingly large number of Masters degrees that offer social research
training. Students taking these degrees are not pursuing a doctorate but
preparing to enter the increasingly large number of opportunities to put
social research skills in practice. In Britain, the growing importance of
social research has been signified by the Labour government’s espousal of
the doctrine of evidence-based policy.
In the employment context, it is not surprising that Williams (2000) has
argued that social research has become professionalised. Certainly, there
are a number of professional bodies for social research that are involved
in developing a body of knowledge and ethical standards. Such bodies are
unlikely to pursue one or other research strategy on epistemological or
ontological grounds.
More recently, there has been some concern within sociology and attempts
to re-address quantitative methods, perhaps in response to demands
of research funding agencies. It highlights a retreat from the view that
research design and methods are inextricably linked to intellectual and
philosophical matters alone. These links can be clarified by use of the
concept of methodological awareness.
Methodological awareness in sociology and social
research1
In this section, we will briefly examine how the concept of ‘methodological
awareness’ mediates the relationship between philosophical and
theoretical perspectives on the one hand and the practice of social research
on the other. Seale (1999) has developed the concept of methodological
awareness to describe the way in which practising research can use the
competing philosophical positions related to social research as resources
to inform and stimulate reflection as to the most appropriate ways of
conducting social research. Seale’s idea can be developed to allow for the
possibility of various forms of methodological awareness, including the
following:
• Principled awareness.
• Pragmaticist awareness.
• Pluralist awareness.
Principled awareness
Should the practice of social research be strictly informed by answers
to philosophical questions about ontology and epistemology? If so then
research strategy, by which we mean epistemology, ontology and the
theory-research relationship is the ‘foundation’ of research practice.
Research practice informed by such ‘principled’ methodological awareness
must be guided by a specific concept of the nature of the social (ontology)
and a specification of the means by which knowledge of the social is
obtained and verified (epistemology).
1
I am not covering
two other forms
of methodological
awareness: scepticism
(whereby all methods
are treated as equally
suspect), and standpoint
awareness that views
oppressed social
groups, such as women
(for feminists), or the
proletariat (for Marxists),
as having privileged
insights into the nature
of the social.
Chapter 1:What is social research?
33
Philosophy is therefore given the position of providing the foundations
upon which the project of social research must be based. In most sociology
methods textbooks, the implied methodological awareness is of this
principled type. Bryman makes an important statement when he argues
that there is no necessary connection between philosophical positions
and the practice of social research. He argues (Bryman, 2004, pp.21–25)
that ‘practical considerations’ prevent such a close relationship between
philosophy and research practice. Bryman recognises that even the most
ardent subscriber to a philosophical position may have to compromise on
the ideal research design in order to work around the practical difficulties
encountered during the conduct of research. Like Bryman, Seale (1999)
is an experienced social research practitioner, and drawing on his own
experience of research, he rejects the traditional view that philosophy
lays the foundations for research practices. Rather, he argues we should
treat philosophical stances as ‘resources’ to be drawn upon and evaluated
during the research process. When preparing to embark on a project
and during the conduct of social research, philosophical positions can
be assessed for their relevance to the research question and to research
practices.
Pragmaticist awareness
One significant constraint on the nature of the research strategy to be
adopted, is the research question to be addressed. The form of the research
question is not always under the control of the research practitioner, and
in these circumstances social researchers may be constrained to choose a
strategy that will lead findings that bear directly on the question. Even if
the researcher is able to control the specification of the research question,
they must keep one eye on the funding for their next project and may
see the audience for research findings as a significant influence (if the
principle funding agencies are included in that audience).
A pragmatic methodological awareness is perhaps becoming more
common (Robson, 2002, p.43). It offers the researcher the prospect of
choosing the research strategy and research design which offer the most
promising outcomes given the nature of the research question and the
audience for the research.
Pluralist awareness
Another methodological awareness that avoids the principled adoption
of a research strategy is methodological pluralism. One example of this
pluralist tendency is the rise and growth of the multi-methods movement
in social research (Bryman, 2002, pp.451–65). This position insists that
both quantitative and qualitative strategies are equally valid since their
different instruments of data collection and analysis capture different
aspects of the social world. The pluralist awareness requires the use of
multi-methods in social research whereas the pragmatic awareness insists
that this is an empirical question and depends upon the circumstances.
We started this chapter by using the distinction between quantitative and
qualitative research as a learning device. We are now in a position to see
how such different research strategies relate to significant philosophical
and theoretical debates within academic sociology. However, the textbook
relationship between philosophy and method is the threatened emergence
of forms of methodological awareness that challenge the dominance of the
principled awareness.
There are a number of influences on the conduct of social research that are
encouraging social researchers to adopt a pluralist or pragmatist approach
145 Social research methods
34
to social research. Rather than be overly concerned with philosophical and
theoretical inputs, the modern social researcher may be more concerned
with the outputs (the findings and the publications arising from social
research) and the outcomes of their research. What is the best strategy to
use if we aim to answer the question: ‘What will be the outcome of the
research?’ Is it likely to have positive consequences for the researchers,
the funding agencies and those subjects who might gain from the
implementation of research findings? These non-philosophical questions
shape the choice of research strategy in social research.
The biographical context
The skills of social research are learned by using them alongside
others who are more practised in the skills and principles. A period
of apprenticeship is required before being deemed a practitioner. In
sociology, most academics are required to have a doctorate. Doctorate
research closely approaches the ‘craft’ model where an aspiring sociologist
produces a piece of research that signifies entry into the profession. During
apprenticeships, skills are acquired and norms concerning standards are
internalised.
If this model is dominant, then the dominant paradigms in sociological
research will be reproduced in postgraduate training. Although he was
arguing the case for under-graduates, Bechhofer (1986) argues that the
influence and example of teachers tends to orient sociologists to particular
kinds of research topic and, where empirical data are used, to approaches
using no quantitative methods or very simple techniques.
It might be said that the preponderance of qualitative methods merely
reflects a pragmatic decision by sociologists to avoid using those methods
that they have not qualified to use. However, such are the perceived needs
of the public and private sector for an increased supply of quantitative
social researchers, that the ESRC has taken initiatives to sustain or
increase the supply of quantitative social researchers. This demand has
become embodied in the research programmes of all PhD students that
it funds. Therefore, whatever the theoretical interest of the students
concerned they have to complete an advanced course in quantitative social
research.
Undoubtedly the actual practice of social research is influenced by the
organisation of training and by the abilities of recruits entering into the
profession. Funding agencies have also articulated a need to improve
training in quantitative research techniques in order to enhance the
capacity to undertake such research that would otherwise remain
constrained by institutional factors.
Activity: investigating influences on social research practice
Figure 1.1 summarises the influences on social research practice. Philosophical debate
and theoretical developments are important, but so are a number of other factors.You
can explore some of these influences yourself by visiting the websites of organisations
such as the Social Research Association, the Economic and Social Research Council and
Government Social Research agencies.
What sort of research are they concerned with? Is it qualitative or quantitative or both?
What kind of training is on offer? Is it qualitative or quantitative or both? If government
is attempting to recruit social research officers, what skills are they looking for? What
have you found out about the market for professional social research practitioners?
Chapter 1:What is social research?
35
Academic sociology
Theoretical paradigms
(structuralisms,
interactionisms, marxisms,
Foucault and post-isms,)
Biographical context
Abilities acquisition of
‘craft skills’ career
trajectories, apprenticeship
& sponsorship
Professional social
research associations
(BSA, SRA, MRA,) values,
ethics, norms of good
practice
Philosophies of social
science Epistemology
and ontology (positivism,
empiricism idealism,
constructivism,
interpretativism,
critical realism)
Formal research training
provision MA/MPhil/PhD
quantitative qualitative
IT provision specialist
training initiatives (ESRC)
Methodological
awareness
Principled,
pragmaticist,
pluralist, sceptic
Corporate, private sector
and government funding
agencies.
Definitions of aims,
methods, preferred
outcomes
Practical constraints
and facilities.
Contexts of data
collection, researchersubject
interaction,
Access, exchange
relationships.
Social research
practice
Figure 1.1 Mapping the contested terrain of social research in Britain
Conclusions
In this chapter, we have sought to clarify the nature of social research.
We have distinguished between three aspects of social research: research
strategy, research design and research method. There are two main
research strategies, quantitative and qualitative, and these are associated
with different positions on the philosophy of social science: qualitative
social research is for the most part interpretivist, constructionist, and
inductive; quantitative social research is often depicted as positivistic,
objectivist and deductive.
Research design is concerned with the scale of data collection, time
order and comparison groups. As Bryman (2004, Table 2.1, p.56)
describes, qualitative research is usually small-scale, over time and
without comparison groups whereas quantitative social research is often
large-scale, cross-sectional, and frequently with comparison groups.
Recently, quantitative social research has introduced more time-ordered
data collection (e.g. panel studies). Research methods are the forms of
data collection and analysis that reflect the major preoccupations of the
quantitative and qualitative research strategies. Qualitative social research
depicts the social as seen through the eyes of subjects, description in
context, emphasis on process, flexibility and limited structure, concepts
and theory grounded in data. These preoccupations lend it to use
methods such as ethnography and in-depth interviews using analytical
techniques such as grounded theory. In quantitative social research,
the pre-occupations are the measurement of concepts to test and refine
theories; causal inference and model building; the generalisation of
findings, and the replication of studies. These preoccupations are
reflected in the use of large-scale standardised sample surveys and
multivariate analysis.
145 Social research methods
36
We sought to understand the factors that influence the choice of
research strategy and associated research design and research methods
components of social research. We considered the influence of academic
sociology with its tendency to adopt specific philosophical and theoretical
commitments. During the paradigm wars, quantitative and qualitative
research strategies were depicted as polar opposites and as inherently
incompatible strategies. The debate over paradigms assumed the form
of a principled methodological awareness defined as the argument that
research strategies, designs and methods should follow the implications
of theoretical and philosophical positions. Practising social researchers
are much more likely to have a pluralist or pragmatic methodological
awareness. The multi-methods or pluralist version of methodological
awareness argues that all methods capture some aspect of the social and
are equally valid as research strategies. Pragmaticist awareness views
the choice of method as influenced by the need to secure an appropriate
outcome such as the answer to a research question or findings that might
improve the social world in some desirable way.
Social research is thus more accurately seen as a ‘contested terrain’
(Edwards, 1979): a workplace for social research practitioners where
the influence of dominant paradigms, agencies and audiences for social
research, practical considerations and the researcher’s own biographical
context are worked out.
A reminder of your learning outcomes
At the end of this chapter, and having completed the Essential reading and
activities, you should be able to:
• explain the difference between research strategies, research designs
and research methods
• discuss the nature of quantitative and qualitative research strategies
• demonstrate an understanding of the relevance of philosophy
(epistemology and ontology) to the practice of social research
• distinguish between types of methodological awareness and assess their
implications for the practice of social research
• describe the intellectual and social factors that influence the conduct of
social research.
Sample examination questions
1. Assess the view that the quantitative and qualitative research strategies
form two opposing paradigms in social research.
2. Assess Bryman’s argument that there is no necessary connectedness
between the philosophy of social science and the practice of social
research.
3. What factors influence the choice between a quantitative and
qualitative research strategy?
Chapter 2: Concepts in social research
37
Chapter 2: Concepts in social research
Aims and objectives
This chapter will:
• explain the nature of concepts and the relationship between the
concepts used in the social sciences and those used in everyday life
• compare approaches to concept formation in sociology in qualitative
and quantitative social research
• use the practice of ‘coding’ data to illustrate the contrasting approaches
to concept formation found in both the qualitative and quantitative
social research strategy
• examine the differences between induction, deduction and retroduction
in social research.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this chapter and having completed the Essential reading and
activities, you should be able to:
• distinguish sociological concepts from those used in everyday life
• discuss the differences between the typical processes of concept
formation found in qualitative social research compared with
quantitative social research
• describe the process of coding as a way of classifying data using a
theoretical scheme, and as a way of generating general categories by
identifying similar contents in the data
• discuss the differences between induction, deduction and retroduction
as descriptions of the process of social research.
Essential reading
Bryman, A. Social Research Methods, pp.65–70 and pp.271–72 plus indexed
references to ‘coding’
Further reading
** particularly recommended
Blalock, H. ‘The Operationalism Controversy’ in Blalock, H. and A.B. Blalock
(eds) Methodology in Social Research. (London, New York: McGraw-Hill,
1971) [ISBN 0070941815].
** Fielding, J. ‘Coding and Managing Data’ in Gilbert, N. (ed.) Researching
Social Life. (London: Sage Publications, 2002) second edition
[ISBN 9780761972457].
Gilbert, N. ‘Research Theory and Method’ in Gilbert, N. (ed.) Researching Social
Life. (London: Sage Publications, 2002) second edition
[ISBN 9780761972457].
Layder, D. Sociological Practice: Linking Theory and Social Research. (London:
Sage Publications Ltd., 1998) [ISBN 9780761954293] Chapters 3, 4 and 5.
** Seale, C. ‘Coding and Analysing Data’ in Seale, C. (ed.) Researching Society
and Culture. (London: Sage Publications, 2004) [ISBN 9780761955986].
145 Social research methods
38
Websites
Rose, D. and K. O’Reilly Final Report of the ESRC review of Government Social
Classifications. (Swindon: ESRC, 1998) at http:/Governmentstatistics.co.uk
Works cited
Dale, A., S. Arber and M. Procter Doing Secondary Analysis. (London: Allen and
Unwin, 1988) Chapters 8–11.
Blumer, H. ‘What is wrong with social theory?’, American Sociological Review,
19 1954, pp.3–10.
Burchardt, T. et al. ‘Social Exclusion in Britain 1991–1995’, Social Policy and
Administration, 33(3) 1999, pp.227–44
Crompton, R. ‘Measuring the Class Structure’ in Class and Stratification: an
Introduction to Current Debates. (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1993).
Crompton, R. and J. Scott ‘Class analysis: Beyond the Cultural Turn’ in Devine,
F. et al. Rethinking Class: Culture Identities and Lifestyle. (London: Palgrave,
2005).
Jackson, P., N. Stevenson and K. Brooks Making Sense of Men’s Magazines.
(Cambridge: Polity Press, 2001).
Introduction
In this chapter, we deal with the basic building blocks of social research:
concepts. Concepts are crucial to social research because they are the key
to description and explanation:
• Concepts are linked ‘empirically’ in various ways to data and these
linkages aim to provide descriptions or ‘accounts’ of the social world.
• Concepts are linked ‘theoretically’ to form sequences of defined stages
in a social process, or to classify descriptions or typical forms, or linked
to form explanations.
As in the case of research strategies, approaches to concept formation
reflect contrasting ontological and epistemological themes in the
philosophy of social sciences.
First, we will be looking at what concepts are and how they function
in everyday life, and in sociology and social research. This will involve
considering how sociological concepts are formed, defined and changed
over time. The process of concept formation is rather different in
quantitative and qualitative social research and this difference is summed
up in comparing the use of two terms:
• operational definitions
• sensitising concepts.
Of particular importance is the relationship between abstract concepts
used in theoretical thinking and empirical data. This relationship between
concepts and data is further explored by examining one of the most basic
functions of social research: the process of coding data in quantitative and
qualitative social research.
What is a concept?
Concepts are so fundamental to our way of thinking about the world that
it is all too easy to take them for granted. Here are two different ways of
describing concepts:
• Labels: concepts allow us to label experience by applying the concept
to an experienced event, observation and meaning.
Chapter 2: Concepts in social research
39
• Categories: concepts divide the social world into fragments that are
differentiated.
The concept of ‘crime’ labels a wide range of events that have been
observed and have a ‘shared’ meaning, albeit one that can be contested
and refined or expanded. The concept of ‘father’ is a category that
separately defines a person as different from non-fathers; again the
concept of father, and what it might involve, are not precisely defined and
may change over time.
We inherit a vast range of concepts embodied in our language and we use
these to participate in the social world. In everyday life, we do not have
to use precisely defined concepts. For example, when young people use
the word ‘cool’ to describe actions, it has only a very vague definition or
perhaps it is simply a way of affirming that actions are ‘approved’ to some
degree. In social research, we must go beyond everyday concepts and be
more systematic in the way in which we define concepts, relate them to
empirical materials and deploy them in interpretations of the social world.
This does not mean that at all times, in social research, concepts are
precisely defined. As we shall see, sometimes it is important to have only
working definitions of concepts that are refined in relation to data and
only precisely defined at the conclusion of the research process.
Abstraction
An abstract concept can be defined with reference to the specific instances
that it labels or categorises. In practice, using empirical referents as
examples will help to clarify and convey the meaning of a concept. It
may be hard to define ‘sport’ as an abstract concept other than by using
examples such as netball, basketball, soccer, cricket and rugby to convey
the meaning. However, my copy of the Pocket Oxford Dictionary (Oxford
University Press, seventh edition, 1984) offers a formal, more precise
definition:
‘outdoor competitive activity usually involving physical exertion’
The concept of sport specifies an abstract content that can be seen in
all the various sporting activities. Even so, it is often possible to think of
exceptions to such definitions such as, in this case, indoor athletics. On
the other hand, we may quibble as to whether a sport can avoid physical
exertion, in which case archery might be excluded from our definition.
The abstract version of the concept of sport may be precisely defined
as a construct. The concepts of everyday life are directly linked to the
empirical ‘things’ they describe, the constructs of social science require
a specification of how they can be measured. For example, the abstract
concept of ‘institutionalised racism’ must have a set of specified measures
before it can be recognised and analysed in social research.
Concepts transcend, but are related to the world of experience.
Dictionaries are continually revised to refine definitions as well as to
include new concepts, and the same is true in social research.
Activity: defining the concept of ‘household’
My Pocket Oxford Dictionary (Oxford University Press, seventh edition, 1984) defines
household as ‘occupants of a house regarded as a unit’. Draw up a list of everyday words
that mean the same or have a similar meaning to the word ‘household’.What other
words describe those living ‘together’ in households? Then attempt to define the concept
of household as it might be used in sociological research. Complete the right-hand
column of the table below by inserting a ‘new’ definition of ‘household’, including each of
the following possible components of a definition:
145 Social research methods
40
Component Definition
Sharing
Accommodation
Domestic
Sleeping
Food preparation
Table 2.1 Defining the concept of ‘household’
• Do households have to be defined using all these words?
• Do we have to allow for variation by using phrases like ‘usually’?
• Will just one or more of the above possibilities provide for a better definition that that
provided by my dictionary?
Theory, concepts and concept formation
In the previous section, we learned that conceptualisation involves two
discrete elements:
• an abstract label or category
• a set of empirical referents described by the abstraction.
In social research, when we define a concept as an abstraction, and
then link this abstraction to a set of empirical referents, we are thinking
deductively, working from theory or applying theory to data. We can
think up a theoretical definition of a religion in which something is a
religion if it meets the following criteria:
• belief in superhuman power
• belief in an afterlife
• belief that obedience to superhuman power will lead to afterlife.
We can then analyse all belief systems and decide which are religions and
which are not religions.
On the other hand, when we use a set of empirical referents to generate
and define an abstract concept, we are thinking inductively, working
from data to theory. Here we might start by finding out about all belief
systems and then try to see what they have in common. This may lead to
different subtypes of religion.
Concept formation in sociology and social research can be a largely
theoretical activity. In the case of social class, for example, attempts to
define the concept of social class as ‘a relation to the means of production’,
or ‘a labour market position’ came prior to the development of a
classification scheme designed to measure social class in social research
(Crompton, 1993). Historically, the Registrar General’s classification was
not based on such theorisations, it was designed as a practical way of
categorising people who did similar sorts of work in order that deaths in
these occupations might be recorded, data collected and death rates across
different occupational groups compared. This ‘practical’ classification
scheme lasted from its inception in 1911 until 2001 when it was replaced
by the National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification.
Chapter 2: Concepts in social research
41
Concept formation in sociology: the case of social
exclusion
The concept of social exclusion is a useful one to examine since it has
quantitative and qualitative aspects and is fundamentally concerned with
social relationships. Following the review by Burchardt et al. (1999), the
concept of social exclusion can refer to each of the following social groups:
• ‘those whose circumstances have led them to be separated from the
bureaucratic forms of the state that would otherwise include them in
systems of income support, the educational system, gaining access to
employment, and health services’
• those groups that ‘are unlikely to experience regular secure
employment and [whose] economic insecurity excludes [them from]
participation in otherwise “normal” aspects of social life’.
• ‘those who live in well defined, but separate areas of cities and urban
conglomerations [that are] spatially and socially marginal, like ghettos
or no-go areas for those not socially excluded.’
Activity: conceptualising social exclusion
Consider each of the above dimensions of social exclusion.
Some social researchers (Burchardt et al. 1999) argue that the socially excluded are those
that have:
• low income
• little savings
• no secure employment
• little involvement in politics
• or are socially isolated.
Now consider how each of the above applies to university students and then consider
how university students may experience these social conditions yet still think of
themselves and be regarded by others as socially included. Does social inclusion involve a
positive account of a future?
Operational definitions in quantitative social research
Operationalisation describes the process of turning an abstract concept
into a set of empirical referents that can be measured. These are known as
variables. This also involves a final stage of ‘instrumentation’, which is the
design or definition of a set of operations that result in data (such as in the
administration of an interview schedule with a specific question designed
to measure a concept).
Quantitative social research is much concerned with measurement
problems. What is the best way to assess the academic ability of a child?
Is a maths test to be preferred to an English test? How many questions
should we have in the maths test? Are some questions better measures
than others? Measurement problems abound in deciding how to ask
questions for social surveys. Sometimes there are lengthy debates about
how to do so as in the case of the ethnicity question that was used in the
census 2000.
At times, social researchers have been tempted to prefer the practical
activity of measurement to the more theoretical work of conceptualisation.
Why bother with defining the concept of intelligence if in the end we
will only analyse the results of our measurements? This attempt to
145 Social research methods
42
define social science as only concerned with the empirical process of
measurement has been termed ‘the operationalism controversy’ (Blalock,
1969). In contemporary social research there is a more developed interrelationship
between theoretical constructs and the empirical indicators
that measure them.
The process of forming operational definitions may also involve deciding
on categories after data is collected. A good example of this is the concept
of age. Age is a concept that may appear to be unproblematic as it can
be measured in years by collecting the date of birth. Complexity arises
when deciding how to group people of similar ages to simplify analysis
and presentation of findings. The process of conceptualisation involves
defining age boundaries of the groups and here there are choices:
• age as life-cycle where the cut off points that define groups are taken to
define childhood, adolescence, adult, middle age, elderly
• age as maturity is more simply defined as passage of time under 20s,
30s, etc.
• age as generation defines groups in terms of historical periodisation
of cultural and social changes such as in terms of those who reach
maturity before the Second World War, after the Second World War,
during the Sixties, Seventies, and Eighties.
Here the link between theory and measurement is apparent since the
choice, in quantitative research strategies, will be based on the ‘causal’
content that age has for the concept it is being linked with:
• Variations in health are best explained by maturity.
• Variations in life cycle might be closely linked to household formation.
• Variations in political interest and party identification by generational
definitions of age.
The process of concept formation should not be seen in isolation from
such theoretical themes and the need for theoretical explanations. Rather
than see causality as ‘the impact’ of one measured concept on another,
sociology is committed to identifying mechanisms that translate the causal
components of a concept into their effects on another concept.
For instance, if we find that people who do not own cars are more likely
to experience ill health, we may not necessarily conclude lack of car
ownership is a cause of ill health until we can identify a mechanism that
links car ownership to ill health. We can more readily accept the link
between social class and ill health because there are numerous risk factors
and lifestyle factors linking class position to experience of good or poor
health. In the case of housing deprivation, we have mechanisms that allow
us to develop a meaningful account of how such deprivation leads to ill
health.
Coding and recoding in quantitative social research
In quantitative social research, concepts may be used to describe, or
may be linked together in a contingency relationship. The outcome of
quantitative research is the establishment of a probabilistic contingency
relationship between two or more concepts defined in a causal model.
Indicators in government surveys have too many categories and the
researcher is required to reduce these down. This is a process know as
recoding. Recoding is a crucial part of the process of concept formation in
secondary analysis. The reduction in categories aims to:
Chapter 2: Concepts in social research
43
• avoid unnecessary complexity in theory and interpretation of findings
by reducing the number of categories down to a number which is
sufficient to make the point being argued
• combine those categories that are very similar
• reduce sample size problems when using crosstabulations.
Linking concepts and the outcomes of social research
For qualitative social research, concepts may be linked in a variety of ways:
• Concepts may be linked only in comparison to mark out differences, for
example, in cultures. Concepts such as matrilineal and patrilineal are
deployed to mark out differences.
• Concepts may be linked in a time order process such as in Becker’s
study of marijuana users where three stages were conceptualised and
where each stage was a prerequisite for moving on to the next stage.
The process of coding can be deductive: a developed theoretical scheme
is used to classify data into different categories defined theoretically. The
same process may be inductive when similar data are labelled in a way
that describes this common content in the data.
‘Sensitising’ concepts
In qualitative social research, there is often a commitment to viewing the
social world through the eyes of the people being studied. This implies
that as far as possible the social world is to be understood largely in
terms of the concepts used by the people being observed. There is the
commitment to be ‘appreciative’ of the culture being studied and reporting
back on its conceptual schemes to the wider academic audiences. In this
case, the concepts developed would have to be defined broadly in order
to accommodate an anticipated range of usages in the data collected
and so that the data collected throughout the fieldwork stage of research
can influence both the formation and deployment of concepts. Concepts
formed in the initial stages of data collection and analysis would only be
‘working’ concepts or what Blumer (1954) came to describe as ‘sensitising’
concepts.
In opposition to survey research practice, where concept formation
processes lead to a well-defined and fixed set of categories, Blumer
suggested that social science should not prematurely close down
definitions of concepts. Concepts and their definitions should remain
‘open’ to revision and refinement in the process of data collection and
analysis.
The idea of sensitising concepts is closely associated with the idea that
in qualitative social research, concepts should ‘emerge’ from the data
collected. Bryman uses the example of ‘emotional labour’ from Hochschild
(1983).
Activity: understanding an emergent concept
Look at Box 13.2 in Bryman’s textbook:
1. How would you define ‘emotional labour’?
2. What examples are given of people who are required to do emotional labour in their
occupations?
3. Why is emotional labour more common in gendered occupations?
4. Can you think of other contexts where emotional labour is performed?
145 Social research methods
44
5. How did the concept emerge from the process of doing qualitative research?
A further example is taken from Bryman’s own research on appraisal schemes in higher
education where the concept of ‘procedural compliance’ emerged to interpret his findings
(Bryman, 2004, Box 13.9, p.283).
Social exclusion in qualitative social research
Forming a concept of social exclusion in qualitative research involves some
theoretical predispositions, such as a commitment to understanding social
exclusion as it is ‘seen’ through the eyes of those thought to be excluded.
In turn, this would involve gaining access to accounts of how exclusion
occurred, if it did, in the life history of those included in the research.
The research would focus on the constructions of exclusion, whether
these were contested or normalised in dialogues between the excluded
and others. Similarly, there would be a concern with agency: how the
circumstances did not determine exclusion, but allowed the negotiation
and construction of relationships.
The outcome of qualitative research on social exclusion would be a set or
list of related concepts describing subjective perceptions of the ‘excluded’.
A typology of relationships between the individual and the social is
also possible, as is an account of the process of social exclusion as it
occurs over time, identifying stages in the transition from integration to
exclusion. Given the spatial dimensions of social exclusion, a comparative
ethnography of selected housing estates might document these outcomes.
Retroduction and ‘double-fitting’
Deductive concept formation means defining abstract concepts then
selecting instances of data that the concepts describe. Inductive concept
formation derives abstract concepts from the classification of observed
instances of data. Although many textbooks see qualitative social research
as ‘inductive’ and quantitative research as ‘deductive’, it is important
to recognise that this is an over-simplification. Indeed, it is hard to
think of a concept that has emerged independent of any empirical
reference. Similarly, ‘pure’ induction seems impossible given the preconceptualisation
of the social world in the language that we use to
interpret every observation.
It is useful to have the concepts of induction and deduction to describe
different approaches to social research, but in the case of concept
formation there is a process of ‘double fitting’ which describes a process of
two-way interaction between observation and conceptualisation. This is
called retroduction and appears to some degree in all social research.
Conceptual modelling
In the social sciences, the formation of concepts is not a well-structured
process with a well-defined end point. For this reason, the idea of
conceptual modelling is a preferred way of thinking about the process
rather than the ‘closed’ version of ‘operationalisation’ and the ‘open’
version of ‘sensitising’ concepts. In the practice of social research, we may
come to undertake a project with a concept of social exclusion pre-selected
in very general terms but sufficiently open for our observations of the
social to allow it to be reconfigured. Concepts are likely to remain highly
contested.
Chapter 2: Concepts in social research
45
Concepts are abstractions, mental objects/linguistic codes, that describe
empirical referents or ‘traces’. They can act to ‘select’ how we see the
world (constructionism), but concepts do not encompass the whole of
the knowable social world (realism). Concepts are useful descriptions
embodied in interpretations/theories/explanations of the social that work
for the purposes of those who adopt them until there is a crisis in the
conceptual paradigm accepted by a research community (pragmatism).
The idea of conceptual modelling recognises that the data may be
pre-conceptualised, but not necessarily closed to modification or
reformulation. A concept is not taken as reproducing ‘reality’ but is
intended (for some purpose) to be an insightful version of the whole and
thus can be evaluated in terms of its purposes (pragmaticism). Concepts
that prove not to be useful in some theoretical or practical way are likely
to abandoned and replaced.
Conclusions
In this chapter of the subject guide, we have seen that concepts are
categories or labels that refer to empirical referents. We have distinguished
between theoretical constructs (defined abstractly and can be related to
empirical traces or instances) and constructs that are invented to describe
empirical traces. These are processes of deductive and inductive concept
formation.
As we described in Chapter 1, the quantitative research strategy is typically
deductive in the approach to concept formation. We can use the example
of social survey research to help justify and describe the processes of
deductive concept formation. However, we have also shown how in the
increasingly popular technique of secondary analysis quantitative social
research may involve a process of inductive concept formation.
Similarly, the qualitative research strategy is typically viewed and justified
as an inductive approach attempting to reveal the social as it is seen by the
people who inhabit it. However, we have also seen how in some instances
qualitative can be deductive and how it necessarily involves some degree
of deduction.
An important lesson of this chapter is that although useful as learning
devices, the description of the two research strategies by Bryman and
others is a necessary oversimplification and thus we must be careful not to
apply it to reproduce stereotypes of the research process.
A reminder of your learning outcomes
At the end of this chapter, and having completed the Essential reading and
activities, you should be able to:
• distinguish sociological concepts from those used in everyday life
• discuss the differences between the typical processes of concept
formation found in qualitative social research compared with
quantitative social research
• describe the process of coding as a way of classifying data using a
theoretical scheme, and as a way of generating general categories by
identifying similar contents in the data
• discuss the differences between induction, deduction and retroduction
as descriptions of the process of social research.
145 Social research methods
46
Sample examination questions
1. Compare and contrast the process of concept formation in qualitative
and quantitative social research.
2. Examine the role of deduction and induction in qualitative and
quantitative social research.
Part B: Qualitative social research
47
Part B: Qualitative social research
In Part B, we are concerned with qualitative social research. In the next
two chapters, we will look at qualitative research design and qualitative
data analysis from a predominantly subtle realist perspective. In the
first chapter, we will challenge the view that qualitative research is a
purely inductive method. This challenge will take the form of listing
those components of research practice that must be defined before the
commencement of data collection and analysis. It also considers the case
of funded qualitative research in which certain aspects of research must
be well defined if the application for funding is to be successful. Although
qualitative social research is usually described as inductive, induction
in qualitative social research is more about sustaining conceptual and
methodological ‘openness’ and ‘flexibility’ in the conduct of data collection
and analysis. We shall see that both intellectual and practical influences
are important in shaping the design of qualitative research.
Learning about and learning how to conduct qualitative social research
is no easy task. Research practice is much less codified as a set of rules
than is the case with quantitative social research. Although there are an
increasingly large number of textbooks that attempt to generate ‘good
practices’ for the conduct of qualitative research, these are resisted by
some qualitative researchers. The process of conducting qualitative
research is not only less well defined, but may be more of a skill acquired
in practice rather than one that is acquired by taking courses. In addition,
it is now the case that there is a further sub-division between those called
‘subtle realists’ (Hammersley’s term) who are prepared to use language as
a resource to uncover the social world through qualitative data collection
and those influenced by post-modernist ideas and discourse analysis. In
discourse analysis, there is no ‘reality’ to be discovered and the outcome of
social research can only be a description of the ‘methods’ used by subjects
to construct social reality. This difference is the latest version of ‘the
paradigm wars’ and, as we shall see in Chapter 4, this ‘war’ now debates
the use of language in social research and resurfaces again when Bryman
considers how qualitative research should be written up (2005, pp.501–3).
Notes
145 Social research methods
48
Chapter 3: Designing qualitative social research
49
Chapter 3: Designing qualitative social
research
Aims and objectives
This chapter will:
• define the components of qualitative social research designs
• illustrate the issues in qualitative research design with special reference
to ethnography
• introduce the concept of purposive and theoretical sampling.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this chapter and having completed the Essential reading and
activities, you should be able to:
• explain and assess the degree to which qualitative research involves the
specification of a research design prior to the conduct of data collection
and analysis
• describe the sources of qualitative data such as ethnographic, in-depth
interviews, documentary evidence, and participant observation
• discuss the distinctive approach to sampling that is characteristic of
qualitative social research
• explain and assess the relative importance of concepts such as
‘induction’ and ‘flexibility’ in the design of qualitative social research.
Essential reading
Bryman, A. Social Research Methods, Part 3, Chapters 14, 15, 18 and 19. Also
Chapters 21 and 22.
Further reading
Byrne, B. ‘Qualitative Interviewing’ in Seale, C. (ed.) Researching Society and
Culture. (London: Sage Publications, 2004) [ISBN 9780761955986].
Devine, F. and S. Heath Sociological Research Methods in Context. (Basingstoke:
Palgrave, 1999) [ISBN 9780333666326] Chapter 7.
Fielding, N. ‘Ethnography’ in Gilbert, N. (ed.) Researching Social Life. (London:
Sage Publications, 2002) second edition [ISBN 9780761972457].
Kirk, J. and J. Miller Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Social Research.
(London: Sage Publications, 1986) [ISBN 9780803924703].
Miles, M. and M. Huberman Qualitative Data Analysis. (London: Sage
Publications, 1994) [ISBN 0803955405] Chapters 2, 3.
Ritchie, J. and J. Lewis Qualitative Research Practice. (London: Sage
Publications, 2003) [ISBN 9780761971108].
Tonkiss, F. ‘Focus Groups’ in Seale, C (ed.) Researching Society and Culture.
(London: Sage Publications, 2004) [ISBN 9780761955986].
Works cited
Garfinkel, H. Studies in Ethnomethodology. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall
1967).
Marshall, C., and G.B. Rossman Designing Qualitative Research. (London: Sage
Publications, 1995).
145 Social research methods
50
Scott, J. A Matter of Record. (Cambridge: Polity, 1994).
Seale, C. et al. ‘Introduction: Inside Qualitative Research’ in Qualitative
Research Practice. (London: Sage Publications, 2004)
Silverman, D. Doing Qualitative Research. (London: Sage Publications, 2005)
second edition.
Skeggs, B. The Formation of Class and Gender: Becoming Respectable. (London:
Sage Publications Ltd., 1997)
Introduction
The chapters that make up this second part of the subject guide are
designed to assist your learning about qualitative social research. In
Chapter 1 we learned that understanding social research involved being
very precise about the meaning of each of the following:
• a research strategy
• a research design
• a research method.
If you are still not sure about the precise differences between these
components of social research you should read the chapter again. In
Chapter 1, we also identified the characteristics of the qualitative research
strategy, and these are reproduced in Table 3.1.
Defining characteristics Meaning-centred
Descriptive aims Detailed descriptions of core meanings of
a culture. Interpretation of the meaning of
action.
Relationship between theory and
research
Theory generation by means of revealing or
reporting the constructions of reality in talk
and text including official documents.
Epistemology Interpretivism.The human nature of social
objects requires reference to the subjective
meaning when explaining social action.
Theory is generated by analysis of the
subjective.
Ontology The ‘social world’ is constructed in our
attempts to understand it and act upon it.
Theoretical perspectives Symbolic interactionism to postmodernism.
Social structure is formed by
institutionalised meanings and constructs.
Table 3.1 Qualitative research strategy
As described in Chapter 1, the choice between qualitative and quantitative
research strategy has been at the centre of the debate over the
methodology of the social sciences. However, in this subject guide, we
shall be paying more attention to research questions and the outcomes of
social research.
In this chapter, we are specifically concerned with one research method,
ethnography and the methods of data collection used in ethnography
(participant observation, interviews and analysis of documents). Bryman
(2004) in his discussion of the preoccupations of qualitative social
research, states that ethnography is a method of data collection and
analysis that has the following preoccupations:
Chapter 3: Designing qualitative social research
51
• depicting the social world as it is seen through the eyes of subjects
• providing description in context
• emphasising process (rather than structure)
• flexibility and limited structure in the research process
• developing concepts and theory grounded in data.
Any attempt to describe the process of research design in qualitative
research is faced with the problem that many advocates of qualitative
approaches are committed to the process of induction. A commitment to
induction implies that the defining components of the research design
and the methods of data collection and analysis, including the research
questions and outcomes, are determined during the conduct of the data
analysis. In qualitative research ‘research design’ is a continuous process
that is present during most phases of the research process. Thus, it is
misleading to think of the conduct of qualitative social research as one that
follows a logical three-stage sequence of:
1. research question
2. design of data collection
3. data analysis.
Activity: models of the research process
Bryman, on p.269 of the course textbook, presents a more complex model of the stages
of qualitative research. Examine this diagram now and list the differences between
Bryman’s models of the quantitative and qualitative research process.
Whatever the researcher’s degree of commitment to inductive research,
some decisions must be taken before embarking on data collection and
analysis. Academic social researchers embark on research projects that
are informed by their prior intellectual commitments to study the social
world with certain issues or problems or questions in mind. These issues,
problems or questions are likely to be linked to general theoretical
frameworks and, in some instances, to more specific theoretical themes.
All these have implications for the research design decisions and methods
of data collection and analysis.
Activity: prior intellectual commitments in the research process
Examine the summarised study of East End detectives by Dick Hobbs in Devine and Heath
Sociological Research in Context and look up the indexed references to Hobbs work in
Bryman. What prompted Hobbs to decide on his approach to his study of detectives?
All research is likely to be informed by prior experience that will include
theoretical thinking and informal analysis of data collected by informal
means. Data is routinely collected in everyday life, and some researchers
have pointed out the value of investigating topics that arise from personal
experience. These make it difficult to determine when the research process
actually begins. David Silverman (2005, 150) advises those thinking
about doing a social research project to search for data that might inform
the conceptualisation and theoretical thinking about a topic, rather than
‘doing’ data collection and analysis only after a research proposal has been
drafted. Before data collection can take place, a topic at least, and perhaps
a research question should be defined. Additionally, decisions should be
made about which social settings to observe, how these are to be selected
or sampled and how data is to be recorded or otherwise assembled.
145 Social research methods
52
In the case of applying for funding for qualitative social research, the
researcher will be constrained to make more explicit the design decisions
they will make or at least are likely to make during the unit of the
proposed research. Agencies and organisations that fund social research
will want to be convinced of the likely success of the research they are
funding and they will employ academics and others to review applications
or to establish the likely value of conducting the research.
According to Marshall and Bensman (1995), qualitative research proposals
typically include the following three sections:
• an introduction containing an overview of the proposal, a discussion of
the topic or focus of the inquiry and the general research questions, the
study’s purpose and potential significance, and its limitations
• a discussion of related literature that situates the study in the ongoing
discourse about the topic and develops the specific intellectual
traditions to which the study is linked
• the research design and methods, which detail the overall design, the
site or population of interest, the specific methods for gathering data,
a preliminary discussion of strategies for analysing the data and for
ensuring the trustworthiness of the study, a biography of the researcher,
and ethical and political issues that may arise in the conduct of the
study.
Marshall and Bensman (2005) also provide a detailed description of a
research proposal that is summarised in the following table.
Introduction: including an overview, and description of the topic and purposes of the
research.The potential significance of the research should be identified.
Framework and general research questions: including a review of literature,
and theoretical traditions, previous research.This section should conclude with an
assessment of theory and its relationship to the proposed research.
Design and methodology: including overall approach and rationale; site and
method of data selection (sampling), research methods chosen and data-analysis
procedures to be adopted.
Research staff and resources: including senior researcher experience
and performance in qualitative research and a review of ethical and political
considerations.
Table 3.2 Sections of a qualitative research proposal
In order to demonstrate the possibility of achieving satisfactory research
outcomes, applications for the funding of qualitative research must outline
research questions, settings, timings and locations of data collection, and
proposed methods of data analysis. The quality of such outlines, along
with other factors (including reputation, record of accomplishment of
previous research, organisational support, originality or contribution to
knowledge etc.) will largely determine the success of the application.
However, the proposal should reserve some essential flexibility and
openness in research questions and design because these are likely to
change during the unit of the research.
To reinforce the point as to how much thinking needs to be done prior
to the conduct of qualitative research, here are the criteria for evaluating
qualitative research, as proposed by Seale et al. (2001), that are of
particular relevance to the ‘design’ stage of qualitative research:
Chapter 3: Designing qualitative social research
53
• The aim and purpose of the proposed research should be described
and set in its historical, political, and disciplinary contexts? Does the
proposal show how the research will provide new insights in relation to
existing knowledge?
• The rationale for the design of the inquiry should be explained. What
arguments are made for a qualitative rather than a quantitative study?
• The particular contributions made by different methods for collecting
and recording evidence should be understood. How good is the
rationale provided to justify the choice of methods?
• A sampling method should be described and justified with reference to
ways of gaining access to sources of evidence and the implications of
these for the evidence gathered.
• The researcher should demonstrate openness to emergent issues.
• The rationale for the choice of analytic strategy should be clear, but
an awareness of the potential of other analytic strategies should be
demonstrated?
• The implications of the investigation for broader areas of knowledge
and practice (for example, theory, policy, practice) should be explored,
and be significant.
This list implies that a considerable amount of ‘pre-structuring’ takes
place before the beginning of data collection, and a certain amount of
preconceptualisation of issues and problems will be brought to the site of
the data collection and analysis.
Activity: defining plagiarism
How would you design research to reveal that what the university authorities might
define as plagiarism is very difficult to distinguish from what students might see as the
normal routines of academic work? To explore ambiguity in concepts of plagiarism how
would you embark on a qualitative study of an institution of higher education?
Would the study be entirely inductive? Would you have a research question to answer?
What are the contexts e.g. sites in which you would collect data? What time frame would
you adopt to complete the study?
Would data be collected in the form of official documents, interviews with student union
representatives, interviews with students? Could you use participant observation or
observation of meetings? Would focus groups help to explore concepts of plagiarism?
How would you record or collect and store the data to be analysed?
Finally, how would you argue that your research design was the most appropriate given
the topic of the research?
Sources of qualitative data
A popular qualitative research method in Britain is the unstructured or
in-depth interview. This is used to gain access to the social world through
‘structured conversation’. The participants in the in-depth interview have
roles in the research context, but the interviewer begins and directs the
conversation to a minimal degree, hoping to elicit what the subject thinks
is important about the research topic and to obtain their descriptions and
explanations as far as possible in their own words. A tape recorder is used
to record the interview and this is transcribed onto a text document.
Box 15.1 and Box 15.2 on pp.320–21 of Bryman describe examples of
unstructured and semi-structured interviewing. Clearly, the choice of
the degree of structure to use is a design question. Davies’s research
145 Social research methods
54
on female offenders, as summarised in Box 15.6, justifies the choice of
semi-structured interviews by the nature of the research question and her
commitment to feminist research.
Apart from choosing between the various types of questions that are
available, it is necessary to design the order of the questions that in the
case of Charmaz’s typology (Bryman, 2004, 237) follows a time order. In
using a qualitative data collection technique, such as in-depth interviews,
there are then a number of design elements that have to be decided upon
prior to the conduct of the fieldwork. The data collection may not be fully
inductive, although it can be flexible in allowing changes to be made
during the course of the investigation.
The in-depth interview aims to get close to the subjects’ view of the social
world. It constructs an artificial research situation however skilled the
interviewer is in making the subject feel that they are in a natural context.
A key influence on the subject in this context will be the character and
actions of the interviewer. One way of lessening the possible effect that
researchers may have on the subjects prepared and the answers they
will give is to use the ‘group interview’ or, as it is now known, the focus
group. This has become a very fashionable technique, but one that has a
long history. It involves an unstructured group interview conducted by a
moderator. The design issues in the use of focus groups are:
• How many groups to use?
• How to recruit members?
• How to establish rapport among the group?
• How and when to introduce prompts into the discussion?
• What degree of moderator involvement?
Again, in the conduct of qualitative research practice it is important to
recognise that decisions made at the design stage that act to structure
the experience of the subjects being studied may impact the behaviour,
perceptions and thus the data that will be collected.
Activity: designing focus group research
Read Chapter 16 of Bryman and retrieve one element of an answer for each of the above
questions on the design of focus group research.
Focus groups encourage participants to react to each other and to be
aware of what others might think and might say. Each subject is sensitised
to the social context of the group and usually the selection process ensures
that each member is similar in social respect. Minimising the role of the
observer or facilitator brings the social interaction within the group to the
foreground in something that approximates to a research social situation.
The school of ‘naturalism’ in qualitative research is closely associated with
ethnography which involves overt or covert participant observation. Covert
observation is used when access would not otherwise have been possible.
With overt participant observation, access is more likely to be regulated by
a key person or ‘gatekeeper’.
Activity: types of data in ethnographic studies
Read Bryman Box14.1 on p.292 and answer the following questions:
• What does Taylor’s study of female drug users reveal about ethnography?
• What data is collected by those using the ethnographic method?
Chapter 3: Designing qualitative social research
55
Those about to embark on designing qualitative social research are forced
to decide on the balance between naturalistic and artificial forms of data
collection. The school of ‘naturalism’ in qualitative research is closely
associated with ethnography and this involves either overt or covert
participant observation. With overt participant observation, access to people
and places is more likely to be regulated by a key person or ‘gatekeeper’ who
represents the interests of those granting access and possibly restricting the
quality of access. Covert observation is often used when access would not
otherwise have been possible. Covert observation may interfere with data
collection by means of fieldnotes. For Fielding (2001), the construction of
fieldnotes is the raison d’être for personal observation since data that cannot
be recorded is not ‘collected’ or analysed. The quality of ethnographical
observation is limited by the difficulties of gaining access and the final
quality of access. These are described in detail on pp.294–300 in Bryman.
Activity: alternatives to covert observation in ethnography
• What are the alternatives to covert observation when designing a study of a closed
setting?
Give examples from the study of football hooligans described in Bryman, Box 14.4 on
p.298.
Using documents
When conducting an ethnographic study a vast range of documentary
evidence may be assembled:
• Personal documents such as diaries and photographs.
• Official documents from public and private organisational archives.
• Mass media documents such as newspapers and magazines.
In design terms, these have the great advantage of being non-reactive.
Documentary evidence has been produced without the researcher being
involved in the construction of the data. Researcher involvement may have
a part to play where access to the full range of documentation is restricted
and in the selection of those documents to include in the study.
Confronted with a vast amount of documentary evidence, the selection may
proceed by applying Scott’s criteria (Scott, 1990):
• Authenticity or is the evidence genuine?
• Credibility or is the evidence free from distortion or error?
• Representativeness or is it typical and can we assess how typical it is?
• Meaning or can we understand the materials without undue uncertainty?
Activity: theoretical sampling and a study of family photographs
Look through your collection of family photographs to assess which ones you would select
as reflecting a true picture of your family life.
Having done this read Bryman pp.384–86 and apply Scott’s typology of:
• idealisation
• natural portrayal
• demystification.
Count how many of each you have selected. Now, go back to your collection and select
more photographs to ensure you have equal numbers of photographs in each of Scott’s
typology.
145 Social research methods
56
Then answer the following questions:
1. What research question would an analysis of family photographs allow you to
answer?
2. How would you go about selecting a sample of family photographs from a series of
households in a small community?
3. How might you try to ensure that each of Scott’s criteria for selection is covered?
Non-probability sampling and theoretical sampling
Qualitative social research involves the selection of sites, people, objectives
and documents. People, interactions, instances in documents and text are
selected for a reason – their relevance for the development of concepts
and theory. They are not brought to the study to be representative of any
population; selection is based on analytic importance. This is known as
non-probability or purposive sampling. Iterative theoretical sampling
refers to a technique used in grounded theory approaches where concepts
developed in the process of on-going data analysis are then used to search
for new instances and qualifying instances and new data sources are
defined to extend generality of conceptual framework and theory. This
sampling occurs at the fieldwork stage and it may only be suggested in a
research design or a research proposal. However, it is the use of an existing
or emergent theoretical framework to collect systematic data on each
concept deployed. It is an instance of design formulated during the process
of analysis.
The Jackson (2001) study, after the failure of their original systematic
sampling strategy, used snowball sampling and personal networks to get
variations in gender, sexual identity, disability, and subculture to allow
comparisons and variations to be explored.
Activity: sampling in qualitative research
Read Box 15.11 in Bryman p.335 and summarise in note form the sampling strategy in
Finch and Mason’s Family Obligations project.
Qualitative researchers are more committed to the idea of inductive social
research. There is a commitment to the use of sensitising concepts that
permit flexibility in description and allow a closer interaction between
conceptualisation and data collection and analysis. Qualitative research
is useful when the subject matter being investigated is relatively new or
unknown, or when the social context is less well defined and thus requires
exploration rather than measurement of concepts.
As in most things, the distinction between inductive and deductive social
research is both useful and dangerously over-simplistic. There are an
increasingly large number of books on qualitative research design and
many give advice and announce rules to govern design. Ultimately, these
are codifications of research practice that have been removed from their
context and as Seale and his co-writers argue such an approach loses the
insights to be gained from foreground research practice and the ‘tricks’
and strategies used by others (Seale et al., 2001, 1). As we have seen,
qualitative research involves deductive elements, and decisions that
need to be taken before the research process begins. The important point
in learning about the differences between qualitative and quantitative
research strategies is to know where there are similarities and where there
are differences.
Chapter 3: Designing qualitative social research
57
Prestructuring of qualitative research design
So far in this chapter, we have examined how much design is possible in
qualitative research and to some extent we have challenged any tendency
to see qualitative research as something that is designed as it is conducted.
This begs the question as to how far it is desirable to design qualitative
research.
It is an important design question for qualitative researchers to decide
how far they should go in ‘prestructuring’ their research activity. It is
likely that several factors will influence the extent to which a researcher
will choose to pre-structure the conduct of research practice. First, they
may be influenced by philosophical positions that require an unstructured
approach. Second the research question may be such that it requires an
unstructured approach. Third, if little is known about the research contexts
and the culture of the subjects to be found then there will be very little
basis upon which to structure the design. Fourth, if the context can only
be studied by means of covert observations then only unobtrusive methods
may be used, although other choices about research questions, sites and
contexts to be observed may be designed in the research proposed. Fifth,
if the research question is about a sensitive subject, those being studied
may resent their privacy being subject to formal methods of observation,
preferring an informal interview.
Conclusions
In Chapter 1, we learnt that induction is often held to be the defining
characteristic of qualitative social research. Its prime commitment was to
represent reality as far as possible in the concepts and meanings of those
directly involved and to minimise the contribution of the observer to the
construction of accounts of the social world. It follows that if research
is to be inductive, the degree of openness and flexibility is essential. In
practice, openness and flexibility means that the research can operate
at the stage of data collection and analysis relatively unconstrained by a
pre-determined research design. Design is more of an ‘ongoing’ process
in qualitative studies, one that may continue until nearly the end of the
project.
Given the commitment to induction and flexibility, qualitative research
does not ‘just happen’; it is shaped by a context and the choices that have
to be made. We have seen that decisions to use a range of data sources, or
to make judgments on the use of naturalistic and more artificial devices
for data collection, and on the election of data for inclusion in the study,
flowing as it does from choices of time-periods of observation and sites
of data collection. Where funded research is involved, research proposals
are required and these typically include specified research questions and
at least an outline of the research design. A less well-specified account of
the proposed research will only be allowed when the prior research record
of the proposer is thought to be adequate to predict the quality of the
research outcomes.
Amongst the decisions to be made are:
• Are multi-sources of qualitative data to be used, as in many
ethnographic studies?
• What balance between naturalistic and artificial research contexts is
desirable?
145 Social research methods
58
• How are individuals, items, contexts to be selected for inclusion in the
study? Is theoretical sampling to be practiced?
Questions remain about the time period of investigation and the sites
of data collection. Qualitative researchers often have predispositions to
use certain analytical techniques such as grounded theory, conversation
analysis, discourse analysis and narrative analysis. Once selected these
choices effectively rule out the pursuit of others.
An inductive strategy in qualitative research aims to maximise the
openness of theory, data sources and data analysis strategies. Openness
and flexibility maximise the possibility for ‘emergence’. The point about
qualitative design is not that it is inductive so much as that it is flexible
to allow induction to take place. Even where some initial decisions overly
structure data collection, they may be suspended or modified to allow
for a line of inquiry stimulated by data collected and/or inductive theory
development.
A reminder of your learning outcomes
At the end of this chapter, and having completed the Essential reading and
activities, you should be able to:
• explain and assess the degree to which qualitative research involves the
specification of a research design prior to the conduct of data collection
and analysis
• describe the sources of qualitative data such as ethnographic, in-depth
interviews, documentary evidence, and participant observation
• discuss the distinctive approach to sampling that is characteristic of
qualitative social research
• explain and assess the relative importance of concepts such as
‘induction’ and ‘flexibility’ in the design of qualitative social research.
Sample examination questions
1. Compare and contrast the role of deduction and induction in
qualitative and quantitative social research.
2. What do you understand by ‘research design’ in qualitative social
research?
3. To what extent is it desirable to pre-structure the conduct of qualitative
social research?