Theory and Methods | O'level Sociology Crash Course #sociologylecture

Summary

This lecture introduces the fundamental concepts of sociology, focusing on its theories and methods. It explains sociology as the study of human life and social structures, highlighting two main perspectives: structuralism, which views society's structures as determinants of human behavior, and interpretivism, which emphasizes individual agency. The video also covers consensus and conflict approaches, including functionalism, Marxism, and feminism. It outlines the research process in sociology, from hypothesis formulation to data collection and evaluation, and discusses various research methods such as questionnaires, interviews, experiments, case studies, and observation. The strengths and limitations of each method are examined, providing a comprehensive foundation for those interested in the sociological study of society.

Takeaways

• 😀 Sociology is the study of human life, groups, and societies, focusing on social factors that affect human life and behavior.
• 🏛️ Structuralism is a macro perspective in sociology that emphasizes the control and shaping of human life by societal structures like family, religion, and education.
• 🧐 Interpretivism is a contrasting approach to structuralism, positing that individuals and their experiences make up society and that humans actively shape societal norms and values.
• 🤝 Consensus approach in sociology, such as functionalism, views society as stable and harmonious, with institutions serving specific functions to maintain societal order.
• 🛑 Conflict approach, like Marxism and feminism, sees society as characterized by conflict, particularly between social classes or based on gender, with exploitation and power imbalances at the core.
• 🔍 Sociologists use various research methods to study society, including surveys, interviews, experiments, case studies, and observation, each with its strengths and limitations.
• 📊 Research process in sociology involves steps like defining aims and hypotheses, conducting pilot studies, selecting representative samples, collecting and evaluating data.
• ✅ The reliability of a research method refers to the consistency of results over time, while validity refers to the accuracy and richness of the explanations provided by the data.
• 🔑 Triangulation in research is the combination of multiple methods to enhance both reliability and validity, though it can be time-consuming and require skilled researchers.
• 📈 Secondary data can be quantitative, such as government statistics, or qualitative, such as historical documents and personal accounts, offering different insights but also potential biases.
• 📚 The importance of reading textbooks in conjunction with lecture series for a comprehensive understanding of sociology is emphasized, encouraging engagement and feedback from students.

Q & A

What is the fundamental focus of sociology?

Sociology is fundamentally the study of human life, groups, and societies, focusing on how social factors affect human behavior and the ways in which society influences our daily lives and decisions.

What is the main perspective of structuralism in sociology?

Structuralism is a macro perspective that believes society's structures, such as family, religion, and education systems, control and shape our lives, determining human experiences and behaviors.

How do interpretivists view the composition of society?

Interpretivists believe that society is made up of individuals, whose experiences, thoughts, and actions shape the norms and values of society. They argue that humans, being conscious and critical, create society through their reflections and behaviors.

What is the basic premise of functionalism in sociology?

Functionalism is a consensus approach that posits every institution in society has a specific function to perform, similar to organs in a body, to maintain the stability and functioning of society.

How does Marxism view societal structure and conflict?

Marxism is a conflict approach that sees society as divided into two main classes: the bourgeoisie (elite or upper middle class) and the proletariat (working class). It argues that society is stable because the bourgeoisie exploits the working class, leading to a conflict that may result in revolution.

What is the core belief of feminism in the context of societal conflict?

Feminism is a conflict approach that asserts patriarchy in society exploits women, leading to gender-based conflict. It focuses on the power imbalance and social structures that perpetuate the oppression of women.

What are the two types of experiments in sociology?

The two types of experiments in sociology are laboratory experiments, which are conducted in artificial settings like labs, and field experiments, which take place in natural environments such as schools or homes.

What are the key differences between closed-ended and open-ended questionnaires?

Closed-ended questionnaires have fixed options for respondents to choose from, which makes them more reliable but less valid as they don't capture the 'why' behind responses. Open-ended questionnaires allow respondents to write their answers, providing more valid and detailed information but are less reliable due to variability in responses.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of interviews as a research method?

Interviews provide detailed and valid data due to the flexibility and direct interaction with respondents. However, they can be time-consuming, less reliable due to variations in questioning, and may lead to socially desirable answers influenced by the interviewer's characteristics.

How does participant observation differ from non-participant observation in research?

In participant observation, the researcher takes part in the group being studied, which can lead to high validity but may also influence the behavior of the subjects. Non-participant observation involves studying a group from a distance without direct involvement, which can reduce the influence on behavior but may lack the depth of understanding gained from participation.

What is triangulation in research methods, and what are its benefits and challenges?

Triangulation is the combination of two to three different research methods in a study, such as mixing qualitative and quantitative approaches. It aims to enhance both reliability and validity. However, it can be time-consuming, require a skilled researcher, and may be energy-intensive.

What are the strengths and limitations of using secondary data in sociological research?

Secondary data, such as government statistics or historical documents, are readily available and can provide well-planned, valid, and reliable information. However, they may not be accurate, can be influenced by societal biases, and qualitative historical data may be unrepresentative and require cross-verification.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Sociology: Theories and Methods

The script begins with an introduction to the first unit of sociology, focusing on theories and methods. It defines sociology as the study of human life, groups, and societies, and how social factors influence our daily lives and decisions. The speaker outlines two primary sociological perspectives: structuralism, which views society's structures as shaping human experiences, and interpretivism, which emphasizes the role of individuals in creating society. The paragraph also introduces conflict and consensus approaches, with functionalism as a consensus approach that sees societal institutions serving specific functions, and Marxism and feminism as conflict approaches highlighting class and gender exploitation, respectively.

05:03

🔍 Sociologists' Research Process and Methodologies

This paragraph delves into the research process used by sociologists, starting with defining research aims and hypotheses. It discusses conducting pilot studies to test methods before full-scale research, selecting representative samples from a sampling frame, and the importance of sample diversity. The paragraph also covers data collection through primary and secondary research methods, the evaluation of research by peers for quality control, and the use of questionnaires, highlighting the differences between closed-ended and open-ended questions in terms of reliability and validity.

10:04

🗣️ In-Depth Exploration of Interview Techniques in Sociology

The speaker explains the three types of interviews used in sociological research: structured, unstructured, and semi-structured. Structured interviews involve pre-prepared questions asked in a set order, while unstructured interviews allow for more spontaneity and natural conversation. Semi-structured interviews offer a balance by mixing pre-decided questions with those that arise during the interview. The paragraph discusses the strengths of interviews, such as obtaining detailed and valid data, and the limitations, including time and energy consumption, lack of generalizability, and potential interviewer effects that could influence responses.

15:05

🔬 Experiments, Case Studies, and Longitudinal Studies in Sociological Research

This section covers various research methods, including experiments, case studies, and longitudinal studies. Experiments are less common in sociology due to their low validity and ethical concerns. Case studies provide in-depth analysis of a single group or event and can be both quantitative and qualitative. Longitudinal studies involve observing a group over an extended period, offering a comprehensive view of changes over time. The paragraph outlines the strengths and limitations of each method, such as high validity in case studies and the time-consuming nature of longitudinal studies.

20:07

👀 Observational Research and Content Analysis in Sociology

The paragraph discusses two additional research methods: participant and non-participant observation, and content analysis. Observational research allows researchers to gain deep insights into groups, with the type of observation (overt or covert) affecting the behavior of the subjects and the ethical considerations. Content analysis involves studying documents and media to identify patterns and trends, which is reliable but may lack detailed explanations. The speaker also touches on the concept of triangulation, combining multiple methods for increased reliability and validity.

25:08

📈 Secondary Data Types and Their Implications in Sociological Research

The final paragraph addresses secondary data types, including hard and soft statistics from government sources, and qualitative historical data such as letters and autobiographies. It outlines the strengths of secondary data, such as availability and the potential for trend analysis, and the limitations, including potential inaccuracies and biases that may reflect the interests of certain societal groups. The speaker concludes by encouraging viewers to read their textbooks for a deeper understanding and to provide feedback for future video topics.

Keywords

💡Sociology

Sociology is the scientific study of society, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and culture. It is central to understanding the video's theme as it discusses the various aspects of human social behavior and institutions. In the script, sociology is used to explore how social factors influence our daily lives and decisions.

💡Structuralism

Structuralism is a theoretical framework that views society as a complex system of interrelated parts or structures. It is a macro perspective that believes societal structures like family, religion, and education shape human experiences. The script mentions structuralism as one of the two main approaches to understanding societies, emphasizing how these structures control and determine human behavior.

💡Interpretivism

Interpretivism is a sociological perspective that focuses on understanding social phenomena from the viewpoint of the individual, emphasizing the importance of human agency. It contrasts with structuralism by arguing that individuals make up society and that human consciousness and critical reflection shape societal norms and values. In the script, interpretivism is presented as the opposite of structuralism, highlighting the role of individual experiences in forming society.

💡Functionalism

Functionalism is a consensus approach within sociology that sees society as a system of interdependent parts that work together to maintain stability. It is mentioned in the script as a theory where every social institution has a specific function, analogous to organs in a body, contributing to the smooth functioning of society.

💡Marxism

Marxism is a conflict approach in sociology that focuses on the struggle between social classes, particularly the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. It is introduced in the script as a theory that posits society's stability is due to the exploitation of the working class by the upper class, leading to a conflict that could result in a more equal society.

💡Feminism

Feminism is a conflict approach that addresses gender-based inequalities and the patriarchal structures that exploit women. It is discussed in the script as a perspective that sees society as being dominated by a system that oppresses women, leading to gender-based conflict.

💡Research Methods

Research methods are the techniques used by sociologists to study society. The script outlines various methods including questionnaires, interviews, experiments, case studies, longitudinal studies, participant and non-participant observation, and content analysis. These methods are crucial for collecting and analyzing data to understand societal patterns and behaviors.

💡Questionnaires

Questionnaires are a research tool used to collect data from a large number of respondents. They can be closed-ended, with fixed response options, or open-ended, allowing for more detailed responses. In the script, questionnaires are discussed for their efficiency and reliability, with examples of their use in primary research.

💡Interviews

Interviews are a method of qualitative research where researchers engage in a conversation with participants to gather detailed information. The script describes three types of interviews: structured, unstructured, and semi-structured, each with its own strengths and limitations in terms of data validity and reliability.

💡Experiments

Experiments are a research method where researchers manipulate variables to observe effects on behavior. The script notes that experiments are not frequently used in sociology due to ethical considerations and the artificiality of laboratory settings, but field experiments can provide valuable insights into natural behaviors.

💡Triangulation

Triangulation is a research approach that combines two or more methods to enhance the reliability and validity of the study. It is mentioned in the script as a way to achieve a more comprehensive understanding by integrating different perspectives and data types, although it can be time-consuming and require a skilled researcher.

Highlights

Sociology is the study of human life, groups, and societies.

Sociologists explore social factors that affect human life, such as norms and values instilled through education.

Structuralism is a macro perspective that views society's structures like family and education as controlling and shaping human life.

Interpretivism is the opposite of structuralism, emphasizing that individuals and their conscious actions make up society.

Consensus approach in sociology, such as functionalism, sees society as stable with institutions fulfilling specific functions.

Conflict approach, like Marxism, views society as unstable due to conflicts between social classes, particularly the exploitation of the working class.

Feminism, another conflict approach, argues that society operates through patriarchy, exploiting women based on gender.

Sociologists use various methods to study society, including research processes, pilot studies, and sampling.

Data collection can be done through primary and secondary research methods, each with its strengths and limitations.

Questionnaires can be closed-ended for reliability or open-ended for validity, with each type having its own advantages and disadvantages.

Interviews, which can be structured, unstructured, or semi-structured, provide detailed and valid data but may lack reliability.

Experiments in sociology are less common due to ethical and validity concerns, with field experiments being more valid than lab experiments.

Case studies offer in-depth analysis of a single group or event, with potential for wider conclusions but limited generalizability.

Longitudinal studies track a group over time, providing valid data but are time-consuming and may suffer from respondent dropout.

Participant and non-participant observation offer high validity but come with ethical considerations and potential influence from the researcher.

Content analysis examines patterns in documents and media, providing reliability but potentially lacking in validity.

Triangulation combines multiple research methods to enhance both reliability and validity, though it can be time and energy-consuming.

Secondary data types include hard and soft statistics, which have strengths like availability but also limitations like potential inaccuracies.

Qualitative historical secondary data, such as letters and autobiographies, offer high validity but may be biased and unrepresentative.

The lecture series encourages further reading of textbooks for a deeper understanding and invites feedback for future content.

Transcripts

hello everyone welcome back once again

so

now we'll start with unit one of

sociology which is theories and methods

but before moving on we need to

understand what is sociology the basic

question that everyone thinks so

sociology is basically the study of

human life the groups and the societies

that you live in so sociologists

basically explore social factors that

affect human life for example social

factors can be how you may dress when

you go to a funeral or when you go

outside you always think that what i'm

going to wear how i'm going to look how

people will think about me so these

social factors affect you and the way

society influences our daily lives so

society in a number of ways influences

our daily lives

and our daily decisions and our daily

behaviors for example

there there is a certain age you get

married there is a certain there is a

certain role that that that is

associated with boy or a girl

okay so in order to understand societies

we need to understand two main

approaches and it's very simple so one

first approach is structuralism so

basically

what do structuralists believe in and

how do structuralists who study the

society so structuralism is basically a

macro perspective

they believe that the structures of the

society including the family religion

these these larger structures family

religion education systems they

basically control our life and they

basically shape our lives so basically

these structures make up humans and

these structures determine human

experiences because these structures

basically

tell us how to live our life for example

the norms and values that may be

instilled in you

while you went to school so structures

are basically making up humans decay the

way you turn out to be so patriotic the

way you respect the way you become so

responsible so what makes us and what

makes you and i is totally dependent on

structures this is a simple argument

that structuralists believe in

secondly our second approach is exactly

opposite from structuralism which is

interpretivism so interpretivist believe

that the society is made up of

individuals on the other hand where we

see it's this this becomes very

confusing but it's exactly the opposite

so i'd like to point out one thing

you see the structuralists say that the

society makes up humans

but on the other hand interpretive say

that the individuals

make up the society

our experiences

make up the society and the argument

that they put forward is that because

human beings are conscious living beings

and unlike animals they're not like

animals we are not like animals we think

we analyze we critically

see things so we basically

make up the society the norms the values

that are present in the society

are because humans

reflect critically

now moving on to three main

approaches in sociology which is the

conflict and consensus approaches now

what is consensus so we all may have

heard the term consensus is when you

reach an agreement and on the other hand

conflict conflict is when

there is a disagreement over certain

things

so basically you need number one

approach is functionalism now

functionalism is basically a consensus

approach

functionalists believe that

every institution that is present in the

society has certain functions and they

give the analogy of a human body

so just like our heart our mind

our stomach our liver our hands our eyes

of a certain function

in a similar way the society and its

institutions have certain functions to

carry out and to make it more simpler

i'd like to give you some examples for

example in the society the function of

the education system is to educate a

child so that they can think critically

and can better analyze things and can

think out of the box or or simply the

education system can give them a number

of skills so that these skills can be

used in order to attain a certain degree

and then a certain job

so your education system has a function

the family's function is basically

to financially support a child to

emotionally support a child so that they

can become competent members of the

society thirdly you see that religion

also has a function a religion's main

function is to create a cohesive society

is to unite people in times of crisis

every institution that is present in the

society has a certain function to keep

the society running

more

stably you may have heard the term

marxism so marxism is basically a

conflict approach and they believe that

the society is made up of two classes so

you have the

the bourgeoisie so the term may sound

difficult to you but it's really easy

wazi in

common terms you'd say the elite people

the upper middle classes the people who

own lands the people who are

who own big businesses and then you have

the exact opposite opposite who are the

proliterates these are the working

classes now the main argument that

marxist give is that

there is a conflict in the society

because the bourgeoisie or in other

words the upper middle class are

exploiting the labor of the working

class and how are they exploiting

they're exploiting it by

by giving them low low wages

and by telling them that whatever they

whatever wages they're giving them

they're fair enough so they're also

manipulating them

okay whatever you're getting

it's it's fair and then this vicious

cycle

carries on the working class will

continue to suffer this exploitation and

azir khan

and the bhujawazi are continually going

to exploit them

so they believe that the society

is only stable because

the proliterate are being exploited and

once they

proliterate the working classes are

going to revolt they're going to they're

going to go against the bourgeoisie

you're going to rise up against them and

ask their rights

then they'll then will see a more equal

society so marx's basic argument is that

two classes there are two classes and

the two

both of them are in conflict

thirdly we have feminism now feminism

feminism is also a conflict approach and

they believe that patriarchy

is present in the society which

basically exploits women

so

in feminism we have a basic argument

which is gender-based conflict

the society runs by exploiting

one gender which is women

moving on

the basic thing that you need to

understand is how do

sociologists study society

so sociologists we

tend to call sociology as a social

science and there are certain ways and

certain methods we study society

okay so there is a research process that

you need to understand the first is your

aim and your hypothesis so aim of your

research what you're trying to study

what you're trying to investigate

hypotheses is a testable statement that

you form before carrying out a

research

so your next step is carrying out a

pilot study now pilot study is a small

scale

study that you carry out before

actually doing the research itself

because the research is going to take

your time your

money so

you carry out a small scale trial run

which is carried out before the main

research so it can save you time money

and effort in the long run because the

researcher can check whether the chosen

research method which can be interview

questionnaire or

participant observation is likely to be

useful or not then we come on to our

third step which is

selecting a sample now what is a sample

a sample is a selection of population

that is used for a study

and how do you select a sample a sample

is selected from a sampling frame a

sampling frame is a list of members of

the population for example you select a

sample from a school register

a list of member subscriptions on the

royal mail's list of postcard addresses

and

your sample needs to be representative

now what does representative means it

means that it needs to be representative

of the entire population so your sample

needs to have a good ideal sample is

that which covers people from all ages

from all sexes

and from all um ethnicities and races so

it should be maximum it should be

representative of the society because

you cannot take

millions of people in your sample

so you take only five to ten people so

which means if in these five to ten

people should be representative of the

entire society that you are

doing the research for so that your

results can be more accurate

then comes another step which is data

collection now in data collection you

can

collect data by

using primary research methods or

secondary research methods people mainly

use a mixture of two which is primary

plus secondary primary basically is the

first hand information that you

gather by yourself for example by

designing your questionnaire and then

giving out to people this is how you

basically uh carry primary data and

secondary data is basically for example

the government stats that are

present on the internet on the official

websites this is secondary data

and then comes the data evaluation so

before the research can be published it

is evaluated by the experienced

sociologists this form of peer

assessment acts as a form of quality

control so there is proper evaluations

you see your strengths and your

weaknesses what is lacking and then you

can publish your research

so moving on with questionnaires so

questionnaires can be close-ended or

they can be open-ended now what i mean

by closed close ended is that the

options that you give are fixed

so you only have to choose from the

options yes no

or other options that you may give but

an open-ended questionnaires you have

the option to write your answer

now bigger strength of questionnaires is

that they

are cheaper

and they are less time consuming and

they are more and they are more reliable

especially when you have closed-ended

questions questionnaires now why are

they reliable

reliability basically means that you get

these same results

over and over again so

even if i give this questionnaire two

years later i'll get the same results

what i got

two years before so this is reliability

and in close ended questionnaire you

basically have options and from these

options you

pick one but

if you have questionnaire with

open-ended answers then

its trends are going to vary it is going

to be less it is going to be cheaper it

is going to be less time consuming it is

rather than having high reliability it

is going to going to have high validity

and what does validity mean validity

means when you get results which are

rich in explanations when you get that

why answer when people are more ex when

people explain things to you so you get

more valid answers you get to understand

that why so these are some of these

trends of questionnaires now moving on

to the weaknesses now the biggest

weakness of closed-ended questionary is

that you don't get the why part you

don't understand so it's very low in

validity and

questioners can have low response rate

or in questionnaires you may not

understand or people may lie or you may

not um

you may not people may lie and you also

don't know who may have filled the

questionnaire and people may have

understood the question or not so these

are some of the weaknesses of

questionnaires now in

i'd say

the sim these same weaknesses can also

be applied for open-ended question

questionnaires except that in open-ended

questionnaires you have low reliability

this is one of the weaknesses

except

other than that you have same weaknesses

as i earlier told you for closed-ended

questionnaires now moving on to our

second research method which is

interviews now first you need to

understand there are three types of

interviews there is structured

interviews unstructured interviews and

semi-structured interviews in

unstructured interviews or casual

interviews for example

you your question your for example your

friend may want to interview

you for a a for fraud project that they

are doing and she may tell you or he may

tell you that it's a very casual form of

interview

where each question the interviewee

thinks right there in front of you and

ask you another question so these are

unstructured interviews and they are

structured into restructured interviews

in structured interviews you basically

go to an interview with prepared

questions and you ask those questions

in order and then there are

semi-structured interviews which are a

mix of

pre-decided questions and these

questions that you come up during the

interview

okay

so in interviews you have certain

strengths and limitations

in interviews you get detailed and valid

data

so your flexibility allows you for

detail interviews can act interviews can

access because the respondent is present

in front of you so you may explain the

question you know how they're answering

them and you can bring out more info for

your study but the limitations are that

you need to select a time space so this

can be quite quite time and energy

consuming

another weakness of interviews is that

you're not able to make generalization

the standard questions are not used

they're less reliable and

because everybody is going to respond in

a different way and so they they they

have high validity but they are low in

reliability

and another thing a very important thing

another weakness is that people may

change their answers because we get

intimidated by the person

sitting in front of us so we may give

answers that the other person may expect

from us so we may alter our answers this

can

leave a huge loophole in your research

study people monitor their answers their

their behavior so you call this they may

give socially desirable answers in order

to impress you and this usually happens

because of the interview your

interviewer effect which may be because

of the interviews age gender or

ethnicity and then we move on to a third

research method which is experiments

so

experiments are not frequently used in

sociology

you need to understand that in sociology

you have two kinds of experiments there

are live watery experiments

which are carried out in a artificial

setting

and they're carried out most in labs as

the name suggests

and then there are field settings so

field settings are carried out in your

natural environment for example in your

school environment in your home

environment in the shopping area like

water experiments are

not

are not easy to carry out because

one of the biggest weakness of libor

experiments is that

they are very low in validity because

you are observing people's you're

observing a person's behavior in a lab

and

they may not act

naturally as they

may usually behave in your in their

natural environment so these

and they also they also have these

ethical and moral limitations because

you cannot study living human beings in

libraries so they're not frequently used

in sociology

and then you move on to the field

experiments so field experiments so in

field experiments you have a biggest

strength which is that people do not

alter the behavior because when you

study someone in the national setting

they are behaving as in in a very candid

way so this this gives you a good so

this gives you a good idea of what

you're trying to see and

feel experiments have good validity good

reliability

but the weakness is that it is it is a

lot of time consuming

and it takes a lot of energy

case studies so another method that is

used as case studies so case studies

so case studies are basically detailed

study of one group or one event so case

studies can be quantitative or they can

be qualitative mostly they're

qualitative so there is one person

that you may be studying very

in in much more detail so this trends

are they can explore it's through case

studies you can explore the different

types of a case deep and detailed

account of a case if a case is carefully

chosen then wider conclusions can be

made can be tested by the researchers as

well but on the other hand you have

certain limitations which are that they

only apply to a case so generalizations

cannot be made the findings cannot be

replicated because as i told you

when you have high reliability you get

the same results

but one person's findings may vary from

another person the weakness is that the

deep involvement of researcher can

influence the findings so your own

biases may come into the research which

is not good for your research and then

you move on to another method which is

longitudinal studies so longitudinal

studies is a survey taking place at

intervals for a long time

so basically you study a group for a

long period of time

and these trends are so these trends are

you basically get a snapshot of what you

are

researching so from the beginning till

the end it's like a movie long film that

you are seeing and respondents will

usually provide valid data as they have

been committed as they have been

committed to the research and you

basically see from where it all started

and where it all ended

limitations and limitations you see that

they are very time consuming and they

require respondents commitment and

researchers biases can also come in and

re respondents may leave at any point in

time and then your research may be left

incomplete so in order to carry out

longitudinal studies you require a lot

of time and effort and a lot of

pre-planning so they're not easy to

carry out then you have participant and

non-participant observation so in so in

participant observation as the name

suggests

researcher takes part in that study and

in non-participant observation the

researcher is not present with the group

but they

but they basically

studied the group or um

they basically studied the group from a

distance

you understood what is participant and

what is non-participant observation

then there are also two dice or covert

and oh but as the name suggests covert

is when you hide your identity while

you're studying a group and overt is

when you tell the group that you are a

researcher and you're participating in

this research and you need to collect

certain

data so the strength of

observation is that there is high

validity because you're present with the

re you're present with the respondents

they're giving you the answers you can

get detailed information

you can have deep understanding of the

groups so these are some of these trends

and then there is there are limitations

so limitations are going to vary from

over to covert so when you have overt

people may change their behavior they

may act differently because they know

that they're being observed in covet you

have that they may be this this can be

ethically challenging because you may

lie because you're lying and receiving

the group and you're hiding your

identity so these are some of the

weaknesses of overt and covert and again

going to vary from group to group our

last method which is content analysis

so basically content analysis is this

when you study the content of documents

and mass media you define a set of

category and classify the material by

seeing how much it appears so basically

you see the trends and the patterns the

strength is that it is in statistical

form so it is high in reliability you

can carry out comparative analysis

because it's

you basically are seeing these stats

you're seeing patterns and trends

limitations are the statistics and

interesting but that does not tell us

the y answer so when something does not

tell you the y answer so it is obviously

going to be low in validity because

you're not getting the

detailed information

there is another method which is

triangulation so triangulation is

basically the amalgamation of two to

three types of research methods

in a study you may choose one

quantitative method one qualitative

method so one qualitative method could

be observation and one quantitative

method could be structured interviews

and when you have a mixture of both

quantitative and qualitative methods

then you get both reliability in both

validity because as i told you earlier

reliability is has to do

mostly with statistics mostly with

getting same results patterns and trends

and validity has to do mostly with

with detailed information

and limitations is that when you combine

two to three two to three methods they

can be time consuming the researcher

needs to be skilled and

obviously it is going to be energy

consuming and time consuming

okay lastly we see that we have

secondary data types so secondary data

ties can be in the form of national

local governments they can be hard taken

behind statistics for heart statistics

can be heart statistics are free from

error or incompleteness

they are

like your they're like birth rates or

marriage rates or death rates of a

society and soft statistics depend on

people making choices what they record

crime and unemployment so you need to

understand what are some of the

strengths and weaknesses of

secondary data types so they're readily

available in the free of charge because

they're present on the internet produced

by research and then second is that

they're produced by research that is

well planned more valid reliable and

representative

part longitudinal research thus it shows

trends obviously youth collecting stats

they allow comparisons to be made and

they are mainly used for they're mainly

used by sociologists who basically want

to come up with the policy or want to

give a new

idea

a practical idea but the limitations is

that these charts may not be accurate

the stats may be changed by the

government for their own benefits you so

you have to take everything with a pinch

of salt

some say the marxists for example say

that these stats basically reflect the

interests of the upper class and

interpretivists argue that these are

socially constructed rather than

objective facts so basically they're

influenced by the society okay so lastly

we see that in secondary data types we

also have these

on one hand i told you we have this

quantitative secondary data which is in

the form of national and local

government statistics hard stats and

soft stats

but you also have qualitative historical

secondary data which can be in the form

of letters and diaries

and

in the form of

people's autobiographies or biographies

which you may collect and there are

certain strengths and limitations of

that strengths are that they're high in

validity the first in account of people

involved descriptive detail and insights

missing in statistics limitations are

there unrepresentative they can be

biased and they

need to be

checked against other sources

so

this is the end of our chapter the unit

one this was just a short crash course

an overview of theories and methods i

would recommend you all to please go

through your book

it is a must that you need to read your

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series or listen to my lecture series

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teach you

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and socialization

a crash course on that unit then please

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