Topic Summaries

Comparing research methods

A-Level > Sociology > AQA > A Level Sociology Topic Summaries > Research methods > Comparing research methods
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Exam overview
Method Strengths Weaknesses Examples
Laboratory experiments
  • Precise measurement of independent and dependent variables
  • Allows testing of cause-and-effect relationships
  • High reliability due to standardised procedures
  • Easy to replicate for verification
  • Better control over extraneous variables
  • Low ecological validity; artificial setting affects natural behaviour
  • Often impractical or unethical for studying social groups
  • Risk of physical or psychological harm to participants
  • Limited to small samples which may be less representative of populations
  • Risk of Hawthorne effect (participants change behaviour under observation)
  • 👤 Milgram’s (1963) obedience study (electric shock experiment)
Field experiments
  • Higher ecological validity due to natural settings
  • Can observe real-world behaviour while manipulating variables, reducing demand characteristics
  • Combines some control with realism
  • Lower control over extraneous variables.
  • Harder to replicate
  • Potential ethical problems such as deception or lack of informed consent
  • Practical difficulties (time, cost, unpredictability)
  • 👥 Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) teacher expectations and the Pygmalion effect
Comparative method (👤 Durkheim)
  • Uses secondary data for large-scale analysis across societies
  • Avoids many ethical issues
  • Useful for historical and cross-cultural comparisons
  • Cost-effective and practical
  • Limited control over original data collection methods
  • Data may be incomplete, inaccurate, or not directly suited to research aims
  • Risk of ignoring cultural context
  • 👤 Durkheim’s (1897) Le Suicide comparing suicide rates across Europe
Questionnaires
  • Can collect large amounts of data quickly
  • Reliable and standardised through identical questions
  • Representative if random sampling is used
  • Cost-efficient for large populations
  • Low validity due to closed questions and superficial responses
  • Risk of low response rates
  • Answers may be false or influenced by social desirability bias

  • UK Census, taken every 10 years to collect demographic data
Structured interviews
  • High reliability due to fixed wording and standardised order of questions.
  • Allows interviewer to clarify misunderstood terms before recording data.
  • Can ensure all relevant topics are covered.
  • Typically a higher response rate than questionnaires.
  • Lacks flexibility, cannot follow up interesting responses
  • Produces less depth and personal detail
  • Interviewer effect/bias may still influence answers
  • Time-consuming compared to questionnaires
  • Government Labour Force Survey
Unstructured interviews
  • High validity due to open-ended, conversational style of questions and interviewing
  • Allows exploration of meanings and personal experiences
  • Encourages trust and rapport between interviewer and participant
  • Time-consuming to conduct and analyse
  • Smaller sample sizes limit generalisability
  • High risk of interviewer bias through verbal and non-verbal cues.
  • Data analysis is complex
  • 👤 Ann Oakley’s (1974) interviews on women’s experiences of motherhood
Participant observation
  • Provides rich, highly valid data from direct experience
  • Insider status helps understand meanings and group norms
  • Covert observation reduces reactivity
  • Ethical issues, especially with covert research (lack of consent, deception)
  • Time-consuming and emotionally demanding
  • Hard to replicate, so reliability is low
  • Risk of Hawthorne effect if overt
  • 👤 Willis’ (1977) Learning to Labour study of working-class boys in school
Non-participant observation
  • More objective as the researcher remains detached
  • Enables study of groups that a researcher could not realistically join
  • Less disruption to the group
  • Suitable for studying dangerous or sensitive contexts
  • Limited depth of understanding
  • Difficult to capture motives behind behaviour
  • Greater risk of Hawthorne effect if participants know they are observed
  • OFSTED school inspections, observing lessons without direct participation

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