Applying Material from Item C, Evaluate the View that Theoretical Factors are the Most Important Influence on a Sociologist’s Choice of Research Method (20)

Last Updated on October 5, 2026 by Karl Thompson

Theoretical factors are the influences on a sociologist’s choice of research method that come from their view of what society is and how it should be studied. In practice that mostly means two things. The first is whether the researcher takes a positivist or an interpretivist approach. The second is which they value more: reliability and representativeness, or validity. They sit alongside practical factors (time, money, access) and ethical factors (consent, harm, deception). Students often remember the three together as PET: Practical, Ethical, Theoretical. For a fuller explanation of all three, see Factors Affecting Choice of Research Methods.

This question was written for AQA A-level Sociology Paper 3 (7192/3) for June 2021, as Question 06, the 20 mark Theory and Methods essay. The summer 2021 exams were cancelled, and AQA released the paper afterwards for practice. The guidance below comes from the AQA’s June 2021 Paper 3 mark scheme. The essay is my own.

An A-level sociology essay written for the AQA’s 7192 (3) specification, exam paper 3.

The Question

Item C

Before they begin research, sociologists have to make choices about which research methods to use. Positivists favour methods that are more likely to generate quantitative data as they want to discover laws of human behaviour. Others prefer methods that enable a sociologist to gain a deeper understanding of why people behave in certain ways.

Alternatively, it could be argued that practical and ethical factors are more important influences on a sociologist’s choice of research method.

Applying material from Item C and your knowledge, evaluate the view that theoretical factors are the most important influence on a sociologist’s choice of research method. (20 marks)

What the Mark Scheme Rewards

To reach the top band (17–20 marks) the mark scheme asks for:

• sound, conceptually detailed knowledge of a range of material
• material from the item applied accurately
• explicit analysis and evaluation, reaching appropriate conclusions

It suggests developing the evaluation as a debate about the relative importance of theoretical, practical and ethical factors, and the relationship between them. The 20 marks split 8 for knowledge and understanding (AO1), 6 for application (AO2) and 6 for analysis and evaluation (AO3).

Concepts and sociologists the mark scheme suggests include:

• positivism, interpretivism, reliability, validity, representativeness, value freedom, informed consent, deception, funding, access, and researcher skills and characteristics
• Comte, Durkheim, Weber, Becker, Gouldner, Humphreys, Milgram, Oakley and Venkatesh

One warning from the lower bands. Drifting into a list of the strengths and weaknesses of different methods is described as material at a tangent to the question. Every paragraph needs to come back to why a sociologist would choose a method, not just what the method is good or bad at.

The Essay

Introduction

A variety of factors influence a sociologist’s decision as to what research method they use: theoretical, practical and ethical factors, and the nature of the topic being studied. Item C sets out the theoretical case: positivists and interpretivists prefer different methods because they have different aims. It also raises the alternative view that practical and ethical factors matter more. This essay will argue that theoretical factors usually set a sociologist’s preferred method, but that practical and ethical factors often decide whether that preference can actually be carried out.

Theoretical factors: positivism and the search for laws

Point: As Item C says, positivists favour methods that generate quantitative data because they want to discover laws of human behaviour.

Explain: Positivists are interested in uncovering the underlying general laws that lie behind human action. They thus prefer quantitative methods because these enable large samples to be drawn and allow for the possibility of findings being generalised to the wider population. They also prefer quantitative methods because the data can be put into graphs and charts, allowing for easy comparisons to be made at a glance. Another method that is linked to the positivist tradition is the experiment – laboratory experiments allow researchers to examine human behaviour in controlled environments and so allow researchers to accurately measure the effects of one specific variable on another.

Analyse: Representativeness is part of the same theoretical choice. Obviously if one wants large samples one should use quantitative methods – as with the UK National Census. However, one may not need a large sample depending on the research topic. A positivist aim only makes sense if the findings can be generalised, so the theory here directly shapes the method.

Criticise: It is too simplistic to suggest that sociologists simply fall into two separate camps, positivists or interpretivists. Many researchers use triangulation, combining different types of method so that the advantages of one will compensate for the disadvantages of another. If a researcher is willing to mix methods, their theoretical position is clearly not the only thing deciding their choice.

Theoretical factors: interpretivism and validity

Point: Item C refers to ‘others’, who prefer methods that give a deeper understanding of why people behave in certain ways. These are interpretivists, who generally prefer qualitative methods, which are regarded as having high validity.

Explain: Validity is the extent to which research provides a true and accurate picture of the aspect of social life that is being studied. Most sociologists would agree that there is little point doing sociological research if it is invalid. Qualitative methods should be more valid because they are suitable for gaining an in-depth and empathetic understanding of the respondent’s views of life – what Weber called verstehen. Qualitative methods are flexible, and allow for the respondents to speak for themselves, which avoids the imposition problem as they set the research agenda. Qualitative methods also allow for rapport to be built up between the respondent and the researcher, which should encourage more truthful and in-depth information to flow from the respondents. The final reason why qualitative methods such as participant observation should yield valid data is that they allow the researcher to see the respondents in their natural environment.

Analyse: The theoretical choice here is about what matters more, validity or reliability. Reliability is the extent to which research can be repeated and the same results achieved. Positivists point out that it is more difficult for someone else to replicate the exact same conditions of a qualitative research project, because the researcher is involved in sustained contact with the respondents, and the characteristics and values of the researcher may influence the reactions of respondents. Interpretivists are happy to forgo reliability if they gain more valid and in-depth data.

Criticise: Because the researcher is not ‘detached’ from the respondents, this may detract from his or her objectivity. Participant observers such as Willis and Venkatesh have, for example, been accused of going native – where they become overly sympathetic with the respondents. Interpretivists would react to this by pointing out that human beings are not machines, and there are some topics that require close human contact to get to the truth – sensitive issues such as abuse and crime may well require sympathetic researchers who share characteristics in common with the respondents. Notice that this reply is partly about the topic, not just the theory, which suggests theory doesn’t work alone.

Theoretical factors: values

Point: A sociologist’s values are also a theoretical influence on their choice of method.

Explain: Howard Becker argued that there is a case for doing qualitative research to study the underdog, giving a voice to the marginalised, whose opinions are often not heard in society. On this view, the researcher’s commitments shape their methods as much as their view of science does.

Analyse: This strengthens the view in the question, because it shows theory influencing method in a second way. It isn’t just positivist versus interpretivist; it’s also the researcher’s view of whose side sociology should be on.

Criticise: But the line between theory and ethics blurs here. Becker’s point is as much a moral argument as a theoretical one, which suggests the three factors are harder to separate than the question implies.

Practical factors

Point: Item C raises the alternative view that practical factors are more important. Practical issues certainly have an important influence on choices of research method.

Explain: As a general rule, quantitative methods cost less and are quicker to carry out compared to more qualitative methods, and the data is easier to analyse once collected, especially with pre-coded questionnaires, which can simply be fed into a computer. Funding matters too: a researcher can only use the methods they can pay for, and whoever funds the research may have their own preferences about what kind of data they want. Researchers might also find respondents more willing to participate if the research is less invasive – questionnaires rather than participant observation.

Analyse: Practical factors can override theory completely. A researcher who would prefer a year of participant observation cannot do it without the time, the money and access to the group. However, qualitative methods, although less practical, may be the only sensible way of gaining valid data, or any data at all, for certain topics – unstructured interviews are best for sensitive topics, while participant observation may be the only way to gain access to deviant and criminal groups.

Criticise: So practical factors usually narrow the choice rather than make it. They decide which of the methods a researcher would like to use is actually possible. But the preference itself still tends to come from theory.

Ethical factors

Point: Ethical factors also influence the choice of research methods, and Item C suggests they might be more important than theory.

Explain: Research usually has to pass an ethics review before it can go ahead, and most sociologists follow the British Sociological Association’s Statement of Ethical Practice. How ethical a research method is depends on the researcher’s efforts to ensure that informed consent is achieved, and that data is kept confidential and not used for purposes other than the research.

Analyse: Real ethical dilemmas can occur with covert participant observation. Humphreys’ Tearoom Trade (1970) is the classic example: he observed men meeting for sex in public toilets without their knowledge, and later traced some of them to their homes to interview them under a false pretext. The study produced data that could not have been gained any other way, but at the cost of deception and a serious risk of harm to the men involved.

Criticise: However, sometimes the benefits gained from a study may be judged to outweigh the ethical problems, and some covert research still goes ahead. Ethics more often rules a method out than chooses one. A researcher rarely picks a method because it is ethical; they drop one because it isn’t.

The nature of the topic

Point: The nature of the topic also matters.

Explain: There are certain topics which lend themselves naturally to certain modes of research. Measuring how people intend to vote naturally lends itself to phone surveys, for example, while researching sensitive and emotive topics would be better approached through unstructured interviews.

Analyse: This links all the factors together. The topic affects which data is valid (theory), what access is possible (practical), and how much risk of harm is involved (ethical).

Conclusion

In conclusion there are a number of different factors that interrelate to determine a sociologist’s choice of research method – practical, ethical, theoretical and the nature of the topic under investigation. In addition, sociologists will evaluate these factors depending on their own individual values.

Theoretical factors are the most important in one specific sense: they usually decide what a researcher is trying to find out, and so which kind of data they want in the first place. But practical and ethical factors decide whether that choice can actually be carried out, and they can override it entirely. The view in the question is best accepted as a starting point rather than a complete explanation: theory sets the preference, and practical and ethical factors set the limits.

Short Version of This Essay

• Introduction: four factors (theoretical, practical, ethical, nature of topic). Argue that theory sets the preference and the others set the limits.
• Positivism: laws of behaviour (Item C); quantitative methods; large samples; generalisation; experiments. Few sociologists are purely positivist; triangulation.
• Interpretivism: deeper understanding (Item C); validity; verstehen; rapport; natural setting. Less reliable; risk of going native (Willis, Venkatesh).
• Values: Becker and the underdog. Blurs theory and ethics.
• Practical factors: time, cost, funding, access, ease of analysis. They narrow the choice rather than make it.
• Ethical factors: BSA, informed consent, confidentiality; Humphreys and covert observation. Ethics usually rules methods out rather than choosing one.
• Nature of the topic: voting intention and surveys; sensitive topics and unstructured interviews. Links all the factors.
• Conclusion: theory is the most important starting point, but practical and ethical factors often decide the outcome.

How This Essay Measures Up Against the Mark Scheme

AQA hasn’t published a student response for this question, so this is a reading of the essay against the June 2021 level descriptors, not an official mark.

• Range of knowledge. Positivism, interpretivism, validity, reliability, representativeness, verstehen, values, practical and ethical factors and the nature of the topic, with Weber, Becker, Humphreys, Willis and Venkatesh. That is most of the mark scheme’s indicative content.
• Application. Both theoretical paragraphs open from the item’s own wording, and the practical and ethical sections answer the item’s ‘alternatively’ sentence. That matters, because the AO2 marks depend on using the item.
• Evaluation. Each section ends by asking how much that factor really decides the choice, which is the ‘relative importance’ debate the top band describes. The conclusion takes a position rather than just listing the factors.
• Staying on the question. The validity and reliability material is the part most at risk of drifting into strengths and weaknesses of methods. It’s tied back to choice each time, but under exam conditions this is where answers usually lose focus.

KT’s Commentary

This is a very broad question, which is both its attraction and its trap. You know a lot that’s relevant, so the temptation is to write it all down. A commenter on an earlier version of this post asked why it spent so long on qualitative and quantitative methods instead of PET factors. That’s fair. The answer is to keep every paragraph pointed at the word ‘choice’.

The item gives you the structure for free. Its first paragraph is the theoretical case; its second is the alternative. Use both, and say which you’re using.

Related Posts

• Factors Affecting Choice of Research Methods – theoretical, practical and ethical factors in full
• Positivism and Interpretivism in Social Research – the two theoretical approaches
• Outline and Explain Two Reasons Why Interpretivists Prefer to Use Qualitative Methods of Research (10) – a set 10 mark question on the same material
• Outline and explain two reasons why Positivists generally prefer to use quantitative methods (10)
• Validity in Sociology and Reliability in Sociology

Source: AQA (2021) A-level Sociology 7192/3 Paper 3 Crime and Deviance with Theory and Methods: question paper and mark scheme, June 2021. Item and question reproduced, and mark scheme guidance summarised, for educational purposes.

Theory and Methods A Level Sociology Revision Bundle

If you like this sort of thing, then you might like my Theory and Methods revision notes bundle – specifically designed to get students through the theory and methods sections of A level sociology papers 1 and 3. It contains the following:

1. 74 pages of revision notes
2. 15 mind maps on various topics within theory and methods
3. Five theory and methods essays
4. ‘How to write methods in context essays’.

Signposting

This post has been written for students studying theory and methods as part of the AQA’s A-Level Sociology course. For more exam practice, see my page on sociology past papers and exam advice.