ReviseSociology

Tag: quantitative

  • The Steps of Quantitative Research

    There are 11 stages of quantitative research: 1. Start with a theory; 2: develop a hypothesis; 3: Research design; 4: operationalise concepts; 5: select a research site; 6: sampling 7: data collection; 8: data processing; 9: data analysis; 10: findings/ conclusion; 11: publishing results.

  • Longitudinal Studies

    Longitudinal Studies are studies in which data is collected at specific intervals over a long period of time in order to measure changes over time. This post provides one example of a longitudinal study and explores some the strengths and limitations of this research method. With a longitudinal study you might start with an original…

  • Evaluating the Usefulness of Official Statistics

    Official Statistics are numerical data collected by governments and their agencies. This post examines a ranges of official statistics collected by the United Kingdom government and evaluates their usefulness. The aim of this post is to demonstrate one of the main strengths of official statistics – they give us a ‘snap shot’ of life in the U.K. and they…

  • Scientific Quantitative Methodology in Sociology

    Positivists prefer to the limit themselves the study of objective ‘social facts’ and use statistical data and the comparative method to find correlations, and multivariate analysis to uncover statistically significant ‘causal’ relationships between variables and thus derive the laws of human behaviour. This post explores the Positivist approach to social research, defining and explaining all of the above…

  • Surveys on Family Life in the UK

    Social Surveys are one of the most common methods for routinely collecting data in sociology and the social sciences more generally. There are lots of examples of where we use social surveys throughout the families and households module in the A level sociology syllabus – so what do they tell us about family life in modern…

  • Official Crime Statistics for England and Wales

    The two main sources of official statistics on Crime in the UK (or rather England and Wales!) are: Police Recorded Crime – which is all crimes recorded by the 43 police forces in England and Wales (as well as the British Transport Police) The Crime Survey for England and Wales which is a face to…

  • Official Statistics on Educational Achievement in the U.K. – Strengths and Limitations

    How useful are official statistics for understanding differences in educational achievement by social class, gender and ethnicity? How do GCSE results vary by social class, gender and ethnicity? The data below is taken from either the Department for Education’s document – Key Stage 4 performance 2019 (Revised), or Gov.uk ‘ethnicity facts and figures‘. The later…

  • Positivism, Sociology and Social Research

    Born out of the Enlightenment Positivists believe sociology is scientific and that it can be a force for social progress.

  • Positivism and Interpretivism in Social Research

    Positivism and Interpretivism in Social Research

    Positivists believe society shapes the individual and use quantitative methods, Interpretivists believe individuals shape society and use qualitative methods.