The Research Process and Designing Research
The research process is the sequence of stages a sociologist follows when designing and carrying out a study, from choosing a topic and forming a hypothesis or aim, through operationalising key concepts and selecting a method and sample, to collecting and analysing data.
Before you start
No specific prerequisites - this is a good place to start.
Method
- Identify whether the question is asking about the stages of the research process, the aim/hypothesis, or operationalisation, and answer that specific thing rather than describing everything you know.
- Learn the correct order: topic -> literature review -> aim/hypothesis -> operationalise key concepts -> choose method -> pilot study -> select sample -> collect data -> analyse -> conclusions.
- When defining a hypothesis, state that it predicts a testable relationship between two variables and is associated with the positivist aim of proving or disproving a specific claim.
- When asked to operationalise a concept, give one specific, measurable indicator rather than a vague restatement, for example turning 'educational achievement' into 'number of GCSE grades 9-4 achieved'.
- Link the pilot study to its two functions: testing whether questions or methods are clear and reliable, and identifying practical problems before the main study is run.
- For evaluation questions, explain how a well-designed research process improves validity or reliability, not just list the stages.
Worked example
A sociologist wants to investigate whether social class affects educational achievement. Explain how the sociologist could operationalise 'social class' and 'educational achievement' for this study, and write a suitable hypothesis.
- Identify social class as an abstract concept needing a measurable, operational definition, for example parental occupation categorised using the National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC).
- Identify educational achievement as needing a measurable indicator, for example the number of GCSE grades 9-4 a pupil achieves.
- Combine the two operationalised concepts into a testable hypothesis: 'Pupils from higher NS-SEC social class backgrounds achieve more GCSE grades 9-4 than pupils from lower NS-SEC social class backgrounds.'
- Note that a pilot study would then test whether the questions used to collect NS-SEC and grade data are clear and workable before the main study is run.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1What is meant by a 'hypothesis' in sociological research?Show answer
Answer: A testable statement predicting a relationship between two variables, which the research is designed to prove or disprove.
Q2What is the difference between an aim and a hypothesis?Show answer
Answer: An aim is a general statement of what the research intends to find out; a hypothesis is a specific, testable prediction of a relationship between variables.
Q3What is meant by 'operationalising' a concept?Show answer
Answer: Turning an abstract idea into something that can be measured or observed, for example defining 'poverty' as household income below 60 percent of median income.
Q4Give one purpose of a pilot study.Show answer
Answer: To test whether questions or methods are clear and will work, so problems can be fixed before the main study runs.
Q5Put these stages of the research process in order: collecting data, forming a hypothesis, pilot study, choosing a sample.Show answer
Answer: Forming a hypothesis, pilot study, choosing a sample, collecting data.
Q6Why might a sociologist review existing research before designing their own study?Show answer
Answer: To see what is already known, avoid repeating existing research, and refine their own aim, hypothesis or method.
Q7Operationalise the concept 'family diversity' for a research study.Show answer
Answer: For example, defining it as the number of different household or family types recorded in a local survey, such as nuclear, single-parent and reconstituted families.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Sociology exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Explain two stages a sociologist should complete before collecting data for a study on truancy in schools.
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A sociologist wants to measure 'family closeness' in a survey. She operationalises this by counting how many times per week family members eat a meal together. Evaluate the validity of using this measure to represent family closeness.
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Discuss the importance of the pilot study in the sociological research process.
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See real GCSE Sociology past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
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