Reliability, Validity and Representativeness in Sociological Research
Reliability, validity and representativeness are the three technical criteria examiners reward when evaluating any sociological method or piece of data, alongside ethics.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Always define which of the three or four criteria the question is asking about before answering, since they are frequently confused and the exam rewards the precise term.
- Remember reliability and validity can trade off against each other: highly standardised methods are often reliable but sacrifice depth, and highly flexible methods are often valid but sacrifice consistency.
- To assess representativeness, check the sampling technique used, since probability methods like random or stratified sampling tend to be more representative, and check the sample size, since bigger, more diverse samples tend to be more representative.
- When asked to evaluate a study, work through all three criteria in turn as a structure: is it reliable, is it valid, is it representative, then reach a judgement.
- Use a concrete test for validity: could the method have missed the respondent's real meaning, or led them to answer in a way that does not reflect their true views or behaviour, for example through social desirability bias, the Hawthorne effect, or leading questions.
- Use a concrete test for reliability: could a different researcher, using exactly this method and these questions, reasonably expect to get similar results with a similar sample?
- Note that positivists prioritise reliability and representativeness, since they want generalisable, scientific findings; interpretivists prioritise validity, since they want an authentic understanding of meanings.
Worked example
A sociologist measures 'trust in the police' using one closed question with a five-point scale, given to a stratified random sample of 800 adults across the UK. Evaluate the reliability, validity and representativeness of this piece of research.
- Assess reliability: because the question is a single, standardised, closed item, another researcher could ask exactly the same question to a similar sample and would likely get similar results, so reliability is high.
- Assess validity: a single closed question with only five fixed options may not capture the true complexity of someone's trust in the police, for example trust for some tasks but not others, or the reasons behind their answer, so validity may be lower.
- Assess representativeness: because the sample was selected using stratified random sampling from a large sample of 800 adults across the UK, it is likely to closely mirror the wider adult population's characteristics, giving high representativeness.
- Reach a judgement: the study is likely to be reliable and reasonably representative, but its validity is limited by using only one simple closed question to measure a complex attitude.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1What is meant by 'reliability' in sociological research?Show answer
Answer: Whether a method, if repeated in the same way, would produce the same or very similar results, showing it is consistent.
Q2What is meant by 'validity' in sociological research?Show answer
Answer: Whether a method produces a true, accurate picture of what is actually being studied, genuinely measuring what it claims to measure.
Q3What is meant by 'representativeness'?Show answer
Answer: Whether the characteristics of a sample accurately reflect the characteristics of the wider target population, so findings can be generalised to it.
Q4Which is generally higher in a structured, closed questionnaire: reliability or validity?Show answer
Answer: Reliability, because the standardised, fixed questions are easy to repeat exactly and produce consistent, comparable results.
Q5Which is generally higher in an unstructured interview: reliability or validity?Show answer
Answer: Validity, because the flexible, in-depth questioning is more likely to capture the respondent's true, detailed meaning, even though it is hard to repeat exactly.
Q6Give one factor that affects how representative a sample is.Show answer
Answer: The sampling technique used, for example a probability method like stratified sampling tends to be more representative than a non-probability method like opportunity sampling, or the size of the sample.
Q7Why might a positivist sociologist prioritise reliability and representativeness over validity?Show answer
Answer: Because they aim to produce objective, generalisable, scientific findings that can be replicated and applied to the wider population, similar to natural science.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Sociology exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Explain the difference between reliability and validity in sociological research.
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A student researching 'exam stress' asks 15 friends in her own friendship group one open question about how stressed they feel before exams, and writes up their answers in detail. Evaluate the validity and representativeness of this small study.
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Discuss the relationship between reliability and validity in sociological research methods.
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See real GCSE Sociology past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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