Practical and Theoretical Factors Influencing Choice of Research Method
Sociologists choose a research method by weighing practical, ethical and theoretical factors, chiefly whether they take a positivist approach, favouring quantifiable data from experiments and questionnaires, or an interpretivist approach, favouring qualitative methods such as unstructured interviews and observation.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Sort any given factor into one of three boxes first: practical, ethical or theoretical, since exam questions often name a specific factor and expect it correctly categorised.
- For practical factors, be ready with a full list: time available, cost and funding, size and accessibility of the sample, the researcher's skills and training, the characteristics of the group being studied, and the nature of the topic, since sensitive topics may rule out large-scale surveys.
- For theoretical factors, always name the perspective, positivist or interpretivist, and connect it to its preferred aim: positivists want reliable, representative, quantifiable data to test hypotheses and find correlations; interpretivists want valid, in-depth, qualitative data to understand meanings.
- When explaining why a positivist would choose a method, link the choice to reliability, representativeness or quantifiable data; when explaining why an interpretivist would choose a method, link the choice to validity, meaning or depth.
- In an evaluation or 'discuss' answer, structure around all three factor types in turn, practical, ethical and theoretical, so the answer covers the full range the mark scheme rewards, then reach a supported final judgement about which factor mattered most for the case given.
- Note that in practice, real research often combines methods, methodological pluralism, precisely because practical, ethical and theoretical factors rarely all point to the same single best method.
Worked example
A sociologist has a small budget, six weeks to complete the research, and wants to understand the personal meanings that young offenders give to their own behaviour. Explain which research method the sociologist is likely to choose, referring to both a practical and a theoretical factor.
- Identify the practical factor: a small budget and only six weeks available rules out a large-scale, long-term method such as a longitudinal study or a huge national survey, pointing towards a smaller-scale, quicker method such as interviews with a limited number of young offenders.
- Identify the theoretical factor: because the sociologist wants to understand personal meanings, this is an interpretivist aim, favouring validity and depth over reliability and representativeness.
- Combine both factors to reach the method: an unstructured interview with a small sample of young offenders fits both the practical constraint, quick and low-cost, and the theoretical aim, rich and valid data, better than a large quantitative survey would.
Practice questions
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Q1Give one example of a practical factor that might influence a sociologist's choice of research method.Show answer
Answer: The amount of time or money available for the research, or the researcher's own skills, or access to the group being studied.
Q2What is positivism, in relation to choice of research method?Show answer
Answer: The view that sociology should be studied scientifically, seeking objective, reliable, quantifiable, representative data, usually through methods like experiments, questionnaires and official statistics.
Q3What is interpretivism, in relation to choice of research method?Show answer
Answer: The view that human behaviour must be understood through the meanings behind it, so research should prioritise validity and depth, usually through methods like unstructured interviews and participant observation.
Q4Name one sociologist associated with the positivist approach.Show answer
Answer: Emile Durkheim.
Q5Name one sociologist associated with the interpretivist approach.Show answer
Answer: Max Weber.
Q6Give one reason a sociologist studying a very sensitive topic, such as bereavement, might avoid a large-scale structured questionnaire.Show answer
Answer: A rigid, impersonal set of fixed questions could distress participants or fail to capture the depth and sensitivity of their experience, so a smaller-scale, more flexible method such as an unstructured interview may be more appropriate.
Q7What does 'methodological pluralism' mean, and why might a sociologist use it?Show answer
Answer: Combining more than one research method in a single study, often to balance the practical, ethical and theoretical strengths and weaknesses of each individual method.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Sociology exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Explain two practical factors that might influence a sociologist's choice of method when researching the elderly in care homes.
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A positivist sociologist chooses a large, structured questionnaire with a stratified random sample of 2,000 adults to research attitudes to immigration, using only closed questions. Evaluate the validity and representativeness of the likely findings.
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Discuss the practical, ethical and theoretical factors that influence a sociologist's choice of research method.
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See real GCSE Sociology past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
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