quantitative

In sociology, quantitative research refers to the empirical investigation of social phenomena via numerical, mathematical or statistical data, thus is reliant on figures and statistics. Usually, those conducting quantitative research will ask a specific, narrow question in order to collect precise data (Scott and Marshall 2009). Quantitative research is generally conducted using scientific method, employing the following strategies:

·     1. The development of a theory or hypothesis of what the researcher is expecting to discover

·      2. Choosing a method in which will be used when conducting research

·    3. Undertaking research

·     4. The collection of data

·      5, The analysis of data

·      6. The evaluation of findings

An advantage of using quantitative data is that analysis can be conducted faster than that of qualitative analysis. In addition, using valid random samples means that the results gathered can often be generalized to the entire population. Using quantitative methods of research also means that the study can be repeated at a later date if required or necessary; increasing the reliability of the study. This is useful when the study is required to compare time frames, as the same method of quantitative research could be carried out year upon year. Research is also easy to control when using quantitative methods, since the researcher has control of, and is able to change the variables in which they are working with, if necessary. It is also easy to compare and contrast quantitative data when attempting to identify trends and patterns (Walliman 2006).

            There are however, disadvantages to using quantitative data; firstly, quantitative experiments can prove costly. Also, those who partake in the study may give answers, which don’t apply, to the general population as a whole, which means that if the study was to replicated it would not be credible. There is also said to be the ability for those who are conducting the research to probe answers (Walliman 2006).

When conducting our own research in this module, we as researchers used quantitative data, in the form of statistics derived from the Department for Education and the NSPCC. They were easy to locate and collect, which meant that we as researchers could spend more time on the analysis of data, as opposed to the collection. They were also up to date, and were free of cost, as well as time saving. They were easy to compare and contrast with other data, as well as easy to understand.

References

Scott, J and Marshall, G (2009) Dictionary of Sociology, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Walliman, N (2006) Social Research Methods, London: Sage

reflection of presentation in doing social research

In my previous post about working as part of a group to conduct social research, I spoke of my excitement upon partaking in a new form of assessment, which was previously unfamiliar to me. However, as we furthered our study, we encountered numerous problems before agreeing on a final presentation, in which we were happy to display in front of our peers.

As a group, lack of attendance, alongside people attending group meetings with incomplete work began to prove a problem, which caused tension amongst members of our group. The members who were in attendance struggled to move forward when it appeared that many other groups were progressing significantly throughout their studies, as absent members of the group held analysis of information that we needed to progress. I further felt that the number of our group was a problem; working with four other people meant that it was difficult to ensure that everybody was completely happy with our work. As a group, we faced numerous disagreements throughout our time conducting research, which often halted our progression.

Though when it came to presenting our findings to the rest of the group one member failed to attend, we were able to solve this problem quickly as we were well prepared as a group, and quickly spread the speech of the member who didn’t attend, amongst those present. Despite this, I am relatively pleased with the way in which we presented to our peers, though we did struggle with the timing of our presentation, resulting in his having to rush part of our findings and conclusion; thus, these were not presented as clearly and precisely as I would have wished for. We neither had a poster to present with as we showed late to the print shop, which I think took away the professional aspect of our poster, though I believe that people may have been able to read our work more thoroughly in projecting it on to the wall, as it was displayed much bigger than it otherwise would have been.

Since child abuse is a sensitive topic, it was unethical to perform primary research; thus we relied on secondary data taken from the Department for Education, NSPCC, The Sun, The Guardian and The BBC. As a group we found that a major disadvantage of using newspaper and online articles is that they are subjective to the article’s author, with the sole purpose of selling stories. Further, newspaper and online articles cited statistics that were not referenced, therefore lacked credibility and reliability. We were also wary of using statistics from the NSPCC since they are a charity, and rely on donations from the public, thus may exaggerate statistics in which they present on their website.

 Though the validity of official statistics is often very high since the data set is frequently updated, a major disadvantage of secondary data is that it doesn’t always answer the researchers specific question or contain the exact information that the researcher would like to gain access to; thus, since we did not collect the data ourselves, we had limited control over what information was included in the data set. For example: though we had chosen to specifically focus on child abuse with the exclusion of sexual abuse, it has proven difficult to find official statistics from the Department of Education which focused on domestic child abuse exclusively. Further, many of the official statistics that were published by the Department of Education focused on those who were killed by child abuse, those who were on the child protection register or those who were subject to a child protection plan, which meant that we often struggled to gather statistics which we knew were 100% reliable (Denscombe 2007) .

            As a whole, I found the module ‘Doing Social Research’ challenging, as I had little experience within the field of conducting my own research, and didn’t always find that the topics we covered were easy to understand. Although I do acknowledge that I have learnt skills that will be required of me in the next academic year when attempting to complete my dissertation. I also found it interesting to see what everybody else had chosen to research, and enjoyed watching other members of the class present their posters, it appeared that everybody had worked hard in anticipation of our assessment. I have come to the conclusion however, that I much more enjoy working alone when my assessments account for such a high percentage of my grade, as opposed to working in a group.

References

Denscombe, M. (2010). The good research guide: for small-scale social research projects, Open University Press.

blog on blogs

TanyaBurr.com is a blog written by a twenty four year old fashion and beauty blogger/YouTube sensation. Tanya features step by step make up tutorials, the latest beauty and fashion recommendations, product reviews, and often documents aspects of her daily life through Internet vlogs and blogs alike, to over a million subscribers.

Thelwall and Wouters (2005) deem blogs such as Tanya Burr’s practical since it is frequently updated, offers a wide breadth and depth of qualitative ilinformation, and presents blog posts in a visually appealing manner; Tanya’s blog features an archiving system that lists all of her previous posts in chronological order, ensuring that viewers are able to navigate through blog posts with ease. Thelwall and Wouters (2005) further acknowledge the low running cost of an online blog, as well as the ease of global access; subscribers are able to access TanyaBurr.com with a suitable technological device and access to the Internet (Mann and Stewart 2000). Tanya’s blog also holds a particular style of writing that those who subscribe to TanyaBurr.com can easily relate to; thus, Tanya is able to build a rapport with her subscribers, and offers a sense of familiarity to all of her readers. 

Further, Tanya’s blog posts allow subscribers to comment with their own interests and opinions, which further increases the interactivity amongst her and her subscribers, which again could build a sense of rapport. This furthers allows for a wider depth of study when doing research, since those who are researching have a wider breadth and depth of information to analyze. Similarly, Tanya’s blog has links to, and often promotes both her Twitter and Instagram pages; further increasing interconnectivity and allowing those who subscribe a personal insight to Tanya’s life. In a social research sense, access to Twitter and Instagram could allow for further area of personal study, with information that isn’t accessible via a blog.

However, drawing upon Goffman’s  (1972) theory of impression management, how could a researcher be sure that they are receiving accurate information when reading a blog, as opposed to information that the owner/writer of the blog is writing purposefully, in an attempt to portray themselves as somebody who harbors desired qualities. For instance, Tanya may promote that she enjoys using products that are sponsored by charities and thus donates each time she buys; yet this may not be true. Instead, Tanya may be trying to present herself in a moral and ethical manner.

Similarly, one might question how true the posts that Tanya provides on her blog are. How is one able to ensure that the information that Tanya is providing is of her own opinion, and that she is giving a true reflection of the products in which she has tried and tested. For example, Tanya may be sponsored by a certain make up brand to feature a post about their latest product, in order to gain a sum of money, Tanya may suggest that the product she has received is fantastic, when in actual fact she would otherwise disregard such product. However, this issue is not true for blogs or Internet research alone; this could be the case in any type of study, including interviews. 

            A further issue with blogs is the debate between the public and the private. This ethical issue questions whether or not bloggers publish posts with the intention of them being open to the public eye, or whether they are private domain. Though, Hookway (2008) distinguishes between the personal and the private in relation to blogging; suggesting that many bloggers, though delving into their private lives throughout blogs, upload posts with the intention that other people are going to read them.

It would appear that of late, social researchers have began to explore to what extent traditional research methods could be, and increasingly have been applied in an online context, with many researchers concluding that the promotion of an online blogosphere offers an innovative and exciting frontier for social research. Though Internet blogs do introduce positive methodological, practical and theoretical contributions to social research, issues still remain when partaking in, and conducting such online research, as will illustrated in this blog.

            I believe that when conducting research within the module ourselves, blogs offer significant benefits. Firstly, they are widely available; in one simple online search i was able to locate numerous blogs surrounding various topics in which i was wishing to investigate. Further, blogs are low cost; often free to view for those conducting research, and are designed so that you can select time frames in which is useful when you are wishing to analyse specific dates, as we wish to do so as a group when conducting our own research. As a blogger, you also have the choice to remain anonymous, which is useful when blogging about a sensitive topic; such as the one we chose to investigate as a group. This means that a blogger can provide information, without worrying that everybody in the public sphere will become aware of their experiences. 

References

Goffman, E. (1972) Interaction Ritual: Essays on Face-to-Face Behaviour, Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Mann, C. and Stewart, F. (2000) Internet Communication and Qualitative Research: A Handbook for Researching Online. London: Sage Publications.

Thelwall, M., & Wouters, P. (2005). What's the deal with the web/Blogs/the next big technology: A key role for information science in e-social science research? Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 3507, 187-199

Hookway, J (2008) ‘Entering the Blogosphere’: some strategies for using blogs in social research, available at http://www.uk.sagepub.com/jamesandbusher/HOOKWAY.pdf, last accessed: 01/04/14