In addition, some people may give false information, which is why some researchers like to stick to interviews and experiments for increased accuracy. Positivists favour questionnaires, as they tend to be reliable. They are also representative so it can be easy to generalise in most cases. However, questionnaires present a range of practical issues that can affect the reliability. For example, with postal questionnaires the researcher cannot be sure whether the respondent has actually received the questionnaire.
The study design was qualitative. Qualitative research is a way of analyzing data to answer questions about how or why a certain phenomenon happens (Miller, 2010). A rationale for the design is easily determined, and the characteristics can be readily associated with the attributes of the research question (Hallberg, Ek, Toss & Bachrach-Linstrom, 2010). An inductive conventional approach was used (Hallberg, Ek, Toss & Bachrach-Linstrom, 2010), which is a nontraditional method of discovering and creating research problems. This approach makes it easier to acquire candid facts from participants without preplanned questions or theoretical views.
I INTRODUCTION Otherwise known as Taylorism, scientific management refers to “the systematic study of relationships between people and tasks for the purpose of redesigning the work process to increase efficiency” (Waddell 2013, p. 37). This system of management is clearly aimed at controlling the inevitable uncertainties that arise when humans enter the production process (Jaffee 2001, p. 51) and has many advantages including decreasing production costs and increasing efficiency. However, alongside these contributions, come the drawbacks of such a rigid theory. Although Taylorism is still used amongst some successful organisations of today, it can be argued that other management theories, such as behavioural management theories and contingency theories, focus more on key societal values such as individual empowerment and promoting employee initiative. Thus, these theories may be viewed as more socially acceptable and more relevant to today’s workplace environment.
One assumption of the cognitive approach is that mental processes can be studied scientifically. This was supported by a study carried out by Shah and Frith: Central Coherence Deficit study. Autistic and non autistic children were asked to locate a smaller shape within a more complex shape. Autistic children could locate the smaller shape more often because they focus on the specific things rather than the whole picture. This study is scientific because the data is quantitative and it can be statistically analysed.
Theoretical issues are important factors for influencing sociologists’ choice of method when deciding how to research a topic. Although, there are other factors that also have to be considered such as practical and ethical issues. Positivists believe that the method should produce information that is objective as possible but also produce data is representative and reliable that can then be used in statistics for government research but is collected through questionnaires and other quantitative methods. On the other hand, Interpretivists like to look at the qualitative data that includes structured/unstructured interviews and participant observation. This means that the research is more detailed and in depth, but is also more valid.
There are many strengths and limitations of questionnaires for the study of attitudes to education, which could be practical or ethical issues. Positivists agree with using questionnaires, because they collect quantitative date to identify trends and patterns. They are also reliable because they can be repeated, and they are representative. In contrast, Interpretivists dislike the use of questionnaires, as they believe that they are invalid because they are closed questions that can’t go into detail and they are impersonal due to the lack of depth in answers. Some sociologists often use questionnaires to study issues such as; subject and university choice, bullying and the experience of schooling, achievement and school factors and parental attitudes to education.
In this essay I am going to examine the differences between how sociologists think about and obtain information compared to common sense thinking and what their views are of these different methods. Common sense is something that we use in our every day lives and many of us think that it is better to have common sense than other knowledge, which in some aspects may be true, however we need sociological research in order to explain, essentially, society. This topic interests me greatly as common sense is knowledge that is almost instinct however is it justified? There are many varied views on the current differences between common sense and sociological thinking however Mills (2000, p. 123.)
Can you tell who’s more convincing at this point? Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus’s essay is more convincing than Mike Rose’s essay because the Organization of their essay is easy to follow and understand their position and argument, the evidence to support their argument is from their own institution studies and interviews, unlike Mike Rose’s evidence, which includes his personal life experience to support his argument, last but not least, Hacker and Dreifus’s essay was more about them being concerned of other people’s education. The purpose of organizing one’s essay is to prevent confusion with what others have said, to what the author is saying. The first half of Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus essay involves their argument. The second half is the examples that support their argument.
Assess usefulness of quantitative and qualitative sources of data in studying suicide The term quantitative refers to data that is measured on a numerical scale. It is preferred by sociologists such as Durkheim as they like scientific data that is representative and reliable. Qualitative data explores the meanings and motives of different human behaviors. Qualitative data is preferred by interpretivists like Durkheim because they wanted to gain validity and verstehen. Suicide can be operationalised in different ways.
Combining these two types of research will generate the best of both methods and result in research data that will be more beneficial to the project. Using mixed research will allow researchers to use surveys, interviews, and other methods that they find useful for the study. Data will be able to be analyzed and put into formats that fit the particular audience at hand. Mixed research will also allow researchers to obtain more in depth data. Consideration needs to be taken into account that there will be some respondents that aren’t aware of or have never heard of SOPA.