Sociological Research Methods:

Candidates should examine the following areas:
• Quantitative and qualitative methods of research; their strengths and limitations; research design.
• Sources of data, including questionnaires, interviews, observation (participant and nonparticipant), experiments, documents, and official
statistics; the strengths and limitations of these sources.
• The distinction between primary and secondary data, and between quantitative and qualitative data.
• The relationship between positivism, interpretivism and sociological methods; the nature of ‘social facts’.
• The theoretical, practical and ethical considerations influencing choice of topic, choice of method(s) and the conduct of research.