Examine the Relationship Between Theory and Research Methods

Examine the relationship between theory and research methods (20 marks)

Research methods refer to the types of methods and data which are collected in sociological research. A sociologist’s choice of research method depends on whether they adopt a positivist or interpretivist view of society. Positivist sociologists believe that only science can provide the real truth or facts about the world. Positivist sociological theories include Marxism, Feminism and Functionalism.

Positivists tend to favour research methods which produce quantitative data. This is because it allows them to gather information which is easily comparable and can help to identify the reasons as to how society affects the individual.

One research method which positivists favour to use is structured interviews. This is because it produces concrete answers which haven’t been elaborated. This type of method is preferred by positivist sociologists because it produces quantitative data which allows for scientific analysis.

Questionnaires are used by both positivists and interpretivists. However positivists only use structured questionnaires because they provide the researcher with the necessary data in order to analyse the findings and make comparisons between different people’s responses.

Official statistics are statistics which are produced by the government or government authorities. Positivist sociologists use official statistics in their research. This enables them to gain a clear picture of the results and enables them to analyse them knowing that the data came from a reliable source. However, the reliability of official statistics can be quite low, because it is not very easy to replicate the research in the same way and obtain the same results.

Social surveys are another research method which is preferred by positivist sociologists. Positivists are able to obtain the data from geographically dispersed sample which is also valid as they use a large sample size. Social surveys produce...