Overview of social surveys
Source: Ivor Morgan (1998) Letts ‘A’ Level Sociology Revision Notes
The strengths are that:
they deliver objective, accurately measured, ‘scientific’ data which can be easily
put into statistical form
they provide a high degree of reliability — if the survey is replicated the same
results should be obtained
by studying large numbers of respondents and using effective sampling
techniques generalisations can be drawn
the quality of data is not dependent on the personal impressions, skills, and
objectivity of a single researcher
the research can be completed over a short time-span and at a low cost.
Their weaknesses are that:
the most important questions may not be asked
the concepts and forms of language used in the survey may be misinterpreted,
or the respondents may lie
the high level of reliability of surveys (i.e. replication producing the same
results) can be accompanied by low validity (i.e. a failure to convey a true picture of
what is being studied)
quantitative methods such as social surveys have been rejected by many
feminists because ‘they treat people as objects, as natural scientists treat
chemicals or rocks, rather than as human subjects’ — P. Abbott and C. Wallace An
Introduction To Sociology: Feminist Perspectives (1997).
1. Name four studies based on social surveys.
2. What theoretical perspective supports the social survey?
3. Name two perspectives that reject the social survey.
4. Name one perspective which accepts the survey and reconciles it with the
methods adopted by those who reject the survey.
5. Why should sociologists treat the information gained by official surveys with
some care?
6. What is the name for the official government survey which is based on the entire
population of Britain?
7. Why does the government find it necessary to conduct such research
8. What ethical problems are associated with the social survey?
9. What practical problems are associated with the social survey?
10. List the factors that can influence the choice of research method.
What do the following terms associated with social survey methodology mean?
Self-administered questionnaire, longitudinal research, formal or closed
questionnaires, informal or open questionnaires, field experiments, interviewer
bias, non-response, secondary statistics, population, quota sampling, validity,
reliability, ethics, hypothesis testing, paradigm.
Links between theory and method
Source: Best, Griffiths and Hope (2000) Active Sociology
Sociologists want to gain a better understanding of social life, and empirical research (empirical
meaning ‘based on Objective observations’) coupled with a theoretical base usually allows this
aim to be met. A theoretical base is useful for interpreting the ‘facts’ obtained by the research.
A theory is a general explanation of how social ‘facts’ are related to one another.
Therefore, a theoretical base allows the data collected from sociological research to be
interpreted and given meaning in a social context.
There are various sociological theories that can be used as the basis for a research methodology
and/or applied to the data collected from sociological research. The theoretical perspective of a
sociologist will usually have a direct effect on the type of methodology used.
A structural sociologist, for example, will approach social issues from a macro
perspective and therefore will use a research methodology, such as social surveys. to
investigate large-scale issues which have their cause in the social structure, effectively.
The theoretical perspective also affects the way in which sociologists apply data that has already
been collected.
Interpretivist sociologists, for example, would interpret the meaning of expressive
documents, such as diaries, for a social issue, but will find no meaning in statistics.
Sometimes, however, sociologists will use a variety of research methods that fit loosely with their
theoretical base, usually because that base reflects a combination of theoretical approaches.
A Marxist feminist, for example may use structured questionnaires to support the
structuralist nature of her theoretical base, i.e. she can make universal claims about their
research, but conduct unstructured interviews to discover in-depth information about
female inequality which can be used only in that context. Applying a variety of research
methods to one piece of social research is known as triangulation.
Social Reality:
Positivists: Social reality exists in the form of social facts. Crime rates, Suicide rates Symbolic
interactionists: Social reality lies in the use of shared symbols in the process of interactions.
Ethno methodology by Harold Garfinkel : There is no such thing as society. Social Reality is
something that is never actually there. We attempt to make sense of social experiences by
formulating theories in our everyday lives to interpret and explain what is happening to us. Small
scale analysis of social situations reveals that the best we can do is arrive at some shared
reality. But this reality breaks done easily under certain types of pressures.
For Phenomenologist All knowledge as well as Science is a social construct.
A theoretical frame work is imposed on what is observed. All knowledge is a product of human
interactions
These lead to the existence of subjectively held meanings.
It is more valid to analyse subjectively held meanings and not bother too much about
cause and effect. So search for causes and laws is dismissed.