Types of data, methods and research design

Paper 1 – Methods of Research (Cambridge IGCSE/A‑Level Sociology 9699)

1. Socialisation & Identity

Socialisation is the lifelong process by which individuals acquire the values, norms, skills and roles needed to function in society. It creates the foundations for personal and collective identity.

• Primary agents – family, close‑kin, early peer groups; introduce basic language, gender roles and cultural values.
• Secondary agents – school, media, religion, workplace; reinforce or modify primary socialisation and extend identity formation.
• Social control – mechanisms that maintain conformity, e.g. formal rules (school discipline) and informal sanctions (peer pressure).
• Conformity – alignment with dominant norms; Durkheim’s mechanical solidarity, Merton’s conformity typology (conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, rebellion).
• Resistance – active or subtle opposition to dominant norms; sub‑cultural theory (e.g., youth gangs, music scenes) and symbolic interactionist perspectives on identity negotiation.
• Identity construction – the way people label themselves and are labelled by others. Key concepts include:
  • Identity theory – role‑based self‑definition (e.g., “student”, “immigrant”).
  • Intersectionality – overlapping social categories (gender, ethnicity, class) shape distinct experiences.
  • Identity change – can occur through life‑course transitions (e.g., moving from secondary school to university) or through exposure to new cultural influences (e.g., media, migration).

Illustrative example: In a secondary school, the uniform policy (secondary agent) enforces conformity to a national identity, while a student’s involvement in a skate‑boarding sub‑culture provides a site of resistance and the construction of an alternative identity.

2. Approaches to Sociological Research

Different epistemological and ontological positions shape the choice of research methods and the way findings are interpreted.

Evaluation of each approach (exam‑style summary)

• Positivist – best suited to descriptive or explanatory questions that require measurement of relationships (e.g., “Is there a link between peer pressure and conformity?”). Limitation: may overlook the meanings behind observed behaviour.
• Interpretivist – ideal for exploratory questions about how people make sense of socialisation (e.g., “How do recent migrants negotiate cultural identity?”). Limitation: findings are often difficult to generalise beyond the studied group.
• Critical (Marxist & Feminist) – appropriate when the research aims to expose power, inequality or oppression (e.g., “How do school policies reproduce gendered expectations?”). Limitation: strong normative stance can be viewed as bias if not reflexively acknowledged.
• Post‑modern – useful for analysing language, media and the construction of multiple identities (e.g., “How do online forums fragment teenage identity?”). Limitation: the relativist stance can make it hard to claim any firm conclusions.

3. Types of Data

4. Methods of Data Collection

The method chosen must align with the research question, data type and practical constraints.

• Surveys (questionnaires) – self‑administered or interviewer‑led; primarily quantitative but can contain open‑ended items for qualitative insight.
• Interviews – structured, semi‑structured or unstructured; generate qualitative data and allow probing of meanings.
• Observation – participant or non‑participant; provides direct evidence of behaviour. Recorded as field notes (qualitative) or checklists/rates (quantitative).
• Secondary data – existing sources such as census records, official statistics, previous research reports; useful for large‑scale quantitative analysis or historical comparison.
• Experiments – controlled manipulation of variables; primarily quantitative, used to test causal hypotheses.
• Mixed‑methods – deliberate combination of two or more of the above (e.g., a survey followed by focus groups) to exploit the strengths of each and to achieve triangulation.

5. Research Design

6. Advantages and Disadvantages of Common Methods

1. Surveys
   • Advantages: can reach large samples; statistical analysis possible; relatively quick and cost‑effective.
   • Disadvantages: limited depth; risk of low response rates; self‑report bias; may miss contextual nuance.
2. Interviews
   • Advantages: rich, detailed data; flexibility to probe and follow up.
   • Disadvantages: time‑consuming; smaller samples; interviewer influence; transcription workload.
3. Observation
   • Advantages: direct evidence of behaviour; situated in natural context.
   • Disadvantages: observer bias; ethical concerns about privacy; may not capture internal states or motivations.
4. Experiments
   • Advantages: strong control over variables; ability to infer causality.
   • Disadvantages: artificial settings; limited external validity; ethical limits on manipulation.

7. Research Issues (Reliability, Validity, Bias, Generalisability, Reflexivity)

• Reliability – consistency of a measure over time or across observers. Example: test‑retest reliability of a questionnaire on attitudes toward gender roles.
• Validity – extent to which a method measures what it claims to measure.
  • Construct validity – does the instrument capture the theoretical concept?
  • Internal validity – are observed effects due to the independent variable (crucial in experiments)?
  • External validity – can findings be generalised beyond the sample?
• Bias – systematic error that distorts results (sampling bias, response bias, researcher bias). Mitigation strategies include random sampling, piloting instruments and reflexive field notes.
• Generalisability (Representativeness) – degree to which findings can be applied to a wider population. Larger, random samples improve this; case studies trade breadth for depth.
• Reflexivity – researcher’s awareness of how their own background, assumptions and position influence the research process and interpretation, especially crucial in qualitative work.

8. Ethical Considerations

All sociological research must meet the following ethical standards:

• Informed consent – participants must understand the purpose, procedures and their rights.
• Confidentiality & anonymity – personal data are protected; identifiers are removed or coded.
• Minimising harm – avoid physical, psychological or social damage; provide support if sensitive topics are raised.
• Right to withdraw – participants can stop at any time without penalty.
• Debriefing – explain the study’s aims after participation, especially when deception is used.
• Ethical review – obtain approval from a school/university ethics committee where required.

9. Connecting Methods to Socialisation & Identity

Examples of how each method can be applied to the core Paper 1 theme of socialisation and identity:

• Participant observation in a secondary school – reveals everyday routines, peer hierarchies and the hidden curriculum that shape socialisation.
• In‑depth interviews with recent migrants – explore how cultural identity is negotiated and reconstructed.
• Surveys on media consumption and self‑reported identity labels – allow statistical testing of relationships between media exposure and identity formation.
• Longitudinal panel study following a cohort from childhood to adolescence – tracks changes in gender‑role attitudes over time.
• Comparative study of school systems in two countries – highlights how different institutional contexts influence socialisation processes.

10. Choosing an Appropriate Design

Use the flowchart below to move systematically from research question to analysis.

1. What is the research question? – Descriptive (who, what, where), explanatory (why, how) or exploratory (what might be?).
2. Which paradigm best fits? – Positivist for hypothesis testing; interpretivist for meaning; critical/feminist for power/inequality; post‑modern for discourse.
3. What type of data will answer the question? – Qualitative, quantitative, or mixed‑methods.
4. Which method(s) can obtain that data? – Survey, interview, observation, experiment, secondary data, or a combination.
5. Do I need triangulation? – If reliability or validity is a concern, plan to collect data using at least two different methods or sources to cross‑check findings.
6. What design best organises the data collection? – Cross‑sectional, longitudinal, case study, experimental, comparative.
7. Are there practical constraints? – Time, resources, access to participants, ethical approvals.
8. How will reliability, validity, bias and reflexivity be addressed? – Pilot instruments, random sampling, peer debriefing, reflexive journals.
9. Ethical checklist – consent, anonymity, harm minimisation, right to withdraw, debriefing.
10. How will the data be analysed and presented? – Statistical software for quantitative data; thematic coding for qualitative data; integration strategy for mixed‑methods.