SOC101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Ethnography, Content Analysis, Discourse Analysis
Document Summary
System of methods researcher uses to gather data about particular research question. Used to study social data that cannot be counted or measured. Insider perspective: may be more subjective than quantitative research methods. Gather countable data on social issues; more likely to favor outsider perspective and objectivity. Descriptive: describes who, when, where, or how. Evaluation: assess a policy, practice, or program. Qualitative research methods: topics we know little about, topic hasn"t been investigated within this group of people, existing theoretical explanations don"t apply to the group. Study of single case or a few selected cases to exemplify a single social entity: one research site/group/person to understand social problem. Why: typical, create an example, deviant case, evaluate policy or program. Typically carried out with researcher living in the field with those being studied for extended period of time in order to understand how people go about their daily lives and interpret the world around them.
