sociology research methods questions gcse

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• Paper 2 (14)
• June 2022 (10)
• November 2020 (9)
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Question paper: Paper 2 Crime and deviance and social stratification - June 2022

Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 647 KB

Question paper (Modified A4 18pt): Paper 2 Crime and deviance and social stratification - June 2022

Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 373 KB

Question paper (Modified A3 36pt): Paper 2 Crime and deviance and social stratification - June 2022

Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 515 KB

Question paper: Paper 1 Families and education - June 2022

Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 484 KB

Question paper (Modified A4 18pt): Paper 1 Families and education - June 2022

Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 320 KB

Examiner report: Paper 2 Crime and deviance and social stratification - June 2022

Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 124 KB

Question paper (Modified A3 36pt): Paper 1 Families and education - June 2022

Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 302 KB

Examiner report: Paper 1 Families and education - June 2022

Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 132 KB

Mark scheme: Paper 2 Crime and deviance and social stratification - June 2022

Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 312 KB

Mark scheme: Paper 1 Families and education - June 2022

Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 372 KB

Question paper: Paper 2 Crime and deviance and social stratification - November 2021

Published 29 Jul 2022 | PDF | 683 KB

Question paper: Paper 1 Families and education - November 2021

Published 29 Jul 2022 | PDF | 486 KB

Question paper (Modified A4 18pt): Paper 1 Families and education - November 2021

Published 29 Jul 2022 | PDF | 656 KB

Question paper (Modified A4 18pt): Paper 2 Crime and deviance and social stratification - November 2021

Published 29 Jul 2022 | PDF | 717 KB

Mark scheme: Paper 2 Crime and deviance and social stratification - November 2021

Published 29 Jul 2022 | PDF | 323 KB

Mark scheme: Paper 1 Families and education - November 2021

Published 29 Jul 2022 | PDF | 332 KB

Question paper (Modified A4 18pt): Paper 1 Families and education - November 2020

Published 18 Jan 2022 | PDF | 577 KB

Question paper: Paper 1 Families and education - November 2020

Published 18 Jan 2022 | PDF | 748 KB

Examiner report: Paper 1 Families and education - November 2020

Published 18 Jan 2022 | PDF | 128 KB

Question paper (Modified A3 36pt): Paper 1 Families and education - November 2020

Published 18 Jan 2022 | PDF | 908 KB

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Revision – research methods.

Below are links to some great revision materials for the Research Methods unit of Component 1. Check back here regularly as new links are being added often.

Key Knowledge:

Knowledge Organiser

Revision Booklet

Quizlet – Research Method s

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GCSE Sociology Research Methods

Social studies.

40 questions

Introducing new   Paper mode

No student devices needed.   Know more

A Hypothesis is a

Large Mammal

A prediction of outcomes

the conclusions of a study

A Pilot Study is

a study about flying ability

a written preparation for your research

a presentation of your results

A test of your research processes

Which is an example of Non-probability sampling

Which is an example of Probability sampling

Experiments are not often used in Sociology because

the level of control is too high

there are too many ethical concerns involved

they are too difficult to set up

the results are unreliable

Psychological experiments are useful by Sociologists usually as

Primary data sources

Secondary data sources

fun videos to show

Examples of what not to do

A Survey is

a set of questionnaires

a Research Strategy

an experiment

a schedule of interviews

an advantage of using questionnaires could be

relatively easy in terms of effort

relatively inexpensive

relatively time efficient

All of the above

which is not a research method used in Sociology

Multi-structured interviews

unstructured interviews

Semi-structured interviews

Structured interviews

An influencing issue related to observation studies is

Observer behaviour

Observer effect

Observer boredom

Observer interest

Data gathered on the same sample of participants over a long period of time is called

a Case study

an Observation study

a Longitudinal study

an Experiment

Qualitative data gives researchers

useful figures to analyse

insightful and in-depth info

more reliable information

simple info to interpret

a Primary source of data would be

Crime statistics published by the police

NHS statistics on health

An observation you carried out in college

An experimental Journal you sourced in the library

'Informed consent' in Sociology forms part of

Research strategy

Ethical considerations

interpreting data

Facts and Values

'Data protection' is found under what ethical sub-heading

Informed consent

Right to withdraw

Protection from harm

Confidentiality

the Aim of research should always be to

Increase our knowledge of the social world

improve our understanding of the relationships within our world

Develop explanations as to why things happen

all of the above

An effective Hypothesis must always be

Sampling methods are used to select

a representative sample of your target population

the best candidates for your study

the participants who will perform best in your study

participants whom are similar to each other

A disadvantage of using interviews would be

limitations on number of participants

limitations on the number of questions

limitations on time

limitations on quality of responses

A research method in Sociology where the researcher becomes part of the group being studies is called

non-participant observation

Observer observation

Participant observation

Experimenter observation

the basic principle behind sampling methods is that

it should include everyone in the research

it should represent the general public

it should represent the target population

it should represent only certain individuals

what can be seen as an advantage and a disadvantage of Surveys in research

the large amount of data generated

the costs associated

the time it takes to complete

the reliability of the data

using questionnaires with closed questions will most likely generate

Qualitative data

Quantitative data

A disadvantage of using questionnaires in research is that they

provide data which is difficult to quantify

are not cost effective

can make it difficult to access respondents

place limitations on Reponses

the interviewer can easily become an influencing variable in the research - this is known most commonly as

Interviewer Effect

Interviewer Bias

Interviewer interference

Interviewer Influence

if a researcher joins a sewing class and pretends to be just another one of the sewers taking part in all of the activities and discussions but keeps a transcript of the discussions without the other members knowledge they are involved in during the classes they are carrying out a

Non-participant - Overt Study

Participant - Overt study

Participant - Covert study

Participant - Overt Study

the observation and description of a group of people and their way of life

Longitudinal Study

Ethnography

a disadvantage of Ethnography as study method could be

it is expensive and time consuming

it allows for comparisons between cultures

it is a type of qualitative research

it provides quantitative data

Usually represents a particular example from a particular time and place

Longitudinal study

researching a cohort of people over a period of time rather than a snapshot of a particular moment in time

Qualitative research generally provides

Richer data

Numerical data

Easily interpreted data

Large amounts of data

Quantitative research generally provides

Difficult to interpret data

Small amounts of data

Data drawn from research that has been carried out by the researcher is known as

Secondary data

Reliable data

Primary data

Case Study data would be an example of

reliable data

the government census could be used today as

the personal Diary of Anne Frank could be used in a sociological study as

Primary Data

Secondary Data

Factual data

A useful way of presenting Quantitative data is in the form of

Written account

a method for presenting Qualitative findings would be in the form of

numerical tables

Written accounts

statistical analysis

measures of central tendency

the success or failure of research should always be judged against it's

Reliability

Sociologists look for patterns and trends in data as they reveal important

Problems with Society

Truths about society

Issues in Society

Failures in Society

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GCSE Sociology Research Methods

Subject: Sociology

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Unit of work

Last updated

1 September 2022

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GCSE Sociology 9-1 Specification

This unit of work follows the Introduction unit. I use this as a quick intro to research methods, so that throughout the units I can embed/recall this information like in the exam.

This is the same unit, as the bundle in my shop. I am putting it into 1 resource, so I can bundle the units together to save you money.

Please review if you download

Tes paid licence How can I reuse this?

Get this resource as part of a bundle and save up to 37%

A bundle is a package of resources grouped together to teach a particular topic, or a series of lessons, in one place.

GCSE Sociology Bundle

1. Mini Introduction to Sociological theories 2. Mini introduction to Research Methods 3. Families 4. Education 5. Crime & Deviance 6. Social Stratification

GCSE Sociology Paper 1 Bundle

1. Mini Introduction to Key sociological theories, unit 2. Mini Research methods unit 3. Families 4. Education

GCSE Sociology Paper 2 Bundle

1. Mini introduction to Research Methods unit (also included in Paper 1 bundle) 2. Crime & Deviance 3. Social Stratification

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The Sociology Guy

Helping students understand society

Theory and Methods Checklist

One of the key aspects of A level Sociology is research methods. On this page I have created a brief overview of some of the key research methods that sociologists use along with some downloadable worksheets for students to complete to fill in the gaps in their knowledge. 

These images can be downloaded as individual pdfs below.

You can also download blank copies of organisers for each of the main research methods here. I have split these into identifying the Practical, Ethical and Theoretical advantages and disadvantages of the different variations of each method.

Observations A3

Interviews A3

Experiments A3

Questionnaires a3

Sampling Operationalising Variables A3

Secondary and Historical Documents

One of the key questions that students have to respond to in the AQA A level exams is the Methods in Context question. This questions asks students to think like a sociologist and consider HOW they are going to conduct research on a specific group (WHO) about a specific topic related to education (WHAT). One way to be prepared for these is to be able think about all three aspects of the question. The HOW (method) the WHO (research subjects) and the WHAT (the topic).

Below are some of the features of the most common research participants when studying education (the WHO) – of course this is not an exhaustive list, but is useful as a starting point when considering how parents, teachers and pupils may react to being subjected to research.

These can be downloaded below:

The following sheets all show the different considerations that researchers may need to make when considering some of the key topics in education. These can also be downloaded in the links below.

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ReviseSociology

A level sociology revision – education, families, research methods, crime and deviance and more!

Research Methods

Table of Contents

Last Updated on October 13, 2023 by Karl Thompson

Sociologists use a range of quantitative and qualitative, primary and secondary social research methods to collect data about society.

The main types of research method are:

• Social surveys (questionnaires and structured interviews)
• Experiments (Lab and Field)
• Unstructured interviews
• Partipant Observation
• Secondary qualitative data
• Official Statistics.

This page provides links to more in depth posts on all of the above research methods. It has primarily been written for students studying the A Level Sociology AQA 7192 specification, and incorporates Methods in the Context of Education.

Research Methods at a Glance – Key Concepts  

Research Methods Top Ten Key Concepts – start here if you’re all at sea – includes simple explanations of terms such as validity, reliability, representativeness, Positivism and Interpretivism .

Research Methods A-Z Glossary – a more comprehensive index of the key terms you need to know for AS and A Level Sociology .

An Introduction to Research Methods

Without research methods there is no sociology!

This section covers the basics of the different types of research method and factors influencing choice of research methods, also the important distinction between Positivism and Interpretivism.

Research Methods in Sociology – An Introduction  – d etailed class notes covering the basic types of research method available to sociologists such as social surveys, interviews, experiments, and observations

Factors Effecting Choice of Research Topic in Sociology  – detailed class notes on the theoretical, ethical, and practical factors effecting the choice of research methods

Factors Effecting Choice of Research Method in Sociology  – detailed class notes covering theoretical, practical and ethical factors and the nature of topic. NB choice of topic will affect choice of research method. Choice of topic and method are different issues! 

Positivism and Interpretivism – Positivists generally prefer quantitative methods, Interpretivists prefer qualitative methods – this post consists of brief summary revision notes and revision diagrams outlining the difference between positivist and interpretivist approaches to social research. 

Positivism, Sociology and Social Research   – detailed class notes on the relationship between The Enlightenment, industrialisation and positivist sociology, which sees sociology as a science.  

Stages of Social Research  – detailed class notes covering research design, operationalising concepts, sampling, pilot studies, data collection and data analysis. 

Outline and explain two practical problems which might affect social research (10) –  A model answer to this exam question, which could appear on either paper 7191 (1) or 7191 (3). 

Good Resources for Teaching and Learning Research Method s –  simply links (with brief descriptions) which take you to a range of text books and web sites which focus on various aspects of quantitative and qualitative research methods. NB this post is very much a work in progress, being updated constantly. 

Primary Quantitative Research Methods

  social surveys.

An Introduction to Social Surveys  – a brief introduction to the use of different types of survey in social research, including structured questionnaires and interviews and different ways of administering surveys such as online, by phone or face to face.

The advantages and disadvantages of social surveys in social research  –  detailed class notes covering the theoretical, practical and ethical strengths and limitations of social surveys. Generally, surveys are preferred by positivists and good for simple topics, but not so good for more complex topics which require a ‘human touch’ .

Structured Interviews in Social Research – Interviews are effectively one of the means of administering social surveys. This post covers the different contexts (types) of structured interview, and the stages of doing them. It also looks at the strengths, limitations and criticisms.

Experiments

An Introduction to Experiments in Sociology   – a brief introduction covering definitions of key terms including hypotheses, dependent and independent variables and the Hawthorne Effect. NB sociologists don’t generally use experiments, especially not lab experiments, but you still need to know about them! 

Laboratory Experiments in Sociology   – detailed class notes on the strengths and limitations of laboratory experiments. Sociologists don’t generally use lab experiments, but examiners seem to ask questions about them more than other methods – one hypothesis for why is that sociology examiners have a burning hatred of teenagers. 

Field Experiments in Sociology   – detailed class notes on the strengths and limitations of field experiments. Field experiments take place in real life social settings so are more ‘sociological’ than lab experiments.

Seven Examples of Field Experiment for Sociology  –  class notes outlining a mixture of seven classic and contemporary field experiments relevant to various aspects of the AS and A level sociology syllabus .

Longitudinal Studies

Longitudinal Studies – These are interval studies designed to explore changes over a long period of time. Researchers start with a sample and keep going back to that same sample periodically – say every year, or every two years, to explore how and why changes occur.

The Seven Up Series – an in-depth look at Britain’s longest running and best loved Longitudinal study.

What Makes a Good Life ? – Lessons from a Longitudinal Study – This is one of the longest running Longitudinal studies in the world – the respondents were in their 20s when it started, now those who are still alive are in their 80s.

Primary Qualitative Research Methods

Primary qualitative research methods tend to be favoured by Interpretivists as they allow respondents to speak for themselves, and should thus yield valid data. However, because qualitative methods tend to involve the researcher getting more involved with the respondents, there is a risk that the subjective views of the researcher could interfere with the results, which could compromise both the validity and reliability of such methods.

Qualitative research methods also tend to be time consuming and so it can be difficult to to them with large samples of people.

Participant Observation

Overt and Covert  Participant Observation  –  Participant Observation is where researchers take part in the life of respondents, sometimes for several months or even years, and try to ‘see the world through their eyes’. Overt research is where respondents know the researcher is doing research, covert is where the researcher is undercover.

The strengths and limitations of covert participant observation – sociologists don’t generally use covert participant observation because of the ethical problem of deception means they can’t get funding. This methods is more commonly used by journalists doing investigative reporting, or you could even say undercover police officers use it, and you can use these examples to illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of this method.

Some recent examples of sociological studies using participant observation – including Pearson’s covert research into football hooligans and Mears’s research into the modelling industry.

Non-Participant Observation  –  detailed class notes on non-participant observation. This is where the researcher observes from the sidelines and makes observations. Probably the most commonly used form of this is the OFSTED inspection.

Interviews in Social Research  –  This post consists of detailed class notes focusing strengths and limitations of mainly unstructured interviews, which are like a guided conversation that allow respondents the freedom to speak for themselves.

Secondary Research Methods

Official statistics.

Official Statistics in Sociology  –  class notes on the general strengths and limitations of official statistics, which are numerical data collected by the government. Examples include crime statistics, school league tables and education statistics.

Evaluating the Usefulness of Official Statistics – the UK government collects a wide variety of statistics, the validity of which can vary enormously. This post explores the validity of Religious belief statistics, crime and prison statistics, and immigration data, among other sources of data.

Cross National Comparisons – Comparing data across countries using official statistics can provide insight into the causes of social problems such as poverty, and war and conflict. This post looks at how you might go about doing this and the strengths and limitations of this kind of research.

Univariate Analysis in Quantitative Social Research – This involves looking at one variable at a time. This post covers the strengths and limitations of bar charts, pie charts and box plots.

Secondary Qualitative Data

Secondary Qualitative Data Analysis in Sociology – class notes covering private and public documents. Public documents include any written or visual document produced with an audience in mind, such things as government reports and newspapers, whereas private documents refer to personal documents such as diaries and letters which are not intended to be seen by their authors.

Content Analysis of the Media in Social Research  –  class notes covering formal content (quantitative) analysis and semiology .

Personal documents in social research – a more in-depth look at the strengths and limitations of using sources such as diaries and letters as sources of data.

Autobiographies in social research – Autobiographies are popular with the British public, but how useful are they as sources of data for the social researcher?

Sociology, Science and Value Freedom (Part of A2 Theory and Methods)

Sociology and Value Freedom  – Detailed class notes .

Methods in Context – Research Methods Applied to Education

Field Experiments applied to Education  – are Chinese Teaching Methods the Best? This is a summary of a documentary in which some students at one school undertook a Chinese style of teaching for 3 months, involving 12 hour days and ‘teach from the front techniques’. The students were then tested and their results compared to students from the same school who stuck to the traditional British way of teaching. The results may surprise you!

Participant Observation in Education  –  focusing on the work of Paul Willis and Mac An Ghail.

Non-Participant Observation in Education  –  focusing on OFSTED inspections, as these are probably the most commonly used of all methods in education .

The Strengths and Limitations of Education Statistics  – This post discusses the strengths and limitations of results statistics. NB these may not be as valid as you think .

Evaluating the Usefulness of Secondary Qualitative Data to Research Education  –  there are lot of documents sociologists may use to research education, including school promotional literature and web sites, policy documents, written records on students, and, if they can access them, personal messages between students referring to what they think about school.

Focus on the AS and A Level Exams

Research Methods Practice Questions for A-level Sociology – you will get a 10 mark question on both papers SCLY1 and SCLY3 most likely asking you to ‘outline and explain’ the strengths and limitations of any of the main research methods. This post outlines some of the many variations.

Research Methods Essays – How to Write Them – general advice on writing research methods essays for the AS and A level sociology exams. This post covers the PET technique – Practical, Ethical and Theoretical.

Assess the Strengths of Using Participant Observation in Social Research (20) – example essay, top mark band.

Methods in Context Essay Template  – a suggested gap fill essay plan on how to answer these challenging ‘applied research methods’ questions.

Methods in Context Mark Scheme  – pared down mark scheme – easy to understand! It may surprise you to know that you can get up to 12/20 for just writing about the method, without even applying it to the question!

Outline and explain two advantages of overt compared to covert observation (10) – you might think that being undercover provides you with more valid data than when respondents know you are observing them, however, there are a few reasons why this might not be the case. This post explores why, and some of the other advantages overt has over covert observation. (Honestly, covert is a lot of hassle!). NB this post is written as a response to an exam style question .

Using Participant Observation to research pupils with behavourial difficulties (20) – a model answer for this methods in context style of essay.

For more links to methods and applied methods essays see my page – ‘ Exams, Essays and Short Answer Questions ‘.

Other Relevant Posts

Learning to Labour by Paul Willis – Summary and Evaluation of Research Methods .

How old are twitter users? – applied sociology – illustrates some of the problems us using social media to uncover social trends.

Twitter users by occupation and social class – applied sociology – illustrates some of the problems us using social media to uncover social trends.

Other posts and links will be forthcoming throughout 2020, check back soon .

Theory and Methods A Level Sociology Revision Bundle 

If you like this sort of thing, then you might like my Theory and Methods Revision Bundle – specifically designed to get students through the theory and methods sections of  A level sociology papers 1 and 3.

Contents include:

• 74 pages of revision notes
• 15 mind maps on various topics within theory and methods
• Five theory and methods essays
• ‘How to write methods in context essays’.

For better value I’ve bundled all of the above topics into six revision bundles , containing revision notes, mind maps, and exam question and answers, available for between £4.99 and £5.99 on Sellfy .

Best value is my A level sociology revision mega bundle – which contains the following:

• over 200 pages of revision notes
• 60 mind maps in pdf and png formats
• 50 short answer exam practice questions and exemplar answers
• Covers the entire A-level sociology syllabus, AQA focus.

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