...Examine the advantages and disadvantages of using both positivist and interpretivist methods of research (20) Positivism is a theoretical point of view which concentrates on social facts, scientific methods and quantitative data. The research methods that are commonly used by positivists are questionnaires, structured interviews, structured non-participant observation and official statistics. These methods are used as they are objective and reliable. One sociological study that used positivist methods was Durkheim’s Suicide Study. Durkheim used official statistics to study suicide and demonstrate society as a science with its own distinct subject matter. One advantage of using positivist methods of research is that the data is that the data is easy to analyse. Using quantitative data means that there is less information which makes it easier to categorise and therefore makes it easy to create tables and graphs allowing easy analysis and making trends more identifiable. Also with the data being easy to analyse and categorise it also makes it easy for comparisons to make against existing research and data. A second advantage of using positivist methods of research is that the data is high in reliability. Positivists often use questionnaires and structured interviews to test reliability as the questions are controlled and therefore can be repeated. Research is considered reliable if other researchers can find similar results asking the same questions and showing consistency...
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...paper is divided into two sections. Choose one section and answer all the questions in that section. Do not answer questions from more than one section. Do all rough work in your answer book. Cross through any work you do not want to be marked. Information The marks for questions are shown in brackets. The maximum mark for this paper is 90. Questions carrying 12 marks or more should be answered in continuous prose. In these questions you will be marked on your ability to: – use good English – organise information clearly – use specialist vocabulary where appropriate. A G/K92851/Jun13/SCLY2 6/6 SCLY2 2 Choose either Section A or Section B and answer all the questions in that section. Section A: Education with Research Methods You are advised to spend approximately 50 minutes on questions 0 1 0 6 to 0 4 . 9 . You are advised to spend approximately 30 minutes on question You are advised to spend approximately 40 minutes on questions 0 5 . to 0 Total for this section: 90 marks Education Read Item A below and answer questions 0 1 to 0 4 that follow. Item A The educational achievements of both boys and girls have improved since the 1980s, but girls’ results have improved more rapidly. They have overtaken boys in Key Stage tests, at GCSE and at A level. Girls are also more likely than boys to go to university. However, gender differences in subject choice remain relatively unchanged in both academic and...
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...divided into two sections. Choose one section and answer all the questions in that section. Do not answer questions from more than one section. Do all rough work in your answer book. Cross through any work you do not want to be marked. Information The marks for questions are shown in brackets. The maximum mark for this paper is 90. Questions carrying 12 marks or more should be answered in continuous prose. In these questions you will be marked on your ability to: – use good English – organise information clearly – use specialist vocabulary where appropriate. G/T80704/Jun12/SCLY2 6/6/6/ SCLY2 2 Choose either Section A or Section B and answer all the questions in that section. Section A: Education with Research Methods You are advised to spend approximately 50 minutes on questions 0 You are advised to spend approximately 30 minutes on question You are advised to spend approximately 40 minutes on questions 0 to 1 0 6 0 4 . 5 . to 0 9 . Total for this section: 90 marks Education Read Item A below and answer questions 0 1 to 0 4 that follow. Item A There are important differences in the educational achievement of pupils from different ethnic groups. For example, at GCSE, on average, Chinese and Indian pupils perform better than White, Bangladeshi, Pakistani or Black pupils. Within all ethnic groups, girls out-perform boys –...
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...This paper is divided into two sections. Choose one section and answer all questions from that section. Do not answer questions from more than one section. Do all rough work in your answer book. Cross through any work you do not want to be marked. Information The marks for questions are shown in brackets. The maximum mark for this paper is 90. Questions carrying 12 marks or more should be answered in continuous prose. In these questions you will be marked on your ability to: – use good English – organise information clearly – use specialist vocabulary where appropriate. G/T61607/Jan11/SCLY2 6/6/ SCLY2 2 Choose either Section A or Section B and answer all the questions from that section. Section A: Education with Research Methods You are advised to spend approximately 50 minutes on Questions You are advised to spend approximately 40 minutes on Questions 0 0 1 0 6 to to 0 0 4 . 9 . You are advised to spend approximately 30 minutes on Question 5 . Total for this section: 90 marks Education Read Item A below and answer questions 0 1 to 0 4 that follow. Item A Sociologists see the education system as performing a vital role in modern societies. While the family can provide young people with basic values and some useful practical skills, it cannot equip individuals with everything they need in order to become fully functioning members of a large-scale society. In modern economies with a highly complex...
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...2. Experiments |Type of Experiment |Information |Practical issues |Ethical Issues |Theoretical issues | | | | | | | |Laboratory experiments |• A laboratory experiment is controlled and is |1. Open systems – Can only |1. Informed consent |• Positivists – experiments are good because of| | |in an artificial environment. |work with science. Society is an open system |2. Harm to subjects - everything, including |their reliability. This is because | | |• There must be two groups , an experimental |where the factors cannot be controlled. |risks, must be explained but what if you are |they can control the variables, produces | | |and control group. |2. Individuals are complex – it |Milgram? |quantitative data and is detached. However, it | | ...
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...SOCIOLOGY – AQA – UNIT 4 - CRIME AND DEVIANCE The exam is split into 3 questions: • Q.1 is a pure methods section which contains two parts a) 12 marks and b) 21 marks. You should spend 45 minuets on this question. • Q.2 is a method in context question. Part a) is for 9 marks [could also be a 3 and 6 mark question] and part b) is for 15 marks. You should spend 30 minuets on this question. • Q.3 is a theories essay for 33 marks. THIS QUESTION IS SYNOPTIC! You should spend 45 minuets on this question. Below is a list of all the areas and studies you need to know for each section of the exam. Don’t worry if you don’t know all the studies, each college/school are likely to teach slightly different ones, just make sure you know about that amount for each section. Q.1 For the first two pure crime parts you need to know: Functionalist theories of crime and deviance Durkheim – Social control, social regulation including suicide Merton-Strain theory, blocked aspirations Cohen – Status frustration Cloward and Ohlin – Deviant subcultures New Right/Right Realism James Wilson – Strict law enforcement needed Wilson and Kelling – Broken windows, zero tolerance Murray – Cultural deprivation, single parents and ineffective, the underclass Erdos – Families without fathers Subcultural theories Cohen – Delinquent subcultures Cloward and Ohlin – Delinquency and opportunity, criminal, conflict and retreatist...
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...Examine the different factors that influence the sociologists choice of research methods. The main factors that influence a sociologist's choice of research method depend on two different theoretical approaches to the study of society; Positivism is an approach in sociology that believes society can be studied using similar scientific techniques to those used in the natural sciences, such as physics, biology and chemistry. Durkheim, a positivist, called the external social forces that make up a societies social structure that cause or mould people's ideas and actions social facts.Durkheim said the aim of sociology should be the study of social facts, which in most cases could be measured and observed quantitatively, in number or statistical form. Such as the number of people applying for visas to work in a particular country. Interpretivism is an approach emphasizing that people have consciousness involving personal beliefs, values and interpretations that influence the way they act and that they do not simply respond to forces outside them. These two theoretical approaches often use different research methods because they have different assumptions about the nature of society, this influences the type of data they are interested in collecting. Practicality, ethics, theory and subject of study also contribute to the methods used for research. Durkheim, a positivist, called the external social forces that make up a societies social structure that cause or mould people's...
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...1. Introduction The proposed research project is explicitly concerned with the causal connection between youth sub-cultures in the criminal justice system and the effects of over representation. In addition, this encompasses the question topic area of how Becker’s labelling theory (Becker 1993) and Merton’s strain theory (Merton 1968) affects mainstream society’s perceived deviance of the Goth youth sub-culture and how much of this contributes to this youth sub-culture’s actual deviance. Moreover, a specific area of concern is whether the Goth youth sub-cultures of the past and present, is a site of deviance or a site of creative resistance to norms in mainstream society. Researching the contribution that labelling and stigmatisation of the Goth youth sub-culture have on criminogenic effects, is exceedingly important and valuable as it seeks to identify various gaps in previous research, such as the limited knowledge on the extent to which these factors contribute to deviance. Moreover, there is a lack of theoretical concepts that could possibly account for Goth youth sub-culture’s perceived behaviour. 2. Research question, significance and aims of the research i) Does negative labelling and the over-representation and stigmatisation of the Goth youth sub-culture, cause successive results of emerging and higher levels of deviance? Also, do the effects of stigmatisation cause youth to join the Goth sub-cultures in order to overcome their marginalisation in society...
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...economically and politically without understanding that most of the privileges they have historically received are solely due to their race and/or gender. The purpose of this review is to analyze the social construction of whiteness from a theoretical perspective, whites understanding themselves and their social status, in addition to the evolution of whiteness. Many studies have been undertaken on the social construction of whiteness. These studies shed a lot of light on the different perceptions on whiteness, gaps in research, areas of highest research interest, strengths and weaknesses of the various methodologies, and direction for future studies. In the study done by Hartmann, Gerteis, and Croll, the focus was on the theoretical aspects of whiteness studies. The findings led the researchers to estimate that in the United States, 15% of the population exhibit what may be called ‘categorical whiteness’ (404). The study by Hartmann, et.al, was carried out using data obtained during a recent national survey, which helped provide an empirical assessment of the theoretical underpinnings of whiteness studies (Hartmann, et.al 404). Three propositions regarding the awareness and conception of whites about their own racial status were analyzed. The propositions included: the understanding of racial privileges, the invisibility of the white identity, and adherence to individualistic and color-blind ideals. The findings turned out to be consistent with those previously spelled out...
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...331050025/T.14 | 6 | PETER BUTEMI | 331050001/T.14 | 7 | ELIA MBWILE | 331050050/T.14 | 8 | EDWIN NGAILO | 3310500…./T.14 | 9 | MIJA KANJU | 3310500…../T.14 | 10 | GEOFREY MARTIN | 331050054/T.14 | TOPIC: International Marketing Research SUBMISSION DATE: 14TH MAY 2015 1.0 INTRODUCTION OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETING RESEARCH Businesses preparing to compete in the 21st century are increasingly confronted with the task of crafting strategies that anticipate and respond to the rapid pace of change in global markets. As a result, their information needs are changing and becoming ever more complex and diverse. Timely, relevant information is essential to provide an adequate basis for day-to-day decision-making as well to chart the firms path in an increasingly fast paced, turbulent and competitive environment. Information needs are changing in both developed and developing countries. Established markets in industrialized countries are becoming more geographically integrated as direct vertical links and information flows are established between customers, retailers and suppliers. As a result, there is a growing need to conduct research spanning country boundaries, in order to identify regional or global market segments, or to examine opportunities for integrating and better co-ordinating strategies across national boundaries. At the same time, speed in collection and interpretation of results from multiple and geographically diverse sources become imperative in order...
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...Institutional Theory Part One Introduction of Institutional Theory What are institutions? The general understanding of institutions can be defined as a set of formal and informal rules of conduct, made by humans that facilitate coordination or govern relationships between individuals, organizations or government. Examples of institutions include laws, regulations, customs, social and professional norms, culture, and ethics. Selznick (1949) notes that "the most important thing about organizations is that, though they are tools, each nevertheless has a life of its own". While he acknowledges rational view that organizations are designed to attain goals, he notes that the formal structures can never conquer the non-rational dimensions of organizational behaviour. Individuals do not act purely based on their formal roles. Organizations do not act purely based on formal structures. Selznick notes that individuals bring other commitments to the organization that can restrict rational decision-making. Institutions exert a constraining influence over organizations, called isomorphism that forces organizations in the same population to resemble other organizations that face the same set of environmental conditions (Hawley, 1968). Then, the isomorphism was further discussed by DiMaggio and Powell (1983) where the analysis of institutions exert three types of isomorphic pressure on organizations: coercive, normative, and mimetic. Coercive isomorphism refers...
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...Introduction This thesis explores Social Networking sites as a medium of expression for sexual identity construction; more specifically the research question aimed to explore how gay and lesbian individuals use social networking websites as a means to construct and explore their sexual identities through self presentation on conventional social networking sites (SNS) available and used by everybody versus LGB SNS which are primarily used by Lesbian/Gay and Bisexual individuals and groups. Through the conduction of eight semi- structured interviews with an even number of four males and females and a content analysis of each participant’s social networking profiles, the research explored how sexual identities were presented and played out on these sites by the variation and degree of information that was disclosed by the sample study. Overall the aim was to explore the advantages and disadvantages social networking entails for the gay community through a comparison of both types of SNS, exploring how self presentation and sexual identities are negotiated and managed through the two while determining if these sites were in fact a safe location to play out sexual identities if they are a site of identity restrictions. From research up to this point it has struck me that there is limited research concerned with the disadvantages of social networking and identity experimentation for gays and lesbians. Thus this present study aims to acquire if gay individuals feel they can perform their...
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...CHAPTER 4 Research Methodology and Design 4.1 Introduction All research is based on some underlying philosophical assumptions about what constitutes 'valid' research and which research method(s) is/are appropriate for the development of knowledge in a given study. In order to conduct and evaluate any research, it is therefore important to know what these assumptions are. This chapter discusses the philosophical assumptions and also the design strategies underpinning this research study. Common philosophical assumptions were reviewed and presented; the interpretive paradigm was identified for the framework of the study. In addition, the chapter discusses the research methodologies, and design used in the study including strategies, instruments, and data collection and analysis methods, while explaining the stages and processes involved in the study. The research design for this study is a descriptive and interpretive case study that is analysed through qualitative methods. Questionnaires were used to evaluate participants’ WebCT skills (before the course starts) and to determine their levels of satisfaction in the course (at the end of the case study). A descriptive statistical method was used to analyze the student satisfaction survey. Participant observation, face-to-face interviews, focus-group interviews, questionnaires, and member checking were used as data collection methods. Furthermore, the justification for each of the data collection methods used in the study...
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...RESEARCH PROJECT PROPOSAL A. Research Proposal Student Name: HOANG THI LUYEN Student ID: 1427723 Working Title/Provisional Topic Title: Sustainable supply chain management in recycling industry: A case study of Lavergne Group in Canada. 1. Aims/objectives/Research Questions: 1.1. Research aims The aim of this study is to evaluate the problems associated with securing a reliable and cost effective sustainable supply chain in the recycling industry and elements of Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM). Recycling is a relatively new industry and the amount of recycling in countries varies significantly based on Political, Industry and Community issues. Academic and corporate awareness of sustainable supply chain and logistics issues has increased significantly in recent years (Seuring and Muller, 2008). Whilst demand for recycled raw materials is consistently increasing, the prerequisites for establishing a reliable supply chain are complex. Without a reliable and cost effective supply chain, manufacturers will avoid the use of recycled materials and instead choose less environmentally friendly virgin materials. Regardless of the reason for a company going ‘Green’ and looking for sustainability, there are key market drivers and requirements for such goals to be successful. This paper will examine the key supply chain factors that are required to optimise ...
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...RESEARCH PROPOSAL A STUDY ON THE IMPACT AND ADDICTION BY USING THE TECH-GADGETS BY THE STUDENTS TO THEIR LEARNING PROCESS AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE SHAHPUTRA: A STUDY ON COLLEGE STUDENTS CHAPTER I Introduction 1.0 Background of the Study The term technology comes from the Greek word “techne”, which means the art or skill used in order to solve a problem, improve a pre-existing solution to a problem, achieve a goal, handle an applied input/output relation or perform a specific function; technology is the making, modification, usage and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques and method of organisation (Liddel, Scott, Jones & McKenzie, 1940). That means, it can refer to the collection of tools, including machinery, modification, arrangements and procedures. Over the last 200 years there has been a significant change in the term technology. In the 20th century i.e. during the industrial revolution the term has gained its popularity worldwide (Cradock & Baldwin, 1833). Technology is the energy that acts as the driving force to drive or to run our lives. It is nothing but the results of the innovations and creativity of human beings. It converts the natural resources into consumer goods which are used by the society and human beings. It has brought the automation level into such a height that human effort and his time has been saved to a great extent. Due to this, the access to information has now become easier and the distant locations are getting closer. IT and communication...
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