Topic 2 of 8 · Form 5
Research methods
Official statistics (ZIMSTAT census and surveys), documents, media and previous studies – cheap but may be biased or socially constructed.
Notes for this topic 1 file, in order
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Positivism and interpretivism
- Positivists (Comte, Durkheim) seek objective, quantitative data and causal laws, using scientific methods.
- Interpretivists (Weber, interactionists) seek meanings and qualitative understanding.
Primary methods
- Questionnaires: reliable, cheap, large samples; but low validity, low response rates and imposition problems.
- Structured and unstructured interviews: interview bias versus rich, valid data.
- Observation: participant (covert or overt) and non-participant; high validity but small scale, ethical issues and the Hawthorne effect.
- Experiments: laboratory and field experiments.
Secondary sources
Official statistics (ZIMSTAT census and surveys), documents, media and previous studies – cheap but may be biased or socially constructed.
Key concepts
Reliability (repeatability), validity (true picture), representativeness, generalisability, triangulation (combining methods), operationalisation, pilot studies.
Sampling
Random, systematic, stratified, quota, snowball (for hard-to-reach groups) and opportunity sampling.
Ethics
Informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity, avoiding harm, honesty and permission (especially with minors).
Check yourself
- What is triangulation?
- Why might an interpretivist prefer unstructured interviews?
- When is snowball sampling useful?
Show answers
- Using more than one method or source to check findings and increase validity.
- They allow respondents to express meanings in their own words, giving valid, in-depth data.
- When studying hard-to-reach groups (e.g. informal traders or drug users) where no sampling frame exists.
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