Sociological research methods

Sociological research methods are the tools sociologists use to gather evidence about society. In the AQA GCSE Sociology course, you need to understand both quantitative methods (like questionnaires and structured interviews) and qualitative methods (like participant observation and unstructured interviews). This topic is crucial because it helps you evaluate how sociologists reach their conclusions — and whether those conclusions are valid, reliable, and representative. You'll also learn about practical, ethical, and theoretical factors that influence a researcher's choice of method.

Research methods link directly to every other topic in sociology. For example, when studying education, you might ask: 'How do we know that teacher labelling affects student achievement?' The answer depends on the research method used. By understanding methods, you become a critical consumer of sociological research, able to spot bias, sampling issues, or ethical problems. This topic also prepares you for the 'methods in context' questions in the exam, where you apply your knowledge to a specific area like families or crime.

Mastering research methods will boost your exam performance because it appears in both Paper 1 and Paper 2. You'll be asked to identify methods, evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, and suggest how to improve a study. The key is to learn the definitions of key terms (validity, reliability, representativeness, generalisability) and to be able to compare methods. Don't just memorise — practise applying the concepts to real sociological studies.