For example, if the candidate had suggested that they wanted to find out how many people had a religious belief, then they would have used a quantitative research strategy/design, used statistics or undertaken a survey. Candidates would have been given three marks for identifying an appropriate research design and a relevant method. In this short ‘case study’ the Examiners indicated where the research was to take place – a small town – and who it was for, a national newspaper. The word ‘extent’ can be interpreted in different ways it can be read as relating to the number of people who had a religious belief, to the depth of their belief, or indeed to both these things. Please note that in some textbooks, research strategy rather than research design is used and here the major division is between quantitative and qualitative research strategies. Is very helpful in answering questions such as this.
The material from the table on page 64 of the subject guide We were not concerned with what design or what method was used, provided that the candidate could associate the correct research design with an appropriate method. Here the Examiners were testing whether candidates could associate particular methods with their associated research designs. The video with Eileen Barker on her work with the Moonies (available on the VLE) would have been particularly helpful in answering this question. This style of question is used to test whether candidates can apply what they have learnt in Chapter 2 of the subject guide. What research design would you use and what method would you choose to do this research? Give reasons for your answer. You have been asked to find out the extent of religious belief in a small town for a national newspaper. Therefore can such data gathered by the census/surveys/questionnaires be trusted?ĭ. Hence there is a problem of ecological validity. The respondents might say that they believe or do not believe, but what does this mean? In a survey such as a census it is difficult to explore and question such answers. The problem of depth (p.58 of the subject guide). How did the respondents think that the material would be used by those in power? Did they answer the question about religious belief taking into account the effect that their answer might have on the surveyor?Ĥ. The problem of wording of the question – how did the respondents interpret the question? (The meaning problem, p.58 of the subject guide).ģ. Is the material gathered about religious belief, therefore, representative of the whole population?Ģ. Candidates could address the reasons for this. Non-response rates – even with the census there are problems with low response rates.
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