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Chapter 2: Comparing Research Methods |
Different research methods have different advantages and disadvantages.
For instance, an experiment offers a high degree of scientific
rigor, making it one of the more reliable research methods.
However, this same rigor makes an experiment more rigid than
less formal methods, and these other methods, such as an ethnography,
have greater latitude and can uncover things that would have
fallen outside the scope of an experiment. One of the first
steps to conducting solid research is to determine what method
of research is best suited to your topic.
Visit a Web site that publishes current sociological research,
such as Sociological Research Online at www.socresonline.org.uk/
Choose a study, and prepare a ten minute classroom presentation
in which you compare and contrast the research method used
with two other research methods. Explain how the method used
is suited to the topic, and explain how the study would be
different had other methods been used. Be sure to cite your
sources.
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