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Study Guide for Bryn Hafren students

Key Stage 5

AS Level

Sociological Research Methods

The examination lasts for one hour. It is worth 60 marks. You do not have any choice because there is only one question. Answer all of the subsections of the question. Aim for one minute a mark when allocating time to the questions.

There will be two pieces of stimulus material. Item A will usually be a graph or a table. Item B will offer a simple outline of a research project. This research will be flawed in some way, but will also have good points. Look at the stimulus material carefully because it is crucial to the question.

Read the questions carefully. The command words which tell you what to do will be the same for each question and each examination.

(a) Briefly explain the concept of ... (a key term related to methods) (6 marks)

(b) Using Item A, identify two ... (different points of information on the graph or table) (8 marks)

(c) Using Item B, identify and explain (two strengths or two weaknesses or a strength and a weakness) of the research design (16 marks)

(d) Outline and assess one sociological research method of collecting information about ............ (30 marks)

Have a look at these pages:

1. Key terms in research methodology

2. Sociological Methods simple account