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In sociology, sociologists will often have to do research into certain topics to gain a deeper understanding of them. There are many methods of research that a researcher could use if they were researching into society, such as observation, questionnaires, surveys, or interviews. When choosing between these methods a researcher must consider many factors, both practical and/or ethical. Sociologists are often uncertain about which issues, practical or ethical, are the most important.
Practical issues are possible problems with the experiment concerning actual, pliable, real things; things that are physical and can easily disrupt an experiment if not properly take care of. Almost all sociological experiments have practical issues that must be looked at and sorted out. They are therefore very important to be considered when embarking upon an investigation. Some practical issues that must be considered are:
· Cost – how much money will the experiment cost to the investigator? ... With so many practical issues to think about many sociologists argue that they must be the most important factor, much more important than ethical or moral factors. However due to the sheer amount of practical issues that concern any experiment, lots of sociologists maintain that practical issues affect an investigation much more than ethical issues.
In Don Kulick’s study of Brazilian transsexual prostitutes (1996), Kulick would have had to consider many, many issues that concerned his investigation practically. ... He would have to obtain enough money to securely fit in with these people without arousing suspicion, and he would have needed money to fund his research eg. ... So we see how many practical issues Kulick would have thought about before he even decided on his research method of observation. Of course he would have also had to think of the many ethical problems that his study would contain, but practical issues seem more important in this investigation.
In sociology, if a researcher considers practical issues more important then they will probably favour a more practical research method rather than a theoretical one. Though most research methods involve some practical aspect, these examples are much more practical.
Approximate Word count = 1670
Approximate Pages = 6.7
(250 words per page double spaced)
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