How do sociologists actually turn an idea into a piece of research?
In this interactive activity, you take on the role of a sociological researcher investigating how education may influence the ethnic identities of pupils. Rather than simply choosing a research method, you will work through the different stages of a real research investigation and make decisions that affect the evidence you eventually produce.
You will need to decide how to operationalise difficult concepts such as ethnic identity, gain access to a school, conduct a pilot study, select a sample and choose suitable research methods. As the investigation develops, you will also encounter some of the problems sociologists face when researching young people, including gatekeepers, researcher–pupil status differences, social desirability, confidentiality and the researcher effect.
Your decisions will affect five aspects of your research:
- Validity – are you really measuring or understanding what you intended to investigate?
- Reliability – could another researcher repeat the investigation and produce similar results?
- Representativeness – how far does your sample reflect the wider population?
- Ethics – have participants been treated appropriately and protected from harm?
- Practicality – can the research realistically be carried out with the available time, access and resources?
Towards the end of the investigation, you will also confront an important debate within sociology: should researchers try to produce objective measurements of social behaviour, or should they focus on the subjective meanings people give to their experiences?
There is no single perfect route through the activity. Different methodological decisions produce different strengths and limitations. Your task is to build the strongest investigation you can — and, more importantly, to explain what your evidence allows you to conclude.
Key sociology links
The activity is particularly useful for revising research methods and Methods in Context, alongside work on ethnicity and education. It explores concepts including operationalisation, pilot studies, sampling, gatekeepers, access, rapport, social distance, researcher effects, reflexivity, triangulation, validity, reliability, representativeness, positivism and interpretivism.
Your research question:
How, and to what extent, do experiences of education influence pupils’ ethnic identities?
When you are ready, enter your name and begin the investigation.
Researching Education and Ethnic Identity
Build a real sociological investigation. Every decision changes the quality of the evidence you eventually produce.
Your research mission
You will move through the same problems a sociologist would face: turning concepts into variables, gaining access to a school, testing your questions, selecting a sample, choosing research methods, managing power differences and interpreting evidence.
Your aim is not to get five perfect scores. Good sociological research usually involves trade-offs.
Your research report
Your route through the research
What kind of evidence did you produce?
Research diary
Evaluation challenge
Explain one strength and one limitation of your investigation. Then explain what this means for the conclusions you can safely draw.
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