Sociology · May / June 2024 · Paper 12 · Question 1
0495
As printed in the paper
The question as text
Source A 1 The data in Table 1.1 shows the estimated average age of marriage for women in selected countries in 2000 and 2020. The data has been adapted from official statistics provided by the government of each country. Table 1.1 Estimated average age of marriage, women. 2020 2000 Country 24 21 Ghana 21 20 India 21 21 Myanmar 24 20 Nigeria 23 21 Pakistan 22 18 Uganda 21 20 Zambia
Read automatically from the paper; the printed page above is exact.
Show the answer and mark scheme
1(a)[2]
From Source A, identify the two countries with the biggest difference in the estimated average age of marriage for women between 2000-2020. Acceptable answers:
NigeriaUganda One mark for each correctly identified country from Source A (up to a maximum of two).1(b)[2]
Identify two primary methods used by positivist sociologists. Possible answers:
questionnaire (self-completion, telephone, internet etc.);social survey;structured interview;content analysis;experiments (laboratory, field etc);any other reasonable response. One mark for each method correctly identified (up to a maximum of two).1(c)[4]
Using information from Source A, describe two reasons why the data may not be accurate. Possible answers:
the data in the table is quantitative and numbers alone cannot give a full and accurate picture of social reality because it can only deal in facts/numbers rather than why the facts are as they are;the information has been adapted – this means elements may have been deleted, added, or modified and hence may not be fully accurate;the data comes from the official statistics of each country and these are notoriously low in validity due, for example, to political manipulation some countries may wish to show that the marriage age for women is going up and modify figures accordingly;the age is only estimated – in some countries the processes for gathering official data on marriage may be unreliable, for example some parts of a country may be remote and marriages go unregistered which would directly impact the validity of the figures;only 2 years’ worth of data has been displayed but we have no idea of the situation in the intervening years which may be drastically different so we do not get a full picture;the data was last collected in 2020 so is several years out of date and hence not accurate for today;any other reasonable response. One mark for each reason that correctly references the source (up to a maximum of two). One mark for each reason that is developed from the source (up to a maximum of two).1(d)[4]
Describe two limitations of using self-completion questionnaires in sociological research. Possible answers:
the response rate is low and this can negatively affect the representativeness and generalisibility of the data;questions may be misunderstood and if the participant is unsure or unclear there may be no one around to help or clarify things;the researcher cannot be sure who answers the questionnaire and this can negatively impact the research if someone from outside the target population responds in place of the original participant;participants can often leave questions unanswered or may not take it seriously and give silly answers if no researcher is there;the mainly closed questions will yield quantitative data which limits participants’ ability to express their thoughts and feelings in their own words, lowering validity;participants may rush a self-completion questionnaire and thus give inaccurate or incomplete answers;any other reasonable response. One mark for each limitation correctly identified (up to a maximum of two). One mark for each limitation correctly developed (up to a maximum of two).1(e)[8]
Describe two strengths and two limitations of using qualitative data in sociological research. Possible strengths:
qualitative data in word form produces a more accurate and therefore valid picture of social reality than quantitative data which is only in number form;qualitative data provides a more holistic picture than that given in mere patterns and trends as it can answer the ‘why’ of social phenomena;it provides depth and detail, often enabling the recording of the attitudes, feelings and behaviours favoured by interpretivists;by encouraging people to expand on their responses new topic areas not initially considered can be opened up;a detailed picture can be built up about why people act in certain ways and their feelings about these actions;any other reasonable response. Possible limitations:qualitative data cannot yield patterns and trends as it is word rather than numerically based data so positivists prefer quantitative data;qualitative data tends to be more time-consuming to gather and to analyse due to the fact that the data is in words;qualitative data tends to come from small samples and thus it can be hard to generalise from findings;qualitative data tends to lack reliability as it comes from open questions that draw personalised responses that are hard to replicate;qualitative data is often biased due to the methods used to collect it e.g. interviews are subject to bias and the interviewer effect, observations suffer the Hawthorne Effect which negatively impacts validity;any other reasonable response. One mark for each strength correctly identified (up to a maximum of two). One mark for each strength correctly developed (up to a maximum of two). One mark for each limitation correctly identified (up to a maximum of two). One mark for each limitation correctly developed (up to a maximum of two).1(f)[10]
Explain why the interviewer effect may impact validity. Possible responses:
positivists argue that bias is all too likely to enter the interview process by the interviewer unintentionally prompting the respondent to answer in particular ways and biased data lacks accuracy;the researcher’s social characteristics (age, gender, class or ethnicity) may discourage or encourage the respondent in giving frank and honest answers, particularly on sensitive topics such as racism, sexism, domestic violence etc. and this may impact on validity;the researcher’s body language may inadvertently ‘lead’ the respondent in a certain way, thus inhibiting a fully accurate picture;the tone of voice used by a researcher may intimidate a respondent making a fully open and honest response unlikely, which will negatively affect validity;the reaction of the interviewer to a response may lead to social desirability on the part of the respondent, preventing an accurate picture of the respondent’s views emerging thus inhibiting full validity;the interviewer may have pre-determined stereotypes of the sample (e.g. gang members) and this can result in interviewer bias within the interview itself;thus negatively affecting validity;
any other reasonable response. Band 0 [0 marks] No creditworthy response. Band 1 [1–3 marks] Answers in this band will show only a limited awareness of the question. A tendency to description is likely. Responses may be short and undeveloped and points stated without explanation. Sociological terms and concepts are unlikely to be used. At the bottom of the band (1 mark), expect one weak point. Higher in the band (2–3 marks), candidates may offer more than one weak point. Band 2 [4–7 marks] Answers in this band will show basic sociological knowledge and understanding. Responses may be underdeveloped and lacking in range. At the bottom of the band, candidates are unlikely to use sociological terms and concepts accurately. Higher in the band, candidates may be beginning to use sociological terms and concepts with greater accuracy. However, some aspects of the answer may only be partially developed/explained. Band 3 [8–10 marks] Answers in this band will show good sociological knowledge and understanding and will be well developed and explained. Sociological terms and concepts will be used accurately overall. Answers will be well-focused on the question and there will be a range of points presented. At the top of the band explanations will be clear throughout.1(g)[15]
To what extent are sampling choices the most important factor in the research process? Possible arguments for:
it is a practical issue – sampling makes the research more manageable by reducing the number of respondents whilst maintaining the characteristics of the research population and this is fundamental to any research process;choosing to have a representative sample is important because it enables researchers to make generalisations to the wider target population, if the sample is unrepresentative any findings would be rendered useless as they would only apply to the small number sampled;the choice of sample size is important – if the sample is too small it will not be representative of the target population and hence it will be impossible to generalise from findings;the choice whether to conduct random sampling or not is important on the one hand it ensures everyone in the group has an equal chance of being selected (which makes the sampling more objective and less biased), but on the other hand random sampling techniques may not be representative, so adopting this method may yield a disproportionate number from certain social groups e.g. a majority of women;systematic sampling is useful because it is an effective way of creating a sample from a larger sample frame – it is a quick and easy way to do one’s research and practicalities matter;stratified samples tend to have smaller sampling errors – the sample is divided into several groups in proportion to construct a sample that is representative of the entire population making generalisations possible;getting a committed sample is important in longitudinal studies – participants need to be questioning at regular intervals over a period of time so it is crucial to recruit the sample carefully to minimise dropouts which will negatively impact the representativeness and generalisability of data gathered;in hard to reach groups with no sampling frame, gaining access to a sample may be difficult in which case the choice of snowball sampling is crucial as it is the only way to gain access to participants e.g. when investigating criminal gangs;access to certain samples can be problematic for hard to reach groups such as gangs and researchers may decide to go through a gatekeeper who can ‘filter’ the type and amount of access researchers have to their subjects thereby impacting on findings;any other reasonable response. Possible arguments against:some interpretivists may argue that the choice of method is as, if not more, important than sampling choices i.e. the method chosen may impact on validity of the data thereby limiting the usefulness of the research in terms of accuracy;positivist sociologists may argue that reliability of the data is as important as sampling choices e.g. the choice of quantitative methods producing statistical data may be crucial for identifying patterns and trends and social facts;objectivity may be seen as more important e.g. research may be useless if the researcher’s own values impact on the findings, regardless of the sample, as any data will be biased;a sample may be self-evident and thus no real choice about groupings is needed – the research may be particularistic e.g. the hypothesis may be focused on a unique social group so they have to be the sample;the choice of research topic is key to the social usefulness of research – a trivial topic will be redundant regardless of how big or representative the sample is;ethical issues may be a more important consideration than sample composition in terms of how useful the findings are if researchers have broken guidelines and have caused harm/distress to their research subjects then the usefulness of the findings will be questionable;any other reasonable response. Band 0 [0 marks] No creditworthy response. Band 1 [1–4 marks] Answers in this band may be vague and largely based on common sense showing limited knowledge of the debate. Use of sociological terms or concepts is very unlikely. Responses may be short, undeveloped and one- sided. Lower in the band (1–2 marks), expect one or two weak points. Higher in the band (3–4 marks) candidates may offer more than two points and provide a weak definition of key terms in the question. Band 2 [5–8 marks] In this band candidates will show some basic knowledge of the debate. Alternatively, they may offer an answer which is list-like in nature but there will be no real attempt to assess the issues raised by the question. There may be limited/some use of sociological terms or concepts. Responses may be underdeveloped and lack range. Answers may be simplistic and two-sided or only cover one side of the debate. Lower in the band, the response may be rather narrow in the points covered and there may be some development. Higher in the band, more points are likely to be covered with some development. Alternatively, a list-like answer with some development covering both sides of the argument may score up to 8 marks. A one-sided answer cannot score higher than 8 marks. Band 3 [9–12 marks] Answers in this band will show good sociological knowledge and understanding of the debate. Sociological terms and concepts will be used with greater accuracy and/or frequency. For the most part, answers will be well- developed, focused on the questions and there will be a range of points presented. There will be a two-sided response but it may lack range on one side. At the bottom of the band, candidates may provide a narrower range of developed points. At the top of the band, expect a wider range of developed points and clear focus on the question. Band 4 [13–15 marks] Answers in this band will show excellent knowledge and understanding of the debate. There will be a strong grasp of the arguments as well as accurate and frequent use of sociological terms and concepts. Answers will be well- developed, clearly focused on the question and discuss a wide range of points. Responses will be two-sided and have a range of points on each side. At the bottom of the band (13 marks), the answer may lack a specific conclusion. Higher in the band, there will be a clear attempt to offer an assessment of the ‘To what extent?’ part of the question through a focused conclusion.
Make a free account to save your answers and see your weak topics and ask the AI why a wrong answer is wrong.