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Sociology · May / June 2025 · Paper 11 · Question 1

0495

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Read Source A and then answer the questions below. 1 Source A In the United States Barbara Ehrenreich used covert participant observation to research how working class people are able to live on low wages. For several months Ehrenreich left her middle-class home and lived and worked with people in low-wage jobs. She found work in four different cities in the United States. Her various jobs included being a waitress, a cleaner, a care home assistant and a shop worker. She wrote down her experiences at the end of each day. For her research Ehrenreich experienced trying to live on a low wage to pay for her food, clothing, transportation and shelter. Using covert participant observation allowed Ehrenreich to gain a first-hand, qualitative and in-depth understanding of the difficult lives of low-wage workers. Her conclusions were: • low-wage workers cannot afford basic necessities without working in more than one job • low-wage workers are often socially controlled through random searches of their bags and drug testing • managers had negative attitudes to low-wage workers based on class or racial prejudice • medical treatment and childcare are too expensive for low-wage workers. Source: adapted from an internet summary of ‘Nickel and Dimed’ by Barbara Ehrenreich.

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  • 1(a)(i)[2]

    From Source A, identify two conclusions of Ehrenreich’s research. Award one mark for each point correctly identified from Source A (up to a maximum of two). Possible answers:

    workers cannot afford basic necessities without working in more than one job;
    in low-wage jobs workers are socially controlled through random searches of their bags and drug testing;
    medical treatment and childcare are too expensive for low-wage workers
    managers had negative attitudes to low-wage workers based on class or racial prejudice.

  • 1(a)(ii)[4]

    Using information in Source A, explain two reasons why the research is useful for studying the experiences of low-wage workers. Award one mark for each point correctly identified from Source A (up to a maximum of two). Award one mark for each point that is developed (up to a maximum of two). Possible answers:

    it was a participant observation – she worked as a waitress, a cleaner, a nursing home assistant, and a shop worker, which gave her an insider’s view of what it feels like to be in a low-wage job;
    it was a covert observation – being undercover would allow her to gain an honest picture of the lives of those on low wages;
    Ehrenreich experienced trying to live on a low wage to pay for her food, clothing, transportation and shelter – this means that she would experience first-hand the difficulties of making her wages cover her living costs, adding to validity;
    the data was collected over several months – it thus offers more than a snapshot and allowed Ehrenreich to gain a lot of detailed data;
    she uses the method of observation – this method allows Ehrenreich to see and witness first-hand the daily grind of the jobs and how difficult it is to exist on a minimum wage this gives the data good validity;
    the data was gathered from four different cities – this means that it is more representative than research based solely in one place;
    it is a first-hand, qualitative and in-depth understanding of the difficult lives of low-wage workers – this allowed Ehrenreich to gain a full understanding of workers’ lives (verstehen);
    any other reasonable answer.

  • 1(a)(iii)[6]

    Using information in Source A, explain three problems with the research for understanding the experiences of low-wage workers. Award one mark for each point correctly identified from Source A (up to a maximum of three). Award one mark for each point that is developed (up to a maximum of three). Possible answers:

    data was written down at end of day – the researcher will likely have been tired and forgotten to include some events, insights, negatively affecting validity of her findings about low wage work;
    the research depended on Ehrenreich who is only one researcher – researcher subjectivity may mean that her interpretation of events that occurred may have been different to other researchers and bias may have crept in, negatively affecting the accuracy of her findings about low wage work;
    the research only took place in four cities – this cannot be representative of people’s experiences of low wage work across the whole of the United States;
    the research only took place in the United States – it is therefore not representative of people’s experiences of low-wage work across the world and findings cannot safely be generalised;
    the data is purely qualitative – as there is no quantitative data it is impossible to make comparisons of the experiences of low-wage workers across different US cities or across different countries;
    the researcher only did four jobs – workers experiences in other jobs may have been different so her sample isn’t wholly representative of all jobs;
    the research was only for a few months – this isn’t long enough to fully understand the experiences of low-wage workers;
    she is female – the experiences of males in low-wage work may be different in some respects so her findings may not be fully representative;
    she is middle class – she may not be able to fully understand how it feels to be lower class/a low-wage worker;
    any other reasonable answer.

  • 1(b)[2]

    State two aspects of a positivist approach to sociological research. Award one mark for each aspect correctly identified (up to a maximum of two). Possible answers:

    it focuses on large scale or macro research;
    it usually produces quantitative data;
    it adopts a scientific approach;
    it aims for reliability of research/it uses standardised methods;
    often uses surveys/questionnaires/structured interviews/statistics;
    they aim to be objective/avoid bias;
    they look for patterns and trends/social facts/causation and correlation;
    it aims for data that is representative and generalisable;
    any other reasonable answer.

  • 1(c)[4]

    Explain one strength and one limitation of semi-structured interviews. Award one mark for a strength correctly identified. Award one mark for development of the strength. Award one mark for a limitation correctly identified. Award one mark for development of the limitation. Possible strengths:

    they are more flexible than structured interviews e.g. they can leave some questions out, add others and change the order depending on who they are interviewing;
    they can probe for additional information, adding depth and increasing validity;
    they usually involve open questions and therefore interviewees are more likely to give more detail;
    the use of open questions invites interviewees to speak in their own words to describe their views or experience, enhancing validity;
    they are more reliable than unstructured interviews because they do have a structure and some questions will remain the same for all interviews, making them easier to replicate than unstructured interviews;
    any other reasonable answer. Possible limitations:
    they are less flexible than unstructured interviews, they cannot allow the interviewee to lead the researcher wherever they want and this may reduce the validity of the data;
    they tend to be more time-consuming than structured interviews because of the inclusion of additional questions, so they cannot be completed on large samples and this negatively affects representativeness and generalisability;
    they are less reliable than structured interviews because they have less standardisation – the questions asked and their order will differ each time so they are less easy to replicate than structured interviews;
    due to the fact that it is an interview there is always the possibility of some form of bias occurring e.g. interviewer effect and interviewer bias, both of which will lower validity;
    semi-structured interviews require a skilled interviewer due to probing and if this isn’t the case then results are likely to suffer e.g. the interviewer could ask leading or irrelevant follow-on questions;
    any other reasonable answer.

  • 1(d)[10]

    Evaluate the macro approach to sociological research. Your answer should include:

    at least two arguments for and two arguments against
    a conclusion. Use Table A to mark answers to this question. Possible arguments for:
    a macro approach often yields quantitative data and hence comparisons between social groups or individuals can be made;
    structuralists argue that a macro approach is necessary to understand the social structures, institutions and roles that individuals play in society – an understanding of the individuals themselves is not necessary;
    a macro approach is often used on large samples that are more likely to be representative and there is a possibility of being able to generalise data from the sample to the research population;
    positivists argue that a macro approach can uncover correlations and causation between social variables e.g. in statistics or comparative studies such as Durkheim’s research on suicide;
    macro research is a feature of a positivist approach and this discourages the active involvement of researchers – for example as interviewers or participant observers – and this lowers the possibility of researcher bias, increasing the validity of data gathered;
    any other reasonable answer. Possible arguments against:
    interpretivists criticise the way that a macro approach ignores the thoughts and feelings of the individuals – they argue that a micro approach which concentrates on the individual is crucial to understanding society as individuals are in control, pulling the strings of social institutions etc.;
    the macro approach’s reliance on quantitative data can be criticised – a micro approach often uses qualitative methods such as observations and interviews and so can gain a highly detailed and valid understanding of individuals and the groups to which the belong;
    a macro approach cannot understand why people act as they do – a micro approach can be effective when understanding individuals in groups – so, for example, how gang members interact or why some pupils are recruited into an anti-school subcultures;
    a macro approach does not allow for verstehen – a micro approach is useful when studying cultures or ways of life, for example because the methods used offer the possibility to delve deep and understand things from the inside, for example, in participant observation;
    any other reasonable answer.

  • 1(e)[12]

    Explain the research methods and evidence that you would choose to investigate views on marriage. Give reasons for your choices. Your answer should include:

    two primary methods with relevant sampling
    one source of secondary evidence. Use Table B to mark answers to this question. Possible methods:
    interviews (all types);
    questionnaires;
    surveys;
    observation (all types);
    case studies;
    longitudinal studies;
    any other reasonable method. Possible sampling choices:
    the group to be studied;
    the size of sample;
    the type of sample;
    the composition of the sample;
    access to the sample;
    any other reasonable sampling choice. Possible sources of secondary evidence:
    official and non-official statistics (on attitudes to marriage, trends in marriage etc.);
    previous sociological and other research on marriage;
    media materials e.g. social networking sites, magazine articles, blogs, forums, TV documentaries, newspaper articles etc. that discuss views on marriage;
    personal documents/diaries discussing views to marriage;
    any other reasonable evidence.
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