Research Methods - Specification

• Quantitative and qualitative methods of research; their strengths and limitations; research design.
• Sources of data, including questionnaires, interviews, participant and non-participant observation, experiments, documents and official statistics; the strengths and limitations of these sources. 
• The distinctions between primary and secondary data, and between qualitative and quantitative data. 
• The relationship between primary and secondary data, and between quantitative and qualitative data.
• The relationship between positivism, interpretivism and sociological methods; the nature of "social facts"
• The theoretical, practical and ethical considerations influencing choice of topic, choice of method(s) and the conduct of the research.