Social Cultural Continuity Change Essay

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HSC Society & Culture

Core: Social & Cultural- Continuity & Change

Content
Students learn about:

Concepts
The fundamental concepts of society, culture, persons, environment, time and the concepts of power, authority, gender and technology are to be integrated across Social and Cultural Continuity and Change.
The key concepts to be integrated across Social and Cultural Continuity and
Change are:

Nature of Social & Cultural Research Methodologies:

Examine the nature and characteristics of primary and secondary research

Distinguish between quantitative and qualitative research
• Quantitative: o Are close to the original data o Result in descriptive prose, quotations, summaries o Use personal interviews and observations as main techniques o Enable detailed data to be obtained but for small populations only o Are difficult to compare with other studies o Rely heavily on the researchers interpretative skills to understand the complexities of the resulting data
• Qualitative: o Removed from original data o Result in numerical data, tables, graphs and diagrams o Use survey questionnaires and statistics as their main techniques o Enable a collection of highly specific data from large populations o Are easy to compare with other studies o Rely heavily on the researcher’s organizational skills in writing the research questions

Examine the characteristics of the following social and cultural research methodologies and techniques:

Survey
• The process of conducting a study from representative samples of specific populations. A survey can use a range of methodologies in its process: observation, interview, and a questionnaire to fully extrapolate relevant data

HSC Society & Culture

Core: Social & Cultural- Continuity & Change















• Quantitative
Case study
• The collection of data about an individual or small group by means of observation, interview and the collection of documentary evidence
• Quantitative
Observation
• Using data recorded sheet, can generate quantitative results
• Quantitative
Content analysis
• The study and interpretation of written or visual material, where in which a certain characteristic or aspect of such a material is measured then analysed to generate a quantitative statistic
• Quantitative
Focus group
• May involve 3-8 participants, researcher acts as a mediator, whose opinion remains neutral so as not to contaminate results. Each interviewee must hold a commonality on which the discussion is based. A vast range of opinions and perspectives and key insights, and has the potential for serendipitous insights to be obtained through its relatively unstructured nature.
• Qualitative
Action research
• Endeavours to implement change on a situation and assess such modifications in terms of effectiveness- achieved through dynamic process of revisiting the situation. Longevity, considered a cyclical process • Qualitative
Interview
• May be tightly structured, semi or unstructured, in-depth or conversational. Involves researcher and interviewee in a one-on-one situation. Can be relatively time consuming. Unstructured questions give flexibility and allow both parties to be responsive to the explanation being provided.
• Qualitative
Questionnaire
• Close-ended questions allow for percentages and rates to be graphed
• Quantitative
Ethnographic study
• Differs from participant observation because of the longevity of the study- generally long term projects over a year
• Qualitative
Statistical analysis (data analysis)
• Examining data to interpret meaning, make generalisations and extrapolate trends. Often the data come in graphical form and because these data are expressed in the language of mathematics, they should be evaluated and interpreted by means of appropriate mathematical or statistical procedures.

HSC Society & Culture

Core: Social & Cultural- Continuity & Change
Nature of Social & Cultural Continuity and Change
Understanding continuity and change through:

Identifying the nature