Analyzing politics

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Random sample - Random sampling is a method of acquiring respondents that makes sure the population is accounted for . Unlike its counter-part biased sampling , random sampling assures the group of respondents to be diversified and without the bias possessed by the researcher . This can be done using methods like the fishbowl method wherein all possible candidates are written on lots and randomly selected (this can be possible for researches will relatively small populations

Qualitative versus quantitative methods - quantitative methods rely mainly on hard data , meaning it banks its findings on figures

(like percentages and averages . This had been a brainchild of the desire of structural-functionalists aiming to make the Social Sciences hard sciences . Qualitative methods on the other hand do not mainly rely on quantitative /numeric data but more on narratives and experiences . This method is a deviation from traditional methodology and has more elbow room for subjective interpretation and is suited for understanding phenomena that cannot be converted to figures (i .e . homosexuality 's degree cannot be measured o quantified

Ethnographic (or participant ) observation - Ethnography is a general approach which involves a combination of interviews and participant observation . The main idea of ethnographic research is to study people 's dealings in their natural condition . The point is to get inside the workings of the culture , the labels used in conducting their lives and to develop a subtle grasp of the subject 's worldview and how they generally act the way they do . There is a stress on the researcher...