This document discusses and compares various research methods used in health research, including their positives and negatives. Surveys and questionnaires can gather data from large samples but may not be fully valid if participants do not respond truthfully. Interviews provide in-depth insights but take more time and may be less generalizable. Longitudinal studies enable examining trends over long periods but can lose participants. Ethnographic research in natural settings has high validity but raises ethical issues. Experiments test hypotheses directly but also pose ethical concerns. Secondary data analysis is efficient but relies on others' categorizations. Official statistics seem objective but may be politically biased. Content analysis of media is low-cost but interpretations rely on the researcher's views.

1. Research methods in health.
Method Examples Positives/ Negatives
+ The sample of 8,000 was large and therefore representative.
Nazroo (1997) Ethnicity and mental health. + Reliable and replicable.
Surveys
He used a social survey method, with a postal + The research should be objective.
Questionnaires
questionnaire on mental health issues. - Is it valid? Did the people tell the truth?
- Nazroo found it difficult to translate the term ‘depression’ into South Asian languages.
+ Oakley found unstructured interviews useful as they are seen as non-hierarchical and
Oakley (1979) From here to maternity. non-exploitative.
She used semi-structured interviews in her + They give women the opportunity to speak openly and at length.
research on first time mothers. She interviewed + Oakley gained the trust of the women, so the evidence is likely to be valid.
Interviews
over 100 women before and after they gave birth. - Possibly unrepresentative as all the women were white.
The interviews were in depth, detailed and - The research took a long time to complete.
involved open questions. - Her own experiences may have influenced the respondents.
- The research cannot be repeated on the same group of women.
National Child Development Study (NCDS) started
in 1958. This started as a study into still childbirths
and infant deaths among the babies born in a
+ Enables the researcher to look at patterns and trends.
particular week, but it has widened to cover
+ Can see changes over time in the wider social aspects.
Longitudinal physical, educational, social and economic
- People may drop out/ die/ move away from the study making the sample size smaller.
studies development.
- People may feel under pressure about aspects of their lives being studied.
British Cohort Study (BCS) started in 1970. This
started with a strictly medical focus but now covers
physical and educational development.
Whittiker (1996) Looked at the social and cultural + Goffman’s study allowed him to observe behaviour in a ‘true’ setting, so validity was
context of general practice. He used overt- high.
participant observation as well as interviews, + Whittiker used a range of ethnographic methods to balance out the strengths and
Ethnographic
health diaries and focus group discussions. weaknesses of each method.
methods
- Ethical issues of Goffman’s research- he did not have informed consent.
Goffman (1968) Studied an American mental - The methods were time consuming.
Observations
asylum. He took on the role of a member of staff - Goffman’s research may not be representative as he only investigated one institution.
(participant) but the patients and most of the staff
were unaware of his true role (covert).

2. Research methods in health.
Rosenhan (1973) asked 8 researchers to admit + Field experiments are more realistic than lab ones.
themselves to various psychiatric hospitals by + Validity can be high, particularly if people are unaware of the experiment.
pretending they were hearing voices. Once - Serious ethical issues! Informed consent?
admitted they behaved normally, but were - Rosenhan’s study the researchers may have been harmed if they had been
Experiments
treated as if they were mentally ill. given unnecessary drugs/ treatment
- Experiments can be time consuming.
- Only 8 volunteers were used in 12 mental hospitals, so the research may not
be representative.
The Black report (1980) and the Acheson report + Using existing data is cheaper than creating your own.
(1998) were both based on a wide range of + Most are easy to obtain.
statistics, but they also drew on data from + Can be seen as objective.
precious social surveys. They found that there + Reliable as other sociologists may use the same data.
Secondary
were major differences between the working and
data
middle classes. - The categories used in government reports may not be used consistently,
which makes comparisons difficult.
McKeown (1979) used official statistics on - Official statistics are government statistics and therefore may be biased
Official
mortality and morbidity rates to look at the towards a political agenda.
statistics
impact of advances in medical treatments. He
found that they were less important than social
developments such as better diet, cleaner water
and waste disposal.
This may be used as a source of information or + There is little financial cost involved.
the subject of the research. When it is the subject + It is a reliable method.
of the research, then the method of content + There are no major ethical issues.
analysis is used.
Mass media
- Interpretation of text and images will depend on the views and values of the
Naomi Wolf (1991) looked at body image in the sociologist and cannot therefore be objective.
media, and pointed out that magazines are full of - There is little room for empathy.
images of slim and beautiful women.