Assess the Value of Interviews in Sociological Research free essay sample

There are two types of interviews; unstructured and structured. In addition, there are other types of interviews known as a semi-structured interview. Structured interviews involve the interviewer following a set of questions, without the addition of anything that isn’t written down. The interviewer is given strict instructions and is told to complete each interview in the same order, word for word and cannot make any personal judgements. The practical advantages for this type of interview are that it is quick and fairly cheap in comparison to an unstructured interview. This is because the interviewer has to remain value free meaning that he/she is not allowed to ask any of their own, personal questions in response to the participant and each interview should last about the same length of time, if it overruns, then it could cost more money and become time consuming. In addition, the results can be easily quantified, as structured interviews use close-ended questions with coded answers. The practical disadvantage for this type of interview is that it may be time-consuming and may require a lot of money to employ dozens of interviewers and data-inputting staff. Structured interviews are preferred by Positivists, including Marxists and Functionalists. This is because they believe society can be studied like a science, which means that they attempt to establish cause and effect relationship between the variables involved in this type of interview. They also favour quantitative data, as structured interviews provide the interviewer with the opportunity to identify the patterns and trends, as they can categorise the answers given to them by the respondent. This in turn allows for generalisations to be made, which could be then true for the entire population. In addition, structured interviews removes the risk of interviewer effect, as the interviewer has a limited role and just asks the questions created on their list, not making up new ones as they respond to what the interviewee has said, which could jeopardise the entire research. This in turn will help the interviewer to remain value free. Therefore, these factors outlined shows that structured interviews are strong in reliability and representativeness, which explains why positivists favour this type of research. However, there are problems of using this interview. The initial problem is that interviewees have to force their views into the researchers’ categories. Often these categories are too narrow, overlap or are open to interpretation. Sometimes, some of the answers interviewees would like to give are not available. Therefore, this type of interview can be invalid for this reason. Furthermore, with a set list of fixed response questions and answers, there is still some interviewer effect and how the interviewee perceives the interviewer may well influence their responses. As a result, this could cause psychological harm and this is considered an ethical issue in this type of research that could have an effect on the validity of research. Unstructured interviews do not involve a set list of fixed response questions. Instead, they are open-ended and free-flowing, which allows the interviewee to respond in their own words and raise issues whenever they feel it’s relevant to the research. There are practical issues of using this type of interview. The initial problem of using this interview is that it is time consuming; each interview can often last up to a few hours, especially if you are studying illiterate criminals or participants who have an impairment, which makes it difficult for them to articulate themselves and hold a normal conversation and it can take a long time to transcribe this data. In spite of this of setback, this type of interview is rich in qualitative data, which makes the data become valid in comparison to the structured interview. Unstructured interviews are preferred by Interpretivists and Feminists. This is because they believe that the informality of the interview allows rapport to be built up. This means that the participant will build up trust and confidence with the interviewee. As a result, the interviewee is likely to open up to certain areas and this will enhance the validity of the researchers’ findings. This makes it a good technique for sensitive areas of sociology, such studying those women who are victims of domestic violence. However, an ethical issue of this type of interview is that it can cause psychological harm to either the participant and/or the interviewee. Furthermore, these types of interviews can place anyone involved in danger, especially if you’re studying violent criminals. Therefore, the researcher must plan and make considerations before implementing this type of interview. Additionally, positivists would argue that this type of interview could lack objectivity. This is because the interviewer usually uptakes a value laden stance in this type of interview. This means that his/her presence and the way questions are asked could affect the results of the research (e. g. leading questions). Furthermore, the interviewer’s facial expressions, body language and voice tone can all have an effect on how answers are given by the respondent. As a result of this, the interviewer may even offer their own opinions which may bias the results completely and bias may also occur during the detailed analysis process. Therefore, Validity and reliability are lowered because of the amount of bias that is endured throughout this type of research and this is why unstructured interviews are not favoured by positivists. In conclusion, how valuable are interviews in sociological research? It depends on the sociologists’ theoretical position; positivists see the quantitative data generated by formal, structured interviews more valuable. In contrary, Interpretivists see the qualitative data generated by informal, unstructured interviews more valuable. In spite of this, there are always issues with either type of interviews. Therefore, the best solution to overcome them is to use both structured and unstructured elements as the research situation demands. Structured elements may be very useful in identifying patterns of behaviour whilst informal elements may be more appropriate in uncovering explanations of those patterns. This can be illustrated in Dobash and Dobash’s study on domestic violence, where they used both element s of interviews to research domestic violence.

Leadership in Early Care and Education

Pedagogy is the art of teaching, whereby a teacher passes academic or theoretical information to learners. This process involves daily lives of teachers, which incorporate more than just teaching, as it involves other aspects such as making informed decision, possession of skills and practice among others (Kagnan Bowman, 1997). This essay paper will be focusing on the analysis of pedagogical leadership and relationships, involved by a teacher with children, parents, and fellow teachers.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Leadership in Early Care and Education specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Families and other attachments that a child gets involved in his or her early childhood are the primary influence on that child’s learning and development. Professionals are also engaged in advancing the level of learning and development of a child. For the professionals to work effectively, they engage in family-centere d practice through respecting the responsibilities of families as far as the life of a child is concerned (MacNaughton Williams, 2004). To come up with an effective pedagogy, the professionals make use of families` understanding of their off springs to be able to make informed decision concerning a child’s learning and development. In most of the learning institutions, an environment is created whereby all families are given some opportunity to participate and contribute towards learning and development of their children (MacNaughton Williams, 2004). Through this, families get a chance to assist in planning the best way of educating their children. Once the teaching team understands all the attachments in early childhood, a teacher knows better how and where to start the process of teaching. As the teaching process continues, teachers still learn more while giving the feedback to the family on how a child is fairing in learning and development. Through this interaction, fam ilies also get a chance of coming up with new ways of advancing children’s learning and development at home and within the society. The child-teacher relationship is very crucial in the process of teaching. This relationship is an important source of child’s trust. For any child to trust his or her teacher, the relationship must be very positive. A child’s development greatly depends on this relationship, as it acts as a building block of a child’s early stages of life. The behaviors acquired by children in their early childhood impose a great impact in their adult lives (Linke, 2000). A teacher is a unique role model to the growing children, as he is considered the first adult, who a child can build trust on and have an open discussion.Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More A good relationship of the teacher and his students makes them to rely on teacher for sup port and guidance due to the trust they develop. It is teacher’s responsibility to encourage the children to explore and discover their talents as early as possible (MacNaughton Williams, 2004). These talents are meant to help them in future. This relationship should also have some boundaries, and it is the teacher’s duty to set some standards. A healthy teacher-child relationship can be facilitated much by their communication, as children are very sensitive to voice tones, gestures and physical expressions. A good communication will influence children positively currently, and even in future. The parent/teacher relationship is another factor in effective learning and development of children. Teachers should rely on parents for some basic important information concerning children. Although parents are as busy as teachers, the time to build their relationship and develop it should be there. According to some studies conducted, it is evident that the parents who get inv olved with the studies of their children positively, their children perform better. It is also evident that, the parents who receive information regularly from the teachers concerning their children, they become more involved in what their children do at school. Some of the ways through which the relationship of the teacher and parent can be improved is by parent keeping in touch with the school (Linke, 2000). Parents should have that desire of knowing what their children are doing in school. This information can only be gotten from teachers. Parents should make some efforts to visit school and have a talk with teachers, or if this is much demanding, they can make regular scheduled telephone calls and discuss the progress of the child. Another way that a parent can improve the relation ship is through offering the praise and encouragement to the children. Parents can encourage their children to complete the assignment, and introduce them to the outside events that would improve thei r self-confidence and widen their interests (MacNaughton Williams, 2004). For the teachers, they can involve parents in classroom activities through acknowledging them where they can be of assistance as far as the child’s learning and development is concerned. Teachers should also give parents a voice in decisions especially in setting the goals and standards for their children. Ways of achieving these goals should also be discussed in presence of teachers and the parents.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Leadership in Early Care and Education specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The school should also encourage parent/teacher conferences, where teachers and parents can air out their grievances to make the life of their children better in school. The communication during such conferences should be in a comfortable environment where information can be shared, questions asked and answered, and recommendations m ade. The teacher-teacher relationship is very important to the life of children in school. It is always advisable for the teachers to have a good relationship, as they are role models to the children. A negative remark by a teacher concerning his fellow teacher may make students to think less of him and develop a negative attitude towards him. Teachers should not undermine one another in presence of the children, as it is a bad picture to the children, who trust and rely on them for direction (Kagnan Bowman, 1997). Incase there is something negative to be discussed, it should be taken and handled in the department meetings, where it can be weighed by all members and formally discussed. Some of the factors that may improve the relationship of teacher-to-teacher are respect for ones personality as this may allow them to listen to one another incase of some disagreements (MacNaughton Williams, 2004). Exchanging ideas and experiences is another important issue that would enhance their growth and that of the children. Working together and consulting one another on difficult issues is also healthy, and can promote their relationship to greater heights. Pedagogical leadership is crucial as it solely focuses on the teaching and learning that impact children’s positive outcome. Several dimensions should be considered for the pedagogical leadership to be effective (Kagnan Bowman, 1997). To begin with, coming up with learning goals and communicating them to the relevant people is one of the most important steps of achieving an effective pedagogy leadership. Both the learners and their teachers are supposed to be aware of how to achieve their expectations. Another important dimension is having all the strategic resources to facilitate each teaching goal for easier achievement. The school should make efforts in providing all the necessary resources that would be required to achieve the set goals. Thirdly, leaders should be involved directly in planning and organi zing a good teaching curriculum. If they get a chance in preparing a school curriculum, it would be easier for them to follow and deliver the required information to the children (MacNaughton Williams, 2004). In addition, teacher learning and development should be introduced and the leaders encouraged in participating.Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Finally, an orderly and a supportive working environment should be provided, for both teachers and students to have an opportunity of focusing on teaching and learning. The above five dimensions discussed provide a clear path that the school leaders should follow in achieving their goals. These important issues can make a great difference to the outcome of the learning children. The early childhood teaching and learning is applicable in the day-to-day lives of both children and adults. The application of this education is beneficial to the children, their families, and the society. Improved behaviors in the society are one of the day-to-day applications of the early childhood learning. Young children have proved to acquire good and admirable behaviors that they demonstrate in the society. Through the knowledge they acquire in their early childhood education, and practice of virtues, there is a high possibility of their excellence in future education (Linke, 2000). These children rea lize early enough the importance of education hence an increased number of high school graduates. Early childhood learning makes children to get used to exams and how to prepare for them, hence doing better even in their future tough exams. In the day-to-day lives, the interaction of the parents and their children during the early childhood education makes the two parties to understand one another well. Another important application of the early childhood learning reduces the number of children attending special education, because most of their serious problems are realized and solved. When a certain weakness is realized during the early stages of a child, they are solved better. The early interaction of the children with their teachers is very crucial in the lives of the young ones. Teachers are in a position to understand challenges faced by the children, and on the other hand, children try to practice the morals observed from their teachers. For instance, a research done internat ionally proves that children who did not get a chance to attend early childhood education were 85% likely to be involved in violent crimes by age 19 than their fellows who had attended (Kagnan Bowman, 1997). This education also reduces the rate of teen pregnancy with 45% likelihood of those who did not attend early school becoming pregnant, than those who attended. Increased contribution to more stable families is an ongoing daily application of the early childhood education, several adults globally, who confessed being along well with their families, than their fellows who did not attend, proved this. This gave a ratio of 75% of stable families and 64% for the unstable ones (Kagnan Bowman, 1997). Greater levels of employment and higher wages in future are also results of engagement with early childhood learning. Most of people have confessed of having stronger communities because of involving each generation in early education. This is the place where children lay their strong fo undation, as they understand the overall importance of education to them and to the community. The government as well enjoys the fruits of the early learning that its citizens receive on daily basis. For instance, it is evident that every $1 spent in improving the quality of early education, saves the country $7 that would be used in activities such as criminal justice services (MacNaughton Williams, 2004). Through the early education, children learn many tactics of handling challenges in future. More than 60% of the people, who are detained due to criminal offences, are those who never attended early childhood education, according to research done internationally Reference List Kagnan, S., Bowman, B. (1997). Leadership in early care and education. Michigan: Cengage Learning. Linke, P. (2000). Infant brain research. What is it and what does it mean? New York: Cambridge University Press. MacNaughton, G., Williams, G. (2004). Building a strategic approach to teaching  techniques: In techniques for teaching young children. New York: Routledge. This essay on Leadership in Early Care and Education was written and submitted by user Bryant B. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Personal Achievement Sample For College Essay Writing

Personal Achievement Sample For College Essay WritingIf you're writing a college essay for college admission, you should consider using a personal accomplishment sample. A college essay can be the most important part of your application, especially if you're applying to a competitive college. It's important that you provide a good impression on campus when you're doing your application essays.A personal accomplishment sample is a sample of writing that may be used in an essay. If you're writing a college essay, you should consider including it in your application package. You don't have to be writing for a college application. These are great samples for just about any writing assignment.The key to writing a well-written college essay is putting yourself in the position of the reader. The first thing you want to do is to provide a brief overview of the piece and what it's about. You should include some information about your background and what type of student you are.It's important to provide a good description of your personal history because this will give you more credibility when it comes to writing a short essay. You can use your personal history as a way to make a statement about you.Your goals and dreams should also be included in the summary paragraph. In this section, you should outline what your goals are for college. You should also state why you want to attend school at a particular school.Once you have discussed your goals and dreams in this section, you should be able to put yourself in the role of a good writer. You should give examples of your work such as poems or short stories.The conclusion of your college essay should summarize what you feel are the main points of your story. By following these tips, you should have a well-written and powerful college essay.If you're applying to any kind of college, you should use a personal accomplishment sample for college essay writing. These samples should provide examples that are comparable to what yo u would write on your own.

Free Essays on Ann Bradstreet

Anne Bradstreet â€Å"Gender† The Struggles and Fears of being a Puritan mother and a puritan woman, Bradstreet had trouble writing poetry in a patriarchal, unimaginative world. Although Bradstreet grew up in affluence with the luxury of an excellent education, she was expected to behave as a normal Puritan woman. She was the wife and child of colonial governor, but her status could not save her from the maltreatment and contempt of women stepping over the line. The Puritan belief that a woman’s place is in the home perturbed Bradstreet. She did not agree with the cultural bias toward women in her time. Bradstreet was criticized harshly for her role as a female writer; nevertheless, she wrote more and more about being a woman. She showed the world that being a woman was to her advantage in the realm of her poetry. As Perry Miller explains, in an era that subordinated women to men and men to God â€Å"women who stepped beyond their domestic defines through literature- by reading or writing- were considered dangerous to themselves and to society†¦Puritans expressed considerable scorn for women who wrote or published† (360-61). On the other hand, Elaine Showalter offers the remark that â€Å"Bradstreet’s writings [i.e. her important later writings] is more inflected by gender than by nationality; it is not American.† Alvin H. Rosenfeld states that â€Å"There is the primary fact the [Anne Bradstreet] was a woman poet, and we look to her accordingly for that special point of view that belongs to the feminine sensitivity and which, we hope, will provide certain details of life in early America missing in the writings of her Puritan brothers.† (Rosenfeld 1970, 79). In fact, many critics believe that Anne Dudley Bradstreet’s feminine sensibility has always attracted scholars searching for details of early American life absent from the writings of her male contemporaries. Some Critics make a range of claims abou... Free Essays on Ann Bradstreet Free Essays on Ann Bradstreet Anne Bradstreet â€Å"Gender† The Struggles and Fears of being a Puritan mother and a puritan woman, Bradstreet had trouble writing poetry in a patriarchal, unimaginative world. Although Bradstreet grew up in affluence with the luxury of an excellent education, she was expected to behave as a normal Puritan woman. She was the wife and child of colonial governor, but her status could not save her from the maltreatment and contempt of women stepping over the line. The Puritan belief that a woman’s place is in the home perturbed Bradstreet. She did not agree with the cultural bias toward women in her time. Bradstreet was criticized harshly for her role as a female writer; nevertheless, she wrote more and more about being a woman. She showed the world that being a woman was to her advantage in the realm of her poetry. As Perry Miller explains, in an era that subordinated women to men and men to God â€Å"women who stepped beyond their domestic defines through literature- by reading or writing- were considered dangerous to themselves and to society†¦Puritans expressed considerable scorn for women who wrote or published† (360-61). On the other hand, Elaine Showalter offers the remark that â€Å"Bradstreet’s writings [i.e. her important later writings] is more inflected by gender than by nationality; it is not American.† Alvin H. Rosenfeld states that â€Å"There is the primary fact the [Anne Bradstreet] was a woman poet, and we look to her accordingly for that special point of view that belongs to the feminine sensitivity and which, we hope, will provide certain details of life in early America missing in the writings of her Puritan brothers.† (Rosenfeld 1970, 79). In fact, many critics believe that Anne Dudley Bradstreet’s feminine sensibility has always attracted scholars searching for details of early American life absent from the writings of her male contemporaries. Some Critics make a range of claims abou...

Supplementing Your Income with Writing

Supplementing Your Income with Writing So you’re a published author and you love it! But there’s too much time between contract and publication, advance (if you receive one), and royalties (if you even earn out that advance). How can you supplement your income? Maybe you’re not a freelance writer but would love to be one, or perhaps you’ve written for fun not realizing you could supplement your regular income Here are a few ideas. . . Take a freelance writing course. There are free, paid and college courses. Institute for Writers (formerly Longridge Writers Group) offers courses on writing for children and breaking into print. Sign up for newsletters and follow blogs that share information on writing gigs. FundsforWriters, Freedom with Writing, and Mallee Blue Media are great resources. Write short stories. Markets like Woman’s World Magazine pay top dollars for short romance and mysteries. They also pay for short true life pieces. True Story and True Confessions are other avenues to earn a few bucks. Write nonfiction. Chicken Soup for the Soul and other such publications are always looking for great nonfiction stories. The pay is decent, and there are many different topics to choose from. Watch for anthology call for submissions in genres like fantasy, sci-fi, and mystery. Write Your life. What do you do when you’re not writing? Are you a full-time wife and mother? Stay home dad? What is your â€Å"day† job? Are you qualified in fitness and nutrition, business and finance? Perhaps you make jewelry, or you’re an artist. Maybe you travel for business and/or pleasure. Are you an interior designer/decorator or Feng Shui expert? Write for magazines. There are magazines and blogs out there that pay for articles on any subject from Parenting to Finance Insurance to Stretching your Dollars. There are Fitness Magazines, RV / Travel Magazines and Blogs. About.com pays for articles/blog posts on any number of topics. Write an ebook. What is your passion, your expertise? Are you a Life Coach or Spiritual Mentor? People love self-help/success stories! Writing and publishing an ebook can add to your credentials and client base as well as supplement your income. Here’s an interesting article   Broaden your horizon with speaking engagements. Many authors, (especially nonfiction) can make a lot of cash speaking on their topic of expertise. Here’s a great article at Famous in Your Field on where to find opportunities to do so. Teach writing. Many local colleges/universities teach leisure learning courses. Pitch one and see what happens! Be a mentor or writing coach and work one-on-one with new/aspiring authors. Teach at libraries. Start your own writing service / publishing company. With the influx of self / co-publishing options, book promotion, book cover design, editing and formatting are in high demand. Use your knowledge and expertise in the industry and fill one or more of those needs. George Washington University offers a Master’s Degree in publishing  available both in person and online. Sell/resell your current backlog of articles. There are numerous sites that pay a nominal fee for previously published work. Some pay per view or per click. You’re not going to make a lot of money this way, but hey it all adds up. Check out The Penny Hoarder for lists of such sites. These are just a few ways you can supplement your income with writing. With a little research and creative imagination, I’ve no doubt you can come up with more.

Ford Case (Marketing) Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ford Case (Marketing) Analysis - Essay Example However, according to Sullivan-Diaz, her father was never interested in services part of the business and it was only a necessary adjunct of the business. The problem starts right from here because Sullivan family has been unable to identify the strong interdependency between product sales and services. Nowadays, marketing products and services are interdependent because of the changing consumers’ buying behaviour. Consumers make the purchase after considering how the services later on, will benefit them. However, at Auto World, a huge difference has been noticed between their efforts to market products and providing services. First, the showroom was built in modern building with latest facilities and ambient whereas, the services section was hidden behind the showroom and its building was old and greasy however, the equipment was latest. Second, services section had sufficient capacity to handle more repair work but the capacity was not being achieved because of the requirements of more mechanics and more focus of the staff towards unit sales. The major difference between marketing products and service operations is that services require the personal contact or face-face meeting. At Auto World, the buyers of new cars were given a warm welcome however, whenever the same customer came for car services, he used to wait for many hours. The major reason is that marketing cars was being considered to be a highly efficient process whereas, service operations were very inefficient and even the service layout was not properly developed. Auto World is offering tangible products and services to the customers, and both these components are contributing to create value for the customers. Therefore, company should give great focus towards both marketing cars and services operations. If the company has been able to introduce used cars after ensuring their full repair and maintenance, then it should be also efficient in its services operations.

Impulse buying behaviour and self-regulation Article

Impulse buying behaviour and self-regulation - Article Example These are just some of the factors that affect consumer behaviour. Consumers can be either subjective or objective, testing the persuasiveness of brand names. Retail stores selling the products also play an important role in swaying the decisions of consumers. The whole package or visual appeal of the retail outlet can determine sales, or the service of the sales women or the clerks. Furthermore, consumers may choose particular products/brands not only because these products provide the functional or performance benefits expected, but also because products can be used to express consumers' personality, social status or affiliation (symbolic purposes) or to fulfill their internal psychological needs, such as the need for change or newness (emotional purposes) (Kim et al, 2002). These are just some of the factors that affect impulse buying behavior. ... enomenological approach of survey with succeeding thematic analysis of the texts from which the researcher could gather facts and empirical data from the academe. Aims and Objectives The main objectives of this study are to examine the aspects that influence impulse buying behaviour of consumers and their self-control. Hypotheses The impulse buying behaviour of consumers is influence by beliefs, culture, learning and values. That is regulated by self-control Method Research Design Although the study is primarily interested in examining qualitative concepts and constructs such as beliefs, attitudes and perceptions, the quantitative research approach was likewise utilized to achieve the exploratory and the descriptive objectives of the study, which highlighted the consumers' perspective about the issue of impulsive buying behavior. According to Mays and Pope (2000), the quantitative research approach is most appropriate when conducting descriptive and exploratory study in order to quantify data that seem immeasurable, such as feelings, beliefs, and thoughts. This permits a flexible and iterative approach of analyzing and statistically manipulating the collected information. As such, these variables were presented, explained and correlated with each other and with the qualitative results of the second phase of the research project. Moreover, the study also examined the conditions and the nature that surrounds the quantitative data to achieve the descriptive objec tives of the study. Participants For this particular research activity, the survey method was planned to accomplish a desired sample size of 100 consumers as respondents. To ensure that the survey will produce 100 valid and reliable survey outputs, 40 more respondents were asked to participate, adding 10