Sociology A-level

We can use the Archive to explore societal norms by looking at how people felt and behaved in the past compared to the present day. The Archive helps us understand what life might have been like then, providing rich ground for further discussion and research. Just take a look at how we have changed in the last 50 years by reading this story.

Families and relationships (Section B Option1)

We have many studies which demonstrate the changing role of women, children and families. Some interesting content on families and relationships includes:

 

1. How diverse are modern families?

We have many studies which demonstrate the changing role of women over time. Read our story about how attitudes to women in the workplace have changed. You can explore the lives and aspirations of women and compare them to today.

To look at diversity in modern families a good place to start would be Chapter 2 of: Social Trends 30 (2000 edition) – Page 33 – Reports of projects – The AMSR Online Archive
This chapter is entitled ‘Households and Families’ and covers household size and composition, ethnicity, marriage, cohabitation and divorce, single parent families, children living in different family types, fertility rates, abortion rates, adults living with their parents… and will give you a good feel for the statistical trends over time.

This next report tells you how women are redefining their lives with work and family: Women Setting New Priorities – A study of Western European Women’s Views on Work, Family and Society – Page 1 – Reports of projects – The AMSR Online Archive . Published in 1996 it covers Women in the Workplace, Women and Family Life, Women and Society. It will tell you a lot about how women were thinking 30 years ago.

But look at this 1971 report to see what life was like 50 years ago: NOP Political Bulletin 1971 October/November – Page 1 – NOP Reports – The AMSR Online Archive, covers the attitudes of women to work at that time. You will be amazed and shocked! See also the attitudes of children to their mothers working (page 28), there are some interesting preconceptions.

---

Lesson and independent research activity: You could update the numbers in Social Trends to the present day (note that the sources used are cited at the end of the chapter, The Stationery Office is now HMSO) and reflect on which trends continue (multi-ethnic families?) and which are declining (fertility rates?). And/or you could repeat the 1971 NOP survey and see how all those issues have changed over time. You could take the questions (they are there in the report – think about how much you would need to alter them to make them suitable for the current day?) and look at ‘what women want in a job’, the husband’s role, housework, shopping, children, and compare the current day answers with those of 1971. You will find major changes and many similarities.

---

 

2. To what extent are roles and relationships within families changing?

Parents & kids – changing relationships (discussion) – Page 1 – The CRAM Peter Cooper Collection – The AMSR Online Archive
A qualitative study that looks at how the changes in society generally are showing themselves in how parents now see relationships with their kids. This short paper from 1988 prepared for the toy-maker Fisher-Price discussing how parent/child relationships have changed and how Fisher-Price’s advertising now looks out of date, since they focus on the child’s self-expression (the 1960/70’s model) whereas the new (1988) thinking is that they should be encouraging more self- reliance, parent involvement and competence in social relations.

---

Lesson and independent research activity: See a toy ad from 1986 – Fisher Price Toys Commercial (History of Advertising Trust). How would you say that attitudes to toys have changed since 1988? What is the perceived purpose of toys now? Here’s a recent Fisher-Price ad (Bing Videos). Parents, learning and friendship are definitely included!

---

 

Qualitative Research on young people setting up home – Page 2 – The CRAM Peter Cooper Collection – The AMSR Online Archive
A qualitative study that explores the attitudes of young people setting up home and the role of each partner in decision making.  This study from 1972 is based on 3 focus group interviews, each with 4 young (18-24 year old) couples who are either newly married or engaged to be married. All in full-time employment. The commercial objective of the study was to look at the purchase of consumer durables (cookers, washing machines, etc) but it covered all aspects of setting up home, both attitudinally and financially.

---

Lesson and independent research activity: In some ways the situation in 1972 was similar to now e.g. in the unaffordability of buying a house of one’s own. It might be interesting to conduct some current focus group research with young people who are looking to set up their own homes in the near future to compare with the 1972 findings.

---

 

The Continental Quilt Story; qualitative research among users and non-users – Page 2 – The CRAM Peter Cooper Collection – The AMSR Online Archive.  This study looks at the changing role and attitudes of housewives in the 1970’s. In 1978 most British households still used sheets and blankets rather than duvets or continental quilts as they were called then. This qualitative study from that time comprises 32 (1 hour) depth (unstructured) interviews with women (housewives) aged 20-40, half in London, half in Manchester, half users of continental quilts and half non-users. In eight cases the women were interviewed with their husband to also get the husband’s point of view.

The commercial purpose of the study was to explore the branding of continental quilts, but the study also explores attitudes and behaviour towards housework, and we learn that many women are looking to reduce the burden of looking after the house, in order to have more time for themselves and potentially to take on a paid job for themselves. So we see that the continental quilt is part of the story of more women going out to work in the 1980’s and 90’s. See this IFS Briefing Note on the rise of women’s employment, with its consequent effect on family life and relationships financially.

---

Lesson and independent research activity: An interesting thing to do would be to interview a sample of older women – born in the 1940’s or 1950’s – and ask them: do they remember their first Continental Quilt? When did they get it and why? Did it really make a difference to their lives? Could they imagine going back to sheets and blankets? Most women of that generation will remember because it was quite a significant decision, both financial and cultural.

---

 

Youth subcultures (Section B Option 2)

Comparing the Archive reports on the attitudes and behaviours of young people makes for interesting comparisons with current youth culture. Look at the reports below from 1977 and 2014 which shed some light on the teenage subculture of the day.

 

1. How and why are youth culture and subcultures formed?

 The Teenage Enigma: qualitative research into the attitudes and behaviour of teenagers – Page 3 – The CRAM Peter Cooper Collection – The AMSR Online Archive
A complex qualitative study with girls aged 9-18, conducted in 1977. Because it was considered particularly difficult to interview teenagers, since they are often unaware of their motivations, are reserved, and tend to offer conformist/acquiescent reactions, a form of data collection called Community Research was undertaken.

Data was based on Qualitative In-Depth interviewing with a small number of individual girls (20). Each girl was carefully screened and then interviewed in depth. Her peers were identified to provide a picture of the influence of groups of which she was a member. Similarly, her mother and in some cases siblings and teachers were probed to assess her identifications, aspirations etc. and their influence on her. A total of about 150 interviews and contacts in all were undertaken. This resulted in an extremely rich understanding of teenagers and their lives and aspirations at the time.

---

Lesson and independent research activity: Why not try something similar to the in-depth interviews to compare with the findings of this report and the character sketches in the Appendix? You can find more details on the approach and question guide used in the Research Design section of the report.

---

 

2. Why do young people participate in deviant subcultures?

Engaging with 18-24s: Stop Asking Them to Take Selfies – Page 1 – Research News (Australia) – The AMSR Online Archive
A short report on a qualitative study conducted in Australia comparing young people’s (18-24) attitudes in 2014 with those of a similar study conducted in 2007.

---

Lesson and independent research activity: How does this compare to British young people? Perhaps conduct some depth interviews with 18-24 year olds that you know and see how things compare 10 years on. What difference has Covid made, do you think?

---

Media (Section B Option 3)

You can explore a variety of media topics through the Archive, from the decline of local Newspapers, to the impact of the media on public opinion.

 

1. How are different social groups represented in the media?

C2. Connected Life 2016 Global Report; decision making in a connected world (ppt presentation) – Page 1 – Digital Media Surveys, TNS – The AMSR Online Archive  The 2016 Connected Life report from TNS provides a comprehensive view of the connected consumer and how companies might target them. This is an example of a large scale, International (50 countries), quantitative study, exploring how connectivity is changing the lives of consumers across the planet and what this means for marketers as they attempt to connect to their consumers throughout this journey.

---

Lesson and independent research activity: You can use this research to explore how connectivity is growing across the globe and how people are using devices differently in different markets. Look at how the number and usage of social platforms is growing – to meet more specialist needs – but what does this mean for the growth of disinformation? If we only talk to ‘people like us’ how will democracy survive? Is the ability to communicate globally a good thing or not?

---

2. What effect do the media have on audiences?

Is social media a good or bad thing for society? – Vox Pops Videos – The AMSR Online Archive
A different form of Qualitative Research: a 5 minute video comprising short clips of people talking about their attitudes to social media. It is not representative, but performs the role of introducing//identifying all the possible different types and range of attitudes and opinions. This can be a good way to start a qualitative study, giving the parameters required to develop hypotheses and design a question guide to cover the topic more comprehensively (for a focus group or depth interview).

---

Lesson and independent research activity: Why not try something similar?If you interview a number of people (remember to define your sample population) about a specific topic, you can identify all the different aspects and points of view and write a topic guide for a focus group, and conduct it. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a focus group compared to a number of individual interviews?

---

‘Does the media reflect society or create it? The impact of change on public behaviour and opinion.’
An essay by Sheila Byfield, an expert media researcher. Sheila gives her opinion on media and consumer behaviour, comparing the habits of young people in the 1970’s with now. Covers why people use media, the choice and importance of the different media, new ways of marketing/promotion (Taylor Swift/Kim Kardashian), and the new power of users. It also looks at the disadvantages of the new media.

---

Lesson and independent research activity: How have habits changed over the last few years? What effect did Covid have? You could perhaps conduct some interviews with young people on the advantages and disadvantages of social media, and the effect that ‘influencers’ have on them.

---

 

Research methods and researching social inequalities (Section A)

We can provide training videos prepared by Social Research professionals on subjects such as Questionnaire Design, Ethical Considerations in Social Research, Sampling and Interviewing hard-to-reach respondents, Designing and Moderating Focus Groups and many more subjects.

Click these links on Problems of measuring behaviour and Using a cognitive perspective to improve questionnaire design.

 

Understanding Social inequalities (Section B)

The Archive is the ideal source to explore patterns and trends in social inequality. See below for some examples of the material we have:

1. What are the main patterns and trends in social inequality and difference?

Success and Equality of Opportunity in Multicultural Britain – Page 1 – Opinium Research – The AMSR Online Archive
A modern (2019) Quantitative survey comprising a nationally representative online survey of 2,000 UK adults plus an online survey among 1,000 nationally representative ethnic minorities. Additionally, a two-day pop-up community, where community members were set a series of tasks to explore questions in a more qualitative way.

The data shows that racial and ethnic discrimination has risen over the past year. The introduction by David Lammy (MP for Tottenham) highlights his personal experience of the rise in racist content on social media, and the level of abuse experienced by the younger generation, which, he says, makes dealing with this problem of paramount importance.

---

Lesson and independent research activity: What do you know about online research? Are the findings really representative? Do you think that racial and ethnic discrimination has increased or decreased since 2019? Why do you think that?

---

 

Perspectives on financial support for the elderly: recipients’ views on Community Care Grants, Income Support Improved Pensioner Premiums, Attendance Allowance, The Independent Living Fund – Page 1 – Reports of projects – The AMSR Online Archive  
An example of a qualitative study conducted in 1990 with elderly people in receipt of state financial support. The research aimed to investigate how elderly people in receipt of these benefits and payments view them; the importance or otherwise attached to them; and the role they play in shaping financial and residential decisions.

A qualitative research methodology was adopted so that in-depth information about perceptions and attitudes could be collected in the context of individual circumstances. The issues were sensitive and stressful. They needed to be discussed with the elderly people in their own time and their own manner of telling and allowing for the effects of poor health or reduced memory in some cases. Flexibility of questioning was necessary to encourage and accommodate the varying range, emphasis, and detail of each case.

Issues covered included: the wish for independence; factors related to ill health and disability; isolation or social support; housing tenure; key financial concerns and financial management. Details on methodology and the questionnaires employed are included in the report.

---

Lesson and independent research activity: What were the special measures adopted in the survey to make sure that the interview was conducted in the most appropriate way for the elderly and potentially vulnerable respondents? Did the researchers make efforts to ensure that the sample was inclusive? If the research were to be conducted today would you recommend the same methodology, or do you think that improvements could be introduced, using technology for example?

---

 

Consultation on inclusive data – Page 1 – Reports of projects – The AMSR Online Archive  
An important large scale qualitative research project conducted in 2021 by ONS (Office of national Statistics) with CSO’s (Civil Society Organisations) and members of the public to understand how well minority groups are represented in our official Statistics.

The research comprised 20 two-hour online workshops with over 80 CSOs, each involving between two and seven organisations representing a different equality area. Plus a mixture of interviews and group discussions with over 90 members of the public recruited as having different protected characteristics or who are under-represented in the UK statistics. The report looks at how representivity can be improved and the importance of understanding the intersectionality of different characteristics and the influence this has on outcomes for people.

---

Lesson and independent research activity: What does the term ‘Intersectionality’ mean? Think of examples and how it can affect people. How can we be sure to take account of intersectionality in research questionnaires? Is it more or less difficult to make sure that minority groups are included in research? Are there perhaps ‘new’ minorities to be considered?

---

 

 

Crime and deviance (Section B Option 1)

2. What are the patterns and trends in crime?

We have content on crime and attitudes to crime, such as papers which discuss the effect of crime on certain jobs, whether cannabis smoking should be made a crime (1972), Crime in London (1985), Crime: Prevention and Cure (2002/2) – which covers Sarah’s Law and Crime against Children generally.

Other content includes:

Research into the prison disciplinary system (management summary) – Page 2 – The CRAM Peter Cooper Collection – The AMSR Online Archive
An important large-scale qualitative study from 1985 for the Home Office, the objective of which was to investigate the perceptions and attitudes of both prison staff and inmates in respect of the System. 308 personal interviews were carried out in eight prisons of widely varying characteristics. The sample comprised: 157 Inmates, 93 Prison Officers, 28 Governors/Assistant Governors, 30 Chairmen/Visiting Board Members. Interviewing was carried out by social scientists experienced in working in the prison environment. The questions asked are included in the report.

---

Lesson and independent research activity:This is a huge subject – the research report gives an overall view from 1985. To obtain a view of the current situation there are videos to watch (remember to check that they cover the UK system, not the US or elsewhere) including this from the BBC  Bing Videos and there are documents to read: Prisoner discipline procedures (adjudications) policy framework – GOV.UK. There are specific issues with Women in Prison Bing Videos

---

 

---

Lesson and independent research activity: Or consider developing a short questionnaire on attitudes to crime and prison to administer yourself. In order to compare with historic data you could use MORI questions: Here are two examples 1. British Public Opinion Issue 18.07 1995 September – Page 3 – MORI British Public Opinion – The AMSR Online Archive  2. British Public Opinion Issue 20.02 1997  – Page 7 – MORI British Public Opinion – The AMSR Online Archive.   Don’t forget that you will need to justify your sample design. Why is it good to use the same questions? Do any of the questions need to be updated?

---

 

4. How can crime and deviance be reduced?

We also have polls on attitudes to Capital Punishment, such as these from MORI’s British Public Opinion (1995), NOP Political, Social, Economic Review (1987), an NOP Special Supplement (1964) and NOP Political, Social, Economic Review (1990).

To explore attitudes to crime and punishment over time, read our stories about capital punishment, corporal punishment and whether cannabis should be legalised. For more detailed insight, click on the links below to read about the research held in the Archive relating to Capital Punishment, Corporal Punishment and the Legalisation of Cannabis.

Other content available includes:

Breaking the cycle of offending: making the views of young people count: good ideas wanted – Page 2 – Papers and Offprints – The AMSR Online Archive
A qualitative project conducted for The Prince’s Trust in 2007 in which over 40 young people who had experience of the criminal justice system took part in a consultation. This short report covers Key Findings, What makes a Difference, and a set of Recommendations including: ‘Greater incentives to take on education courses in prison’ and ‘Invest in schemes that provide training and supported employment for ex-offenders, led by ex-offenders’.

---

Lesson and independent research activity: The report says that ‘The Prince’s Trust plans to establish a new mentoring service for young offenders and will be working closely with Government and the Probation Service on a range of initiatives to help reduce re-offending’. Read the 2013 report on the results of this initiative:  Re-offending Analysis: The Prince’s Trust- “Through-the-Gate” Mentoring Pilot.  Was the research worthwhile? What does conducting research with people who have lived experience give you compared with research with experts? Should you always do both?

---

 

Education (Section B Option 2)

2. What are the patterns and trends of educational inequalities?

Read our story about whether school choice matters to parents. The Archive also has some useful content on attitudes to Private education:

British Public Opinion Issue 14.03 1991 April – Page 11 – MORI British Public Opinion – The AMSR Online Archive
MORI asked questions on their Omnibus (Quantitative Research), for example: On balance, do you agree or disagree that fee-paying schools (that is private or independent schools) should be abolished?

---

Lesson and independent research activity: The data shows that public attitudes have not changed between 1977 and 1990. Is that surprising?

---

 

Look at attitudes to Independent Schools and Faith Schools in 2001 in:
British Public Opinion Issue 24.09/10 2001/2 December/January – Page 3 – MORI British Public Opinion – The AMSR Online Archive

---

Lesson and independent research activity: Ask yourself if you believe that educational standards in state schools are higher, lower or about the same as independent schools? Has much changed between 1997 and 2001? Would things be different now do you think?

---

 

---

Lesson and independent research activity: Read more recent poll data from YouGov and Ipsos to understand current attitudes to private education:  State vs private education: how much of a difference do Britons think it makes?  Over half of Britons support Labour’s plans to end VAT exemptions for private schools | Ipsos. Design your own topic guide exploring attitudes and undertake some interviews with pupils and parents. How does your research compare with the polls?

---