O Level Sociology: How Sociologists Approach the Study of Society — Practice Questions (Cambridge 2251)

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs — examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available free from your board.

Related: How sociologists approach the study of society revision notes

These questions practise key question 1.1 of Cambridge O Level Sociology (2251). They follow the shape the syllabus describes for the compulsory Paper 1 Research methods question: questions on a source, short answers, a short essay evaluating a methodological view, and a research plan.

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Source B (invented for practice)

A research team studied how families in three rural districts make decisions about girls’ education. Over five years they returned to the same 300 families every year. Each visit, a structured questionnaire recorded school attendance, family income and parents’ level of education. In the final year, a female researcher from the region held unstructured interviews with 40 mothers. The questionnaire data showed that girls in families with a literate mother were twice as likely to stay in school after age 14. By the fifth year, 64 of the original families could no longer be contacted.

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Questions

(a)(i) Using Source B, identify how many families could no longer be contacted by the fifth year. [1]

(a)(ii) Using Source B, explain why this is a longitudinal study. [3]

(a)(iii) Using Source B, explain two possible problems with the research. [4]

(b) Describe two features of the positivist approach. [4]

(c) Explain why interpretivists use qualitative data. [4]

(d) Evaluate the view that the Hawthorne effect makes it impossible to study people accurately. [14]

(e) You have been asked to investigate attitudes of teenagers towards arranged and love marriages. Explain the primary research methods, sampling and secondary evidence you would use, and give reasons for your choices. [8]

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Answers and mark guidance

(a)(i) [1]

64 families.

(a)(ii) [3]

The researchers studied the same 300 families (1) repeatedly over a period of time — every year for five years (1) — so they could track changes in attendance and income over time (1).

(a)(iii) [4]

Two problems, 2 marks each (identify + apply to Source B):

• Attrition — 64 families were lost, so the final sample may no longer be representative; for example the poorest or most mobile families may have dropped out.
• Correlation, not causation — a literate mother is linked with girls staying in school, but other factors such as family income may explain both.
• Interviewer effect — mothers may give socially acceptable answers about girls’ education to a researcher, even a local one.
• Limited generalisability — three rural districts may not represent urban areas or other regions.

(b) [4]

Any two, 2 marks each: macro view of society as social structures; use of quantitative data to find patterns and trends; scientific method with hypothesis testing; search for causation and correlation; emphasis on objectivity and reliability; study of social facts.

(c) [4]

Interpretivists aim to understand people’s meanings and motivations (1–2), which numbers cannot capture; qualitative data such as interview transcripts gives in-depth, detailed accounts (1–2) that allow verstehen and higher validity (1–2). Max 4.

(d) [14]

Levels guidance: 11–14 balanced and developed with clear evaluation and conclusion; 7–10 developed but less balanced; 4–6 limited; 1–3 basic.

For the view:

• People who know they are being studied may act in ways they think are expected — named after the studies at the Western Electric Hawthorne works in the 1920s–1930s, where workers’ behaviour seemed to change because they were being observed.
• Overt observation, interviews and experiments all involve awareness of the researcher.
• Results may therefore lack validity.

Against the view:

• Covert observation avoids the effect, although it raises ethical issues of deception and consent.
• Over long periods people get used to a researcher and return to normal behaviour.
• Secondary data such as official statistics or documents is not affected by the researcher’s presence.
• Anonymous self-completion questionnaires reduce the effect.
• Triangulation can check whether findings are consistent across methods.

Conclusion: the effect is a real problem for validity but can be reduced; “impossible” overstates it.

(e) [8]

No evaluation of your methodology is required; credit justified choices.

• Primary method: for example a self-completion questionnaire with closed and scaled questions to measure how many teenagers prefer each type of marriage (reliable, comparable), plus a small number of group or semi-structured interviews to explore reasons (validity).
• Sampling: sampling frame from school registers; stratified sample by gender, school type and urban/rural location to make it representative; parental consent for under-18s.
• Secondary evidence: national survey data on marriage age or type; media content such as television dramas to show how marriages are represented.
• Ethics and practicalities: sensitive topic — confidentiality and anonymity; voluntary participation.

Levels: 7–8 clear, justified plan covering methods, sampling and secondary evidence; 4–6 partly justified; 1–3 listed with little reasoning.

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Frequently asked questions

Why is (a)(iii) worth more than (a)(i)? It asks you to explain problems, applying research concepts to the source rather than just finding a figure.

Can I choose interpretivist methods in (e)? Yes, as long as your reasons fit the topic and your sample.

How do I avoid repeating myself in (d)? Give each argument a different focus — a method, a way of reducing the effect, or an alternative data source.

Related pages: O Level research approaches and types of data guide | O Level methods practice questions