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9699 · 2.1

Types of data, methods and research design — practice questions

Practice and worked examples for 9699 Types of data, methods and research design. Short previews only — attempt the full question in MarkScheme against the official scheme.

Worked example 1

Design a study to investigate why some students skip school. State aim, method, sample, and two limitations. [12 marks]

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Aim: Explore meanings and pressures behind truancy (interpretivist emphasis).

Method: Semi-structured interviews with 20 truant students + anonymous questionnaire to 200 pupils for patterns.

Sample: Stratified by year group and gender from one secondary school; snowball for persistent truants hard to reach.

Strengths: Interviews give depth (fear, bullying, boredom); survey shows prevalence.

Limitations: (1) Social desirability — students may under-report; (2) School-specific — not generalisable nationally; (3) Researcher effect in interviews.

Ethical note: Parental consent, anonymity, safeguarding if abuse disclosed.

Worked example 2

A sociologist wants to survey attitudes to work in a company with 1200 employees. The workforce is divided into 80 managers and 1120 production staff. To ensure the sample is representative of the company's structure, the sociologist decides to use a stratified sample of 60 employees. Calculate how many managers and production staff should be included in the sample.

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Aim: To create a proportionally representative sample.

Step 1: Identify population strata and total sample size.

  • Total Population (N) = 1200 employees
  • Stratum 1 (Managers) = 80 employees
  • Stratum 2 (Production Staff) = 1120 employees
  • Desired Sample Size (n) = 60 employees

Step 2: Calculate the proportion of each stratum in the total population.

  • Proportion of Managers = (Number of Managers / Total Population) = 80 / 1200 = 0.0667 (or 6.67%)
  • Proportion of Production Staff = (Number of Production Staff / Total Population) = 1120 / 1200 = 0.9333 (or 93.33%)

Step 3: Apply these proportions to the desired sample size.

  • Number of Managers in sample = Proportion of Managers × Sample Size
  • Number of Managers in sample = (80 / 1200) × 60 = 0.0667 × 60 = 4 managers
  • Number of Production Staff in sample = Proportion of Production Staff × Sample Size
  • Number of Production Staff in sample = (1120 / 1200) × 60 = 0.9333 × 60 = 56 production staff

Step 4: Final Answer & Check.

  • The stratified sample should consist of 4 managers and 56 production staff.
  • Check: 4 + 56 = 60, which matches the total desired sample size.
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