Sociological research provides a wide range of possibilities and tools to find out solutions to the problems in different fields. In the case of investigating the connection between the level of education and income, it is necessary to take into consideration different factors that influence the situation and find out connections and interrelations between them. Thus, I will try to choose the most appropriate methods in relation to the research questions I will design.
In my opinion, the first research method that is rather universal in terms of answering various questions is conducting an interview. I will choose this method because it allows for obtaining qualitative information from the necessary respondents that can be found according to their field of study or work, or location. This method allows for clarifying the respondents’ opinion, asking questions that can provide as detailed information as it is necessary for the research. Interviewing is also particularly inexpensive. The second method is of quantitative character, and it is dedicated to surveying people. I could send surveys via emails to the required number of people. It will allow me to see the general tendencies in the population of interest and analyze them.
Both of the methods described above have certain ethical issues that I will have to watch for. The first is obligatorily getting permission from the people for the use of the information they provide to me. Besides, I will have to watch out for the questions that can bring emotional or physical harm to the respondents both in the interview and the survey. The respondents should also understand whether the research would be conducted based on anonymity or not. Subjectivity vs. objectivity is also an important issue to consider in the research as it is necessary for the personal biases not to get into the way of proper investigation.
Reference
Henslin, J. (2012). Essentials of sociology: a down to earth approach. 10th ed. Boston: Pearson.
