AQA A-Level Sociology | Paper 3 | 2027 Predicted Paper | Theory and Methods Mark Scheme
Updated: Oct 7
Question 5
Outline and explain two reasons why sociologists may choose to use personal documents in their research.
[10 marks]
What is expected?
Outline and explain two requires students to identify two distinct reasons for choosing personal documents and develop each one sociologically. Ten marks means two well-developed paragraphs are preferable to a list of several undeveloped strengths.
There is no requirement for a balanced evaluation or conclusion. AQA's 10-mark Theory and Methods questions reward knowledge, application and analysis, and the specimen mark scheme uses three levels of 8-10, 4-7 and 1-3.
Assessment objective | Marks |
AO1 Knowledge and understanding | 5 |
AO2 Application | 3 |
AO3 Analysis | 2 |
Total | 10 |
Levels of response
Level | Marks | Descriptor |
3 | 8-10 | Very good knowledge and understanding of two reasons for using personal documents. There are two developed applications of relevant methodological material and appropriate analysis explaining why each feature might lead a sociologist to select documents. |
2 | 4-7 | Reasonable to good knowledge of one or two reasons. There is some relevant application and some basic analysis, although one reason may be considerably better developed. |
1 | 1-3 | Limited knowledge and little understanding. Reasons may be identified but not explained, or the answer may drift into disadvantages of documents or descriptions of documents rather than reasons for selecting them. |
0 | 0 | No relevant material. |
AQA's specimen Question 5 follows precisely this pattern, with the top level requiring two relevant points, application and analysis rather than simple identification.
Indicative content
High validity
Sociologists may choose personal documents because they can provide detailed information about people's:
experiences
beliefs
feelings
motives
identities
interpretations of events.
A diary, letter, autobiography or other personal account may allow an individual to express ideas in their own words rather than being restricted by predetermined questions.
This may produce high validity, because researchers can gain a more detailed picture of the meanings people attach to their actions.
Verstehen and interpretivism
Interpretivists may favour personal documents because they aim to understand social action from the actor's point of view.
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