7 Research Methods Flashcards
What are the 7 Research Methods
Case studies, Naturalistic observation, Laboratory observation, Surveys, Sampling, Longitudinal method and Cross sectional method
What are case studies?
Study of an individual in great depth
What are disadvantages of case studies?
Not representative of the general population, Cannot be replicated and May not be ethical
What is naturalistic observation?
Watching and recording the behaviour of an organism in their natural environment.
What are the advantages of naturalistic observation?
Provides large amounts of quality data
What are the disadvantages of naturalistic observation?
Can’t tell us why, Observations can be distorted if observers are biased
What is a Laboratory Observation?
Study of behaviour in a controlled situation
ex: Psychological, Intelligence and Personality tests
What is a survey?
Study of large portion of people’s attitudes and behaviours
What are the advantages of a survey?
Gathers large amounts of info from large amounts of people for cheap
What are the Disadvantages of a survey?
- Survey questions may be “leading” to an answer or phrased unclearly
- Participants must properly represent population being studied
- People are reluctant to admit bad things about themselves or may say what they feel they should say
What is a sample?
A survey of a select population
What are the 3 types of samples and what do they mean?
-
Random Sample
Every person has an equal chance of partcipating -
Stratified Sample
Subgroups of population are represented proportionally in sample -
Biased Sample
Opposite of stratified sample
What is the longitudinal method?
Researchers select a group of participants and observe over time, often very long
What is the main problem with the longitudinal method?
Sometimes participants drop out over time
What is the cross sectional method?
Doesn’t follow same group over time, but select similar sample of different ages and compare behaviors of different age groups
