Case studies and content analysis

Question 1

Case studies

Strengths

Answer 1

-offer rich, detailed insights
-can help understand unusual and atypical behaviour
-can help understand normal functioning
-may generate a hypothesis foe a future study
└can lead to development of full theory

Question 2

Case studies

Limitations

Answer 2

-small sample sizes
  └can’t generalize to wider population 
-final report subjective to researcher 
-personal accounts can be inaccurate
  └=low validity

Question 3

Content analysis

Answer 3

-a research technique that enables the indirect study of behaviour by examining communications that people produce
└e.g. in texts, emails, TV and other media

Question 4

Coding

Answer 4

-the stage of content analysis in which the communication to be studied is analysed by identifying each instance of chosen categories
└e.g. words, sentences, phrases

Question 5

Thematic analysis

Answer 5

• thematic analysis an inductive and qualitative approach to analysis
• involves identifying implicit or explicit ideas within the data
• themes often emerge once the data has been coded

Question 6

Content analysis

Strengths

Answer 6

• useful to raise awareness of ethical issues associated with psychological research
• flexible as can produce both quantitative and qualitative data

Question 7

Content analysis

Limitations

Answer 7

-people studied indirectly
└without context the researcher may interpret things differently than intended
└=less objective