case studies and content analysis-research methods

Question 1

case studies

Answer 1

detailed in depth analysis of individual group institution or event
unusual individuals or events
involves production of qualitative data
case history using uinterviews observations questionnaires or combo
tend to be longitudinal
gather additional info from family and friends of individual as well as person themselves

Question 2

content analysis

Answer 2

type of observational research
studied indirectly via communications they have produced
wide ranging and may include spoken interaction writtern forms or broader examples from the media
aim is to summarise and describe this communication in systematic way so conclusions can be drawn

Question 3

coding and quantitative data

Answer 3

coding itital stage
some sets analysed and may be large and so there is aneed to categorise this info into meaningful units
may involve counting up numbers or phrases

Question 4

thematic analysis and qualitative data

Answer 4

form of content analysis but outcome qualitative
theme- refers to any idea explicit or implicit that is recurent
lilely to be descriptive
may collect new set of data to test validity of the themes and categories
researcher will write up final report using direc quotes from data to illustrate each theme

Question 5

strength of case studies

Answer 5

offer rich detailed insgihts may shed more light on unusual and atypical forms of behavour
contribute to understanding of typical functioning
generate hyotheses for future study and one solitary contradictory instance may lead to revision of entire theroy

Question 6

limitations of case studies

Answer 6

generalisation issue when dealing with small sample sizes
info that makes it into final report based on subjective selection nd interpretation of researcher
personal accounts from pps and family and friends prone to inaccuracy and memory decay
evdence from case studies begin to look low in validity

Question 7

strengths of content analysis

Answer 7

useful circumnavigate many of ethical issues associated with psychological research
materials already exist in public domain
no issues obtaining permission
communications have the benefit of being high in external validity and may access daa of a sensitive nature provided the authors consent to its use
flexible in the sense it may produce qualitative and quantitative data depending on aims of research

Question 8

limitations of content analysis

Answer 8

studied indirectly so communications analysed outside of the context it occurred
danger that the researcher may attribute opinions and motivations to the speaker or writer that were not intended originally
still suffer from lack of objectivity expecially when more descriptive forms of thematic analysis employed