chapter 10: research Flashcards
define research
sysematic investigation aimed at establishing facts and conclusions
what are the steps to doing research?
1- identify a topic/ issue for investigation
2- research question/ hypothesis
3- aims/ objectives , purpose
4- samples and sampling methods
5- sources of data and data collection methods
6- data presentation methods and analysis
7- conclusion and recommendation
# sometimes
8- limitations and problems as well as solutions
what is a pilot study and why do you do one?
preliminary test/ trial study/ mini research carried out before the main research
reasons for doing a pilot study
- to identify poorly constructed sentences
- enables researcher to pick up some mistakes
- to identify some offensive/ difficult words
what are the features of a good topic?
interesting- topic should be os sufficient interest
- it’ll mtivate you to keep going with your investigation up to the end
relevant- topic must be of importance to the economic, social and political development of your country
possible/ practical- ensure you are able to collect information on it, otherwise, no need to carry it out
ethical- study mustn’t cause harm or offend people.
specific- research should be narrow and focused
define hypothesis
statement which makes a prediction about what you will find out in your investigation or what will happen
what are research questions?
guiding questions that control the whole research study and help you get information for our research
define aims and objectives
aims- purpose or defined outcome for your research
objective- actions required to achieve the aim
differentiate between primary and secondary data
primary data- data you’ve collected yourself/ original information
secondary data- data that is already existing/ collected and published by someone
differentiate between quantitative and qualitative data
quantitative data- data that can be written as number
qualitative data- descriptive that’s difficult to measure numerically/count
what is literature review?
entails studying written works produced by other people similar/related to topics of yours
differentiae between direct quoting and paraphrasing
direct quoting- means you have taken that informaton word for word
paraphrasing- means you have used your own words reproduce the same information
define survey population
entire class of people/things which you wish to investigate
define a sample
small number taken from the total population to represent the whole
why should you sample?
- to reduce the amount of work
- to save time
- reducese costs/ it’s cheaper
- difficult to examine everyone because the population is large
explain random sampling
choosing/selecting items/individuals by chance and al individuals get equal chances to be selected
advantages
- reduces bias
- everyone has equal chance to be selected
- it’s fast easy and simple
disadvantages
- choice is haphazard
- may be gaps in types of people or places surveyed
explain stratified/ quota sampling
selecting/ choosing individuals based on certain characterisitcs
advatages
- represents subgroups in the entire population
- more representative
- ensures fair coverage with random selection
disadvantages
- difficult to set up
- time consuming
explain systematic sampling
when people/ items are selected at regular and equal intervals
advantages
- more representative
- will cover a large area
- intent remains the same
- less time consuming
disadvantages
- some important parts of your investigation may not be included in your study
- not everyone may be willing to answer your questions
- not all differences/changes may be picked up
differentiate between quantitative and qualitative methods
quantitative methods- collection of data consisting of numbers
qualitative methods- collection of non-numerical data/ descriptive information
distinguis between statistics and official statistics
statistics- science of collecting and analysing numerical data
official statistics- figures produced by government bodies
what is a survey?
data collection method used to gather factual information or opinion
state and explain the 3 most common data collection methods
questionaires- a list of questions on paper given to respondents to complete
observations- when you look/see/watch carefully to get information
interviews- when the interviewer/researcher asks questions to the interviewee/respondents face to face and they get answers on the spot
name advantages and disadvantages on questionaires
advantages
- collects large amounts of information in a short period of time
- easy to compare answers from different respondents
disadvantages
- some people might not complete the questionaires
- response rates can be very low
- questionaires can get lost
list advantages and disavdvantages of interviews
advantages
- information is first-hand/ original
- researcher can explain questions that aren’t clear
- response rate is high
disadvantages
- time consuming
- language barriers
- cultural beliefs make interviews difficult
what are the advantages and disadvantages 9f observation?
advantages
- you get first-hand information
- observaion might be the only way of accessing hidden informtaion
- observing the natural setting makes data more reliable and valuable
disadvantages
- time consuming
- presence of an observer might disturb natural settings
- people might not want to be observed
list the types of questions that can be used in questionaires and explain them
closed-ended- questions that require single answers
open-ended- questions that allow the respondents to give a variety of answers
rating scale- questions tat require the repsondents to show to what degree they are in agreement with something
forced choice question- a question with a set out list of possible answers from which the respondents choose
compare what you do in preperation for an interview vs carrying out the interview
in preperation
- arrange interviews ahead of time
- prepare the questions carefully
- arrange all materials needed
- dress neatly
- arrange transport
- take along and interpreter
carrying out the interview
- be polite
- listen carefully/ attentively
- take notes
- identify the purpose of the interview
- arrive on time
give difficulties and solutions that might arise in interviews
language barriers- use a translator
people may not have time- make it brief/short and simple
people might not trust the researcher- reassurance/gain their confidence
people might be suspicious- inform them their privacy will be resepected
