data analysis Flashcards
what is qualitative data?
data that is expressed in words and is non-numerical (although qualitative data may be expressed as numbers for the purpose of analysis)
examples may include a transcript from an interview or an extract from diary notes
what is quantitative data?
data that can be counted, usually given in numbers and expressed numerically
it can be gathered in the form of individual scores and easily converted into graphs, charts ect
strengths of collecting qualitative data
•it offers much more rich detail, broader in scope and gives the participant more license to develop their thoughts and feelings
•has a greater external validity as it provides the researchers with a more meaningful insight into the participants worldview
limitations of qualitative data
•difficult to analyse and patterns/ comparisons can be hard to judge
•conclusions rely on subjective interpretations and may be subject to bias
strengths of quantitative data
•relatively simple to analyse, comparisons between groups can be easily drawn
•data in numerical form tends to be more objective and less open to bias
limitation of quantitative data
•the data is narrower in scope and meaning, it thus may fail to represent ‘real life’
what is primary data?
information that has been obtained first-hand by the researcher for the purposes of a research project. In psychology, such data is often gathered directly from participants as part of an experiment, self- report or observation
strengths of primary data
•it is authentic data obtained from the participants themselves for the purpose of a particular investigation (examples include questionnaires and interviews)
•they can be designed in such a way that they specifically target the information that the researcher requires
limitation of primary data
•producing this data requires time and effort on the part of the researcher, conducting an experiment requires planning, preparation and resources
what is secondary data?
Information that has already been collected by someone else and so pre-dates the current research project. in psychology, such data might include the work of other psychologists or government statistics. these may include journal articles, books or websites
strengths of secondary data
•secondary data may be inexpensive and easily accessed requiring minimal effort
•the researchers desired information may already exist so there would be no need to conduct a primary experiment
limitations of secondary data
•there may be a substantial variation in the quality and accuracy of secondary data, it might be outdated or incomplete
•the context of the data may not quite match the researchers needs
what is a meta-analysis?
‘research about research’, it refers to the process of combining results from a number of studies on a particular topic to provide an overall view. this may involve a qualitative review of conclusions and/ or a quantitative analysis of the results producing an effect size
what is ‘effect size’?
the dependent variable of a meta-analysis, which gives an overall statistical measure of difference or relationship between variables across a number of studies
what is a strength of meta-analysis?
meta-analysis allows us to view data with much more confidence and results can be generalised across much larger populations
what is a limitation of meta-analysis?
meta-analysis may be prone to publication bias ( the ‘file drawer problem’) As researchers may exclude studies which do not match their hypothesis
what are measures of central tendency?
they are ‘averages’ which give us information about the most typical values in a set data
what is the mean?
this arithmetic average is calculated by adding up all the values in a set of data and dividing by the number of values there are
evaluate calculating the mean
+ it includes all the values, it is representative of the data as a whole
- it is easily distorted by extreme values
what is the median?
the central value in a set of data when values are arranged from lowest to highest
evaluate using the median
+ extreme scores do not effect it
+ easy to calculate
- less sensitive than the mean as not all scores are included in the final calculation
what is the mode?
the most frequently occurring value in a set of data
evaluation of the mode
+ easy to calculate
+ can be used for data in categories (modal group)
- it’s a crude measure
- not representative of the data as a whole
which way is a normal distribution curve negatively skewed?
to the left
which way is a normal distribution curve positively skewed?
to the right
