Data and Methods Flashcards
Describe longitudinal designs within mental health
They study the same group of pps or a single pp over a length of time, documenting changes in a behaviour over that period.
Any method of research can be used to collect the data or a variety of methods as long as it is consistent over time.
Many longitudinal designs are observations and do not involve manipulation of variables because the main aims is to see how behaviour develops and so researchers don’t want to interfere with the behaviour overseers to make it unnatural.
They allow researchers to understand the development of behaviour in the long term rather than just a snapshot.
State two strengths of longitudinal design for mental health
👍🏼High in validity because a lot of data is collected over a long period of time rather than just a single snapshot of behaviour. Quantitative and qualitative data can also be gathered meaning triangulation can be achieved to ensure the findings are considered in greater detail. This allows for development changes in the mental health of the patients to be tracked and compared.
👍🏼Longitudinal studies control for individual differences by using the same group of patients every time, this minimised and prevented from affecting the results. This allows for a direct comparison to be made over time unlike cross sectional studies which use different groups of patients. Things such as different personality types, variations in social background and level of affluence could have a direct impact on results if they were not controlled for.
State two weaknesses of longitudinal design for mental health
👎🏼Low generalisability when studying a specific group of pps there may be a ‘cohort effect’ as one cohort or group of pps may be affected by cultural and social attitudes of that time, which may not be similar or relevant to other groups at a different time. As a result the findings may not be generalised to wider populations, such as pps from other time periods or cultures and may limit their practical application to current issues.
👎🏼They suffer from a high dropout rate (attrition) as pps may withdraw themselves from the research due to the length of time they need to be studied for, moving away from the research area, a change in circumstances or even death can also mean the sample size reduces over time. This can lead to a biased sample of pps of a particular character which affects the overall generalisability of the findings to wider populations.
Describe a cross cultural research design
Carried out by researchers who want to compare some behaviour in different cultures to find out what is common across cultures and what is culturally specific.
Any research method can be used as long as it is carried out in the same way, using same procedures and measuring same characteristics.
Comparisons are then drawn about different cultural practices looking at similarities/differences.
These studies help us to understand if behaviour is due to nature or nurture.
Identify and describe the two distinct ways of investigating culture
Emic approach: looks at a culture from within it, to find out about the specific norms and values of that particular culture.
Etic approach: looks at culture from the outside to find norms and values between cultures, ideas that are universal for all.
State two ways in which cross cultural designs are useful in researching mental health
👍🏼Allows is to study universal behaviour, psychologists can establish whether mental health behaviours are due to biological or environmental factors. This allows us to generalise between cultures and build a body of knowledge e.g. If schizophrenia is diagnosed using the ICD 10 which is used in many countries then knowing schizophrenia is found universally is important.
👍🏼Reduces ethnocentrism (cultural bias) in research as by bringing in other cultural views it reduces one sided, biased of behaviour e.g. Assuming hearing voices is a symptom of schizophrenia. The research provides a better appreciation of the impact of culture on behaviour such as understanding that different cultural practises will result in different symptoms of mental health disorders and the awareness of culturally specific disorders.
State two ways in which cross cultural designs are not useful in researching mental health
👎🏼Low in validity as the way a procedure is carried out may only be relevant to one culture. When this procedure is used in another culture it becomes an ‘imposed etic’. E.g. Using standardised questionnaires to assess stress, depression and eating disorders could be regarded as an imposed etic. This may mean that the results found do not paint a true picture of cultural differences because the study is not measuring the effect of culture but instead the response to the procedure.
👎🏼Can suffer from researcher bias as ethnocentrism might occur, which is when a researcher interprets the findings of cross cultural research in terms of their own beliefs and cultural practices. As a result this means the findings are not a true representation of the behaviour in that culture and the conclusions drawn will be different depending on who is interpreting the data.
Describe a cross sectional research design
Collects data or measured at one moment in time and compares different groups at that time.
A large cross section sample of the target population is chosen and then those people’s results are compared to draw conclusions from.
These studies use separate groups of pps rather than the same pps, the difference in the pps is what is being studied.
State two ways in which cross sectional designs are useful in researching mental health
👍🏼Practical advantages over longitudinal studies as they are cheaper and quicker to be carried out meaning they are more manageable and the results can be analysed more quickly. This is beneficial when a change in policy or practise is being researched. Also require less commitment in terms of time from a researcher.
👍🏼More ethical than longitudinal studies as the measures are only taken once, rather than imposing regular measures on pps more often. Beneficial when using pps with mental health problems as they tend to be more vulnerable and less table meaning they are open to more psychological harm so using cross sectional studies allows for only one measure to be given. So it’s easier to find pps as they take part only for a short time.
State two ways in which cross sectional designs are not useful in researching mental health
👎🏼Affected by individual differences as different pps are used in each condition, this means pps variables can affect the results and individual differences are not controlled for. E.g. if we are comparing different patients with schizophrenia their results and experience of the disorder may not be comparable due to different upbringings, experiences, age of onset etc. This means the data lacks validity.
👎🏼Unable to infer cause and effect due to lack of control as the studies only show a snapshot of a situation at one moment in time they are unlikely to include any historical information about a patient/pp. They cannot easily gather data about trends in the development of a mental health disorder or about what would happen at a later date, due to lack of controls in place. Also not sidedly for showing the course of a mental disorder or how it began/ what cause it or how the treatment might work for individuals.
Describe primary data
Data is collected first hand from the source, directly from researcher.
They may have witnessed an event/ collected data themselves for a specific purpose.
Psychological studies usually collect primary data. E.g. Rosenhan (1973) looked at primary data when seeing if nurses could tell the difference between sane and insane.
Describe secondary data
Secondary data is not gathered first hand. It has already been gathered by someone else.
They are for the purpose of the researcher who gather them, they are then used by someone else for the purpose of their research which is likely to be different from the original purpose.
A meta analysis uses secondary data as it is an analysis of different studies focused on the same hypothesis.
State one way in which primary data is better than secondary data
👍🏼Primary data is more valid as it is gather first hand and any operationalisation of variables is done carefully with the purpose of the study in mind so the data is more likely to reflect real life. As a result the data is more credible as it is gather for the specific purpose of the researcher and analysed with that purpose in mind.
👎🏼Secondary data has more problems with validity as the data was likely to be gather to suit some other aim so it may not be valid for the purpose of the study. It may now be misinterpreted in order to fit a new research question causing the validity to lower.
State one way in which secondary data is better than primary data
👍🏼Secondary data is cheaper and quicker than primary data as the data has already been collected meaning the researchers don’t need to incur the expenses of data collection themselves.
👎🏼Primary data is more time consuming and expensive as to obtain such data it has to be gathered from scratch. Each research team has to organise the entire study from finding pps, organising materials and running he study. Also to ensure the data gathered reflect the target population a large enough sample is needed which can become expensive.
Describe case studies in clinical psychology
Investigate an individual or small of people in depth to gather detailed data, usually from a number of sources.
Often used to investigate rare/unique cases e.g. Brain damaged patients and how this effects their mental health.
A variety of research methods can be used to assess a person development e.g. Interviews, observations, cognitive tests and PET scans.
