Descriptive and Observational Research Flashcards
Basics of Observational Research
→ only describing and observing what is happening
→ low external validity and low internal validity
Types of Descriptive and Observational Research
Case study
- Single subject
Descriptive research
- Describe and measure
- No independent variables
Observational research
- Observe subjects
- No independent variables
Case Study
Intensive description and analysis of a single individual or event based on information obtained from variety of resources such as interviews, documents, test results etc
- Provide excellent initial opportunities to observe phenomena
- Cases have progressed our understanding of many things
Clive Wearing as an Example of a Case Study
- Extensive damage to the hippocampus
- Extreme anterograde amnesia
- Could still play the piano
- Is not something that can be induced, but it allows people to collect a lot of evidence that can be tested later on
Benefits of a Case Study
- Description of a single subject is important
- Rich source of ideas for generating hypotheses
- Take advantage of situations that cannot be replicated in a lab (for ethical reasons)
- Provides a depth of analysis normally overlooked by studying group averages
Limitations of a Case Study
Poor internal validity
- Not manipulating variables
Poor external validity
- One person, can’t generalise to wider population
This does not mean it is anecdotal:
- Not used as the sole form of evidence by scientists
- Scientists usually administer tests after
- The goal is to further scientific inquiry
Basics of Descriptive Research
→ no independent variables, only dependent
- Aim is to measure and describe, not explain, not at the relationship
Alfred Kinsley as an Example of Descriptive Research
- Interest in sexuality, prevalence of homosexuality
- Questioned the label of homosexuality, found that there was more homosexuals than recorded, found that people varied along a spectrum
- Wasn’t causal research and so he created grounds for further inquiry
Majority of Descriptive Research being Survey-based
- Limited data from large samples
- Addresses how many, how much, who and why
Ask people to self-report or to answer questions online
- Kinsey report
- Decision making
- Census data
- Electoral polls
Advantages of Survey Research
- Quick and efficient
- Large samples
- Obtain opinion almost immediately
- Simple
Dangers of Non-Random Sampling
- Representative samples are taken from a random sample
- Surveys often have response bias
- This is critical as it reduces the generalisability and the results of the survey
The Importance of How a Question is Written
don’t want leading questions as it effects bias
- Avoid loaded questions
- Write multiple questions to assess the same construct
- Avoid repetitive format questions
- Response bias
- Avoid forced choice items (true or false, yes or no)
Naturalistic Observations
- Demand characteristics are limited in measure natural behaviour (such as drinking habits)
- Don’t ask, just observe
- Observe and make note of behaviour
Advantages of Naturalistic Observations
- Necessary in studying issues that might be significantly different during experimentation when you know you are being observed
- Initial phase of investigation
Disadvantages of Naturalistic Observation
- Cannot determine cause-effect relations
- No internal validity
- Very time consuming
- Observed aware of observer
- Hawthorne effect
- Reactivity of measures, observer effect
- Dual role of the researcher maximises the chances for the observer to lose objectivity and allow personal biases to enter into the description
Participant Observations
- Person wanting to observe, gets involved in the situation undercover
- Recording behaviour while participating in the situation
Rosenhan (1973) Study Using Naturalistic Observation
- On being sane in insane places
- 10 students participant across 12 mental hospitals
- Said to say the words hollow, empty, thud
- Single variable design (how many admitted)
- Participant observation (how were they treated)
- Even when they said what they were doing, they weren’t allowed to get out
- Once they were in there they acted normally, and it says a lot about how some people might be labelled as something without evidence or care
Measurements Across Time (Its Two Major Approaches)
cross sectional
- different people with similar characteristics tested at the same time
longitudinal
- same group of people, continually coming back to be measured
Positives of Cross-Sectional Studies
- Quick, less expensive
- Low attrition rate
Negatives of Cross-Sectional Studies
- Different people might have different backgrounds, which leads to confounding variables
- Insensitive to abrupt changes
Age-cohort effects
- Has a specific point in time they are influenced by different values and different technology
Positives of a Longitudinal Study
- Eliminate difference variables between people
- Genuine changes and stability of some characteristics observed
- Major milestones and points of change observed
Negatives of a Longitudinal Study
- Expensive, time consuming and people die
- Participant attrition – threat to validity
