Methods - Social Psychology Flashcards
What is a random sample?
Where all members of the target population have an equal chance of being selected
-Free from research bias
-Difficult and time consuming to conduct
-Selected participants may refuse to take part
What is a systematic sample?
When every nth member of the target population is selected
-Avoids research bias
-Selected participants may refuse to take part
-Sample could still be unrepresentative
What is an opportunity sample?
Uses people from target population at the time and willing to take part
-Convenient
-Biased and unrepresentative
-Susceptible to research bias
What is a volunteer sample?
A sampling technique where participants self-select to become part of a study because they volunteered
-Convenient and easy
-Can gather a large sample
-Volunteer bias
What is a stratified sample?
Sophisticated form of sampling in which the composition of the sample reflects the proportion of people in certain sub groups within the target or wider population
-Highly representative
-Avoids researcher bias
-Time consuming
What is qualitative data?
Non numerical data expressed in words
-Produces rich and detailed data
-Greater external validity
-Difficult to analyse
-Conclusions rely on subjective interpretation
What is quantitative data?
Objectively collecting numerical data
-Easy to analyse
-Easy to make comparisons
-More objective and less open to bias
-Much narrower in scope and meaning
-May fail to represent “real life”
What are open and closed questionnaires?
Questionnaires involve a pre-set list of written questions
Questionnaires are used to assess thoughts / feelings
-Open questionnaires don’t have a fixed range of answers and respondents are free to answer in any way
-Closed questionnaires offer a fixed number of responses and provide numerical data by limiting the answers respondents can give
Advantages and disadvantages of questionnaires
Advantages:
-Cost effective
-Produces data which is easy and fast to analyse
-Can be completed without the researcher present
Disadvantages:
-Respondents can lie
-Respondents may behave in a socially desirable fashion
What are unstructured interviews?
-Works like a conversation
-No set questions
What are structured interviews?
-Made up of pre-determined set of questions asked in a fixed order
-Like a questionnaire but conducted face to face
Advantages and disadvantages of structured interviews?
Advantages:
-Replicable as it is standardised
-Format reduces differences between interviews
Disadvantages:
-Respondents cannot elaborate on their points
Advantages and disadvantages of unstructured interviews
Advantages:
-More flexibility
-Interviewers can follow up on points
Disadvantages:
-Analysing data is difficult
-Respondents can lie
-Respondents can act in a socially desirable setting
What is thematic analysis?
Transforms qualitative data to quantitative data
How does thematic analysis work?
-Collect data
-Read data x2
-Create categories and codes that analyse data
-Tally every time a code is identified in the material
-Look at data and draw conclusions
What are the strengths and weaknesses of thematic analysis?
-Allows for conclusions to be drawn from hard to analyse data
-Scientific approach due to creation of codes increases reliability
-Can be subjective to bias, based on a researcher’s own interpretations
-Internal validity could be problematic if categories aren’t perfectly represented
