P3 - Research Methods Flashcards
What are the qualitative methods
Case study, naturalistic observations, interviews (unstructured, semi-structured, focus groups)
What are the quantitative methods
Experiments, field experiments, quasi experiments, natural experiments, correlation al research, surveys
What’s the characteristics of a lab study
- standardised procedure
- operationalise variables
- highly controlled variables
- participants are randomly allocated to IV group
- manipulate IV to measure DV
- artificial setting
What are the characteristics of a field experiment
- natural everyday setting
- standardised procedure
- operationalise variables
- manipulate IV to measure DV
- controlled conditions
- participants are often randomly allocated to each IV group
What is a natural experiment?
- usually conducted in everyday environments
- IV occurs naturally in everyday life
- experimenter cannot manipulate IV so DV is simply measured
- groups are pre set
- IV occurs naturally without researcher intervention
What is a quasi experiment?
- participants are not randomly assigned
- happens when researchers are interested in variables that cannot be randomly assigned
- IV is typically an innate characteristic such as age or gender
What is correlational research
- looks for relationship between two covariables
- does not manipulate variables
- positive, negative or no correlation
- results can be plot on a graph
- if you are measuring relationship between two people on a specific variable, you can calculate a concordance rate
What are surveys/questionnaires?
- series of questions to gather information from respondents
- written interview
- can be carried out face to face, telephone, computer or post
- closed ended questions gather quantitative data
- open ended questions gather qualitive data
What are naturalistic observations
Covert
- observing participants
- ‘under cover’
- researchers identity is kept hidden
- purpose of the study is hidden from group
Overt
- observing participants
- participants know they are being watched
Participant
- observing participants
- become part of the group
Non-participant
- observing participants
- researcher is not a part of the group
General
- natural environment - measuring natural and spontaneous behaviour
- can record data by tallying u- behaviours or filming or writing down what you see
What are unstructured interviews
- questions are not prearranged
- open ended questions are asked
- questions are asked at any point
What are semi structured interviews
- set of questions
- interview guide which is planned before
- interview covers open ended questions as well
What is a focus group
- a group of people
- researcher takes a back seat and moderates, and when the convo ends, they introduce a new idea
- held in a non-threatening environment
- allows participants to interact and influence each other
what is a case study?
- an indepth investigation of a single person, group, event or community
- method triangulation can be used to provide rich and detailed information
- information is biographical and relates to past events, as well currently occuring events `
what is opportunity/convenience sampling?
- sample is gathered from whatever population happens to be available and the population’s relevant characteristics
- researcher simply asks people of a suitable age, gender and background
- typically withdrawn from target populations
what is random sampling?
- gives every member of a target population an equal chance of being selected
- participants are selected through random means such as pulling names in a hat, random number generator etc
what is purposive sampling?
- participants are chosen because they possess characteristics relevant to the research
- seeks a sample that fits the specific needs of a research question
- may be the only option when a target population is rare, small or difficult to locate
what is snowball sampling?
- participants who are already in a study, help the researcher recruit more participants
- participants in the study are asked to recommend other people
- typically used when target population is rare, hidden or difficult to identify
what is volunteer sampling?
- selected by participants themselves
- recruited either online, newspaper ads, show of hands
- typically used when research may involve moderate exertion, strain or sensitive
why would you use a lab study? +/-
why is this used?
- measuring something that is hard to measure
- may be unethical to do a field experiment or naturalistic
- control specific variables
+ can measure cause and effect
+ easy to replicate as its standardised and operationalised
why would you use a field experiment? +/-
why would you use this?
- to get a good insight into natural behaviour but still controlling some variables
+high ecological validity
+ less demand characteristics
why would you use a natural experiment? +/-
why would you use this?
- when the exposure of interest cannot be practically or ethically assigned to research subjects
- situations like pre and post uni
+ high ecological validity
+ measures naturally occurring variables
why would you use a quasi experiment? +/-
why would you use this?
- naturally occuring variables that would be unethical or impossible to manipulate
+ data is more naturalistic and allows to investigate naturally occuring variables
+ high in ecological validity
+ less researcher bias
why would you use observations? +
covert: good to study groups that can’t be studied otherwise
+ collects impossible data
+ high ecological validity
+ less demand characteristics
overt: good to study groups if you want deeper analysis and want to ask questions
+ allows participants to be informed
+ data triangulation with interviews
non-participant: good if your investigating something where its not possible to interact with participants
+ easy to collect
+ observational data can be cross checked to establish credibility
participant: good if you want to interact with participants and gain deeper insight
+ detailed information
+ good for exploring sensitive information
+ avoid researcher bias
naturalisitc: good when you want to keep behaviour as natural as possible
+ high ecological validity
+ high credibility
+ testing something that could be developed in a more controlled setting
controlled: good when you want to ‘set up’ a situation
+ highly controlled
+ standardised procedure
+ avoids ethical consideration of consent
why would you use interviews? +`
semi structured: when you want flexibility but have an idea of what your going to ask
+ build rapport to gain futher insight
+complex questions
+ easy to record
unstructured:
+ good rapport
+ easier for researcher to check understanding
+ can explore new areas and generate rich data
why would you use questionaire/survey? ++
why would you use this?
- quick and easy from lots of participants
+ less social desirability bias as anonymous
+ anonymity
+ quick, easy, cheap
+ collects a large amount of data
+ standardised questions, higher reliability
+ good for sensitive topics
why would you use a focus group?
why would you use this?
- when you need to collect the view of more than one person
+effective for cross-cultural studies
+ everyone can participate, even those who can’t read and write
+ people have opportunities to develop their own ideas
+ time saving
why would you use a case study? +
why would you use this?
to obtain information on a specific case study that would be unethical to replicate
+ rich information
+ insight for further research
+ impratical or unethical to replicate
why would you use a correlation? +
why would you use this?
when its not possible to manipulate variables
- used to test things that we wouldn’t be manipulate
- produces quantitative data which is easy to analyse and compare.
what is informed consent?
the participant needs to be informed of the aims and the objectives of the research and needs to give their consent
what is the right to withdraw?
it’s the participants choice if they won’t continue to participate in research at any time, and this should be in the consent form
what is protection from harm?
research that causes anxiety, stress or pain or any long-lasting change is not permitted. if there is this, researchers must recitfy using methods such as, supplying therapy
what is a debrief?
when the research is over, every effort must be made to return participants to their original state.
this must be explanations of the study and the role participants had in it
what is deception?
misleading or misrepresenting the participant in any way. unjustified deception is generally not permitted.
what is confidentiality?
information is kept private, but it’s technically possible for researchers to figure out a participant’s identity
what is privacy?
no participant should be made identifiable by the research published
what is anonymity?
it should be impossible for anyone, including researchers, to connect participants with their data
what are the ethical considerations in reporting the data?
- informed consent: permission must be sought if the participant is under the age of consent
- deception: researchers should inform participants how they intend to use the results
- debrief: participants should be debriefed about how the results will be reported
- right to withdraw: participants should have the right to withdraw their data if they wish
- anonymity: characteristics of the sample should not be included, especially when the matter is sensitive when reporting data
- protection from harm: it may be necessary to provide support to most vulnerable participants
what are the ethical considerations when applying the results?
- awareness of reseacher’s own biases and expectations which could have influenced the the findings, especially policies
- results cant be changed or overstated in order to support an agenda
- replication of findings by an independent researcher to test how credible the research is before being applied
- consider scope and generalisation of study to other contexts, resulting in inappropriate conclusions being generalised to others
- consider whether characteristics of sample are similar to community, and researchers should be careful to not assume that findings can be generalised to all populations
- findings shouldn’t be used to allow political or buisness groups to target community. however, results could be used to provide advice, education and outreach programmes.
if the data is quantitative, is it transferability or generalisability?
generalisability
if the data is qualitative, is it transferability or generalisability?
transferability
what is the definition of generalisability?
the extent to which the findings from a sample are applicable to a broader population
what is the definition of transferability?
the extent to which the results can be considered relevant to other contexts and settings
how does sampling affect transferability/generalisability?
is the sample representative of the target population? size, characteristics, method etc
how does controlling variables affect transferability/generalisability?
limits extraneous variables to increase validity of findings, as it’s more accurately applied
how does replication affect transferability/generalisability?
increases reliability as it can be replicated with other people, cultures and different timepoints, and same results can be found
how is population validity affect transferability/generalisability?
the extent to which the results are valid and applicable to the population, beyond the study. e.g characteritsics of a sample (culture, size and features)
how does ecological validity affect transferability/generalisability?
the extent to which findings can be generalised to real life settings: does the research method replicate real environments?h
how does remporal validity affect transferability/generalisability?
refers to the validity of thr findings over progression of time. when was the research carried out? has anything changed in society that stops this?
how does triangulation affect transferability/generalisability?
measuring the same behaviour, using multiple methods/researchers/viewpoints. if the research reaches the same conclusion, it’s more accurate to apply and generalise to a wider population.
how does bias affect transferability/generalisability?
any researcher bias means it’s difficult to accurately generalise/transfer
what three features do we use for transferability/generalisability?
- sample
- triangulation
- bias
credibility
the extent to which the conclusions reflect the meanings as they are only described by the participants
what is bias?
a systematic error arising from sampling, data collection or data analysis
what increases credibility
- research journal
- peer reviews: getting an expert to check and verify the study
- independent scrutinizers: people outside of the study
- triangulation: data, method and theoretical
what decreases bias?
- pilot study
- use of placebo
- operationalise variables
- double blind
- counterbalancing
- matched pair designs
- using deception - lower demand characteristics
- random sampling methods
