Quantitative Research Methods Flashcards
What is the aim of quantitative research?
to arrive at numerically expressed laws that characterise the behaviour of large groups of individuals (universal laws)
Describe deriving universal laws
nomothetic approach
What does quantitative research involve?
it operates with variables = anything that can take on varying values
Define a construct
any theoretically defined variable, a psychological concept that is used to facilitate the understanding of human behaviour
Name some examples of constructs
love, anxiety, stress, memory
Why are they called constructs?
they are constructed based on theories
are constructs observable?
constructs are broad concepts that are not directly observable, therefore, to enable research they must be operationalized
Define operationalization
the process of turning abstract concepts into measurable observations of behaviour
How do you operationalize?
by clearly and precisely defining the types of variables that you want to study, in terms of how they will be measured
What are some positives of operationalizing?
- allows you to directly observe, measure and understand behaviour
- allows you to collect data on constructs that aren’t directly observable
- allows you to measure slightly different aspects of a concept
example of operationalizing social anxiety
the intensity of physical anxiety symptoms in social situations
advantages of operationalization
- reduces subjectivity
- minimises the potential for research bias
- increases the reliability of the study (operationalizations can be used consistently by other researches = high replicability)
disadvantages of operationalization
- reductiveness (can miss subjective and meaningful perceptions of concepts because it looks at numerically expressed laws)
