Research Methods Flashcards
What’s the practical benefits of a questionnaire?
Easy
Cheap
Lack of researcher effort
Easy and quick to analyse and reach conclusions
What are the practical negatives of questionnaires?
Low response rates
Misunderstanding questions
Participants answer may not fit one given (closed)
Leading questions (researcher tailors questions so they come up with the results they need)
What are the ethical factors of questionnaires?
Informed consent given by completing
Anonymous
But questions may be sensitive
What are the theoretical benefits of questionnaires?
Detailed data (open) Reliable Large sample Easy to quantify and analyse (closed) Detachment and objectivity
What are the theoretical negatives of questionnaires?
Participants may lie Someone other than intended participant could answer Right answerism (participants choose the answer they think would be right instead of being honest) Lack of rapport - interpretist don’t like them
What are the practical positives of interviews?
Rapport built
Flexibility (unstructured)
Clarification of questions
What are the practical negatives of interviews?
Time
Cost and interviewers training
What are the ethical factors of interviews?
Good for sensitive topics (unstructured)
Informed consent given
But Questions could harm if of a sensitive nature
What are the theoretical positives of interviews?
Detailed data
Reliable (structured)
What are the theoretical negatives of interviews?
Hard to quantify Demand characteristics Unreliable (unstructured) Small sample Peer group influence (group)
What are the ethical factors of observations?
Lacks informed consent (covert)
Privacy can be breached
Going native (participant)
What are the practical positives of observations?
Flexible
Researcher can ask questions (overt)
Only option with some groups
What are the practical negatives of observations?
Time Cost Researcher effect Requires skills some researchers don’t have Relies on memory (covert) Some groups hard to access
What are the theoretical positives of observations?
Detailed data
Verstehen
What are the theoretical negatives of observations?
Hawthorne effect
Hard to quantify
Small sample
Unreliable
