Research methods Flashcards
what is qualitative data
non numerical , language based data collected through interviews open questions or content analysis
what is qualitative data used in
social psychology
what are two strengths of using qualitative data
- represents the complexities of human behaviour as thoughts not reduced by numbers - a holistic approach
- provides rich detail meaning higher validity as people given free range to express thoughts
what are two disadvantages of using qualitative data
- more difficult to analyse and draw conclusions from
- interpretation of data is likely to be subjective , lowering credibility and validity
what is a research example of qualitative data being used
sherif et al
what is quantitative data
numerical data that can be statistically analysed , could be collected through observations and closed question questionnaires
what are two strengths of using quantitative data
- easier to analyse and draw conclusions from
- a more objective measure - more reliable - lack of bias gives great credibility
what are two disadvantages of using quantitative data
- may not express ppts precise thoughts as provided answers are fixed - data may be lower in validity
- oversimplifies reality by suggesting there are simple answers - essentially a reductionist approach
what is a research example of using quantitative data
- the mean digit spans of children in the study conducted by sebastian and hernandez-gil
what is primary data
- info collected specifically for the purpose of the current study
what are two strengths of using primary data
- its specifically designed around the aim of the study as the researcher knows exactly the type of data they need for their research
- it is authentic as it comes first hand from the ppts - means data may be more useful
what two weaknesses of using primary data
- more time and effort to gather as designing and piloting data collection methods and then collecting the data itself takes time and money
- a researcher could spend time collecting their data to discover their method was flawed - might have been a better use of time and money to adjust research and use existing data
what is a research example of primary data being used
- a majority of studies involve primary data collection
what is secondary data
- data in a research study that has been collected previously for another study - could involve using governement stats - its second hand data
what are two strengths of using secondary data
- enable access to larger sets of data for example psychiatric hospital records provide info about diagnosis of close relatives
- saves time in designing data collection methods - less time and expense
what are two disadvantages of using secondary data
- might not quite fit needs of current study or may be outdated , not quite complete or poor quality
- cant be sure of how valid the research is - dont know how those researchers collected that data - dont know of any methodology flaws- reduces validity
what is a random sample
a sample produced through random techniques e.g. people given numbers and drawn from a hat or number generator - every member of target pop has equal chance of being selected
what are two strengths of using a random sample
- unbiased - equal chance of selection
- possible to choose specific sub group - easier to select
what are two disadvantages of using a random sample
- takes more time / effort - must obtain list of all members of target population
- often not truly random e.g some ppts may not agree to take part or due to the selection method
what is a volunteer sample
-sample produced by asking for people willing to take oart e.g. by posters , emails or online surveys
what are two strengths of using a volunteer sample
- convenient for finding willing ppts and reducing dropout rates
- good way to get specialised group of ppts - e.g. is research being done on medical student it mkes sense to put posters in medical school rather than standing in a shop looking for medical students
what are two disadvantages of using a volunteer sample
- sample is biased because volunteers more likely to be motivated
- volunteers more likely to be willing to be helpful - increases demand characteristics
what is a stratified sample
- ppts selected from different subgroups (strata)
e.g. age gender religion - group represented as a percentage of target pop
- percentage dictates what percentage of ppts should be part of that subgroup
what are two strengths of using a stratified sample
- most representative - proportionate to target pop
- specific subgroups can be chosen according to variables considered important by researcher
what are two disadvantages of using a stratified sample
- decision about sub group subject to bias - reduces representativeness
- method involves lengthy process and ppts may not agree to take part
what is an opportunity sample
- ppts produced by selecting people who are most easily available at the time of the study - e.g. asking people on the street , common room , apartment building
what are two strengths of using opportunity sample
- most convenient - little preparation
- may be only technique available because whole population cant be listed
what are two disadvantages of using opportunity sample
- biased because sample is drawn from specific part of population
- ppts may refuse to take part -
what is time sampling
- a method of gathering behavioural data where the observer records behaviour at prescribed intervals
what are two strengths of using time sampling
- can give an indication of the order in which events happen and the relative time spent on each behaviour
- data recording is likely to be reliable because there is a specific focus that allows data to be collected in a consistent manner
what are two weaknesses of using time sampling
- records more difficult to obtain as timings have to be precise and if they are indicated by a timer that makes noise this can led to demand characteristics
- observations may not be made by multiple observers and depending on where the researcher is in the room and how many people they are observing may affect findings as behaviours may be missed
what is event sampling
- when the observer records how many times a specific behaviour occurs during a study
what are two strengths of event sampling
- it can record every occurrence of each behaviour to give a complete record
- records are easy to obtain and analyse as theyare just totals
what are two weaknesses of using event sampling
- gives no indication of the relative time spent on each behavioural category
- gives no indication of the order in which events from each behavioural category occur
what is a repeated measures design
- each ppts takes part in every condition being tested - each condition is one level of the IV - may be a control condition
what are two strengths of the repeated measures design
- good control of ppt variables because same person is tested twice - ppt variables same across all conditions
- fewer ppts needed than independent groups e.g. if you have twenty ppts you end up with 20 results instead of ten - more data makes conclusion more dependable
what are two weaknesses of using repeated measures design
- order effects produced e.g. ppt may be better on the second test because getting better with experinence ( practice effect) or may perform worse because bored or tired ( fatigue effect)
- ppts may guess aim of study - doing both conditions means research aims more obvious ( demand characteristics ? )
how can you deal with the weaknesses of repeated measures design
- can control order effects with counter balancing
what is an independent groups design
- different ppts allocated to two or more experimental groups representing different levels of the IV - may be a control group
what are two strengths of independent groups design
- avoids order effects because ppts only tested once
- avoids ppts guessing aim of experiment - less chance of demand characteristics
what are two weaknesses of using independent groups design
- need more ppts than with repeated measures
- no control of ppt variables e.g. one group more intelligent than other or younger and thats why they got better scores
how can you deal with the weaknesses of independent groups design
- lack of control of ppt variables can be dealt with by using randomisation of ppts to conditions i.e. ppts are allocated to group using a random technique which means ppt variables should not cluster into one group
what is a matched pairs design
ppts who are similar on key variables e.g. age are paired - one member placed in group a and other in group b - means two groups of ppts with each given one level of the IV
what are two strengths of using matched pairs design
- controls for ppts variables because of the matching
- avoids order effects because there are still independent groups so a ppt wont do both conditions
what are two weaknesses of using matched pairs design
- very time consuming to match pairs on key variables
- may not control all ppt variables becuase you can only match on variables known to be relevant , but it could be that other variables are important
how can the weaknesses of matched pairs design be managed
- should start with a large group of ppts to ensure you can obtain matched pairs on key variables
what is a hypothesis
- a statement about the effect of the IV and DV . it should include all levels of the IV , it should be precise and testable - must be operationalised
what is a directional hypothesis
- one tailed
- states the direction of the hypothesis
e.g. people who sleep for eight hours have a higher score on a memory test, with 20 words following a 10-minute interference task, than those who sleep for five hours.
what is a non directional hypothesis
- two tailed
- just states there is a difference
e.g. People who sleep for eight hours perform differently on a memory test than those who sleep for five hours.
what is a null hypothesis
a statement of no difference
e.g. There is no difference between the memory test scores of people who sleep for eight hours than those who sleep for five hours.