research methods

Question 1

what is objectivity

Answer 1

research is value free and not contaminated by personal opinion

Question 2

what is subjectivity

Answer 2

research not being value free and could be contaminated with personal opinions

Question 3

what is credibility

Answer 3

a broad definition given to the trustworthiness of a source. based on a range of factors such as scientific method.

Question 4

Describe one strength of using thematic analysis?

Answer 4

It enables the reduction of large amounts of complex data into a much more manageable summary which allows conclusions to be drawn. This also means that the validity remains high as the data remains qualitative as the main meanings are preserved.

Question 5

what is one weakness of using thematic analysis?

Answer 5

One weakness is that analysis of data may be biased and subjective as the researcher may have preconceived themes in mind when doing the coding. This is a weakness as it can reduce the validity of the research.

Question 6

The Animal/ Scientific Procedures Act 1986

Answer 6

Research needs licensing for every aspect of research with animals. There needs to be a:
-personal licence for each person carrying out the research
-a project licence for the particular programme of research
-an establishment licence for the place at which the research is carried out.

Also the 3 Rs: reduction, replacement, refinement

Question 7

British Psychological Society BPS guidelines for working with animals 2012

Answer 7

Legal Requirements: Research must not break the law regarding endangered and protected species. This particularly restricts research involving great apes (chimpanzees, gorillas, orang-utans).
Replacement: Where possible, live animals should be replaced with research alternatives, like videos and computer simulations. Animals should only be used as a last resort.
Choice of Species: Species bred in captivity are ethically preferable to creatures taken from the wild; research should be minimised if it involves highly sentient (thinking, feeling) animals, like the great apes
Reduction: The number of animals used should be minimised as much as possible; this involves carefully designed experiments and good use of statistics to get the maximum amount of data from the smallest number of animals
Animal Care: When not being studied, animals must be housed, fed and watered in a suitable way as well as being given space and companionship appropriate to their species
Disposal: When the research is over, animals should be disposed of humanely; ideally they should be kept alive for breeding or as pets
Procedures: Animals must be treated humanely during research. The BPS gives special consideration to these three areas:
Caging: Distress should be minimised during caging; social species need companionship and animals unused to other animals may be distressed if caged with them
Deprivation: Some food deprivation is allowable (and may be normal and healthy for animals) but distress should be minimised
Pain: Anaesthetics should be used to minimise pain; animals should be given medical treatment after research; humane killing must be considered if suffering cannot be reduced

Question 8

One reason why researchers dont choose to do research on animals

Answer 8

Generalisability is low- this is because certain structures of the animal cannot be generalised to humans, whilst Rhesus monkeys share 93% of their genes with chimpanzees and humans and are preferred in research they still do not share a full phenotype with humans