research methods Flashcards
what is objectivity
research is value free and not contaminated by personal opinion
what is subjectivity
research not being value free and could be contaminated with personal opinions
what is credibility
a broad definition given to the trustworthiness of a source. based on a range of factors such as scientific method.
Describe one strength of using thematic analysis?
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.
what is one weakness of using thematic analysis?
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.
The Animal/ Scientific Procedures Act 1986
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
British Psychological Society BPS guidelines for working with animals 2012
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
One reason why researchers dont choose to do research on animals
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
