Research Methods Flashcards
Questionnaire strengths
Less time consuming
Administered to large groups of people at once
Cost effective method and easily made anonymous so is ethical (leads to honest and valid answers)
Questionnaire limitations
Limited sample of participants
Response rates may be low or only a certain type of person responds (response bias)
Findings wouldn’t be generalisable
Structured interview strengths
Standardised
Same Qs used for all
Easy to analyse/ replicate to check results for consistency
Focus will be maintained
Structured interview weaknesses
Can be restrictive
No follow up Qs can be asked
Can be frustrating or lower validity as can’t fully express feelings
Unstructured interview strengths
Not restrictive
Follow up Qs allowed/expand on points
Fully explores interesting issues that arise
Higher in validity
Unstructured interview limitations
Not standardised
Different Qs used for all
Difficult to analyse and replicate
Focus may be lost
Interview (overall) strengths
Enables researchers to investigate things not directly observable
Useful to psychologists
Interview (overall) limitations
Subjective
Opinion based and qualitative data
Lowers validity and reliability/hard to replicate
Open question strengths
Qualitative data which is high in detail
Opportunity to talk freely and express opinions and thoughts
Rich in detail so more useful
Qs not restrictive
Open question limitations
Qualitative data is difficult to analyse
All answer question in different way
Difficult to compare answers
Data is subjective
Closed question strengths
Quantitative date is easy to analyse
Eg yes no
Easy to compare answers
Data is objective
Closed question limitations
Quantitative data lacks detail
Eg yes but doesn’t expand
Less useful results
Qs are restrictive
Correlation strengths
Useful to investigate relationship between two variables
Show direction and strength of relationship
Other studies can be carried out to investigate this relationship further
Doesn’t involve IV manipulation
Correlation limitations
Only shows relationship, not why variables are related
Can’t establish a cause and effect
Do not control for EVs
Only works for linear relationships
What is a correlation
Aims to assess the relationship between two variables
What is a correlation coefficient
Numerical measure of strength and direction of the relationship between two variables
What is content analysis?
Systematic method of quantifying qualitative data through the use of coding units
Content analysis strengths
Little/no contact with people
Very few ethical issues involved
Content analysis limitations
Little/no contact with people
Easier to misinterpret the persons thoughts and behaviour
Material analysed may be limited; may not reflect reality
What is a case study?
In depth study of an individual or small group over a long period of time
Case study strengths
In depth/ lots of detailed info
High validity and useful insights
Allow researchers to study events that they couldn’t ethically manipulate
Case study limitations
Limited sample
Results can’t be generalised to whole population
Researchers can get too involved and lose objectivity
(Researcher bias)
What does a null hypothesis predict?
Predicts no significant difference
What does a 1 tailed/directional hypothesis predict?
Predicts a significant change and direction
What does a 2 tailed/direct hypothesis predict?
A significant change in no specific direction
5 sampling methods
Random
Volunteer
Opportunity
Stratified
Systematic
What is random sampling?
Need a full list of target population names
All participants have an equal chance of selection
Need a way to select names randomly e.g. names out of a hat or random name generator
What is volunteer sampling?
Researcher advertised their study e.g. a leaflet or newspaper article
Volunteers put themselves forward to be part of a sample (self selection)
What is opportunity sampling?
When a researcher approaches people who are available at the time and willing to take part
Can happen anywhere the researcher is
What is stratified sampling?
Researcher identifies different groups within target population (strata) and works out the proportion
Researcher then randomly selects a proportionate number of people from each strata to be in the sample
What is systematic sampling?
Researcher has a full list of target populations names
Randomly selects the sample in specific increments e.g. every third person
Random sampling strengths
Avoids researcher bias
Is usually representative of target population
Random sampling limitations
May not be representative of target population
Can be time consuming and expensive to conduct as you need a full list of names
Volunteer sampling strengths
Quick and easy to conduct/ requires minimal input
Volunteer sampling limitations
Volunteer bias as only a certain type of person may put their name down so the sample would not be representative of target population
Opportunity sampling strengths
Quick, easy and cheap
Opportunity sampling limitations
Researcher bias as they directly choose sample so is unrepresentable
Stratified sampling strengths
Avoids researcher bias
Very representative
Stratified sampling limitations
Can be expensive and time consuming
Systematic sampling strengths
Avoids researcher bias
Usually representative
Systematic sampling limitations
May not be representative
