RESEARCH METHODS Flashcards
define gatekeeper
a person who allows you to access a difficult to study area
define observation frame
a list of behaviours researchers can tick off giving quantitative and qualitative data
how does an observation frame help
allows researchers to collect quantitative and qualitative data simultaneously which means it can be triangulated more quickly
define the hawthorne effect
an observation where participants know they are being observed and therefore change their behaviour
what experiment suggested the hawthorne effect
research into productivity at the hawthorne electrical works
what is a covert observation
require participants to be unaware they are taking part in
advantages of covert observation
behaviour is more valid because it is likely to be unchanged, less likely to be affected by the hawthorne effect
disadvantages of covert observation
totally unethical, unusual for the BSA to approve covert research, because it violates the ethical standards of consent
define overt observations
those where researchers have gained permission to watch the sampled group
advantages of overt observations
ethical, participants give consent and can withdraw whenever they wish to
disadvantages of overt observation
likelihood of hawthorne effect questions the validity and representativeness of research data
example of overt observations
paul willis : learning to labour
describe a participant observation
researcher acts like they are participant
advantages of participant observation
understanding of participants’ experiences, this gives the study much more validity, interpretivists describe the understanding you get from doing, rather than seeing, as verstehen.
disadvantages of participant observation
culpability, james patrick found that, after studying a gang in glasgow, he was in trouble both with the police and the gang, this means the research was not ethical
what is going native
one risk of participant observation is that the researcher can become too close to the group- they can gain too great an understanding, which will disrupt their data, their data collection may become too sympathetic to the group to be objective, this means that it will no longer be valid.
bronislaw malinowski’s work on trobriand islanders
non-participant observation
where the researcher maintains a professional distance, observing but not participating, key examples are observations with children, where participation would clearly change behaviour and would create unrealistic factors to conside
advantages of non participant
ethical, allows the researcher to take notes and record details, much easier for a researcher to do
disadvantages of non participant observations
lack of understanding- seeing is not the same as doing, this creates a lack of validity
key strengths of observations
validity: data is deep in information, deep levels of understanding
representativeness: if findings are only applied to sampled group, data is detailed and specific
triangulation: researchers can ask questions and use other methods to triangulate
key weaknesses of observations
practicality: time consuming, difficult to gain access
ethics: unethical
reliability: most actions are open to interpretation
representativeness: the findings of one group can’t necessarily be applied to another
what sampling methods do questionnaires use
opportunity, stratified, snowball
great british class survey
collected data from 11,800 volunteers, investigated:
how much money and wealth people had
what people did in their leisure time
