research methods Flashcards
what is primary data?
- gathered first hand from a source directly by the researchers
- questionnaires, observations, content analyses and experiments
- data collected is specifically related to the aims / hypotheses of study
what study uses primary data?
- Rosenhan 1973
what is secondary data?
- already gathered by researchers and used by others for further research
meta-analysis and secondary data
- researchers pool data on a particular topic uses secondary data as the data being studied had not been studied first hand
relative cost of primary data
- expensive to obtain as each researcher has to start from the beginning of a study finding ppts. , running the study etc.
relative cost of secondary data
- cheaper as data already exists
validity of primary data
- gathered first hand following careful operationalisation of variables and carefully chosen procedures
validity of secondary data
- has been gathered for some other purpose or an unclear purpose has already been analysed bringing subjectivity
what are longitudinal designs?
- studies same ppts. over long period of time
- development or time based changes can be seen through patterns in measurements of symptoms expression / severity of disorder at a certain interval over time
- best for seeing how a disorder develops
strengths of longitudinal designs
- ppt. variables are controlled for (validity)
- mundane realism (validity)
- useful for studying development of mental illness
weaknesses of longitudinal designs
- practical issues
- ethical issues may arise (could be considered intrusive)
- research can become outdated
what are cross-sectional studies?
- offers a ‘snapshot’ of behaviour within a population at that specific time
- the sample is studied in a single instance and often involves comparing an individual with an clinical condition against a healthy control
what is an example of a cross-sectional study?
Mynard & Joseph (1997) - investigated whether peer victimisation is positively related to psychosocial maladjustment.
- compared psychosocial maladjustment between victims and bullies
strengths of cross-sectional studies
- practically more time efficient and cost effective
- more ethical than longitudinal studies (less intrusive)
- high validity
weaknesses of cross-sectional studies
- cohort bias
- ppt. variables (lowers validity)
- may not be useful beyond snapshot time
what are cross-cultural studies?
- takes samples from different cultural groups and compares to assess similarities and differences
- aims to remove ethnocentric views within psychology
- useful for researching the diagnosis and treatment of mental health patients
emic approach
- study a culture from within to find out about cultures and norms
etic approach
- study a culture from outside, looking at norms and ideas between them
what is an example of a cross-cultural study?
Mandy et al - tested DSM-V’s diagnosis of ASD by comparing 130 young people with ASD and 100 people with the autism phenotype in Finland to 488 young people with ASD to the autism phenotype in the UK
- they found that the DSM-5 fitted well with Finnish ASD but not with the autism phenotype
- fitted for autism phenotype in UK
- therefore may be cultural diff. in the milder autism diagnosis
strengths of cross-cultural designs
- allows psychologists to see if behaviours are universal
- enable generalisations between cultures to build on clinical knowledge
- same procedures are replicated across diff. cultures
weaknesses of cross-cultural designs
- communication difficulties may arise
- over bias can be a problem
- many research procedures have been developed in the US
