research methods Flashcards
what do guidelines say about debriefing
a debrief should always be given so PS know full aim of study
what do ethical guidelines say about observation
participants can only be observed covertly in a public place
what comes under respect
consent , withdrawal and confidentiality
what comes under competence
advice
what comes under responsibility
protection and debrief
How do you overcome deception
Give debrief at end
How do you overcome consent issues
Gain informed consent or debrief participants at the end
How do you overcome issues with confidentiality
Anonymise participants data eg by giving them a participant number
How do you overcome issues with withdrawal
Gain informed consent at the start of the study
How do you overcome issues with protection
Avoid harm
Debrief and advice at end of
What is random sampling and what are the strengths and weaknesses
When every member of target population has equal chance of being picked
E.g pulling names out of hat
Strength : unbiased
Weakness : time consuming
People selected may not want to take part
What is opportunity sampling
People readily available at time of study are picked
Quick and cheap
However it may be biased as all participants are selected from the same place
What are the strengths and weaknesses of volunteer sampling
Strengths : less withdrawal as participants signed themselves up for it
Weaknesses : bias as certain types of people are more likely to take part
What are the strengths and weaknesses of snowball sampling
Strengths : useful for hard to reach populations
Weaknesses : biased as participants are likely to recruit people like them
What is a self report
A method that involves asking participants about their thoughts feelings or opinions towards something
What is a questionnaire
Questions to gather information
What is an interview
Technique used to collect data on people’s thoughts , involves social interaction
What are the strengths and weaknesses of questionnaires
Able to reach large populations
Anonymous so may encourage honesty
Not everyone responds
Possible bias
What are the strengths and weaknesses of interviews
Questions can be altered based on responses
Responses may be altered due to feeling judged by the researcher
Time consuming
What are the strengths of a structured interview
Easy to compare answers and replicate
Lack depth and detail and participants may feel uncomfortable as it’s formal
What are the strengths and weaknesses of semi structured interviews
Participants can expand on answers giving more detail
Hard to replicate or compare answers
What are the strengths and weaknesses of unstructured interviews
Flexible and researcher can build relationship with participant
Data may not be relevant
Time consuming and hard to replicate
What is a semantic differential rating scale
Scale that measures a persons attitude towards something by putting it on a scale between two descriptive words
What are the strengths of semantic differential rating scale
Easy to analyse
Descriptive words give the scale more meaning
What are the weaknesses of a semantic differential rating scale
Open to response bias
Lack depth and detail
What is a likert scale
A type of rating scale that allows people to indicate how much they agree or disagree with a statement
What are the strengths of using a likert scale
Tells you strength of an opinion
Easy to analyse
What are the weaknesses of using a likert scale
Open to response bias
Data has to be proccessed before it can be analysed
What is a structured observation and what are the strengths and weaknesses
Researcher has predetermined behaviours that they tally as they occur
Strengths - easy to record and analyse
High inter rated reliability
Weaknesses - Lowe validity and increased observer bias
What are unstructured observations and what are the strengths and weaknesses
The researcher has no predetermined behaviours to look out for
Strengths - higher validity and reduced observer bias
Weaknesses - low inter rater reliability and harder to observe
What is a participant observation and what are the strengths and weaknesses
Observer is part of the group or pretending to be part of the group being observed
Strengths - more accuracy and detail
Weaknesses - increased observer bias
What are non participant observations and what are the strengths and weaknesses
Observer is not part of the group of people being observed
Strength - decreased observer bias
Weaknesses - decreased accuracy and detail
What are the strengths and weaknesses of overt observations
Increased ethics but increased observer effects
What are the strengths and weaknesses of covert observations
Decreased observer effects but they have decreased ethics
What are strengths and weaknesses of time sampling
Easier to record data but behaviours outside of time frames are likely to be missed
What are strengths and weaknesses of event sampling
Less likely to miss behaviour but data is harder to record
What are coding frames and what is the strengths and weaknesses
Behavioural categories are coded and can be rated for severity
May be more detailed than checklists
May be open to bias and not consistent
What stats test would you use for ordinal data with independent measures design
Mann Whitney u
What stats test would you use for nominal level data and independent measures design
Chi squared
What stats test would you use for repeated measures design and nominal level data
Binomial sign test
What stats test would you use for ordinal level data and repeated measures or matched pairs design
Wilcoxon signed ranks
What stats test would you use for ordinal / interval level data and a correlation
Spearman’s Rho
