Research Methods Flashcards
What are case studies?
An in-depth investigation, description and analysis of a single individual, group, institution or event.
What is a correlation coefficient?
A number between -1 and +1 that represents the direction and strength of a relationship between co-variables.
If a correlation coefficient is close to 0, does that mean it is a strong or weak relationship between co-variables?
Weak
What type of data does content analysis produce?
Quantitative
What type of data does thematic analysis produce?
Qualitative
What is coding the initial stage of?
Content analysis
What type of research is content analysis?
Observational
What is thematic analysis a form of?
Content analysis
What are the strengths of case studies?
- Offers rich, detailed insights on very unusual, atypical forms of behaviour.
- Contributes to our understanding of typical functioning with real world evidence.
- Generates hypotheses for future study.
- Can provide solitary contradictory evidence which leads to the revision of an entire theory.
What are the weaknesses of case studies?
- Generalisation is difficult due to small sample sizes.
- Info is based on subjective selection and interpretation of the researcher (Little Hans - Freud).
- Low validity: personal accounts by participants or family/friends may be prone to inaccuracy and memory decay.
What are the stages of content analysis?
- Read/watch a selection of the material.
- Identify important categories.
- Work through all the data counting the number of occurrences of each of the categories (coding).
- The data can remain in quantitative form.
What are the stages of thematic analysis?
- Read and reread (or watch) the data transcripts to become familiar with the material (data familiarisation).
- Reread the material and code it. Look for words or phrases that come up repeatedly.
- Combine these codes into larger themes. Themes should be coherent and meaningful patterns in the data, relevant to the research question.
- The data would stay in qualitative form and the themes described with examples.
What are the strengths of content analysis?
- Can circumnavigate ethical issues (no issues with obtaining permission).
- High external validity.
- Flexible, in the sense that it may produce both quantitative and qualitative data.
- Quantitative data is objective.
What are the weaknesses of content analysis?
- The communications are analysed outside of the context in which they occured.
What are the strengths of thematic analysis?
- Qualitative data provides more detailed information to explain complex issues.
What are the weaknesses of thematic analysis?
- Time consuming
What is triangulation?
Comparing results from a variety of studies of the same topic or same person to assess validity.
What inferential test to use for:
Nominal data
Unrelated difference
Chi squared
What inferential test to use for:
Nominal data
Related difference
Sign test
What inferential test to use for:
Nominal data
Association/correlation
Chi squared
What inferential test to use for:
Ordinal data
Unrelated difference
Mann whitney
What inferential test to use for:
Ordinal data
Related difference
Wilcoxon
What inferential test to use for:
Ordinal data
Association/correlation
Spearmans Rho
What inferential test to use for:
Interval data
Unrelated difference
Unrelated t test
What inferential test to use for:
Interval data
Related difference
Related t test
What inferential test to use for:
Interval data
Association/correlation
Pearsons
Analogy to remember inferential test table:
C S C M W S U R P
Cats swim cause moles won’t, so understandable, right Patrick?
