Research Methods (Year 2)

Question 1

What are case studies?

Answer 1

An in-depth investigation, description and analysis of a single individual, group or event

Question 2

What is content analysis?

Answer 2

A type of observational research in which people are studied indirectly via the communications they have produced e.g texts, emails

Question 3

What is coding?

Answer 3

The stage of content analysis in which the communication to be studied is analysed by identifying each instance of the chosen categories

e.g counting how many times a particular phrase appears

Question 4

What is thematic analysis?

Answer 4

A qualitative approach to analysis that involves identifying explicit ideas within the text

Question 5

Describe one strength and a weakness of case studies

Answer 5

1. Type of data: Case studies offer rich, detailed insights on very unusual/atypical forms of behaviour, may be preferred over more superficial data from questionnaires or experiments

2. Lack of generalisation: due to small sample sizes, information in final report is based on subjective selection and interpretation of researcher, personal accounts from participants and family and friends prone to inaccuracy and memory decay, evidence may lack validity

Question 6

Describe one strength and a weakness of content analysis

Answer 6

1. Ethics: can circumnavigate ethical issues associated with psychological research, much of material an analyst studies e.g adverts or films may already exist within public domain, no issues obtaining permission, this data typically high in external validity

2. Personal bias and preconceptions: people tend to be studied indirectly, communications produced usually analysed outside context which it occurred, researcher may attribute opinions/motivations that were not originally intended, lack of objectivity

Question 7

What are 2 processes involved in content analysis?

Answer 7

• Coding
• Thematic analysis

Question 8

What does reliability refer to?

Answer 8

Refers to how consistent a measuring device is (including psychological tests or observations)

Question 9

What are the 2 ways of assessing reliability?

Answer 9

• Test-retest
• Inter-observer reliability

Question 10

What is test-retest?

Answer 10

Involves administering the same test or questionnaire to the same person/people on different occasions

Question 11

What is inter-observer reliability?

Answer 11

The extent to which there is an agreement between two or more observers involved in observations of behaviour

Question 12

What are the 4 ways of improving reliability?

Answer 12

• Questionnaires: used closed, fixed-choice questions with little ambiguity
• Interviews: using structured interviews, same interviewer each time
• Observations: operationalising behavioural catagories ensures little personal interpretations
• Experiments: standardised procedures

Question 13

What is the importance of time in test-retest?

Answer 13

There must be sufficient time between the test and retest to ensure that the participant cannot recall their answers to the questions.

But not so long that their attitudes, opinions or abilities may have changed

Question 14

How can inter-rater reliability be measured?

Answer 14

The observations of two observers after watching the same event are correlated

Question 15

What is validity?

Answer 15

The extent to which an observed effect is genuine

Question 16

What is internal and external validity?

Answer 16

- Internal: whether the effects observed are due to the manipulation of the independent variable and not some other factor
- External: the extent to which the observations of a study can be generalised to other settings, situations or individuals

Question 17

What are 2 types of external validity?

Answer 17

- Ecological validity: the extent to which findings from a research study can be generalised to other settings and situations
- Temporal validity: the extent to which findings from a research study can be generalised to other historical times and eras

Question 18

What are the 2 ways to assess validity?

Answer 18

- Face validity: A form of validity where a measure is scrutinised to determine whether it appears to measure what it is supposed to measure
- Concurrent validity: the extent to which the results of a psychological measure match or are close to those obtained on another recognised and well-established test

Question 19

What are the 4 ways to improve validity?

Answer 19

1. Experiments: control groups, standardised procedures, single-blind and double-blind procedures

2. Questionnaires: lie scale (assess consistency of answers, reduce social desirability bias), anonymous data

3. Observations: covert observations, precise behavioural catagories

4. Qualitative research: case studies and interviews (more depth and detail), triangulation (use of number of different sources as evidence)