Research Methods Flashcards
What is content analysis?
A kind of observational study in which behaviour is usually observed indirectly in visual, written or verbal material. May involve either qualitative or quantitative analysis, or both.
What is thematic analysis?
A technique used when analysing qualitative data. Themes or categories are identified and then data is organised according to these themes.
What is the sampling method in content analysis?
Deciding on how to sample the data.
- If analysing the content of books, does the researcher look at every page or every fifth page (Time sampling)
- If comparing the content in various books, does the researcher select books randomly or identify certain characteristics or genres?
- If analysing ads on TV, does the researcher take not of behaviours occurring every 30 seconds (time sampling)?
What is coding the data in content analysis?
What behavioural categories does the researcher use to break down the data they have. For example, researcher looks at the way men and women are portrayed in booked, create a list of behavioural categories and then count instances.
What is method of representing data?
Deciding on methods to represent the data:
Count instances = Quantitative analysis.
Describe examples in each category = Qualitative analysis.
Give 2 strengths of content analysis.
- High ecological validity because it is based on observations of what people actually do, eg: recent newspapers.
- When sources can be accessed by others eg: recent newspapers, content analysis can be replicated and Tf, tested for reliability.
Give 2 weaknesses of content analysis.
- Observer bias reduces the objectivity and validity of findings because different observers may interpret the behaviour categories differently.
- Culture biased, interpretation of verbal or written content will be affected by the language and culture of the observer.
Give 1 weakness of thematic analysis.
-Time consuming, summarising qualitative data.
Give 3 intentions of thematic analysis.
- Summarising the data
- Imposing some kind of order on the data
- To enable themes to be identified and general conclusions to be drawn.
What is time sampling?
Recording behaviours in a given time frame. Eg, noting what a target individual is doing every 30 seconds. At that time the observer may tick one or more categories from a checklist.
What is event sampling?
Counting the number of times a certain behaviour occurs in a target individual or individual. Eg, how many times a person smiles in a 10 minute period.
What is a case study?
A research method that involves a detailed study of a single individual, institution or event. Case studies provide a rich record of human experience but are hard to generalise from.
Give 2 features of a case study.
- Data is generally presented in a qualitative way, organised into themes to represent individual’s thoughts, emotions, experiences and abilities.
- Cases are generally longitudinal, they follow the individual/group over an extended period of time.
- Objective and systematic methods used, eg. observation, interviews and psychological testing.
What is the case study of Freud’s study of Little Hans?
Illustrates the principles of psychoanalysis.
Little Hans was a 5-year-old boy with a phobia of horses. Freud looked into why this was the case.
3 Yrs, little Hans showed an interest in ‘widdlers’, both his own penis and those of other males, including animals. His mother threatens to cut off his widdler unless he stops playing with it.
Hans’s fear of horses worsened, and he was reluctant to go out in case he met a horse. Freud linked this fear to the horse’s large penis.
Freud’s interpretation linked Hans’s fear to the Oedipus complex, the horses (with black harnesses and big penises) unconsciously representing his fear of his father.
Freud suggested Hans resolved this conflict as he fantasised himself with a big penis and married to his mother. This allowed Hans to overcome his castration anxiety and identify with his father.
Give an event case study.
Mob behaviour, London riots 2011. There was a re-examination of the explanations for the apparently unruly behaviour of ‘mobs’.
