Research Methods Flashcards
Method
A study design; lets us study the social world and is a system of rules and procedures for conducting research
Research Ethics
1) Voluntary consent
2) Participants can stop whenever
3) If researchers know harm will occur, they must stop immediately
4) Risk of subjects must be justified
5) Avoid all physical/mental suffering and injuries
6) Informed consent–people must fully understand the risks of the project before agreeing to participate
Quantitative Research
Based on numbers, focuses on amounts/ quantities and statistical relationships
Qualitative Research
Non-numerical; focuses on themes, processes and meanings that cannot be quantified
Experiments. Strengths and weaknesses and what type of analysis is it?
Controls the environment to isolate the effects of one variable. Random assignment: control or experimental group. Quantitative analysis
Strengths:
Can establish cause and effect
Weaknesses:
Cannot ethically study some topics
Will results be the same in the “real world”?
People aren’t just influenced by one variable at a time
Natural Experiments. Strengths and weaknesses and type of analysis?
People are in naturally occurring control and exposure groups. Outside the control of the experimenters. Qualitative analysis
Strengths:
Can study topics that are unethical. Researchers just examine what occurs
Weaknesses:
Cannot randomly assign. Causality is unclear
Survey. Strengths and weaknesses and what type of analysis is it?
Pre-determined, close-ended survey questions to respondents in a sample. Quantitative Analysis
Strengths:
Fast and inexpensive
Done online, phone, in-person, mail
Lots of data from many people
Can be representative of an entire population if done properly
Use other survey data to make new questions
Confidential
Weaknesses:
Low response rate
Different wordings/question orders can affect responses
Stigma may reduce honest answers
Participant Observation. Strengths and weaknesses and what type of analysis is it?
Directly observe and participate in the social world that’s being studied. Qualitative analysis
Strengths:
Extremely detailed info about how people act in particular contexts and understand the world “from the inside”
Observe how people interact and behave in settings researchers want to study, rather than asking about those behaviors outside that setting
Weaknesses: Time-consuming and expensive Only study a small group of people May not be replicable Trouble establishing trust with people being studied
Qualitative Interviews. Strengths and weaknesses and type of analysis?
Asking open-ended questions to analyze complex themes that cannot be quantified. Can be used in combination with participant observation
Strengths:
Investigate complex themes impossible to document
Ask participant follow-up questions
Use the people’s own words to understand a topic
Weaknesses: Not empirically generalizable Difficult to replicate Question wording and relationship with researchers can affect responses Smaller sample sizes
Historical and Content Analysis. Strengths and weaknesses and type of analysis?
Using existing sources. Typically qualitative, but can be quantitative depending on data and analytical plan
Strengths:
Can study patterns or themes not evident with other forms of data
Can investigate messages and cultural patterns not otherwise observable
Can study issues in past
Weaknesses:
Cannot control quality of data
Limited to existing data, meaning researchers cannot examine certain topics or questions
Other Existing Data. Strengths and weaknesses and type of analysis?
Similar to Historical and Content Analysis, but the data existing was typically gathered for other reasons (ex. crime rates, provincial health stats, etc.). Qualitative or quantitative analysis
Strengths:
Can answer questions not possible using different sources of data
Weaknesses:
Data quality is dependent upon whoever originally gathered the data
5 Research Steps
Usually begins with prior/background research
1) Determine research question
2) State hypothesis–not always necessary, particularly in qualitative research
3) Gather data
4) Analyze data
5) Develop conclusions
Variables
Observable characteristics that can have more than one possible answer. Variables are determined by unit of analysis, like groups, individuals, countries, etc.
Independent and Dependent Variables
Independent variables (x)–causes a change in the dependent variable. It is what we think is affecting the change
Dependent variables (y)–affected by the independent variable. The thing we’re trying to study
Ex. Social isolation (x) predicts feelings of loneliness (y)
Hypothesis
Statements about how you believe variables are related
Operationalization
How we measure what we want to study. Must be multiple ways to operationalize a variable
Population and Sample
Population–an entire pool of people
Sample–a group representation of the larger population. May be chosen from a sampling frame
Types of Samples–> random and nonrandom
Random–every member of the population has some chance of being chosen. Allows generalizable findings from the representative sample and can apply it to the larger population
Non-Random–not everyone in the population has a chance of being selected. Not representative of population and cannot generalize findings. Maybe sampling frame doesn’t exist
Nonresponse Bias. What type of bias is it and 4 reasons why it may occur?
Systematic bias. Who responds or not? Causes sample to be non-representative. Not individual bias, but a systematic error in how research is conducted; usually unintentional. This can be due to:
Different levels of enthusiasm
Different comfort levels about a topic
Method of data collection
Characteristics of certain groups
Coverage Bias/Sample Frame Error
Systematic bias. Differences between the sampling frame and the actual population. Doesn’t include certain members of population, usually unintentional. Sometimes depends on research methods
What is a systematic bias and what are some causes?
Tendency of a process to support a particular outcome. Can be the result of relying on nonrandom samples, individuals are allowed to self-select into the study, or the sample is too small
Correlation
Measure of how two variables are related. Not necessarily cause-and-effect, but a measure of relationship
Correlation vs. Causation. How do you establish causation?
Correlation establishes a relationship of two more more variables, while causation establishes that one variable affects another.
To establish causation, researches must:
Establish a correlation
Determine the timing of effects
Rule out alternative explanations and spurious relationships
Spurious Relationships
A relationship to looks like cause-and-effect, but isn’t due to outside variables not accounted for
Validity and Reliability
Validity–accurate and measures what the researcher wants to measure
Reliability–a measure that’s consistent
Confirmation Bias
Tendency to believe and gather info that supports pre-existing beliefs and ignoring info that challenges those beliefs. Affects how people interpret information. People are usually resistant to change
Illogical Reasoning
Prematurely jumping into conclusions without sufficient evidence and without considering alternative possibilities
Audit Study
Participants matched on key characteristics, but one variable is changed, so if different results occur, it’s because of the change
Disinformation and Misinformation
Disinformation–the deliberate creation or sharing of false info to mislead people
Misinformation–the act of sharing info without realizing it’s wrong
