Research Methods A2 Flashcards
What is content analysis?
A method used to analyse qualitative data. It allows the researcher to take qualitative data and transform it into quantitative data. This can be used for data such as interviews and audio recordings.
Content analysis steps?
1) data is collected
2) researcher examines data making themselves familiar with it
3) the researcher identifies categories
4) a tally is made with the number of times that a category appears
What is thematic analysis?
Thematic analysis is a spray of analysing qualitative data that involves identifying patterns within data.
Steps for thematic analysis?
1) make a transcription of the interview
2) use categories to initially analyse the transcript
3) review the categories to look for common themes
Strengths of content analysis?
1) it is a reliable way to analyse qualitative data as the categories are not open to interpretation and so are applied in the same way over time and with different researchers .
2) it allows statistical analysis to be conducted if required as there is usually quantitative data as a result of the procedure.
Weaknesses of content analysis?
1) researcher bias could occur as the researcher has to interpret the data.
2) causality cannot be established as it merely describes the data.
What are case studies?
1) they are a detailed investigation of a usually small number of people as the behaviour tends to be rare.
2) they tend to be scientific in their approach and used systematic methods to collect data.
3) psychologists can either collect quantitative or qualitative data.
4) case studies can take place over a large period of time and can become longtitudinal.
Strengths of case studies?
1) case studies can lead to findings that conflict current theories and stimulate new paths for research.
2) case studies create opportunities for a rich yield of data, and the depth of analysis in turn brings high levels of validity.
Weaknesses of case studies?
1) Case studies are unusual by nature, so will have poor reliability as being able to replicate them exactly will be unlikely.
2) Due to the small sample size, it is unlikely that findings from a case study alone can be generalised to the wider population
What is the definition of reliability?
It’s based on the consistency of measurements. A piece of research is deemed reliable when the same research is carried out again in the future and produces the same results.
What is internal reliability?
this is concerned with whether the measuring instrument used in research can give the same results on different occasions. The measuring instrument used must be consistent.
What is intra researcher reliability?
this examines the consistency of the individual researcher’s behaviour during the research. This occurs when the researcher behaves consistently during research.
What is a test re-test?
The same test is given to the same particpants on two different occasions to see if the same results can be gained.
What ways can you assess reliability ?
1) test re-test- repeat the observation a second time with the same participants and compare results. Produce a correlation coefficient and if it exceeds 0.8 it is reliable.
2) pilot study- conduct a trial run before the main research is carried out. This ensures the resources used in the research can improve precious when measuring behaviour eg standardising instructions, and operationalising variables.
How to Improve reliability?
1) inter-observer reliability- more than one observer records the behaviours seperately. The correlation coefficient needs to exceed 0.8 to be reliable.
2) make sure questions are not ambiguous so that participants understand them and give the same answers if asked agin in the future.
3) standardisation of instructions- procedures should be exactly the same for each particpant that takes part in the experiement. Variables should be operationalised.
What is internal validity?
The degree of confidence that the relationship you are testing is not influenced by other factors or variables.