RESEARCH METHODS - case studies and content analysis

Question 1

what is a case study

Answer 1

an in depth investigation, description and analysis of a single individual , group, institution or event

Question 2

case study involve analysis of what type of events

Answer 2

unsual individuals or events e.g person with rare disorder

Question 3

case studies may concentrate on more

Answer 3

typical cases e.g elderly persons recollection of their childhood

Question 4

conducting a case study usually invoves production of

Answer 4

qualititaive data

Question 5

researchers may construct case history t/f

Answer 5

t

Question 6

how do we construct a case history

Answer 6

using interviews, observations questionnaires or a combo of all of these

Question 7

in case studys a perosnmay be subject to experimental or psychological testing to

what type of data may this produce

Answer 7

asses what they are (not ) capable of

this may produce quantitiative data

Question 8

case studies tend to take place over a long period of time what is this called

Answer 8

longitudinal

Question 9

in longitudinal case studies may invlve gathering additional data from

Answer 9

family and friends of the individual as well as person themselves

Question 10

weaknesses of case studies

Answer 10

• Due to the small sample size, it is unlikely that findings from a case study alone can be generalised to a whole population. + got unique characteristics
• The case study’s researcher may become so involved with the study that they exhibit bias in their interpretation and presentation of the data, making it challenging to distinguish what is truly objective/factual.
• There is little control over a number of variables involved in a case study, so it is difficult to confidently establish any causal relationships between variables.
• Case studies are unusual by nature, so will have poor reliability as replicating them exactly will be unlikely.

Question 11

strengths of case study

Answer 11

Offers rich, in-depth data, so information that may be overlooked using other methods is likely to be identified. e.g experiments

They allow researchers to observe and record information about rare, impractical, or unethical conditions and behaviours.
They provide researchers with new evidence to support psychological theories.

• Case studies create opportunities for a rich yield of data, and the depth of analysis can in turn bring high levels of validity (i.e. providing an accurate and exhaustive measure of what the study is hoping to measure).

Question 12

strengths of case studies

Answer 12

• The detail collected on a single case may lead to interesting findings that conflict with current theories, and stimulate new paths for research.

Question 13

in case studies because personal accoutns are from participants and family friends this may be prone to

Answer 13

innacuracy and memory decay

especially if childhood stories are being told

so evidence from case studies mayb e low in validity

Question 14

what is a content analysis

Answer 14

type of observatoinal research where people are studied indirectly via communications htey produce

Question 15

what are the forms of data that may be subject to a content analysis

Answer 15

spoken interaction e.g conversation , speech , presentatinos

written form- emails texts

broader examples from the media e.g books, films

Question 16

what is the aim of content analysis

Answer 16

summairse and describe communication in a systematic way so overall conclusions can be drawn

Question 17

give example of content analysis in attachment research

Answer 17

pparents to keep diary of first couple ot years of chids life so you can look at specific behaviours youre intersted in e.g weeks before child goes to nursery weeks after child goes to nursery to see if behaviour changes

Question 18

what is coding in content analysis

Answer 18

intial stage of content analyssi

where some data sets may be very large so info needs to be categorised into meaningful untis

Question 19

how can we categorise data into meaningful units

Answer 19

counting up number of times a prtclr word or phrase appears in text to produce a quantitiative form of data

Question 20

give an exampel of coding in a newspaper

Answer 20

analys # of times deregotatory terms are used for people with mental health issues such as crazy or mad

Question 21

give example of coding in tv ads

Answer 21

count number of times men and women are depicted in professional roles at work or familial roles at home

Question 22

what is thematic analysis

Answer 22

a form of content analysis where outcome is ualititative

Question 23

what is the main process of thematic analysi

Answer 23

identificatino of themes

Question 24

what is a theme in content analysis

Answer 24

any idea implici or explicit that is recurrent

Question 25

compare tehmes to coding units

Answer 25

more descripitiv e

Question 26

a theme for people with mental health issues may be drain on resources on the nhs - these may be developed into broader categories such as

Answer 26

contorl

stereotyping

treatment

of people with mental health issues

Question 27

once researcher is satisfied with themes theyve devloepd covering most aspects of data theyve analysed what may they do

Answer 27

collect a new set of data to test validity of the themes and categories

Question 28

assuming our themes and categories explain the new data accuratey what will researcher do

Answer 28

researcher will write up final report, typically using direct quotes from the data to illustrate each theme

Question 29

assuming our themes and categories explain the new data accuratey what will researcher do

Answer 29

researcher will write up final report, typically using direct quotes from the data to illustrate each themes

Question 30

strength of content analysis

Answer 30

flexible - can produce both qualitative and quantitative data depending on the aims of the research

ethical issues not a problem - as majority of info used in a content analysis already exists in the public domain so eprmission is not an issue
high external validity - due to realistic nature of data

Question 31

limitation of content analysis

Answer 31

people studied indeirectly , so comm they produce are analysed outside of context in which they ocured

so danger researcher may attribute opinions and motivations to the speaker/writer that werent originally intended

so lacks objectivity

Question 32

counter point to limitation of content analysis

Answer 32

many modern researchers clear about how their own biases and preconceptions influence the research process and often make refernce ot these as part of theri final report