research methods-data handling and analysis Flashcards
what is nominal data
categorical data that doesn’t have a natural order
is nominal data discrete or continuous
discrete data-can only appear in one category
what measure of central tendency is used with nominal data
mode-most common number
positive of nominal data
easily generated quickly from closed questions
Negative of nominal data
its a low level of data
it doesn’t enable sensitive analysis
what is ordinal data
categorical data that can be put in order or ranked
what measure of central tendency is used with ordinal data
median
positives of ordinal data
have more detail as the scores are ranked in order
negative of ordinal data
no equal intervals
often used for subjective ranks- which lacks certainty
what is interval/ratio data
data tells us exactly how much bigger one number is than the other
what is the difference between ratio and interval data
ratio-values cant go below 0 as it has a true 0
interval-values can go below 0 as it doesn’t have a true 0
what type of comparisons does interval-ratio data allow you to make
allows you to make quantitative comparisons
what measure of central tendancy is used with interval/ratio data
mean
what is a positive of interval/ratio data
allows for researchers to use more sensitive statistical tests (parametric tests) which allows the researcher to make objective quantitative comparisons
what are the 3 measures of central tendency
mean
median
mode
what is it called when there are 2 modes
bi-modal
2 positives of using the mode
-quick and easy to calculate
-The mode is unaffected by one extreme score
2 negatives of using the mode
-insensitive measure as it doesn’t tell us about the other values in the data set
-there can be multiple modes so it wouldn’t be representative of the full data set
2 positives of using the median
-median is unaffected by extreme scores
-the median is relatively quick and easy to calculate
2 negatives of using the median
-its an insensitive measure it doesn’t tell us about any other values in the data set
-if there’s an even number the median may not even be present in the original data set
2 positives of using the mean
-representative of all the data as it is calculated using all the numbers
-most sensitive measure as it includes all the values in a set of data
2 negatives of using the mean
-easily skewed or distorted by extreme values
-mean may be a value which isnt present in the original data set
what are the two measures of dispersions
-range
-standard deviation
what is an advantage of the range
-quick and easy to calculate
what is a disadvantage of the range
-skewed by extreme values as it only takes into account 2 scores
what is the standard deviation
measure of the spread of data around the mean
what does a large SD show
more variation and less consistent
what does a small SD show
less variation and More consistent
what is a positive of using SD
more sensitive measure of dispersion as it takes into account all the values
what are the types of presentation of quantitative data
-bar chart
-histogram
-scattergraphs
what do bar chart show
-discrete data
-bars aren’t touching
what are histograms used to show
-continuous data
-bars are touching
what do scattergraphs show and when are they used
-relationship between the 2 co-variables
-used when carrying out a correlational analysis
what is a normal distribution
-bell-shaped curve
-symetrical around the centre
-left hand side is a mirror image of the left hand side
describe the data in a normal distribution
-most values cluster around the middle
-further a value is from the mean the less likely it is to occur
what will the mean median and mode be for a normal distribution
same value
what is a negatively skewed distribution
-most people recieve high scores but there is an extreme low score
-mode is the highest
-to make it more normally distributed you need to make the test harder
what is a positively skewed distribution
-most people recieve a low score but there is an extreme high score
-mean is the highest
-to make it more normally distributed you need to make the test easier.
what is content analysis
-create a checklist/categories of behaviour
-read through media Eg-diary entry
-counting behaviour or tallying
-compare condition 1 to condition 2
positive of content analysis
by converting qualitative data into quantitative the researcher is able to carry out statisical test to see if there is a significant difference between the 2 variables
negatives of content analayisis
content analysis simply describes a set of data, variables are not manipulated under control conditions therefore it does not reveal causality.
what is thematic analysis
- converts data into written form
- familiarise themselves with data by reading and re-reading
- labels the data using codes
- categorises the codes into themes
- writes a report interpreting the themes an relates them back to the research topic.
positives of thematic analyisis
provides a more detailed understanding of participants subjective experience
negatives of thematic analysis
requires data that is in written form
what is a meta-analysis
-researchers collect and collate a wide range of previously conducted research on a specific area
-collated research is reviewed together
-combined data is statistically tested to provide an overall conclusion
is a meta-analysis quantitative or qualitative
quantitative
what is the difference between primary and secondary data
primary data-data that is collected first hand by the researcher for the purpose of the investigation
secondary data-data that is collected not for the purpose of your own research.
