RESEARCH METHODS (definitions) - Year 2 Flashcards
coding
the process of placing quantitative or qualitative data in categories
content analysis
a kind of observational study in which behaviour is usually observed indirectly in visual, written or verbal form (can involve either qualitative or quantitative data, or both)
thematic analysis
a technique used when analysing qualitative data. themes/categories are identified and then data is organised accordingly
case study
a detailed study of a single individual, constitution or event
strengths of case studies
offers in-depth data with new insights into complex factors - as opposed to experiments where variables are held constant
they can be used to investigate rare human behaviour/ instances (e.g. Phineas Gage)
limitations of case studies
difficult to generalise, as each one has unique characteristics
lack of confidentiality and informed consent (e.g. HM or LIttle Hans are not able to give informed consent)a
inter-observer reliability
the extent to which there is an agreement between two or more observers involved in observations of behaviour
reliability
consistency of measurements from a study
test-retest reliability
where the same test/interview is done with the same participants on two occasions to see if the same results are obtained (questionnaires)
concurrent validity
researcher compares their method of measurement (within experiment/questionnaire) with a similar, previously validated
face validity
an intuitive measurement whether a self-report measure looks like it is measuring what the researcher intended to measure
(e.g. a stress questionnaire the questions are related to stress)
empirical
a method of gaining knowledge which relies on direct observation/testing - not rational argument etc
falsifiability
the possibility that a statement/ hypothesis can be proved wrong
paradigm
Kuhn’s definition of science having a unified set of assumptions and methods
alternative hypothesis
a testable statement about the relationship between two or more variables
null hypothesis
an assumption that there is no relationship between the variables being studied
probability (p)
a numerical measure of chance that certain events will occur
type one error
when a researcher REJECTS a null hypothesis that is TRUE
type two error
when a researcher ACCEPTS a null hypothesis which is FALSE
calculated value
the value of a test statistic calculated for a particular data set
critical value
the set of values of the test statistic that lead to a rejection (or acceptance) of the null hypothesis
one-tailed test
form of test used with a directional hypothesis
significance
statistical term indicating that the research findings are sufficiently strong (enabling researcher to reject the null hypothesis)
statistical test
procedures for drawing inferences about the population from which samples are drawn
test statistic
the value calculated using a statistical test
two tailed test
form of test used with a non-directional hypothesis
objectivity
whether the data is affected by the expectations of the researcher (important in empirical methods)
replicability
whether a researcher gains the same results when an experiment is repeated
theory construction
the idea that explanations of theories must be constructed to make sense of the facts (facts alone are meaningless)
nominal data definition
discrete and categorical data (e.g. what’s your favourite animal: dog, cat, hamster)
ordinal data definition
categorical data that’s in an order (e.g. how much do you like football: hate, don’t mind, like, really like)
interval data definition
scale or continued data that can be subdivided (e.g. how much do you like football on a scale of 1-10)
ratio data definition
proportional or continuous data (like percentages or volumes of research etc)
which methods of data are non-parametric
nominal and ordinal
which methods of data are parametric tests
interval and ratio
