Research Methods -> Economy Flashcards
The development of treatments for mental illness
Absence from work costs the economy an estimated £15 billion a year. A recent government report revealed that a third of all absences are caused by mild to moderate mental health disorders such as depression. Psychological research into the causes and treatments of mental illness therefore has an important role to play in supporting a healthy workforce. Many conditions are treated through the use of drugs such as SSRIs.
Social change
Research into conformity was applied to prevent people engaging in a risky behaviour.
Such as campaigns over smoking. Campaigns have the potential to bring about changes that will have a positive impact on the economy.For example, reducing drink driving and smoking would alleviate the burden on emergency and health services.
Improving memory
The cognitive interview was developed based on psychological research into the way in which memory works.It has improved the amount of accurate information collected from eyewitnesses.The implication for the economy is that the amount spent on wrongful arrests and wasted police time will be vastly reduced.
Strengths of qualitative data
You can gain lots of detailed data which will help you to appreciate the complexity of human behaviour
You can generate new hypothesis from this data
Weaknesses of qualitative data
It may be difficult to analyse because the information is so detailed
You may be quite subjective when you analyse the detail and of course it may be difficult to generalise and make conclusions
Strengths of quantitative data
Easy to analyse so that comparisons between groups can be easily drawn
Data is more objective and less open to bias
Weaknesses of quantitative data
It is narrower in scope and meaning
May not always represent ‘real life
Primary data:
data that has been collected specifically for the purpose of the investigation by the researcher. It is data that arrives first-hand from the participants themselves. Data which is gathered by conducting an experiment, questionnaire, etc
Secondary data:
data that already exists before the psychologist begins their research. This may be the case when looking at individual case studies where the researcher may analyse data about the individual that others have gathered.
