Research Methods Emily Flashcards
What is a case study?
A unique detailed study of one particular individual or group
What does a researcher focus on in a case study?
One specific aspect of behaviour, collecting qualitative data
What are 2 examples of case studies on individuals?
Genie ‘wild child’ - effects of privation
Phineas Gage - metal rod through head
What are 2 examples of case studies on events?
London riots 2011 - mob behaviour
Jonestown - cult leader got 900 followers to commit suicide
How is data gathered in case studies?
Family members, social services, educational services, medical records, interviews, observations, questionnaires, experiments
What are 2 strengths of case studies?
Detailed data collected - may identify things other studies have overlooked.
Allow research into areas not ethically possible to create
What are 2 weaknesses of case studies?
Difficult/nearly impossible to replicate - so not reliable.
Difficult to generalise to wider population because the people/person in the study may be very different
What is a correlation?
A statistical technique that can tell us if there is a relationship between 2 continuous variables (co-variables)
What are the 3 differences between experiments and correlations?
Experiment - difference between 2 conditions, researcher manipulates IV, cause and effect
Correlation - relationship between 2 co-variables, no manipulation of IV, no cause and effect
What are the 2 pieces of information that can be obtained from a correlation?
The direction and the strength of the relationship/correlation
How is the strength of a correlation measured?
A value between -1 and 1 called the correlation coefficient
Weaker = close to 0
Stronger = close to 1 or -1
None = 0
What does the direction of a correlation mean?
Whether it is positive or negative
What happens in a positive correlation?
As x increases, y also increases
What happens in a negative correlation?
As x increases, y decreases
What are 2 strengths of correlations?
Allows research into unknown areas to see how the variables are related before doing an experiment.
Allows research when an experiment would be unethical
What are 2 weaknesses of correlations?
Cannot determine cause and effect - possible third variable.
Only identify linear relationships
What is a questionnaire?
A set of written questions designed to collect information from participants on their views and opinions on one or more topics, involving a large sample without the researcher present
What are the 4 important things to consider when constructing a questionnaire?
Instructions must be clear and simple.
Questions must be clear and simple.
Questions should be relevant and ethical.
Researchers should conduct a pilot study
What is an open question?
A question which allows the participant to answer in their own words and their responses are not restricted - they produce qualitative data
What is a closed question?
A question which provides the participant with a choice of responses and they are asked to select the answer which best represents their view/situation - mostly produce quantitative data
What is a strength of open questions?
Produce rich detailed data which is more likely to reflects a participant’s true feelings/beliefs
What 3 are weaknesses of open questions?
Difficult to analyse answers.
Time consuming.
Not suitable for those unable to express e.g. children, people who can’t write
What are 2 strengths of closed questions?
Easy to statistically analyse answers.
Standardised
What are 3 weaknesses of closed questions?
May not be accurate.
Lacks detail.
Can’t clarify/explain their answers
What are the 3 kinds of closed questions?
Likert scales.
Rating scales.
Fixed choice questions
What are Likert scales?
Indicate the extent to which they agree with a statement.
5 points on the scale (sometimes the middle is omitted)
How are other rating scales different from Likert scales?
Likert are 5 points, rating scales can have any amount
What are 3 strengths of questionnaires?
Large amounts of data collected quickly.
Less investigator bias.
Less time-consuming
What are 2 weaknesses of questionnaires?
Social desirability bias.
Biased sample - certain types of people are more likely to complete questionnaires
What is a self-report method?
Any method in which a person is asked to state or explain their own feelings/opinions/behaviours/experiences on a given topic
What is an interview?
Participants verbally answering a series of questions in real time, either face to face or over the phone
What are 3 weaknesses of interviews in general?
Smaller sample.
Social desirability bias.
Training required
What are the 3 types of interviews?
Structured, semi-structured, unstructured
What defines a structured interview?
Pre-prepared questions in a fixed order (can be open or closed questions)
What are 2 strengths of structured interviews?
Standardised - so its easier to replicate, and less interviewer bias.
Less time-consuming (than unstructured interviews) - interviewer needs less training, interviews shorter and quicker to analyse data
What is a weakness of structured interviews?
Not possible to ask follow-up questions to unexpected answers - restricts amount of useful data that can be collected
What defines a semi-structured interview?
Some pre-set questions which can then be developed (can be open or closed questions, often closed to begin with, then follow up questions are open)
Which interview type is also called a clinical interview?
Semi-structured
What are 3 strengths of semi-structured interviews?
Flexible.
Large amount of detail can be collected.
Good rapport can be established
What are 2 weaknesses of semi-structured interviews?
Time-consuming - require training.
Comparison is difficult
What defines an unstructured interview?
More flexible ‘conversation type’ format.
No rigid set of questions.
Aims to gather as much information as possible
What are 2 strengths of unstructured interviews?
Good rapport can be established - so might respond more openly/honestly, so data more accurate/valid.
Can obtain detailed information - could provide new insight for new areas to research
What are 2 weaknesses of unstructured interviews?
Interpretation of data can be subjective - so data difficult to analyse.
More time-consuming than structured interviews - require more training, data analysis and interview takes longer
What are the 6 things to consider in the design of interviews? (and what they should be/mean)
Interviews questions - clear, relevant, ethical
Instructions - clear, unambiguous
Interviewer bias - treat all participants the same, standardising reduces it
Appearance of the interviewer - can influence how comfortable participant feels
Recording data - take notes now or later
Pilot study - gather information on any changes that need to be made regarding the 5 other things
What is quantitative data?
Information that is numerical, can be represented in graphs, tables, and charts
What is quantitative data represented by in experiments?
The dependant variable
How is quantitative data achieved in questionnaires?
Closed questions
What represents quantitative data in a structured observation?
The tally of behaviours
What are 3 strengths of quantitative data?
Easier to analyse.
Objective.
Can be replicated
What is a weakness of quantitative data?
Participants may be forced to choose a particular response which can lead to meaningless, inaccurate conclusions
What is qualitative data?
Detailed information in language form, can then be changed into quantitative
How is qualitative data achieved in questionnaires?
Open questions
What will produce qualitative data in unstructured interviews?
The notes
What will produce qualitative data in unstructured observations?
The detailed written account of behaviours observed
What are 3 strengths of qualitative data?
Participants not forced to choose a response, so it’s more likely to reflect their true feelings/behaviours, so conclusions are likely to be accurate and meaningful.
Allows for ambiguities.
Rich source of information
What are 4 weaknesses of qualitative data?
Time-consuming.
Subjective.
Difficult to replicate.
More difficult to analyse
What is primary data?
Information collected by the researcher directly from the participants for the purposes of the study
How is primary data obtained?
Questionnaires, observations, interviews, experiments
What is secondary data?
Information collected by another researcher, not directly from the participants, not specific to the study
How is secondary data obtained?
Websites, journals, books, official statistics, the media, employee records, previous studies
What is a strength of primary dta?
Since it is collected specifically for the study, it will be wholly relevant
What is a weakness of primary data?
Time-consuming and expensive
What is a strength of secondary data?
Quick to obtain and inexpensive
What are 3 weaknesses of secondary data
Data may not be wholly relevant.
Might have mistakes.
Might be outdated
What is descriptive statistics?
The use of graphs, tables, and summary statistics to identify trends and analyse sets of data
What are the measures of central tendency?
Mean, median, and mode
What do measures of central tendency show?
An average score for a set of data
How do you find the mean?
Add all the values, divide by the number of values
When is the mean most appropriate to use?
When there’s continuous data (e.g. time, speed, temperature)
What is a strength of using the mean?
Most sensitive as it uses all scores, so it’s representative of all the scores
What is a weakness of using the mean?
Easily distorted by extreme values and so becomes unrepresentative
How do you find the median?
Arrange the data in order, the median is the middle value.
If there’s an even number of values, add the 2 values in the middle and divide by 2
What is a strength of using the median?
Not affected by extreme scores
What is a weakness of using the median?
Does not take all the data into account so may be unrepresentative
How do you find the mode?
It is the most common value, there may be multiple, or none
When is the mode most appropriate to use?
When there’s category data (e.g. number of smokers of a certain brand, favourite newspaper)
What are 2 strengths of using the mode?
Not affected by extreme scores.
Unlike the mean and median, it can be used for all types of data
What are 2 weaknesses of using the mode?
Not very useful when there are many or no modes.
Does not take all the data into account so may be unrepresentative
What are the measures of dispersion?
Range and standard deviation
What do measures of dispersion show?
How the values in a set of data are spread out
How do you find the range?
The highest value minus the lowest value plus 1
When is the range most appropriate to use?
Alongside/with the median
What are 3 strengths of using the range?
Gives a basic indication of the spread of the scores.
Can be calculated on most types of data.
Easy to calculate
What are 2 weaknesses of using the range?
Distorted by extreme scores.
Doesn’t indicate how grouped around the mean the scores are - doesn’t show much about the dispersion
What does a high standard deviation mean?
There is a wide spread of scores
What does a low standard deviation mean?
The scores are close together
On a normal distribution, what percentage fall within 1 standard deviation from the middle (above and below)?
68.26%
On a normal distribution, what percentage fall within 2 standard deviations from the middle (above and below)?
95.44%
What is a strength of standard deviation?
The most accurate measure of dispersion - because it takes into account every value
What is a weakness of standard deviation?
Can still be distorted by extreme values, but much less than the range
How do you convert percentages to decimals?
Divide by 100 (or use calculator)
How do you convert decimals to percentages?
Multiply by 100 (or use calculator)
How do you convert a fractions to percentages?
Multiply by 100 (or use calculator)
How do you convert percentages to fractions?
Divide by 100, then simplify (or use calculator)
What are graphs used for?
Summarising the results and show any trends/patterns at a glance
What do line graphs show?
Information which is connected in some way (e.g. over time)
What do pie charts show?
Numerical proportion
What do bar charts show?
The frequencies of non-continuous data
What do histograms show?
Continuous data
