Research methods part 1 Flashcards
Study population meaning
Study Population: the population from which the sample has been drawn. This may be regarded as a
population of people, objects, scores etc.
Quantitative meaning
number-based
Qualitative data
Qualitative data is interpretation-based, descriptive, and relating to language
Theory testing
We have a theory and we are testing it (tends to be quantitative)
Theory developing
making a new theory (tends to be qualitative)
How we do the research? (classes)
experimental or quasi-experimental or non-experimental
quasi-experimental meaning
Almost like a half experiment (What Is a Quasi-experiment? Quasi-experiments are studies that aim to evaluate interventions but that do not use randomization. Similar to randomized trials, quasi-experiments aim to demonstrate causality between an intervention and an outcome.)
Research approaches
Experimental (Quantitative), phenomenological (Qualitative) and survey approaches (mixed)
phenomenological
it looks at person`s experiences etc not numbers
Data types
Primary (what you collect yourself)
Secondary (what already exists, you can repurpose it for your work)
Randomization
happens after you sampled, randomly allocated to the group in the trail
Experiment approach points
Experiment
◦ Quantitative – numbers
◦ Uses statistical analysis
◦ Randomisation
◦ Cause & effect
◦ Theory testing
◦ Control is important
◦ Allows generalisation
◦ Narrow focus
Phenomenological study approach points
Phenomenological study
◦ Qualitative – words
◦ Could be an interview
◦ Exploring inner experiences
◦ Theory building
◦ Looks for meaning
◦ Uniqueness
◦ Transferability
Survey/questionnaire study approach points
Survey
◦ Quantitative or qualitative or a mixture
◦ Questionnaire or interview
◦ Descriptive, explanatory, exploratory or predictive
Objectivity meaning
Free from personal influence (no bias)
Reliability
Reproducibility (will you get the same results if someone different did it)
Validity
Measures what you set out to measure free from bias (The validity of a research study refers to how well the results among the study participants represent true findings among similar individuals outside the study.)
Maintaining validity and reliability
methods used
Triangulation (gathering data in different ways, different researchers seeing if they find the same thing)
Bracketing (used in qualitative, researchers identify their beliefs and opinions to show how these might influence the results)
Transferability
Product from Qualitative research
describe similar experiences to build a theory and then leads to quantitative research to prove it
Generalisation
Sample size large
quantitative research
Sample represents the group
Qualitative data collection
Semi-structured interviews
Questionnaires
Observation by the researcher
◦ Participant (bias?)
◦ Non-participant (Understanding? Covert?)
Participants record info in diaries etc.
Phenomenology
The direct study of personal experience and
the understanding of the nature of human
consciousness.
Used when researching patients’
experiences during examinations and
treatments.
Symbolic Interactionism
(Symbolic interactionism theory assumes that people respond to elements of their environments according to the subjective meanings they attach to those elements, such as meanings being created and modified through social interaction involving symbolic communication with other people.)
symbolic interactionism which emphasises that a social system has
meaning only in the way people define and interpret what is happening - the system is negotiated between people so it is constantly
changing and evolving.
Ethnomethodology/ethnography.
Ethnography is a type of qualitative research often undertaken by anthropologists.
To do this the ethnographer is always a
‘participant observer’ although how much they participate varies from hardly at all to completely - whatever the case they must be
transparent about their role. The ethnographer is trying to establish a good relationship, which takes time, so that the group being
studied will trust and accept the researcher enough to reveal the details of their culture.
Grounded theory builds on Symbolic Interactionism. How does it do this?
Grounded theory takes this further and strives to develop a theory about how reality is socially constructed and how it changes over time. Researchers are examining a process by asking participants what is going on. They come up with a theory that is ‘grounded’ in
the data they collect. For the theory to be sound the data gathered must be highly detailed and extensive, it is usually based on narrative interviews (participants tell their own story from start to end rather than answering semistructured questions) but may
start with observations in the field.
Experiments types
Exploratory experiments - doing something to see what happens
Measurement experiments - how far away is something e.g how far away is the moon
Hypothesis testing experiments - Theories suggest how one thing can cause an effect in another thing. So they allow us to make predictions or more precisely formulate hypotheses
Independent Variables
Things that you change
Dependent variable
The result
Controlled Variables
Things you keep the same
Picking the sample
Related
Unrelated
Related- within subjects
Unrelated- Comparative groups
Operationalisation meaning?
This is the process of converting the general concept(s) of a theory into a specific measurable and therefore testable form.
