research methods part 1 Flashcards
what is opportunity sampling?
sampling techniques
a sample of participants who are most easily available at the time on the study
what is the advantage of opportunity sampling?
sampling techniques
it is the easiest method because you are just using the first participants available to you this means it takes less time to locate a sample
what’s a disadvantage of opportunity sampling?
sampling techniques
it is inevitably biased because it is from a small part of the target population
what is random sampling?
sampling techniques
a sample of participants produced by using a random technique where everyone in the target population has an equal chance of being selected
what is a positive of random sampling?
sampling techniques
it is unbiased as all members have an equal chance of being picked
however it may become biased as all those picked might not agree to participate
what is a negative of random sampling?
sampling techniques
it takes more time and effort than other methods because u need to gather a list of all member of the target population then identify the sample and ask them if they will participate
what is self selected sample?
sampling techniques
it is a sample of participants created by asking for volunteers to participate
what are the advantages of self selected sample?
sampling techniques
it is a convenient way of finding willing participants as they will need to be committed for time consuming studies
participants are less likely to drop out beacuse they volunteered
what are the disadvantages of a self selected sample?
sampling techniques
the sample is likely to be bias beacuse volunteer participates are likely going to be more highly motivated and have more time then the general population = volunteer bias
what is snowball sampling?
sampling techniques
it realise on referrals from initial participants to generate additional participants
current participants recruit further participants from people they might know
what are the advantages of snowball sampling?
sampling techniques
it enables researchers to locate groups of people who are harder to access
what are the disadvantages of snow ball sampling?
sampling techniques
the sample isn’t likely to have a good cross selection(one group of participants representing one section of society) from the population because its friend of a friend
what is generalisability and representativeness?
sampling techniques
generalisability is very important because researchers want to be able to draw conclusions about people from there sample however this is only possible is there sample is representative of the target population
how many participants should be in a sample?
sampling techniques
this number varies because when your using questionnaires there easy to distribute however when conducting an experiment the number is often smaller like 25 is an acceptable number a smaller sample also has advantages because it reduces participant variable
what is anonymity and confidentiality?
ethical issue
participants have the right to have personal information protected through withholding their name or keeping information safe
the data protection act makes this a legal right
however it may not be possible to keep all information anonymous because some details of the study may lead to individuals identification
what is deception?
ethical issue
this is when particiapnts arent told the true research aims of the studty and/or not told what they will have to do for the study
this prevents them to gbe able to give truly informed consent
however deception might be needeed because knowing the aims woild spoil the study
what is informed consent?
ethical issue
participants are given a comprehensive information concerning the nature and the purpose of the study and there role within it it is necessary so participants can make a decion to participate
howvere giving infromed concent may reduce the meaningfullness of the study because knowing the aim will alter participants behaviour
what is privacy?
ethical issue
refers to a persons rigt to contolr the flow of information about themselves
what is the right to withdraw?
ethical issue
participants should be told that they can stop participating in the study if there uncomfortable
the loss of participants might bias there results
what is protection from harm?
ethical issue
participants should not experience negative physical effects such as an injury they shouldn’t also experience negative psychological harm such as lowered self esteem
what are the ways of dealing with ethical issues?
ethical issues
debriefing- a post research interview designed to inform participants of the true nature of the study it also aims to restore participants to the state they were in before the study participants should also have the right to refuse any data they produced
ethics committees- a group of people within the research institution the approve the study before it begins they look at all possible issues and find a way to solve them
presumptive consent- a way to deal with lack of informed consent ask a group who is similar to participants whether they would take part in the study or not if they agree its is presumed real participants would also agree
what are questionnaires?
self report
this is where respondents record their own answer for a set of predetermined questions