Research Methods- Selecting and Using Participants Flashcards
What is the target group?
The part of the population you’re interested in
Why should a sample be representative?
So that results can be generalised to wider population
What is random sampling?
Every member of the target group has an equal chance of being selected for the sample
What is the advantage of random sampling?
Sample is likely to be representative
What is the disadvantage of random sampling?
Doesn’t guarantee a representative sample
What is opportunity sampling?
When the researcher samples whoever is available and willing to be studied
What is the advantage of opportunity sampling?
Quick and practical
What is the disadvantage of opportunity sampling?
Unlikely to be representative
What is volunteer sampling?
When people actively volunteer to be part of a study
What is the advantage of volunteer sampling?
Large number of respondents so more in-depth analysis
What is the disadvantage of volunteer sampling?
Unlikely to be representative of the target population
What is systematic sampling?
Where every nth name from a sampling frame is taken
What is the advantage of systematic sampling?
Simple and effective, representative
What is the disadvantage of systematic sampling?
Subgroups might be missed
What is stratified sampling?
All important subgroups in the population is randomly obtained
What is the advantage of stratified sampling?
Fairly representative
What is the disadvantage of stratified sampling?
Lot of time and money
What is the Hawthorne effect?
People show a different response if they are interested in something or interested in attention they are getting
What is the effect of the Hawthorne effect?
Mean results are often artificially high so makes conclusions invalid
What are demand characteristics?
Participants guess aims of the study and change behaviour
What is a social desirability bias?
People try to show themselves in the best light
What is a researcher or experimenter bias?
Researchers expectations can influence the design of their study and how they behave towards participants
What are investigator effects?
Anything the researcher does to affect how the participant behaves
