Research methods- social psychology Flashcards
What does the alternate hypothesis mean?
- Prediction about what is likely to occur.
- Should contain the variable under investigation and be a clear, testable and precise statement.
- Used if it’s not an experiment.
What two type of questions might a questionnaire ask?
Open and closed questions.
What is an open question?
They are likely to generate qualitative data which is rich in detail, descriptive in nature and is non-numerical.
What is a closed question?
They generate quantitative data that is represented in a numerical form.
What is a strength in a questionnaire?
Respondents may feel more willing to reveal personal/confidential information in a questionnaire than in an interview because they feel more anonymous.
What is a weakness in a questionnaire?
People don’t always tell the truth!, this may be because they simply don’t know what they think about a particular topic or don’t know how they would behave in a particular situation. Or their lack of truthfulness may be because they don’t want to look foolish or unlikeable so they present themselves in a way that makes them ‘look better’- this is called social desirability bias.
What are the 3 types of closed questions an d what do they mean?
- Checklist: A type of questions where participants tick those which apply.
- Likert Response Scale: A type of question where participants rate, on a scale, their views/ opinions to a question.
- A type of question where participants where participants place a list of items, in their preferred order.
What are examples of designing a good questionnaire?
- No, explicit questions, assuming that they’re doing what their asking.
- Give closed questions with checklist.
- Be sensitive, avoid personal questions.
- Keep it simple and clear.
What are some advantages of open questions?
- Provides rich detail of how people behave because they are given free range to express themselves.
- The researcher makes decisions about likely answers, and this closes off unusual possibilities.
What are some disadvantages of open questions?
- More difficult to draw conclusions because they are likely to be a wide range of respondents answer.
- Interpreting what people mean is likely to be subjective -.
What are some advantage of closed questions?
- Easy to analyse because data is in numbers (quantitative data), which can be summarised using averages as well as simple graphs.
What are some disadvantages of closed questions?
- Make not permit people to express their precise feelings because the researcher determined the choice of answers.
- Oversimplifies reality and human experience because it suggests there are simple answers.
What is an interview?
Face-to-face questioning, rather than simply asking the participant to fill in a questionnaire.
What is a structured interview?
The same questions are asked in the same order in the same way to all participants.
What is a strength of a structured interview?
- Interviewer can provide extra information (i.e.) explaining what a question means.
What is a weakness of a structured interview?
Participants may feel reluctant to reveal personal info when face-to-face.
What is an unstructured interview?
Interview is free to pursue any line of questioning within a designated topic (not fixed questions).
What is a strength of an unstructured interview?
Can access information that may not be revealed by predetermined questions.
What is a weakness of an unstructured interview?
Requires well-trained interviewers, which may be difficult to obtain and makes research more expensive.
What is semi-structured interview?
Some questions are predetermined but also new questions are developed as the interview proceeds.
Why is there no strengths or weaknesses in a semi0strcutures interview?
Because you’re relying on the previous questions you asked and answers you received to ask the next questions improved.
What are some researchers effects?
- The interviewer’s nonverbal behaviours may express agreement/disagreement.
- Interviews are standardised so there is a clear protocol for the interview and the same procedures followed for every interviewer.
What does a frequency table show?
How many time each score occurred in the data set.
What is thematic analysis?
Thematic analysis is a way of analysing qualitative data obtained from interviews, questionnaires, observations and case studies. Researchers will then also produce qualitative data- as they describe the themes that have emerged in the data.
What are the strengths of thematic analysis?
- Provides detailed and meaningful information compared to quantitative data.
- High in external validity: analysing real life content which reflects real behaviour/ thoughts.
What are the weaknesses of thematic analysis?
- Can be highly subjective as themes are created by the researcher from their own interpretations and opinions.
- More difficult to detect patterns and draw conclusions because of the potentially large amount of information collected and because words cannot easily be reduced to a few simple points.
What are examples of risk management?
- Understanding the implications of a study…
- Be suitably qualified and know the guidelines..
- Seek advice if unsure of anything
- Adhere to the data protections act and know where and how to store data.
- Adhere to safe practise- risk assessment.
What is the process of risk management?
- Identity the risk
- Find out more info
- Consider how the risk might occur
- Seek further info
- Analyse the risk for probability and consequences.
- Put forward ideas for managing the risk.
- Decide if the study should go ahead.
- Put the measures in place.
- Learn from what happens.
