Research methods- social psychology

Question 1

What does the alternate hypothesis mean?

Answer 1

• 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.

Question 2

What two type of questions might a questionnaire ask?

Answer 2

Open and closed questions.

Question 3

What is an open question?

Answer 3

They are likely to generate qualitative data which is rich in detail, descriptive in nature and is non-numerical.

Question 4

What is a closed question?

Answer 4

They generate quantitative data that is represented in a numerical form.

Question 5

What is a strength in a questionnaire?

Answer 5

Respondents may feel more willing to reveal personal/confidential information in a questionnaire than in an interview because they feel more anonymous.

Question 6

What is a weakness in a questionnaire?

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

What are the 3 types of closed questions an d what do they mean?

Answer 7

1. Checklist: A type of questions where participants tick those which apply.
2. Likert Response Scale: A type of question where participants rate, on a scale, their views/ opinions to a question.
3. A type of question where participants where participants place a list of items, in their preferred order.

Question 8

What are examples of designing a good questionnaire?

Answer 8

• 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.

Question 9

What are some advantages of open questions?

Answer 9

• 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.

Question 10

What are some disadvantages of open questions?

Answer 10

• 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 -.

Question 11

What are some advantage of closed questions?

Answer 11

• Easy to analyse because data is in numbers (quantitative data), which can be summarised using averages as well as simple graphs.

Question 12

What are some disadvantages of closed questions?

Answer 12

• 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.

Question 13

What is an interview?

Answer 13

Face-to-face questioning, rather than simply asking the participant to fill in a questionnaire.

Question 14

What is a structured interview?

Answer 14

The same questions are asked in the same order in the same way to all participants.

Question 15

What is a strength of a structured interview?

Answer 15

• Interviewer can provide extra information (i.e.) explaining what a question means.

Question 16

What is a weakness of a structured interview?

Answer 16

Participants may feel reluctant to reveal personal info when face-to-face.

Question 17

What is an unstructured interview?

Answer 17

Interview is free to pursue any line of questioning within a designated topic (not fixed questions).

Question 18

What is a strength of an unstructured interview?

Answer 18

Can access information that may not be revealed by predetermined questions.

Question 19

What is a weakness of an unstructured interview?

Answer 19

Requires well-trained interviewers, which may be difficult to obtain and makes research more expensive.

Question 20

What is semi-structured interview?

Answer 20

Some questions are predetermined but also new questions are developed as the interview proceeds.

Question 21

Why is there no strengths or weaknesses in a semi0strcutures interview?

Answer 21

Because you’re relying on the previous questions you asked and answers you received to ask the next questions improved.

Question 22

What are some researchers effects?

Answer 22

• 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.

Question 23

What does a frequency table show?

Answer 23

How many time each score occurred in the data set.

Question 24

What is thematic analysis?

Answer 24

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.

Question 25

What are the strengths of thematic analysis?

Answer 25

• Provides detailed and meaningful information compared to quantitative data.
• High in external validity: analysing real life content which reflects real behaviour/ thoughts.

Question 26

What are the weaknesses of thematic analysis?

Answer 26

• 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.

Question 27

What are examples of risk management?

Answer 27

• 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.

Question 28

What is the process of risk management?

Answer 28

• 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.