Research Methods (Year 2) Flashcards
What are case studies?
An in-depth investigation, description and analysis of a single individual, group or event
What is content analysis?
A type of observational research in which people are studied indirectly via the communications they have produced e.g texts, emails
What is coding?
The stage of content analysis in which the communication to be studied is analysed by identifying each instance of the chosen categories
e.g counting how many times a particular phrase appears
What is thematic analysis?
A qualitative approach to analysis that involves identifying explicit ideas within the text
Describe one strength and a weakness of case studies
1. Type of data: Case studies offer rich, detailed insights on very unusual/atypical forms of behaviour, may be preferred over more superficial data from questionnaires or experiments
2. Lack of generalisation: due to small sample sizes, information in final report is based on subjective selection and interpretation of researcher, personal accounts from participants and family and friends prone to inaccuracy and memory decay, evidence may lack validity
Describe one strength and a weakness of content analysis
1. Ethics: can circumnavigate ethical issues associated with psychological research, much of material an analyst studies e.g adverts or films may already exist within public domain, no issues obtaining permission, this data typically high in external validity
2. Personal bias and preconceptions: people tend to be studied indirectly, communications produced usually analysed outside context which it occurred, researcher may attribute opinions/motivations that were not originally intended, lack of objectivity
What are 2 processes involved in content analysis?
- Coding
- Thematic analysis
What does reliability refer to?
Refers to how consistent a measuring device is (including psychological tests or observations)
What are the 2 ways of assessing reliability?
- Test-retest
- Inter-observer reliability
What is test-retest?
Involves administering the same test or questionnaire to the same person/people on different occasions
What is inter-observer reliability?
The extent to which there is an agreement between two or more observers involved in observations of behaviour
What are the 4 ways of improving reliability?
- Questionnaires: used closed, fixed-choice questions with little ambiguity
- Interviews: using structured interviews, same interviewer each time
- Observations: operationalising behavioural catagories ensures little personal interpretations
- Experiments: standardised procedures
What is the importance of time in test-retest?
There must be sufficient time between the test and retest to ensure that the participant cannot recall their answers to the questions.
But not so long that their attitudes, opinions or abilities may have changed
How can inter-rater reliability be measured?
The observations of two observers after watching the same event are correlated
What is validity?
The extent to which an observed effect is genuine
What is internal and external validity?
- Internal: whether the effects observed are due to the manipulation of the independent variable and not some other factor
- External: the extent to which the observations of a study can be generalised to other settings, situations or individuals
What are 2 types of external validity?
- Ecological validity: the extent to which findings from a research study can be generalised to other settings and situations
- Temporal validity: the extent to which findings from a research study can be generalised to other historical times and eras
What are the 2 ways to assess validity?
- Face validity: A form of validity where a measure is scrutinised to determine whether it appears to measure what it is supposed to measure
- Concurrent validity: the extent to which the results of a psychological measure match or are close to those obtained on another recognised and well-established test
What are the 4 ways to improve validity?
1. Experiments: control groups, standardised procedures, single-blind and double-blind procedures
2. Questionnaires: lie scale (assess consistency of answers, reduce social desirability bias), anonymous data
3. Observations: covert observations, precise behavioural catagories
4. Qualitative research: case studies and interviews (more depth and detail), triangulation (use of number of different sources as evidence)
