RM - Other research methods Flashcards
What is the multi-method approach?
Studies that use a combination of all sorts of different techniques and methods to investigate the target behaviour.
What is an example of a study that uses the multi-method approach?
Schaffer and Emerson’s study of infant attachment in 1964 was a non-experimental study using:
Naturalistic observation
Interviews
Rating scales
But it also included an experimental design.
What do very few studies do?
Use one method and not use the multi-method approach.
What is a case study?
A research investigation that involves a detailed study of a single individual, institution or event. Case studies provide a rich record of human experience but are hard to generalise from.
What is content analysis?
A kind of observational study in which behaviour is observed indirectly in written or verbal material such as interviews, conversations, books, diaries or TV programmes.
What is effect size?
A measure of the strength of the relationship between two variables.
What is meta-analysis?
A researcher looks at the findings from a number of different studies and produces a statistic to represent the overall effect.
What is a review?
A consideration of a number of studies that have investigated the same topic in order to reach a general conclusion about a particular hypothesis.
What does a (systematic) review involve?
Identifying an aim and then searching for research studies that have addressed similar aims/hypotheses. This is done by looking through various databases which hold the details of research published in academic journals. A decision will be made about search criteria - deciding what type of study will be included or excluded.
What does meta-analysis do?
It is a data analysis method which produces an effect size as the dependent variable in order to assess overall trends.
When do we use an effect size?
give an example
In everyday life, for example, a weight-loss programme may boast that it leads to an average weight loss of 30 pounds. This is the size of the effect.
What are the strengths of meta-analysis?
Reviewing the results from a group of studies rather than from just one study can increase the validity of the conclusions drawn because they are based on a wider sample of participants.
Often a group of studies on a similar topic produce rather contradictory results. A meta-analysis allows us to reach an overall conclusion by having a statistic to represent the findings of different studies.
Despite the limitations, a meta-analysis can provide more powerful information about trends and research evidence than a single study can.
What are the limitations of meta-analysis?
The research designs in the different studies sampled may also vary considerably, which means that the studies are not truly comparable. Putting them all together to calculate the effect size may not be appropriate, and thus the conclusions are not always valid.
Despite the limitations, a meta-analysis can provide more powerful information about trends and research evidence than a single study can.
What does conducting a longitudinal study eliminate?
Participant variables.
What is it called when a study is conducted over a long period of time?
A longitudinal study.
