Terms

Question 1

Reliability

Answer 1

How much it produces consistent results/could be replicated

Question 2

Generalisability

Answer 2

The extent to which you could apply to a population outside of the one you’ve studied
(Also known as external validity)

Question 3

Triangulation

Answer 3

Using various methods so you can increase validity

Question 4

Social desirability bias

Answer 4

Saying what you think the socially acceptable response is, e.g under-reporting of drinking

Question 5

Validity

Answer 5

How well it measures what it’s supposed to

Question 6

Researcher Bias

Answer 6

When the presence of the researcher influences/changes the data collected

Question 7

Hawthorne Effect

Answer 7

When knowing you’re being observed or studied changes behaviour or results

Question 8

Demand Characteristics

Answer 8

When you say what you think the researcher wants you to say

Question 9

Deductive Approach

Answer 9

Testing a hypothesis, where a theory leads to observation, leads to confirmation

Question 10

Inductive Approach

Answer 10

Where observation leads to formation of a theory, more broad and exploratory

Question 11

Reactivity

Answer 11

Where the participant is affected by the instruments or individual used to conduct the research e.g survey questions, nodding

Question 12

Definition Bias

Answer 12

When you don’t properly define your subject population, e.g studying people with a drinking problem without quantifying what counts as problem drinking

Question 13

Concept Bias

Answer 13

Lack of clarity about the concepts your research is based on

Question 14

Selection Bias

Answer 14

When there is bias in how you picked your population, e.g selecting people for a study that takes a long time immediately rules out busy people

Question 15

Length Bias

Answer 15

Where different points of a measured phenomenon will be different, so you measuring the people available may miss a section

Question 16

Berkson’s bias

Answer 16

Where the sample affected show a bias in exposure, because the exposure was pathological. Therefore can’t be compared to the outside population to measure exposure because they had to be exposed to end up in hospital

Question 17

Interviewer Bias

Answer 17

When the skill/characteristics of the interviewer will ellicit different responses, e.g if you’re much better at detecting a disease than other interviewers, your incidence rate will be higher

Question 18

Attrition Bias

Answer 18

Different groups are more likely to non respond than others e.g if you were looking to see how people voted but some people can’t read English you’ve missed out the illiterate population

Question 19

Interpretation Bias

Answer 19

Where researchers interpret the data in the way they want e,g stating someone looked more or less upset

Question 20

Publication Bias

Answer 20

Not wanting to publish things that don’t fir your agenda

Question 21

Ontology

Answer 21

How you view the world, how you understand existence

Question 22

Epistemology

Answer 22

What constitue knowledge there how you do your research

Question 23

Positivism

Answer 23

Epistemology>
Facts are facts
One valid truth

Question 24

Interpretivism

Answer 24

Epistemology>

Subjective realities

Question 25

Objectivism

Answer 25

Ontology>

Single reality regardless of human consciousness

Question 26

Constructivism

Answer 26

Ontology>

View of reality is based on your experiences and interactions

Question 27

Post-positivism

Answer 27

Amended version of positivism in which you acknowledge that although there is an objective reality peoples experiences and interactions will influence how they see it. Encourages some quantitative research and mixed methods, so you can get loads of different versions to attempt to find the objective reality.