Triangulation and Longitudinal Studies Flashcards
Triangulation
A mixture of data or methods so that diverse viewpoints cast light upon a topic
What does the mixing of data types of triangulation help the researcher to do?
Helps them t validate their claims that come from initial pilot study
What does triangulation often involve?
A combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods as well as secondary and primary data
Sociologist that used triangulation
Eileen Barker
Name of Eileen Barker’s research
“The making of a Moonie”
What was Eileen Barker’s research based on?
Her overt observation of the unification church (a religious sect)
In order to gain the right information, what did Eileen Barker have to do to the concepts she wanted to examine?
She had to operationalise them
What research methods did Eileen Barker use?
Unstructured interviews (qualitative)
Participant observation (qualitative)
Questionnaires (quantitative)
Why did Eileen Barker include a control group in her study?
So she could compare the results of the Moonies with that of ‘normal’ people
Why did Eileen Barker carry out overt research instead of covert? (2 reasons)
Because she believed covert observation wasn’t ethical as she would’ve had to deceive people
Believed overt research would allow her to gain more information
Three stages of Eileen Barker’s participant observation
Passive observation
Interactive observation
Aggressive observation
Why did Eileen Barker believe triangulation was important?
Because it was important to not get a distorted view of reality
What do researchers repeatedly do during a longitudinal study? Why?
They repeatedly examine the same individuals to detect any changes that occur over time
What type of research is a longitudinal study?
A correlational research
Correlational research
Researchers observe and collect data on a number of variables without trying to influence them
Example of a longitudinal study
The Millennium Cohort Study
What did the Millennium Cohort Study do?
It tracked children until the age of 11
What data did the Millennium Cohort Study provide?
Provided insight into how differences in early socialisation affect child development
What did the Millennium Cohort Study allow researchers to do?
Allowed them to make comparisons between children of different sexes and economic backgrounds
What did the Millennium Cohort Study find about girls’ school performance?
Found girls were consistently outperforming boys at age 5 and were 4.2 months ahead of them in literacy
What did the Millennium Cohort Study find about children whose parents read to them everyday at age 3?
Found they were more likely to flourish on their first year of primary school
What did the Millennium Cohort Study find about children from lower-income families?
Found they were less advanced in their development at age 5
2 strengths of longitudinal studies
Allow researchers to trace developments over time, rather than taking snap shot
Allow researchers to identify causes by making comparisons
Limitation of longitudinal studies: sample attrition
People dropping out of study and people who remain may not be representative of starting sample
Limitation of longitudinal studies: demand characteristics
People may start to act differently as they know they are a part of a study
Limitation of longitudinal studies: continuity
Continuity over time may be a problem E.g. if the lead researcher retires then new reasons may not have same rapport with participants
Limitation of longitudinal studies: practical
Costly and time consuming
