Types of Data Flashcards
What is primary & secondary data?
Primary data:
- Info has been obtained first hand by researcher for purpose of a research project e.g. data gathered directly from ppts
Secondary data:
- Info that has already been collected by someone else & so pre-dates the current research project- data might include work of other psychologists or government statistics
What are the strengths & weaknesses of primary research?
Strengths:
- PD is authentic data obtained from the ppts themselves for purpose of a particular investigation
- Q’s & interviews for example can be designed in such a way that they specifically target the info that the researcher requires
Weaknesses:
- Requires more time & effort on part of researcher
- Conducting an experiment for instance requires considerable planning, preparation & resources- this is limitation in comparison to secondary data which may be accessed within matter of minuets
What are the strengths & weaknesses of secondary data?
Strengths:
- Can be inexpensive & easily accessed requiring minimal effort
- When examining secondary data researcher may find desired info already exists & so there is no need to conduct primary data collection
Weaknesses:
- There may be substantial variation in the quality & accuracy of secondary data
- Info may at first appear to be valuable & promising but , on further investigation may be outdated or incomplete
- Content of data may not quite match researchers needs or objectives- this may challenge validity of any conclusions
What is qualitative & quantitative data?
Qualitative Data:
- Data that is expressed in words & non-numerical (although may be converted into numbers for purpose of analysis)
Quantitative Data:
- Numerical data that can be counted.
What is a meta-analysis?
- Process of combining findings from a number of studies on particular topic
- Aim is to produce an overall statistical conclusion based on a range of studies
What are the strengths & weaknesses of qualitative data?
Strengths:
- Offers researcher much more richness of detail than quantitative data- much broader in scope & gives ppt respondant opportunity to fully report their thoughts,feelings & techniques
- For this reason qualitative data tends to have greater external validity than quantitative data
Weaknesses:
- Often difficult to analyse- tends not to lend itself to being summarised statistically so that patterns & comparisons within & between data may be hard to identify
- Conclusions often rely on the subjective interpretations of the researcher & these may be subject to bias, particularly if the researcher has preconceptions about what he/she is expecting.
What are the strengths & weaknesses of quantitative data?
Strengths:
- Quantitative data is relatively simple to analyse therefore comparisons between groups can be easily drawn
- Also data in numerical form tends to be more objective & less open to bias
Weaknesses:
- Quantitative data is much narrower, in meaning & detail than qualitative data & thus may fail to represent real life.
