Week #9

Question 1

what is a reactive measurement?

Answer 1

-occurs when the subject knows or suspects that their behaviour is under scrutiny. To some degree, the behavior of the subject is in reaction to the observers presence and hence may be modified and distorted from the natural response

Question 2

what must you do if conducting reactive measurements?

Answer 2

If you are a research you have to build a RAPPORT, or trust

It says presence but sometimes the interviewer/researcher isn’t there, but they still react to your questions

Question 3

what is an example of reactive measurement?

Answer 3

Ex. Experiment, survey research, in-depth interviewing

Question 4

what is a non-reactive measurement?

Answer 4

• behavioral observations we obtain without the study participant’s awareness
• not dealing with study participants

Question 5

what is unobtrusive research?

Answer 5

• Research in which data collection does not involve direct elicitation from the study participants
• Our goal is to get truth, and if participants keep changing their minds it is a threat to validity and reliability

Question 6

what are the 4 types of unobtrusive resarch?

Answer 6

(1) Naturalistic observation (non-participant observation)
(2) comparative & historical research
(3) content analysis
(4) secondary data analysis

Question 7

what is naturalistic observation?

Answer 7

A research method in which researchers watch subjects’ behaviour in their natural environment without intervention
Often used in psychology & social psychology

Question 8

what are examples of naturalistic observation?

Answer 8

Behaviour watching (e.g., single or interaction)
people watching,
Co-present
Public space, not alone have other people there
Coffee shops, bus stations, malls, cafeterias

Question 9

what are the moral implications of natural observation?

Answer 9

-observing people without their consent -does it violate one’s privacy in a public space?

Question 10

what is a limitation of naturalistic observation?

Answer 10

Weak in explaining a causal relationship?

• it is not always clear what causes certain reactions when you are dealing with so many variables
• We don’t know what happened before they enter the public space so we don’t really know why they behave how they behave

Question 11

What are the common methodological characteristics of comparative historical analysis?

Answer 11

(1) use more than one ‘case’ to address a substantive problem
(2) emphasize the connectedness of various geographically defined units of analysis
(3) try to understand a social phenomenon from various historical points (connecting the past to the present)

Question 12

what are the appropriate topics for comparative historical analysis

Answer 12

(1) Tracing the development of social policies over time

(2) Comparing historical events (e.g., women’s movement) phenomenon policies across countries

Question 13

what are the sources of data for comparative historical analysis

Answer 13

-official documents, publications

Question 14

what are the requirements for evaluating sources?

Answer 14

1. Appraises the authenticity & authorship of the data source -verify facts and details -
2. -identify any assumptions, value positions and historical significance for the analysis purpose

Question 15

what is archival research?

Answer 15

locating, evaluating and systematic interpretation and analysis of sources found in archives

Question 16

what are the four types of comparative historical analysis?

Answer 16

1. Historical Events Research
2. Historical Process Research
3. Cross-sectional Comparative Research
4. Comparative Historical Research

Question 17

Explain Historical Events Research

Answer 17

(single event) -focuses on one short historical period (1 case, 1 time period) ex: the civil rights movement (the Berkeley riots in the 1960s)

Question 18

Explain Historical Process Research

Answer 18

(longitudinal)-traces a sequence of events over a number of years (1 case, many time periods) ex: the evolution of the civil right movements

Question 19

Explain cross sectional comparative research

Answer 19

-compares data from one time period between two more nations (many cases, 1 time period) ex: experiences of conflict in Russia & Ukraine

Question 20

explain comparative historical research?

Answer 20

-longitudinal comparative research (many cases) over a prolonged period of timeex: impact of global recession in different western countries in different times

Question 21

What are the characteristics of Content Analysis?

Answer 21

Study of recorded human communications(e.g., books, videos, text messages, news papers)
Contains a set of techniques useful for analyzing and understanding collections of text
Can be either quantitative or qualitative oriented

Question 22

Explain the Quantitative process of content analysis?

Answer 22

1. Research question
   Identifying units of analysis
2. operationalize variables
   -the process of defining how variables can be measured
3. observe the content
4. coding scheme
   -a list of categories or themes for the subsequent analysis
   Analyze our data that we observed, create preliminary categories
5. sampling -determine how many different kinds of data you want, what time frames you will collect data (e.g., random or stratified)
   May want to gather more samples after coding scheme
6. coding
   After content is collected, (quantifying the codes or creating thematic categories)-intercoder reliability (checking consistency)

Question 23

what are the final steps of content analysis?

Answer 23

Descriptive Statistics (quantitative) -organizing and summarizing data Ex: Percentage, Mode, Median, Mean

Memo Writing-the act of recording reflective notes about what the researcher is learning from the data-memos evolve as the research proceeds and may differ substantially in style (accumulation)

Question 24

what are the strengths of content analysis?

Answer 24

• unobtrusive
• no ethical issues involved
• lower cost
• fit into social scientific research

Question 25

what are the limitations of content analysis?

Answer 25

• time consuming
• different coding styles (subjectivity)
  
  • comparison, mutual checking

Question 26

Explain secondary data analysis?

Answer 26

The reanalysis of previously collected large-scale survey data that were originally gathered by others (e.g., Statistics Canada)

Question 27

what are the advantages of secondary data analysis?

Answer 27

Lower cost
Less time consuming
Easy access (public microdata) vs. restricted master files – confidentiality
Large sample size – external validity
Population representation (general vs. specific)
Timeliness (linked to current policies or issues)

Question 28

what are the disadvantages of secondary data analysis?

Answer 28

• Fit between research question & data set
  Say you pose exciting research question but can’t find variable you need in data set
  If the ideal variables not there find an alternative one
• Measurement (ideal-reality gap)
• Data driven? (compromising our RQ)
• Cost of learning a new data set

Question 29

explain the process of secondary data analysis?

Answer 29

Selecting  an appropriate data set
    -cross-sectional vs. longitudinal 
    -subgroups of interest
Selecting relevant variables
Run statistical analysis  (descriptive & inferential)