Year 2 - Research methods Flashcards
what is a case study?
an in-depth investigation into unique circumstances surrounding an individual or group
what kind of data do case studies usually collect?
qualitative
give 2 strengths of a case study
- rich detailed information
- provide an understanding of ‘normal’ human behaviour through study of unique circumstances
give 2 limitations of a case study
- difficulty generalising
- subjective data recorded due to qualitative nature
- low validity
what is content analysis?
an indirect study of behaviour through examining communications e.g. texts, emails
what is coding with regards to content analysis?
categorising data into meaningful units of quantitative data e.g. mentions of television shows in texts
give 2 strengths of content analysis
- circumnavigate ethical issues due to content already being available in the public domain
- private communications e.g. texts are high in external validity
- flexible data collection, can be quantative or qualitative
give 2 cons of content analysis
- indirect analysis lacks context leading to subjective judgement
- thematic analysis can lead to lack of objectivity (can have bias and preconceptions)
what is thematic analysis?
qualitative analysis which identifies all ideas within a certain theme
what is reliability?
the consistency of results overtime
state 2 ways which help to check the reliability
- the test-retest method
- testing inter-observer objectivity, that they are applying behavioural categories in the same way through a pilot study before the actual study
what is the test-retest method?
a test of reliability through using the same method of assessment twice or more on the same sample using the same participants to see if they give the same results
outline how inter-observer method is used to measure reliability
in observational research where a subjective judgement is required, more than one psychologist is used to reach an agreement on observed behavioural categories, reduces subjectivity/ bias
state 3 types of validity
internal external temporal face ecological concurrent
what is validity?
the extent to which an observed effect is genuine and if it can be generalised
what is internal validity?
whether the effects observed in a experiment are due to the manipulation of the IV and not something else
what is external validity?
whether the results can be generalised to other settings, groups and areas
what is face validity?
whether an experiment overall appears to measure what it is supposed to
what is ecological validity?
a form of external validity, how the results can be generalised and applied to real contexts
what is temporal validity?
whether results can be generalised across time and era
suggest a reason for low internal validity?
demand characteristics
how can concurrent validity help to improve overall validity of findings?
compare the other results of the same test, which provides a comparison of how similar they are and therefore shows the reliability
give 2 ways in which experimental research validity can be improved
- use control group
- standardise procedure
- single/double blind procedure
how does a control group help improve validity?
shows how findings are as a result of the manipulation if IV and not some other variable
what does the use of single/double blind studies and standardised instruction seek to minimise the effects of?
- demand characterisitcs
- participant reactivity
how can social desirability bias be reduced in a questionnaire?
making participants contributions anonymous
what type of validity is high in observational research?
ecological
give a strength of quantitative data
summaries data, shows trends
give a weakness of quantitative data
less interpretive, less reflective of reality
give a strength of qualitative data
ecological validity
give a weakness of qualitative data
subjective analysis
what is the ‘R’ rule?
when the name of statistical test has an ‘r’ in, the null hypothesis is Rejected when the value is higher and the other tests when the value is lower
what is interval data?
data based on numerical scales that include equal units
what is nominal data?
data organised into categories
what is ordinal data?
data which has some order to it
what are the 3 reasons for choosing a statistical test?
- difference or correlation?
- experimental design e.g. independent groups
- level of measurement: nominal, ordinal or interval
