Data Types

Question 1

What is quantitative data?

Answer 1

Numerical data

Question 2

What levels of measurement are there for quantitative data?

Answer 2

Nominal

Ordinal

Interval

Question 3

What are examples of quantitative data?

Answer 3

Scores on a memory test

percentage shocking up to 450v in Milgram’s study

How many people in each category etc.

Question 4

How is quantitative data analysed?

Answer 4

Analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics

Question 5

What are the strengths of quantitative data?

Answer 5

Can make comparisons

More objective

Can established whether results are significant

Question 6

What are the weaknesses of quantitative data?

Answer 6

Doesn’t provide detail behind responses

Question 7

What is qualitative data?

Answer 7

Description

Words

Detail

Question 8

What are examples of qualitative data?

Answer 8

Responses from open-ended questions

Unstructured observations

Content analysis

Question 9

How is qualitative data analysed?

Answer 9

Thematic analysis

Question 10

What are the strengths of qualitative data?

Answer 10

Provides reasons/insights into people’s responses

Question 11

What are the weaknesses of qualitative data?

Answer 11

Subjective in data analysis

Time consuming

Question 12

What is grounded theory?

Answer 12

Construction of theories from the analysis of data

Starts with the collection of qualitative data

Data is analysed using thematic analysis and the themes may lead to a new theory

Is inductive rather than deductive (i.e. a theory is developed from data whereas ordinarily, data is collected to support/refute an existing theory)

e.g. Milgram - created his theory after analysing his data

Question 13

What is primary data?

Answer 13

Collected directly by the researcher

Question 14

How is primary data collected?

Answer 14

Interviews

Observations

Experiments

Question 15

What are the strengths of primary data?

Answer 15

Up to data

Higher validity

Question 16

What are the weaknesses of primary data?

Answer 16

Time consuming

Subjectivity

Question 17

What is secondary data?

Answer 17

Data which has already been analysed and published

Question 18

What examples are there of secondary data from clinical psychology?

Answer 18

Carlsson - use of other peoples studies

Eaton - social causation hypothesis

Bond - ACT

Question 19

How is secondary data collected?

Answer 19

Statistics/reports

Correlation

Meta-analysis

Question 20

What are the strengths of secondary data?

Answer 20

Larger database

e.g. conducting interviews with a large number of Sz patients would be difficult, but using results from previous research makes this process easier

Question 21

What are the weaknesses of secondary data?

Answer 21

Validity may be questioned

e.g. don’t know whether data collected from Sz patients was done in an objective manner