A2 Research Methods

Question 1

what is content analysis used for

Answer 1

turning qualitative data into quantitive data

Question 2

how does content analysis work

Answer 2

familiarise yourself with material

pick out common themes

turn these into coding categories

work through source material

tally every time something fits into a category

look over quantitive data and come to conclusions

Question 3

what is Cumberbatch and Gauntlett’s experiment of content analysis

Answer 3

wanted to see how often smoking, alcohol and drug abuse featured in Tv shows watched by 10-15 year olds and how they were handled

programmes between August and October 2004 were sampled with 256 programmes over all- 70% were soap operas, all broadcast before 9 pm

alcohol related scenes- 12.0 instances per hour

smoking related scenes- 3.4 per hour

drug related scenes- 1.7 per hour

Question 4

what is thematic analysis

Answer 4

type of content analysis

summarises qualitative data

Question 5

how is thematic analysis done

Answer 5

collecting data, then transcribing it

researcher reads it several times to familiarise themselves with it

researcher looks for recurring themes and patterns

provides examples to illustrate themes, writes a report

Question 6

what are the strengths of content analysis

Answer 6

many fo the things studied are already in the public domain (TV, adverts etc) so no issues with obtaining data and permission

content analysis provides qua native data so statistical testing can be carried out

thematic analysis obtains rich qualitative data

Question 7

what are the limitations of content analysis

Answer 7

studied indirectly so things can be taken out of context (low external validity)

choice of categories and themes etc established by researcher brining subjectivity into research

Question 8

what is reliability

Answer 8

a measure of consistency

if we can repeat and experiment and get similar results every time

Question 9

how do you asses reliability

Answer 9

test-retest

inter-observer reliability

Question 10

what is test retest

Answer 10

testing the same participants on two separate occasions to see of the results are the same

Question 11

what is inter-observer reliability

Answer 11

get at least two people to carry out research and then correlate their data. do a pilot study first to make sure both are using categories in the same way

Question 12

how do you improve reliability in questionnaires

Answer 12

no ambiguous questions

no jargon

no double negatives

closed questions

Question 13

how do you improve reliability in interviews

Answer 13

use same interviewer, no leading questions, use structured interview

Question 14

how do you improve reliability in observations

Answer 14

clear categories, categories used in the same way

Question 15

how do you improve reliability in experiments

Answer 15

standardised procedures

Question 16

what is validity

Answer 16

the extent to which an observed effect is genuine- does it measure what it was meant to measure (internal) and can it be generalised beyond the setting it was found in (external)

Question 17

what is face validity

Answer 17

when a measure is scrutinised to determine weather it appears to measure what it is supposed to measure

Question 18

what is concurrent validity

Answer 18

the extent to which a psychological measure relates to an existing measure

Question 19

what is ecological validity

Answer 19

a form of external validity

the extent to which results can be generalised to other settings and situations

Question 20

what is temporal validity

Answer 20

a form of external validity

the extent to which results can be generalised to other historical times and eras

Question 21

how do you asses validity

Answer 21

look for face validity

look for concurrent validity

Question 22

how do you look at face validity

Answer 22

ask participants and experts

Question 23

how do you look at concurrent validity

Answer 23

compare test to well established test (eg Stanford-Binet IQ test)

Question 24

how do you improve validity in experiments

Answer 24

use control group

standardised procedures

single or double blind procedures

Question 25

how do you improve validity in questionnaires

Answer 25

assuring anonymity (reduces social desirability)

Question 26

how do you improve validity in observations

Answer 26

covert precise categories

Question 27

how do you improve validity in qualitative research

Answer 27

using many sources to gain data (triangulation)

Question 28

what are the 5 features of science

Answer 28

paradigms and paradigm shifts replicability objectivity/ the empirical method theory construction/ hypothesis testing falsifiability

Question 29

what is a paradigm

Answer 29

when science has a shared set of assumptions (theory of evolution etc)

Question 30

what did Kuhn suggest about psychology

Answer 30

it lacks a universally accepted paradigm and is best seen as a 'pre-science'

Question 31

what is a paradigm shift

Answer 31

in order for an established science to evolve there will be a revolution where a handful of researchers begin to question an accepted paradigm

Question 32

what else does Kuhn argue about psychology

Answer 32

it has not undergone any paradigm shifts

Question 33

what is a theory

Answer 33

a set of general laws or principles that have the ability to explain particular events or behaviours

Question 34

how do you construct a theory

Answer 34

through gathering evidence via direct observation to test a theory we must use empirical method

Question 35

how many hypothesis should a theory have

Answer 35

multiple- null, directional, non-directional

Question 36

what steps are taken to test a hypothesis

Answer 36

formulate question construct hypothesis research and observations test and experiment analyse results and conclude

Question 37

what is falsifiability

Answer 37

the belief that scientific theories should be able to have their hypothesis tested -and therefore be possibly proven false

Question 38

who came up with falsification and what did he call sciences which were not falsifiable

Answer 38

Karl Popper pseudosciences

Question 39

what is replicability

Answer 39

when results can be replicated over different contexts and circumstances

Question 40

if a science has good replicability what are the results

Answer 40

generalisable

Question 41

what is objectivity

Answer 41

not allowing personal options or biases to alter data

Question 42

what studies are the most objective

Answer 42

lab studies

Question 43

what is the empirical method

Answer 43

when a scientific approach collects evidence through direct observation and experience

Question 44

what did John Locke say

Answer 44

knowledge can only come from experience. theory cannot claim to be scientific unless it has been empirically tested and verified

Question 45

what is a type I error

Answer 45

the we assume that our findings show something but they don't

Question 46

what are examples of type I errors

Answer 46

rejecting a null that is true wrongly accepting the alternate hypothesis when we think the results are due to the IV but they are actually due to chance

Question 47

what makes a type I error likely

Answer 47

if the level of significance is too lenient (10%)- as this mean sit is more likely results are due to chance

Question 48

what is a type II error

Answer 48

Accepting a null hypothesis that should be rejected

Question 49

what are examples of a type II error

Answer 49

accepting a null hypothesis that is false wrongly rejecting the alternate hypothesis assuming results are due to chance when they are really due to the IV

Question 50

what makes a type II error likely

Answer 50

if the level of significance is too stringent (1%) enables us to be absolutely sure but we may miss something stringent p value used for drug testing

Question 51

what is nominal data

Answer 51

data in the form of categories data is discrete

Question 52

what is ordinal data

Answer 52

data is ordered but intervals between each unit don't have to be the same scale of 1-10 is an example ranking first second third fourth etc another example

Question 53

what is interval data

Answer 53

numerical scores that are standardised measures gaps between each unit are the same for everyone

Question 54

what are the sections of a scientific report

Answer 54

Abstract Introduction Method Results Discussion Referencing

Question 55

what does the abstract include

Answer 55

all the major elements- aim, method, results and conclusions

Question 56

what does the introduction include

Answer 56

aims and hypothesis

Question 57

what does the method include

Answer 57

design sample apparatus etc

Question 58

what does the results include

Answer 58

results in statistical form

Question 59

what does the discussion include

Answer 59

results in verbal form

Question 60

what is the referencing

Answer 60

references any materials journal used