Methods Flashcards
What is an observation
Essentially observing the pp behaviour in an environment
Event sampling
Involves recording a certain behaviour every time it occurs
What is time sampling
Means observations are made at regular intervals
What is tallying
Noting down every time a behaviour occurs
Can be done during event or time sampling
What is a participant observation
Where the researcher takes an active role in the situation being observed
What is a non-participant observation
Where the researcher observes behaviour of others but does not form part of the group they study
What is a structured observation
Staged observations normally carried out within an environment in which the researcher has some control
E.g bandura
What is a naturalistic observation
Observing the behaviour of pp in their own environment
What is an overt observation
Where those being observed are aware of the presence of an observer
What is a covert observation
Where the pp do not know they are being observed
What is content analysis
Used as a research tool for analysing the content of published material
Categories are agreed in advance and researchers read though and count the amount of times they occur
Can be qualitative-> e.g. Making an inference of the meaning of a picture
Strengths of content analysis
- No ethical issues as obtained from existing sources
2. Useful for analysing trends over time
Weaknesses of content analysis
- Relies on personal interpretation
- Observed trends in media may not reflect reality as dramatic events receive more coverage
- May lack reliability when doing qualitative, as the inference you’re making is subjective
Ethical issues in animal research
Silly Strain on species Nicom Number used Poops Procedures used Constantly Choice of species Date Disposed of Oversized Obtained Cunts Cared for
Arguments for animals in research
- Shorter gestation period
- High degree of control
- Can’t do on humans because of ethics
- Results can help humans
- Cost-benefit analysis
Arguments against animals in research
- Lack generalisability -> differences in human brain structure and function
- Cost-benefit is hard to conduct as you don’t know the outcomes
- Speciesism -> its as if human suffering has priority against animal suffering, Singer argued we should have a moral obligation to protect animals
Why would you use a chi squared test
Nominal data
Independent/unrelated data -> only represented in one cell
Can be a test of difference/association
What is thematic analysis
A way of analysing data by turning vast amounts of qualitative data into smaller themes/patterns/trends
What is inductive thematic analysis
Where the researcher reads through the qualitative data and themes would emerge from the data
What is deductive thematic analysis
The researcher specifies themes, then looks at the data and tallies down every time a theme is noted
How does thematic analysis work
Essentially the researcher creates themes and reads through the qualitative data and tallies down every time he sees a theme, whilst also looking for other patterns and trends within the data
Turning qualitative into quantitative
