Non-experimental Methods Flashcards
(7 cards)
Content analysis
A type of observation
Review artefact created by other people (magazine)
Look for trend + pattern
-quantitative (coding system)
-qualitative (describe what artefact is conveying)
Adv:
-no demand characteristics (author don’t know being researched
-can be replicated
Disadv:
-observer bias
-written not for research purpose
What is questionnaire + types
Set of questions that ask for thoughts + opinions
Closed question - sets of response to pick from
Open question - answer however they want
Rating scale - numbers to pick from
Likert scale - answer to degree of agreement
Questionnaire evaluation
Closed
+easier to analyse
-less in-depth
-miss possible response
Open
+more in-depth
-harder to analyse
Overall
+easy to hand out
+easier for participant to answer
-misinterpret question
-biased answer
Interview + types
Ask participants thoughts + feelings in person
Structured - set questions to ask from
+less interviewer bias, take less skills
-limited responses, less in-depth
Unstructured - interviewer develops questions as interviewer go on
+more in-depth, more variety of data
-need more skills, interviewer bias
Semi-structure - use both types of
Correlational study
Compare 2 different variables
-see how strongly they related (co-variable)
Positive correlation
-if 1 increase other increase (0 to +1 co-efficient ok scatter diagram)
Negative correlation
-if 1 increase other decrease (0 to -1)
No correlation
-no relationship between variables
Correlation study evaluation
Adv:
-if variable related quick way to suggest idea for experiment
-use existing data easy and quick to carry out study
Disadv:
-no causal relationship - could be a third variable
-lack control on variable
Case study
Research on a person or small group of people with detailed account
-usually longitudinal + collect qualitative data
Adv:
-in-depth on a particular phenomena
-use many research method = valid
Disadv
-low generalisability
-long time to conduct if leave = wasted
