Research methods flashcards
What is an unstructured observation?
Not using the behaviour catorgories and noting down everything that you observe
What is a structured observation?
This is creating behaviour catorgories when you are observing something
What are some strengths and weaknesses to structured observations?
strengths:
It may produce quantative data, this then means that the data is then made easier to be analysed
It can be easier for them to record. This is because they are able to focus on more specific behaviours, this may then make the data collection more efficient
weaknesses:
A issue with structured interview would then be that they may miss important spontaneous behaviours not being included in the observational scheme
What are the strengths and weaknesses of unstructured observations?
Strengths:
There may be high ecological validity. This is because it is capturing behaviours that are within a real life setting
The behaviour that is being observed is considered as being natrual. This is because there are no demand characteristics as the participants are unaware that they are being watched
Weaknesses:
It can further be influenced by observer bias. This is a weakness because the researchers subjective interpritations and biases can influence what behaviours are being observed and recorded
Having qualitive data this can then become difficult to analyse. This is a weakness because in order to analyse qualitive data it can be considered as being extremely time consuming
How are structured observations carried out?
They use various systems to organise the recording of observations using different behavioural catorgories and sampling methods (generally provides quantative data)
Behaviour catorgories:
Operalisation - breaking the behaviours that are being studied into set components
be objective - no inferences made about the behaviour just being recorded
Cover all possible components
Mutually exclusive - No overlapping should not mark two catorgories at the same time
Sample:
Event sampling - recording the number of times something may happen
Time sampling - recording behaviours within a given time frame
What is a questionaire?
pre set list of written questions, use this to assess your dependent variable, mixture of open and closed questions and it can be reliant on self report
What are open questions?
allow respondant to ask however they like, for example: Why did you choose that type of daycare? This produces qualitive data - harder to analyse but gives depth and detail
What is a closed question?
restricts the respondant to pre determined set of responses, this produces quantative data - harder to analyse but then giving more detail and depth
What are the strenghts and weaknesses of questionaires?
Strengths:
A strength of questionaires would be it is extremely cost effective. This is a strength because this allows the researcher to collect data from a larger sample size for a low cost
A strength of questionaires would be you are able to be gathering large amounts of data. This is a strength because the data may then become more reperesentative of the population because of having more of a varied range of participants
Weaknesses:
A weakness of questionaires would be that the responses that may be received from the questionaire may not further be truthful. This would be a weakness because our results may then end up lacking both validity and relieablility
Another weakness to questionaires would then be that the response rates to the questionaires may then be low. This is a weakness because we may end up having a smaller sample size which may then not be conisdered as being reperesentative of the population
What are structured interviews?
pre determined set of questions
What is a semi structured interview?
List of questions that are prepared in advance but a scope for follow up
What is an unstructured interview?
no set questions but there is a general topic which is then further being discussed
What are some strengths and weaknesses to interviews?
Weaknesses:
There may be interview bias. This is a weakness because it may then further have an effect on the partcipants responses.
Unstructured interviews may then further be producing qualiative data. This would be considered as being a weakness because the data being collected would be extremly difficult to then analyse
Strengths:
The format of an interview that is structured may further be easy to be replicated by any researcher that decides to conduct the questionaire. This would be a strength because the results may then end up being easuly replicable
The unstructured format of an interview further allows participants to express there opinion freely and the prompts further just encourage there responses. This would be considered as being a strength because you may gain more of an insight into the individual participants
What is a correlation?
this is the relationship between two variables it goes along with the changes of the other variable
What is a positive correlation?
both of the variables are further increasing, example: the more friends that you have the happier that you will be
What is a negative correlation?
when a variable is increasing then the other decreases, an example would be that as friends decreases lonliness increases
What coifficent means there are no relationships between the variables?
0.0 - +1 means there is a stronger positive correlation, -1 strong negative correlation
What are some advantages and disadvantages of correlations?
strengths:
They may indicate the connection between two issues in situations where the experimental proof would be considered as being impossible
They may futher may help the researcher to then decide whether they are then going to be investigating something further
Weaknesses:
They do not further reflect curv linear relationships. This means that the patterns may not be within a straight line.
They may not then further prove a casual relationship
Correlations may mean that a researcher may then further failed to consider interviening variables. This is a weakness because the unknown variables might be the explanation to why the co variables may then be linked, for example people not attending school may then dislike it and the disliking it may then act as being the intervening variable
What is further meant by the “third variable problem”?
this is arised when an unseen or unconsidered variable influences both of the variables that are being studied, potentially creating a false impression of a direct relationship between them. This is often known as being the confounding variable, can bias the relationship that has been observed
