Experiments
The way that participants are allocated to conditions in a true experiment.
Randomly.
The type of observation where the researcher takes part in activities with the participants in their usual environment.
A naturalistic participant observation. If it is with the consent of the individual, then it is overt; without consent, it’s covert.
You want to carry out interviews with CEOs who are in recovery from drug addiction. What is the best way to get your sample?
A snowball (also known as a network) sample.
Case studies use triangulation. Name two types of triangulation.
Data triangulation (from more than one source); researcher triangulation; method triangulation, theoretical triangulation (e.g. using a biologist, cognitive theorist and a social worker to carry out tests).
When a participant acts in a specific way to avoid looking bad, dishonest or unpatriotic in front of the researcher.
Social Desirability Effect. The example of “unpatriotic” is linked to Brown & Kulik’s classic study.
The problem that arises when the controls are so good that the researcher can no longer predict behaviour in a natural environment.
Low ecological validity.
A researcher has decided to use event sampling. What does this mean?
Every time a specific behaviour is observed, the researcher takes notes.
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What is the difference between a semi-structured interview and a narrative interview?
A narrative interview asks only one guiding question – and then only seeks clarifications. Semi-structured interviews have an agenda which is followed.
Case studies are difficult to generalize. What is one type of generalization strategy?
Representational generalization: can be applied to other populations; inferential generalization: applied to other populations in a similar situation (also called transferability) and theoretical generalization: the results can be used to generate theories.
The problem with correlations that we cannot know if x causes y, if y causes x, or if there is no true cause and effect relationship.
Bidirectional ambiguity.
Why it is important to replicate research.
To establish the reliability of the study.
What is one limitation of a covert observation?
It may violate ethics; if it is a participant observation, it means that notes have to be taken in private, which means that notes rely on the memory of the researcher.
Give an example of an interviewer effect.
The halo effect – where the interviewee finds the interviewer attractive; the tone of voice or body language of the interviewer which may influence the mood of the interviewee. The age or gender of the interviewer.
When finishing the case study, researchers must think about how their own personal biases or experiences may have influenced their findings. What is this called?
Personal reflexivity
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One problem with using retrospective studies.
Problems of memory distortion. In addition, it is often not possible to verify whether the memories are accurate.
When an experiment is done so that neither the people who are doing the experiment nor the people who are the subjects of the experiment know which of the groups being studied is the control group and which is the test group.
Double blind control.
After carrying out an inductive content analysis, the researcher shares her interpretation of the observation with her participants. Why does she do this?
To establish credibility – that is, that the participants confirm the validity of her interpretations.
What are two limitations of a focus group?
Difficult to maintain confidentiality; conformity effects; not good for sensitive or private questions; there may be status or gender influences. Sometimes difficult to facilitate. Someone may dominate.
Name two limitations of the case study method.
Researcher bias; longitudinal which means they require a lot of time – may mean attrition of participants or researchers; difficult to generalize to other populations; not replicable.
Whether a study done fifty years ago is still able to demonstrate behaviour today
Temporal validity.
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Why is Bartlett’s classic “War with Ghosts” study not an experiment?
The IV was not manipulated and the participants were not randomly allocated to conditions.
Name two participant effects that may occur during an observation.
Reactivity; social desirability effect; expectancy effect.
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What is the difference between traditional and post-modern transcription?
Traditional transcription is word for word. Post-modern includes non-verbal language – that is, body language, laughter, silence.
The type of reflexivity when a researcher considers how their methodological approach may have affected the results.
Epistemological reflexivity.
This is a criticism of a study that shows too much cultural bias toward the culture of the researcher.
Ethnocentrism. This is often a criticism of etic research.