week 6
what is causal validity?
is it true that independent variable actually causes change in dependent variable?
what are the two types of experiments?
true experiments
quasi experiments
what are the three benefits to survey research?
versatile, efficient, and generalizable
what are the three main qualitative methods?
ethnography, intensive interviewing, focus groups
what is analyzed in qualitative data analysis?
texts: transcripts, photos, videos, etc
what is a nomothetic causal explanation?
an independent variable causes variation in dependent variable
what is the difference between an experimental and control group?
control group has "normal" or no independent variable
experimental groups has changed independent variable
what is a concern for both mailed and phone survey designs?
response rate
what makes intensive/in-depth interviewing qualitative?
semi-structured, about understanding the "why" and meanings being behavior
what is the first step of qualitative data analysis?
documentation of data
what are the two fallacies that can be made when drawing conclusions?
ecological: units of analysis are group but conclusions abt individual
reductionist: units of analysis are individual but conclusions abt group
what are the three features of true experiments?
two groups -> experimental v. control group
variation in independent variable
random assignment between two comparison groups
what are three things to be careful for in survey questions?
short and simple
avoid double-negatives
avoid double-barreled questions
avoid biased words
what is the benefit to qualitative methods?
finding the meaning behind social behavior, we can generate more specific insights on the social world
what is grounded theory?
building a systematic theory, inductively
what is the difference between cross-sectional research design and longitudinal research design?
cross-sectional: a moment in time
longitudinal: how does social phenomena change over time
what are the two major types of quasi-experimental designs?
nonequivalent: experimental and control groups are designated before treatment occurs
before and after: no comparison group
what two things do response cateogies need to be?
exhaustive -> all possible answers included
mutually exclusive -> can only fit into one category
what is purposive sampling and why is it useful as a sampling method for interviewing?
choosing people who are knowledgable on a topic, useful because interviews are about understanding a certain concept or population
name all five techniques of qualiative data analysis.
Documentation of data
Organization of data into concepts
Examination of relationships between concepts
Corroboration of conclusions
Reflection on researcher’s role
how do we prove nomothetic cause?
1. empirical association
2. appropriate time order
3. nonspuriousness
what are the limitations of true v. quasi experiments?
true: hard to generalize bc the settings are controlled
quasi: proving nonspuriousness, harder to establish causal mechanisms
what is the difference between double-negatives and double-barreled questions?
double-negatives: not ... not
double-barreled: two questions
what are the four roles a researcher can take in ethnography? what are reactive effects and when can they occur?
Covert observer: observes, doesn’t identify as researcher
Complete observer: observes, publicly identified as researcher
Overt participant: researchers adopt a role, identified as researcher
Complete participant: role is adopted, doesn’t identify as researcher
Reactive effects are possible when the researcher identifies themself.
what makes qualitative data analysis different from quantitative?
less about drawing causal conclusions, more about the meanings of behavior and social contexts