Research Fundamentals
Identify the sources of data.
1. individuals and groups
2. print and digital
What is an interview?
A form of survey where the researcher asks one or more people a series of questions to gather information on a particular topic.
What is the first step of planning for research?
Formulating a research proposal.
What does valid research refer to?
Research that accurately reflects what it is intended to measure.
What type of data can a questionnaire provide? Give an example.
Primary data
Qualitative and quantitative data.
What are two steps in the planning for research stage?
- selecting a research focus
- selecting appropriate sampling methods
- proposing how the research will be
conducted
- creating a timeline for research goals
A research project produces consistent results when repeated, but the research does not actually measure what it intended to measure. The research demonstrates this quality but lacks the other.
Very reliable, lacks validity.
Give an example when an observation may be used as a research method.
Teacher to decide whether valid
- e.g. a researcher observes the behaviour of a kindergarten class to gather data on their social interactions.
What is the second phase of the research process, and give an example of what you would do in this stage.
Conducting research - access sources of data (e.g. find journal articles), collecting and researching data (e.g. complete interview), documenting actions and issues (e.g. keep a timeline of everything you did)
Why is confidentiality important to consider when conducting research?
Uphold the privacy of the respondents.
Identify two advantages and two disadvantages of a case study.
Advantages
1. Provides a lot of detail
2. It uses a number of different research
methodologies.
Disadvantages
1. Time consuming
2. the findings cannot be easily generalised to the wider population
What is the three phases of the final stage in the research process?
Give an example of what may be included in an appendix?
Interpreting research
- presenting research findings
- analysing research results
- drawing conclusions from research
Appendix - transcript from email, survey questions, newspaper article
Name three different sample methods and define each.
1. Simple Random - randomly select people from a given population
2. Systematic - select one person on a random basis and chose additional people at evenly spaced intervals until the desired number of units have been obtained
3. Stratified - first, populations must be broken into divisions based on a particular characteristic (i.e. age, gender, education). Then, conduct a simple random sample from each of the groups
4. Cluster - select a 'cluster' of people from a given population
5. Convenience - randomly select people who are easy to access
A researcher wants to investigate what previous researchers have discovered about the impact of social media on family relationships. They examine existing books, journal articles and other sources rather than collecting new participant data. What is this called and give an advantage and disadvantage of this method.
Literature review - examines research already completed by others.
Advantage - in-depth context of the research topic
disadvantage - requires high level of literacy skills, limited to what research is available/already been conducted (may not be current).
What type of graph would be appropriate to show the increase of mental health issues over the years? Why is this appropriate?
Line graph - Presents information using a marker at each data value. Used for presenting stats over a period of time to show changes.