Types of Data
The effectiveness of the research approach in generating consistent data.
Reliability
Joining the group and getting involved in their activities in order to gather data is known as
Participant observation
Name a limitation of Questionnaires
Low response rate
Researcher cannot do anything if:
Incorrectly answered
Didn’t understand the question
Had someone else do it
Decreased Validity if:
Significant data is not collected
Difficult to examine complex issues
Interview has a structure, but there is no list of specific questions
Semi-structured Interview
Factors that can be changed by the researcher to understand their effect on behavior
Variables
Conducted an overt participant observational study of a Chicago street gang
Venkatesh
The assassination of which political figure in Sarajevo in 1914 is widely considered the spark that ignited World War I?
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
The extent to which a research method describes or measures what it claims to describe or measure
Validity
Observation-based research in which the observer’s true identity and the purpose of their study are hidden from participants.
Covert Observation
Identify a strength of using Official Statistics
May be only available source covering area of study (ex. Suicide)
Very Representative
Based on carefully chosen large sample groups
“Hard evidence” , results extremely reliable
A group interview that focuses on one particular topic
Focus Group
The variable that is manipulated by the researcher
Independent variable
Conducted a field experiment on the effect of teacher's expectations of students on their academic performance
Rosenthal & Jacobson
In Egyptian mythology, which god weighed the hearts of the dead to determine their fate in the afterlife?
Anubis
Data that aims to capture the quality of people’s behavior by exploring the ‘why’ rather than the ‘what, when and where’
Qualitative Data
True or False: The Hawthorne Effect is a major limitation of overt participant observations
True
Limitation of Group Interviews where members of a group modify their opinions to align with what they believe is the group consensus.
Group Think
Free-form interview method where the aim is to get the respondent to talk, without help (prompting) or interruption, about whatever they feel is important about the topic
Unstructured Interview
Experiment that ensures no uncontrollable variables affect the relationship between independent variables and dependent variables
Lab Experiment
Conducted a controversial lab experiment in which participants were tested on their willingness to obey authority
Milgram
What was the name of the first video game to be played in space?
Tetris
Data that already exists; not personally generated by the researcher
Secondary Data
Involves observing from a distance.
Researcher does not personally become involved.
Non-participant observation
Identify 2 strengths of Personal Documents, Digital Content, Media Sources
Saves time, money, effort
Historical comparison
Qualitative data (diaries)
Interview subject may provide answers that they think the researcher wants. This is known as the ...
Interviewer Effect
When two or more things happen at roughly the same time; Suggests a relationship between two variables
Correlation
Discovered the Hawthorne Effect by studying how the behaviors of workers changed when they were aware they were being observed
Mayo
Which country has the most natural lakes in the world?
Canada
Raw numbers
Percentage
Rate
What 3 limitations did Goffman identify with covert observations?
1. Getting in
2. Staying in
3. Getting out
Rank the validity of these research methods from lowest to highest:
Covert Participant Observation
Structured Interview
Official Statistics
Field Experiment
1. Covert Participant Observation
2. Field Experiment
3. Structured Interview
4. Official Statistics
Occurs when a researcher unintentionally, or unconsciously influences the outcome of any research they are conducting
Researcher effect
Group whose behavior is NOT manipulated
Control Group
Conducted a covert observational study in which he and his assistants self admitted into psychiatric institutions to evaluate the ability of psychiatrists in diagnosing mental illness
Rosenthal
What is the name of the boundary around a black hole beyond which nothing, not even light, can escape?
Event Horizon