what is content analysis
type of observational research in which people are studied indirectly via the communications they have produced e.g conversations, emails
(turning qualitative data into quantitative data)
Advantage of content analysis
no ethical implications - much of the material studied is already out in the public domain e.g newspaper so no permission needed
disadvantage of content analysis
it is difficult for researchers to remain completely unbiased and free from preconceptions about topic being studied
what is thematic analysis
qualitative data can be summarised by identifying repeated themes with the data then being organised according to the themes in order to impose order of the data and draw firm conclusions
what is a meta analysis
form of research method that uses secondary data - process where data from a large no. of studies using the same methods of research are combined
strength of meta analysis
allows us to view data with much more confidence and results can be generalised
disadvantage of meta analysis
may be prone to publication bias where the researcher may not select all relevant studies in order to achieve desired result
what is reliability
measure of consistency, if something is repeated and same results occur its reliable
how can reliability be assessed of observational techniques
through inter-observer reliability here teams of at least 2 people conduct the observation then compare findings to see extent they agree
how can reliability be improved of observational techniques
make sure behavioural categories have been properly operationalised so categories don’t overlap
how can reliability be assessed of self report methods
use test-retest reliability this involves giving same test to the same person on different occasions then if test is reliable results should be the same
how can reliability be improved during self report methods
reducing ambiguity
make sure questions are well understood
how can reliability be assessed of experiments
the method used to measure DV needs to be consistent
how can reliability be improved during experiments
standardisation - procedures stay exactly the same
what is validity
refers to whether the research produces a legitimate result and represents what is out there in real world
what is internal validity
what goes on within the study
e.g are demand characteristics shown
what is external validity
relates to factors outside the investigation e.g the setting of study (ecological validity)
how does concurrent validity assess validity
involves comparing the current method of research with a previously validated one on same topic
how can we improve validity on experimental research
standardised procedures - minimises investigator effects
how can we improve validity of questionnaires
incorporate a lie scale in order to assess the consistency of pps response
how can we improve validity of observations
ensure behavioural categories aren’t too broad
what is the objectivity method as a method of science
researchers must maintain objectivity meaning they must keep critical distance during research so their personal opinions or biases don’t discolour the data
what is falsifiability as a method of science
refers to being able to prove a hypothesis wrong meaning a scientific principle which had been proven success and repeated wasn’t necessarily true rather it hadn’t been proven wrong yet
what is replicability as a method of science
findings are repeatable across a no. of different contexts in order for findings to be generalised
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types of experiments12
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experimental design15
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observation techniques25
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self report techniques11
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correlation9
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scientific process16
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sampling methods20
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ethical issues21
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memory76
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attachment48
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the strange situation Mary Ainsworth48
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social influence56
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approaches in psychology102
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biopsychology96
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research methods pt.247
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psychopathology63
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issues and debates65
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relationships76
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stress86
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addiction71
