research methods

• What view prefers quantitative data?

  Positivists
• Examples of Quantitative research methods

  Lab experiment, field experiment, questionnaires, structured interview
• what is a lab experiment ?

  A controlled scientific procedure conducted in a laboratory to test a hypothesis.
• What is 1 advantage of a lab experiment?

  highly reliable
• What is one disadvantage of a lab experiment

  Hawthorne effect
• What is a field experiment?

  an experiment that takes place in a natural setting however participants are unaware their being watched
• One advantage of a field experiment?

  Validity
• One disadvantage of a field experiment?

  Ethical issues: informed consent
• What is a questionnaire?

  a list of pre set questions that are closed ended
• Two advantages of a questionnaire?

  Representative, reliable
• One disadvantage of a questionnaire?

  low validity
• What is participant observation?

  researcher joins in the activity
• One advantage of participant observation

  Validity
• Two disadvantages of participant observation?

  unreliable, unrepresentative
• what is personal documents within experiments?

  form of diaries, letters, memoirs
• One advantage of personal documents?

  Validity
• One disadvantage of personal documents?

  written for a specific group in mind
• One advantage of historical documents?

  allows comparison over time
• One disadvantage of historical documents?

  un-representative
• what is a structured interview

  face to face interview with set questions
• One advantage of a structured interview

  representative
• One disadvantage of a structured interview

  lack of validity
• What is official statistics

  quantitative data collected by the government
• One advantage of official statistics?

  Practical
• One disadvantage of official statistics

  unreliable
• What group is in favor of Qualitative data?

  Interpretivists
• what is an unstructured interview?

  open ended questions
• One advantage of an unstructured interview?

  flexibility
• What is a covert observation

  reseacher keeps identity hidden
• One advantage of a covert observation

  Primary data
• One disadvantage of a covert observation?

  Ethical issues
• What is an overt observation?

  researcher explains observation to the group
• One advantage of an overt observation

  high reliability
• One disadvantage of an overt observation?

  lacks validity: Hawthorne effect
• Who did the bobo doll test

  Bandora
• What is the bobo doll test

  When kids observed their parents being aggressive towards a doll
• Who did the shock test

  millgram
• What is the shock test ?

  When people were shocking a person but was unaware it wasn’t a real test
• Who did the tea room experiment

  Humphrey
• What is the tea room experiment

  Two homosexual people in the bathroom