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research methods - key concepts , methods - Coggle Diagram
research methods - key concepts
qualitative research
data consists of textual information with lots of detail
e.g. participant observations
quantitative research
numerical data which can be repeated easily (reliable)
e.g. structured interviews
validity
the extent to which research methods show a true and honest insight into social reality
e.g. qualitative data is valid as it gives a detailed look into someones life
reliability
the extent to which a piece of research is replicable and consistent
e.g. quantitive data is reliable as the tests are normally quite easy to repeat and get similar result
generalisability
ability to make claims about the wider target population from the research findings
e.g. this could be impacted by: a sample not being representative - by social group, because the sample is small, only in one location etc.
representativeness
is the sample a fair reflection of the target population
e.g. are all characteristics of the population being reflected i.e. gender, ethnicity, etc
operationalisation
defining a concept and making it measurable
e.g. defining social class by income measured in £
Hawthorne effect
phenomenen of the subjects of a study behaving differently because they are being studied
e.g. if someone is being observed they may change their behaviours if they know someone is watching
methods
content analysis
this is the number of times a sign, symbol, word, picture etc is used within a media text
questionnaires / surveys
list of questions subject to self-completion. questions can either be open or closed
structured interviews
the researcher reads a list of closed questions and tick boxes of pre coded responses
sem - structured interviews
the researcher has some set/ pre coded questions however they are able to probe respondents and ask extra questions if needed or some set - structured interviews have some set themes which are then discussed
unstructured interviews
the researcher may have some themes to cover