Paper 3 Psych Vocab

Dependability

it is concerned with whether we would obtain the same results if we could observe the same thing twice

Confirmability

refers to the degree to which the results could be confirmed or corroborated by others

Triangulation

the application and combination of several research methodologies in the study of the same phenomenon.

Transferability

the degree to which the results of qualitative research can be generalized or transferred to other contexts or settings.

Case studies often use an idiographic approach. Explain what is meant by this term.

An idiographic approach is a holistic approach to the study of an individual or group with the goal of helping or understanding that individual or group. The goal of most case studies is not to generalize to a larger population.

Define back translation. Why would an interviewer use this technique?

Back translation is used only when a researcher has to conduct an interview in a different language. The researcher would translate back their findings and have interviewee look it over to check if this is what they actually meant in order to address any possible bias in translation. To establish credibility.

To what extent can one generalize from qualitative studies?

Qualitative studies can be generalized, but only to a limited extent. The word often used by researchers is "transferability." In order to determine the level of transferability, the situation that is being studied must be described in detail so that the findings can potentially be applied to a similar situation. For example, if you are studying stress at our school you would not be able to generalize your findings to all schools, but only schools that are similar to ours. You would have to consider the size of the school, the level of economic and cultural diversity, that we run the IB program and the size of classrooms etc.

Two other types of sampling used are snowball samples and quota samples. Explain why a psychologist may choose to use these samples, and explain one disadvantage of each.

Snowball sampling is also known as network sampling. This type of sample asks participants to recommend other participants. This is usually done when the type of people you are looking to study would not normally respond to an ad in the paper. Quota sampling is very similar to a stratified sample. Both types of samples want to have the sample represent the demographic distribution of the larger population. However, the difference is a philosophical one. Stratified sampling is used in quantitative research where random allocation is important. The advantage of this method is that it is representative of the population. The disadvantage is that since you are only taking the first participants to sign up for the study, you may experience sampling bias.

what are the ethical considerations that must be made when carrying out qualitative research? Is this in any way different from the ethical considerations that must be followed when carrying out experimental research?

Unlike much quantitative experimental research, no IV is manipulated. However, sometimes the situation is manipulated to see how people will respond. So, in that sense the same ethical standards apply as in quantitative research. Very often qualitative research is long term and personal. The participants may develop a relationship with the researcher and disclose personal information. It is important that the anonymity of the participants is protected and that their trust is not violated. It is also important that the researcher not become too close to the participants and thus lose a sense of objectivity.

In order to achieve a purposive sample, researchers often use self-selected samples. What is one strength and one limitation of this type of sampling?

When trying to find a purposive sample, often researchers make use of social media, newspaper ads or even bulletin boards in the student lounge at the university. As a result, the volunteers come to the researcher. This is a self-selected sample. The main strength of this type of sampling is that the participants are usually motivated to take part in the study. The main limitation is that you may only get a certain type of person replying to the ads - resulting in a sampling bias.

What does it mean if we say that a study lacks "credibility?" Why is this important in qualitative research?

Credibility is linked to the concept of validity. Are the findings and/or interpretations in line with the experience of the participants? This is also called "trustworthiness." Credibility is important so that we can say that our findings do reflect the experiences of our participants and helps us to ensure an appropriate level of objectivity. Credibility can be established through triangulation or through asking the participant to read the interpretations/results and say whether they agree with the researcher.

Explain the three techniques of recording data during an observation: event sampling, time sampling, and point sampling.

Event sampling is when a researcher makes note every time a specific behaviour is observed. Time sampling is when notes are regularly made based on a specific amount of time. point sampling observer the individual behaviours of participants one after the other.

What are the advantages of a non-participant observation?

First, it is easier to take notes. Since the researcher is not part of the activity being observed, note-taking is relatively easy. It is also non-invasive - that is, it does not interfere with the behaviour of the participants or influence their behaviour in any way. It is also easier to have several researchers watching the same behaviours to establish inter-rater reliability.

Explain how an inductive content analysis would be used to analyze and interpret an interview.

First, the interview would be transcribed. Then the researcher would read through the text looking for data that "emerges" from the text. Then the raw data is organized into themes.The researcher than would write an interpretation of the themes.

How could an interviewer increase the credibility of his findings?

First, there should be inter-coder reliability - that is, other researchers come to the same conclusions about the same interview. Secondly, credibility can be established through method triangulation. If I carry out an interview on how someone handles a stressful situation, I may then carry out an observation to see if the person responds as they said in the interview. Finally, I can also take my interpretation back to the person who was interviewed in order to see if they agree with what I have concluded.

What are two participant effects? How may they affect the findings of a qualitative research study?

1. The most basic participant effect is called "reactivity." This is when the participants act differently than they usually would because they are aware that they are being studied. 2. Another participant effect is the social desirability effect - this is where information is not disclosed if the participant fears being judged or seen in a negative light. 3. Another effect is a conformity effect. This could happen in a focus group where participants behave in line with the other members of the group. 4. Finally, another participant effect is expectancy effect, where the participant wants to help the researcher and thus gives information that is believed to be what the researcher is looking for. All of these effects may affect the study by distorting the data and providing data that is not credible - in other words, is not reflective of the actual opinions or behaviours of the participant.

A case study, in and of itself, is not a method. What is meant by this statement?

A case study by definition is a triangulation of research methods. A typical case study may employ both qualitative (observations, interviews) and quantitative (surveys) research methods in order to get a holistic picture of the behaviour being studied.

What is meant by a "focus group?" Why would a researcher use this method? What would be the strengths and limitations of this interviewing technique?

A focus group is a group interview. The participants interact with each other, making for a natural conversation. The conversation is not just between the researcher and the participants, but the participants react and respond to each other. it allows more interviews to be carried out in a shorter period of time. In addition, it helps to establish the credibility of comments made in the interview as other members of the focus group will confirm or challenge the ideas that are expressed. It can also happen that participants will expand on ideas of other members of the group which they would not have considered speaking about if they had not heard it from another participant. Focus groups also help to build rapport as the members of the group feel support from one another and it is not so important whether the researcher him/herself has a similar life experience. limitations include that there could be power hierarchies within the group which lead to conformity effects. In addition, there is the question of the anonymity of the responses. Although the researcher may guarantee that each person's identity will remain anonymous, it is difficult to guarantee that other members of the group may not reveal such information. It is also important that the facilitator (researcher) is able to manage the group's discussion without influencing the results. A group interview which is poorly managed may lead to a lot of irrelevant data that is not fit to the purpose of the research.

What is meant by a "narrative interview?" Why would a researcher use this method? What would be the strengths and limitations of this interviewing technique?

A narrative interview asks the interviewee to "tell a story." Narrative interviews do not have a set of questions to be asked. This eliminates the problem of the questions actually influencing the memory of the participants. It is also a more natural way of communicating between two people. The researcher may ask clarifying questions, but overall uses language tags and body language to communicate interest and empathy. This type of interview is often used for complex human realities where it is important to understand how people construct meaning in their lives. They are also used in criminal investigations in order to avoid memory distortion. The limitations of narrative interviews is that they are very time consuming. They also may be rather unfocused in nature as the researcher's goal is not to interfere once the story is being told. Therefore, a lot of information irrelevant to the goals of the research may be collected. Finally, in the case of victims of trauma, asking them to go into detail of their memories of painful life events has ethical concerns.

What is a naturalistic observation? Explain one strength and one limitation of carrying out a naturalistic observation rather than a controlled observation.

A naturalistic observation takes place in a natural environment - that is, it is not carried out in a laboratory. One strength is that is high in ecological validity. The environment is not artificial so reactivity should be lower and the participant should act as "he usually does." greatest limitation of a naturalistic setting is that there is no control over other variables. This means that extraneous variables could have a significant effect on the behaviour of the participant. In addition (there could be bidirectional ambiguity), naturalistic observations are difficult to replicate. In planning a naturalistic observation in a public space, it is also difficult to manage the sample.

Explain what is meant by "purposive sampling." Why is this often used in qualitative research studies?

A purposive sample is one made up of people with specific traits. by limiting the traits of the sample you are not trying to generalize to a universal population; your target population is the sample as you have defined it. Very often, purposive sampling is used in order to address a concern about a certain group of people.

What is meant by a "semi-structured interview?" Why would a researcher use this method? What would be the strengths and limitations of this interviewing technique?

A semi-structured interview uses an interview guide (a set of questions) which are flexible. This means that the researcher may expand questions, alter wording or change the order of the questions that are asked. Semi-structured interviews are used when there are specific things that the researcher wants to know. It is a technique also used when there are a lot of interviews that need to be carried out so that the data collected is in some way standardized, without losing the potential of finding something unexpected Strengths of this method include that the interview process is standardized, but still allows for flexibility Limitations include that answering questions in this way may be seen as an artificial way to communicate between people and thus have low ecological validity. Also, by deciding on the questions in advance, the researchers may be unintentionally limiting what they are studying. The nature of the questions may also influence the responses from the interviewee - either by inducing demand characteristics (like social desirability effect) or by priming schema that would influence the recall of memories. (leading questions possibly)

Explain how an inductive content analysis might be used to analyze and interpret an observation. How could the researcher increase the credibility of the findings?

In an inductive content analysis, the researcher would take her field notes and first read through them to see what "emerges" from the text. She would take out what she thought were significant observations and begin to organize the raw data into themes. From the themes / trends that emerge from the notes, an interpretation would be written. In order to increase the credibility of the findings, either researcher triangulation would be used and the interpretations from the same field notes would be compared. In addition, the interpretations could be given back to the people that were observed and ask if they can confirm the interpretations. Finally, other research methods could be used to see if they result in similar findings.

What is meant by inter-coder or inter-rater reliability?

In deductive research, researchers use a priori coding. This means that they decide as a team before they carry out the observation what they will look for. They then usually collect quantitative data regarding the frequency or duration of the behaviour. For example, they have a checklist of aggressive behaviours and they watch to see how much aggression is demonstrated on the playground. The frequency with which this was observed is compared between the researchers to see if they have similar findings. Inductive approaches to observations use emergent coding - that is, they look for themes in behaviour after they have collected their data. The researchers tend not to have a hypothesis, but they want to see "what happens during recess." So, after watching recess on the playground, researchers will then read through their notes and look for trends in the data. From the trends, they will then write an interpretation. When looking to see if there is similarity in the findings this is called inter-coder reliability.

key differences between quantitative and qualitative data

In quantitative research, the data are in the form of "numbers" that are easy to summarize and submit to statistical analysis. Quantitative data are meant for generalization beyond the sample from which the data were drawn Qualitative data are gathered through direct interaction with participants—for example, through one-to-one or group interviews, or by observations in the field. The data consist of non-numeric data - for example, from transcripts or field notes. Data are open for interpretation. The term used is "rich data", which means that they are rich in their description of the behaviours being observed. Because the data are rich, they are not easy to analyse, and there is no single way to approach analysis

Why is triangulation important in qualitative research? How does it affect the credibility of the study?

It is important to establish credibility. By using method triangulation and getting the same results, I can conclude that it was not simply my choice of method that led to the results. If more than one researcher comes to the same conclusion, then it is not just my own biases that led to the results.

Define participant observation. What is one advantage of this method? One disadvantage?

Participant observation is when the researcher is part of the group that s/he is studying. Advantages include that the researcher is less detached from the people being observed. The context in which the behaviours are demonstrated can be better understood by the researcher. This allows the researcher to understand the perspective of the participants. The researcher can also interact and ask questions of the people being observed to clarify behaviors. disadvantages include that the researcher may unintentionally change behaviours through interacting with the people being observed. S/he may also lose objectivity by developing a close relationship with the people, or actually finding their behaviour problematic. It is also difficult to collect data when the researcher is part of the group and engaged in the same activity.

What would be the advantage of gathering qualitative data for a study instead of quantitative data? Give an example to illustrate your argument.

Qualitative data is descriptive in nature and describes "how". It is gathered by doing in-depth descriptions. Usually, people are studied in their own environment. For example, how does bullying affect school performance in children? How do IB students cope with stress?

Case Studies

Strengths: - Case studies stimulate new research - Case studies may contradict existing theory - Case studies may give new insight into phenomena or experience - Case studies may permit investigation of otherwise inaccessible situations Limitations: - Replication of the case study is not possible - The researcher's own subjective feelings may influence the case study (researcher bias) - Case studies are heavily dependent on self-reported data which is subject to memory distortions and social-desirability effect. - Most case studies are retrospective, not prospective. - It may not be possible to generalize from a case study of an individual or group being studied to a more general population Ethical aspects: - because in most case studies the researcher gains a lot of personal information about the participant. Because some of it has to be written up in the research, the researcher must be careful about anonymity. - the ethical guidelines such as informed consent, no deception, right to withdraw, debriefing and confidentiality must always be observed

What would be the advantage of gathering quantitative data for a study instead of qualitative data? Give an example to illustrate your argument.

The advantage is that statistical analysis can be applied and it can be determined to what extent the results may be due to chance. Quantitative research studies can also be more reliable since they can be replicated and the results can be easily compared. For example, to what extent does music assist in one's ability to learn a list of words? When this study is carried out, the average number of words in both conditions - that is, with and without music - can be compared.

What are the limitations of the technique of inductive content analysis?

The limitation of inductive content analysis is that it is highly subjective. This means that it all depends on what "strikes" the researcher has important. Therefore, there is a risk of researcher bias in the interpretation of the field notes. This is why establishing credibility is important. It is also important to employ reflexivity where the researcher reflects on how their own background and behaviours may have affected the interpretation of the observation.

Explain what is meant by reflexivity - and why it is an important part of qualitative research?

There are two types of reflexivity. 1. The first one is "personal." This is where the researcher reflects on how his or her own biases or personal experiences may have influenced their findings. This is important because it will help to reduce researcher bias. 2. The second type of reflexivity is called "epistemological." This is when the researcher reflects on how they carried out the study and whether their choice of research method or procedure could have influenced the findings. This is important in order to establish the credibility of the findings.

What is the difference between traditional and postmodern transcription methods?

Traditional transcription is verbatim transcription. This simply means that every word that the interviewee says is written down. Post-modern transcription is more inclusive. It includes body language, language tags, sighs, laughter and facial expressions with the goal of giving a richer understanding of the interview data.

Define triangulation, giving two examples of how it works.

Triangulation is a "cross-checking" of data with the attempt of reaching the same conclusion by other means. 1. "method triangulation", where different methods are used to study the same behavior. 2. researcher triangulation, where more than one researcher is carrying out an observation and the data can then be compared 3. theory triangulation, where a behaviour is studied by researchers of different theoretical backgrounds - for example, a biological, cognitive and sociocultural psychologist.

What is researcher bias? How can a researcher try to minimize its effect on research?

When the researcher's own beliefs influence the research process. One way that this could be reduced is to train others to carry out the research who are not aware of the actual goals or expectations of the study. Another way is to have more than one researcher collect and/or analyse the data and compare the findings to see if the same interpretations are made. This can also be done by asking the participants whether they agree with the findings. Inter-rater reliability can be used in statistics to see how much consensus there is among multiple researchers when carrying out an experiment. Finally, the researcher can reflect on how their own biases may have influenced the study as part of the discussion of their findings. (personal reflexivity)

What is a covert observation? When would this technique most likely be used? What are some of the limitations of this technique?

covert observation, the participants are not aware that they are being observed. This technique is used when the researcher feels that if the participants knew that they were being observed, their behaviours would change. There are several limitations of this technique. Ethics is perhaps the most obvious. In addition, if it is also a participant observer, the researcher has to be careful not be "caught." This may lead to unnatural behaviour on the behalf of the researcher which could in turn influence the behaviour of the participants. Also, notes have to be taken when participants are not there. This often leads to the problem of memory distortion where information is written down several hours after behaviour is observed. Finally, in observational research the debriefings are often important for establishing credibility - in other words, the psychologist asks the participants if they agree with his interpretation of their behaviour. In the case of covert observations, this may not be possible or the reaction upon finding out that they were being watched may lead to a withdrawl of the data or a negative response to the interpretations.

Credibility

establishing that the results of qualitative research are credible or believable from the perspective of the participant in the research

What ethical considerations must be made when carrying out an interview?

ethical considerations that must be made when carrying out an interview. First, the interviewee should give informed consent. They should know the purpose of the interview and how the data will be used. The interviewee should also not feel forced to discuss things that they find distressing or embarrassing. In addition, the identity of the interviewee should remain anonymous. Finally, the interviewee has the right to withdraw at any point during the interview process.

What are some of the difficulties of carrying out a one-on-one interview? A group interview?

several problems with carrying out a one-on-one interview. First, it is important to establish rapport with the interviewee so that s/he feels comfortable. The one-on-one nature may seem very formal and unnatural to the interviewee. One-on-one interviews also take a lot of time and require scheduling many individual appointments. group interview can be difficult because it is important that the researcher keep some control over the group without influencing their behaviour. This is a difficult balance. In addition, the researcher has to try to make sure that the discussion is inclusive and not just limited to one or two dominant members of the group. Finally, the data collection for a focus group can be difficult to collect. Even in the case of recording the conversation, if there is a lot of emotion in the discussion, it may be difficult to determine who and how many people agree with an idea that is said