RM non-experimental methods AQA GCSE Psychology

A case study can investigate

• A group

• An individual

• An institution

• All of the above

Which of the following statements is a limitation of participant observation?

• The data recorded may be more subjective / bias as the person is a part of the group.

• The data is objective as interaction between observer and participants is limited.

• It is more holistic and observations can be interpreted with greater knowledge of the wider social context.

• It is easier to establish a relationship with participants meaning the researcher may get information that they wouldn't otherwise be able to.

Most of the data collected from case studies is...

(a)  

What is the key difference between an unstructured and a structured interview?

• Structured interviews are more natural

• Unstructured interviews are easier to analyse than structured interviews

• Unstructured interviews are based on themes and don't have strict lists of questions that must be asked in a specific order

• Structured interviews are more valid than unstructured interviews

Longitudinal means...

• uses mixed methods

• gives a snapshot

• takes place over time

• involves multiple researchers

Evaluate case studies

Groups:

(a) Strengths

,

(b) Weaknesses

• They can use triangulation to capture the complexity of human experiences.

• They provide rich and detailed information.

• They can be difficult to replicate due to their unique nature.

• They may be limited in their ability to establish cause-and-effect relationships.

• They may raise ethical concerns regarding participant privacy.

• They can be used to study rare and unusual behaviours

• They may lack generalizability to larger populations.

• They allow for in-depth analysis of individual cases.

• They can be time-consuming and labor-intensive.

What is the word used to describe data that provides depth of detail in the description of people, places and conversations?

• Rich data

• Intrinsic data

• Depth analysis data

• Exploratory data

Qualitative research is often less easy to replicate and this is because...

• the data is often voluminous and would take too long to re-analyse

• qualitative data is too subjective and open to interpretation

• the research often doesn't have a standardised procedure and may take place in natural environments

• qualitative researchers use inductive rather than deductive methods

What is an advantage of unstructured interviews?

• Researchers are not restricted in what they may ask an interviewee

• It is easier to train a team of interviewees and standardise the interview process

• They are easily analysed

• It is highly naturalistic

Sort these evaluation points for interviews and questionnaires

Groups:

(a) Strength of Interview

,

(b) Limitation of Interview

,

(c) Strength of Questionnaire

,

(d) Limitation of Questionnaire

• Participants may not understand questions

• Participants can seek clarification

• Participants may be less invested and rush through giving random answers

• It's time consuming to speak to individuals for long periods of time and write out answers after

• Participants might feel more comfortable opening up due to the anonymity

• Researchers can build positive relationships with participants to help them open up

• Participants may not feel comfortable disclosing sensitive information face to face

• Can quickly and efficiently gather lots of data