PSY1023_PASS_W4

Dogs or Cats?

• Dogs!

• Cats!

What is quantitative research good at?

• Gathering data from huge samples

• Acquiring rich data about a topic

• Reflecting real-life social structures and realities

• Investigating the meanings behind actions and behaviours

Answer explanation

What is qualitative research best at?

• Analysis of populations

• Exploration of ideas and problems

• Solving, disputing, or corroborating hypotheses

• Positivist approaches to gathering psychological knowledge

Answer explanation

I want to study how many people own cats or dogs.

• Qualitative

• Quantitative

• Mixed Methods

Answer explanation

More people own dogs in Australia - 48% versus 33% of respondents (Animal Medicines Australia, 2022).

I want to study why more people own dogs than cats in Australia.

• Qualitative

• Quantitative

• Mixed Methods

Why does the next assignment focus on qualitative research?

• It makes sense to explore a problem before honing in on it with analytical (quantitative) research.

• It's easier to conduct than quantitative research, so it serves as an introduction to the topic.

• The topic in question can't be measured by quantitative research, so we have to research it qualitatively.

• Qualitative research is more constructivist than quantitative research. This epistemology is correct.

What would be the problem if we conducted quantitative research in our groups instead?

• It would be too time consuming

• The topics can't be measured through quantitative means

• Tiny sample size, so the data is very sensitive to individual differences (i.e., not generalizable)

• We wouldn't acquire any meaningful data

What's a good rationale for studying this topic?

• Many researchers have studied it before, so it is more likely to be reliable than another topic.

• It's an interesting idea that is relatively easy to measure.

• It could have broader implications that benefit people (and pets), such as in mental healthcare.

I've used Likert scales to gauge my respondents' feelings about cats, compared to dogs.
What data have I collected?

• Qualitative

• Quantitative

Answer explanation

Even though this might seem qualitative (because we're evaluating something subjective), this is quantifiable data.
We can represent it on a graph.

I have conducted interviews about the mental wellbeing of dog owners. My data is only the proportion of people who were willing to participate in the interview, out of the total number of people I contacted.
What data have I collected?

• Qualitative

• Quantitative

Answer explanation

That was mean. Sorry.