Intro to Methods Review PDF

***[Intro to Methods Review:]*** **Chapter 9: Experimental Research** - Know the 7 types of experimental designs: - Latin square design invention, series design, factorial design - Talk about the threats to internal validity - Solomon 4-group design 7 Types of Experimental Designs: 1....

***[Intro to Methods Review:]*** **Chapter 9: Experimental Research** - Know the 7 types of experimental designs: - Latin square design invention, series design, factorial design - Talk about the threats to internal validity - Solomon 4-group design 7 Types of Experimental Designs: 1. Treatment or independent variable -\> research modifies, independent variable (X symbol) 2. Dependent variable -\> the physical conditions, social behaviours, attitudes, feelings, or beliefs of subjects that change in response to treatment. 3. Pretest -\> the measurement of the dependent variable prior to intro of the treatment 4. Post-test -\> the measurement of the dependent variable after the treatment has been introduced 5. Experimental group -\> the group that receives that treatment 6. Control group -\> the group that does not receive the treatment in experimental research 7. Random assignment -\> effective way to create 2 or more groups that can be treated as equivalent Latin Square Design: - An experimental design is used to examine whether the order or sequence in which subjects receive multiple versions of the treatment has an effect Solomon 4-group Design: - An experimental design in which subjects are randomly assigned to 2 control groups and 2 experimental groups. Only 1 experimental group and one control group receive a pretest. All 4 groups receive a post-test. - Developed to address the issue of pretest effects Factorial Designs: - A type of experimental design that considers the impact of several independent variables simultaneously - Every combination of the categories in variables is examined - Interaction effects -\> the effects of 2 or more independent variables that operate simultaneously. The effect of the variables together is greater than what would occur from a simple addition of the effects from each. The variables operate together on one another to create an extra "boost" Design Notation: - A shorthand system for symbolizing the parts of experimental design - One you learn you will find it easier to think about and compare designs - A symbol system used to discuss the parts of an experiment and to make diagrams of them. Internal and External Validity: Internal Validity -\> the ability to eliminate alternative explanations of the dependent variable. - Variables that affect the dependent variable are threats to internal validity - 9 common threats: 1. Selection bias -\> a threat to internal validity when groups in an experiment are not equivalent at the beginning of the experiment 2. History effects -\> threats to internal validity that result from an occurrence that affects the dependent variable during an experiment but that is unplanned and outside the control of the experimenter 3. Maturation -\> threat due to natural processes of growth, boredom, and so on that occur to subjects during the experiment and affect the dependent variable 4. Testing effect -\> a pretest measure that itself affects an experiment. This testing effect threatens because more than the treatment alone affects the dependent variable. 5. Instrumentation -\> threat occurs when the dependent variable measure changes during the experiment 6. Mortality -\> threats when subjects fail to participate through the entire experiment 7. Statistical regression -\> a problem of extreme values or a tendency for random errors to move group results toward the average 8. Diffusion of treatment -\> the threat that research participants in different groups will communicate with each other and learn about the others treatment 9. Experimenter expectancy -\> a threat not by a researcher's purposefully unethical behaviour but by their indirectly communicating desired findings to the subjects External Validity and Field Experiments: - The ability to generalize experimental findings to events and settings outside the experiment itself. - If a study lacks external validity, its findings hold true only in experiments, making them useless to both basic and applied science Reactivity -\> a general threat that arises because subjects are aware they are in an experiment and being studied Hawthorne effect -\> an effect of reactivity named after a famous case in which subjects reacted to the fact that they were in an experiment more than they reacted to the treatment. Field Experiments: - Experimental research that takes place in a natural setting Laboratory experiment -\> experimental research that takes place in an artificial setting over which the experiment has great control Quasi-experimental design: - Natural experiment -\> a specific type of quasi-experiment by which a researcher can examine the impact of a policy change or similar change in a social system by comparing an outcome of interest before and after such a change is implemented A Word on Ethics: - Ethical considerations are a significant issue in experimental research because experimental research is intrusive - Treatments may involve placing people in contrived social settings and manipulating their feelings or behaviours Random assignment: - An effective way to create two or more groups that can be treated as equivalent and, hence, compared. **[Chapter 12 Qualitative Interviewing ]** - How does the wording of questions potentially impact the result when you're doing qualitative interviews - Faulting of research when they have specific sampling techniques - Sampling techniques - Understand the difference between Direct and indirect questions - Purpose of an interview guide - Understand the difference between qualitative and quantitative interviews - Know strengths/ limitations on the advantages or disadvantages - Focus groups The wording of questions impacts the results of qualitative interviews: - Use less structured, non-directive, in-depth interviews - Involves asking questions, listening, expressing interest and recording what was said. - Interviewees are active participants whose insights, feelings, and cooperation are essential - Purpose; to learn about the informant setting - Questions that are asked to ensure that the researcher is interpreting what the interviewee is saying as correctly as possible. Purpose of an interview guide: - A list of questions a researcher wishes to address in the course of a qualitative interview. - they refer to the guide to introduce a structuring question - They are using an inductive approach to theorizing and will build a theory from the evidence that emerges from the interviews they conduct Kvale Question types: - Created a typology of 9 different question types that can occur during qualitative interview - Introducing questions, follow-up questions, probing questions, specifying questions, direct questions, indirect questions, structuring questions, interpreting questions, and silence Direct questions: - Questions introduced by the interviewer usually toward the end of the interview to address specific topics that may not have been covered. - Example: "have you ever left a job due to perceived racist treatment?" Indirect questions: - The interviewee asks to get a sense of how the interviewee believes other people think, behave, or feel. - It must be clear whether the opinion expressed through indirect questioning is that of the interviewee or what they think that other people think. - Example: how do you think other employees regard racist behaviours in the workplace?" Sampling Techniques: - Interview participants through nonprobability sampling - With this data collection technique, snowball and purposive sampling are often used for recruiting potential interviewees Advantages and Limitations of Qualitative Interviews:\ From the perspective of the Interviewee... Advantages: - They allow the researcher to see the world from the perspective of their interviewees. - Qualitative interviewees are free to respond in whatever way they wish, using whatever words they feel best to express their accounts of experiences, feelings, or opinions. - Data collected in qualitative interviews are often rich with descriptive detail. The more detail the better. - New theories are developed through qualitative interviewing Problems with Validity and Reliability: - Sample sizes are usually small in comparison to those used in quantitative work, research community questions whether the results of such studies are applicable to a wider population. - Use qualitative interviews to maximize the transferability or generalizability of their findings to populations beyond their immediate sample Focus Groups: - A special qualitative research technique in which people are informally interviewed in a group discussion setting. - Also known as group interviews - Focus group topics might include public attitudes (ex. Race relations, workplace equality), personal behaviours (ex. Avoiding sexually transmitted infections), a new product (ex. Breakfast cereal), or a political candidate. Procedure: - 6-12 people in a room with a moderator to discuss a few issues - The moderator is the person who leads the focus groups and asks questions to prompt group discussion. - Most last 90 minutes - Focus groups are held in rooms equipped with audio and video recording facilities so that the sessions can be accurately transcribed afterward. The Role of the Moderator: - Trained to be nondirective and facilitate free, open discussions by all group members. - Does not typically interfere in the discussion but starts the group off with a general topic Advantages and Limitations of Focus Groups: Advantages: - The natural setting allows people to express opinions/ideas freely - Open expression among members of marginalized social groups is encouraged - People tend to feel empowered, especially in action-oriented research projects - Survey researchers are provided with a window into how people talk about survey topics - Participants may query one another and explain their answers to each other Limitations: - A "polarization effect" exists (attitudes become more extreme after group discussion) - Only one or a few topics can be discussed in a focus group session - A moderator may unknowingly limit the open, free expression of group members - Focus groups produce the possibility of groupthink - It is not clear who the members of the focus group are representing -- themselves, social groups, or their membership in the focus group - Focus group participants produce fewer ideas than individual interviews do. - Focus group studies rarely report all the details of the study design/procedure - Researchers cannot reconcile the differences that arise between individual-only and focus group-contest responses **[Chapter 13: Field Research ]** - Concept of ethnography and methodology - Cultural norms - Note taking -- multiple questions - Attitude of strangeness Questions Appropriate for Field Research: - Is appropriate when the research question involves learning about, understanding, or describing a group of interacting people - They study people in a location or setting - Field researchers have explored a wide variety of social settings, subcultures, and aspects of social life - Examples of fields research sites/topics - Small-scale settings: bars/taverns, laundromats, social movement organizations - Community settings: small towns, retirement communities, shopping malls - Children's activities: playgrounds, minor baseball leagues, youth in the school's student clubs - Occupations: airline attendants, servers, medical students, police officers, taxi drivers - Deviance: body piercing and branding, drug dealers, hippies, sex workers - Medical settings: emergency rooms, intensive care units, abortion clinics Ethnography/ Methodology: - An approach to field research that emphasizes a very detailed description of a different culture from the viewpoint of an insider in that culture to permit a greater understanding of it. - Describes a culture and understanding another way of life from the narrative point of view - Field research is just one part of an ethnography - Ethnographer usually obtains and analyze other forms of data as well, like qualitative interviews and archival documents - Considered a [methodology,] rather than a method, which means it is a collection of methods that are tied together by an underlying theoretical orientation. - Ethnography assumes that people make inferences, go beyond what is explicitly seen or said to what is meant or implied. - People display their culture (what people think, ponder, or believe) through behaviour (ex. Speech and actions) in specific social contexts. - Cultural knowledge includes symbols, songs, sayings, facts, ways of behaving, and objects (ex. Telephones, newspapers) - It includes both explicit knowledge (what we know and talk about) and tacit knowledge (what we rarely acknowledge) What is field research? - It is more of an orientation toward research than a fixed set of techniques to apply. - A field researcher is a resourceful, talented individual who has ingenuity and an ability to think quickly while in the field. - Based on naturalism - Involves observing ordinary events in natural settings, not in contrived invented, or researcher-created settings - Goal: to examine social meanings and grasp multiple perspectives in natural social settings. - It can be exciting but can also disrupt one's personal life, physical security, or mental well-being. More than other types of social research, it can reshape friendships, family life, self-identity, and personal values Steps in a Field Research Project: - The steps are not entirely predetermined but serve as an approximate guide or road map - Flexibility is a key advantage; it lets researchers shift direction and follow leads 1.Preparing, Reading, and Defocusing: - They often begin with chance occurrences or a personal interest. - They use the skills of careful looking and listening, short-term memorizing, and regular writing - Reading the scholarly literature helps the researcher learn about concepts, potential pitfalls, data collection methods, and techniques for resolving conflicts. - Begins with a general topic, not a specific hypothesis. - They can expect anxiety, self-doubt, frustration, and uncertainty in the field, especially in the beginning 2\. Selecting a Field Site and Gaining Access to it: Field site -\> the one or more natural locations where a researcher conducts field research - A site is a context in which events or activities occur, a socially defined territory with shifting boundaries. - 3 factors are relevant when choosing field research sites: the richness of data, unfamiliarity, and suitability. - Sites that present a web of social relations, a variety of activities, and diverse events over time provide richer, more interesting data - A researcher's ascriptive characteristics (ex. Age, gender, race) can limit or enhance access. - Physical access to a site can be an issue An Attitude of Strangeness: - A technique in filed research in which researchers study a filed site by mentally adjusting to "see" it for the first time or as an outsider - Involves questioning and noticing ordinary details or looking at the ordinary through the eyes of a stranger - Strangeness helps researchers overcome the boredom of observing ordinary details. - A field researcher adopts both a stranger's and an insider's point of view. - The attitude of strangeness helps make the tacit culture visible - Strangeness also encourages researchers to reconsider their own social world. Building Rapport: - builds by getting along with members in the field - A setting may contain fear, tension, and conflict. Members may be unpleasant, untrustworthy, or untruthful; they may do things that disturb or disgust a researcher Charm and trust: - They need social skills and personal charm to build a rapport - Trust, friendly feelings, and being well like facilitate communication and help them to understand the inner feelings of others - Showing a genuine concern for and interest in others, being honest, and sharing feelings are good strategies, but they are not foolproof. - Many factors affect trust and rapport: how a researcher presents themselves; the role they choose for the field; and the events that encourage, limit, or make it impossible to achieve trust. Taking Notes: - Full-field notes can contain maps, diagrams, photographs, tape recordings, videotapes, memos, artifacts or objects from the field, notes jotted in the field, and detailed notes written away from the field. - Spend more time writing notes than being in the field - Some researchers produce 40 single-spaced pages of notes for 3 hours of observation - Notes contain extensive descriptive detail drawn from memory. Write the notes immediately after leaving the field. - Must be neat and organized because the researcher will return to them over and over again - Private and valuable Types of Field Notes: 1. Jotted Notes -\> short, temporary memory triggers, such as words, phrases, or drawings taken inconspicuously, often scribbled on any convenient item (ex. Napkin, matchbook) 2. Direct Observation Notes -\> The basic sources of filed data are notes a researcher writes immediately after leaving the field, which they can add to later - The notes should be ordered chronologically with the date, time, and place on each entry 3. Inference Notes -\> The researcher listens without applying analytical categories; they compare what is heard to what was heard at other times and to what others say; then the researcher applies their interpretation to infer or figure out what it means. 4. Analytic Notes -\> the written notes a qualitative researcher takes during data collection and afterward to develop concepts, themes, or preliminary generalizations 5. Personal Notes -\> Researchers keep a section of notes that is like a personal diary. Records personal life events and feelings in it. 6. Map and Diagrams -\> Field researchers often make maps and draw diagrams or pictures of the features of a field site. It helps them organize events in the field and helps convey a field site to others a. Types of maps: spatial map, social map, temporal map [Data Quality:] Trustworthiness of Data: - Techniques used to assess reliability and validity in quantitative research are not directly applicable to qualitative research. The nature of the research and data are so different. Credibility: - How much truth value the results of our qualitative study have - Several techniques to establish credibility; - Member checking -\> asking members of the group we are studying if they agree with our interpretations and conclusions - Prolonged engagement -\> a researchers stays in the field long enough to be able to make informed conclusions and interpretations about what they are studying - Negative case analysis -\> involves identifying data or cases that differ from the general pattern of findings and making attempts to explain these contradictory cases Transferability: - Concerns the extent to which the findings of the study can be applied to other contexts - It can be established through thick description -\> the researcher keeps very detailed accounts of their study Dependability: - Is most closely associated with the quantitative idea of reliability, as it concerns how consistent our results would be if the study were repeated under similar conditions - Established through external audit -\> involves having the research materials (filed notes, interview transcripts) examined by an external evaluator to see if they would draw the same conclusions from the data as the original researcher did. Confirmability: - Concerns the extent to which the research is neutral and is not simply the product of the researchers' biases or motivations Ethical Dilemmas of Field Research: Deception: - Research may be covert, involving the researcher assuming a false role, name, or identity or misleading members in some way. - Covert research is never preferable and never easier than overt research because of the difficulties of maintaining a front and the constant fear of getting caught Confidentiality: - The researcher learns intimate knowledge that is given in confidence. - They have a moral obligation to uphold the confidentiality of data and information from others in the field. Involvement with Deviants: - Researchers on deviants who engage in illegal behaviour face additional dilemmas. Can be involved in illegal activity. - Guilty knowledge -\> is of interest not only to law enforcement officials but also to other deviants Publishing Field Reports: - The intimate knowledge that a researcher obtains and reports creates a dilemma between the right to privacy and the right to know - Does not publish members secrets, violate privacy, or harm reputations. - Cannot publish anything that might offend or harm someone, part of what they learned will remain hidden, and may be difficult for others to believe the report if a researcher omits critical details.