Research Methods

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  • Created by: mischax
  • Created on: 11-01-18 18:35
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  • RESEARCH METHODS
    • Interpretivist
      • Qualitative data
      • Uncover meaning behind things
      • Textual imformation
      • Smaller qualities
    • Positivists
      • Numerical information
      • Large quantities
      • Quantitative data
      • want to obtain info which is reliable and representative
    • Ethical Issues
      • Confidentiality & Privacy
        • Participants identities should be  kept confidential to prevent any neg effects
      • Danger & Harm
        • No psychological or physical harm should come to participants. should not be placed in any illegal situations
      • Covert research
        • This creates many ethical problems such as deceit, lying & no consent
      • Consent
        • Participants should be able to refuse being researched
    • Practical Issues
      • Time & Money
        • Different methods use up a various amounts of resources. E.g observations are cheap but take up time
      • Research opportunity
        • Opportunities may occur unexpectedly & therefore effects researchers time & planning
      • Subject Matter
        • If the subject requires opinions, feelings or just facts will impact choice of method. E.g subject may be sensitive
      • Personal Skills and characteristic
        • Each researcher is different & therefore may be limited in their choice of method. E.g if they blend into a specific group
    • Theoretical Issues
      • Representativeness
        • Whether or not the participants are a good cross-section of the group the researcher is interested in.
      • Reliability
        • A method that when repeated by another researcher, the same results will be obtained
      • Validity
        • Truthfulness: A method that produces a true, full picture, of what is  being studied
          • This applies to qualitative methods like observations

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