Describing Research Activities

Phenomenology

Case Studies

Field Studies

Archival Study

Qualitative Research

What are nonexperimental approaches?

Describing Research Activities

Nonexperimental approaches do not create levels of an independent variable nor randomly assign subjects to these levels.

They are used where experiments are not ethical or possible, or where we want to test hypotheses in realistic conditions.

What is internal validity?

Describing Research Activities

Internal validity is the degree to which a researcher can establish a causal relationship between the independent and dependent variables.

What is internal validity?

Describing Research Activities

An experiment has high internal validity when we can demonstrate that only the antecedent conditions are responsible for group differences in behavior.

An internally valid experiment allows us to draw cause-and-effect conclusions.

Why do experiments often achieve higher internal validity than nonexperimental studies?

Describing Research Activities

Laboratory experiments are often higher in internal validity because of their control of extraneous variables.

Researchers create levels of the IV and use procedures like matching and random assignment to conditions.

What is external validity?

Describing Research Activities

External validity is the degree to which research findings can be generalized to other settings and individuals.

Why might nonexperimental studies achieve higher external validity than laboratory experiments?

Describing Research Activities

Nonexperimental studies are more frequently conducted in real-world settings with a more diverse sample of participants than experiments.

What is the degree of manipulation of antecedent conditions?

Describing Research Activities

The degree of manipulation of antecedent conditions concerns assignment of subjects to antecedent conditions created for the experiment.

What is the degree of imposition of units?

Describing Research Activities

The degree of imposition of units is how much you limit a subject’s responses on the DV.

Explain phenomenology.

Phenomenology

Phenomenology involves a subject's description of personal subjective experience.

Phenomenology is low in manipulation of antecedent conditions and low in imposition of units (low-low).

What are case studies?

Case Studies

In case studies, a researcher compiles a descriptive study of a subject's experiences, observable behaviors, and archival records kept by an outside observer.

Case studies range from low-low to low-high.

What are the strengths of the case study approach?

Case Studies

Case studies have several advantages: source of inferences, hypotheses, and theories

source of therapy techniques

allow study of rare phenomena

What are the strengths of the case study approach?

Case Studies

provide exceptions to accepted ideas, theories, and practices

persuasive and motivational value (advertising)

What are the limitations of the case study approach?

Case Studies

Case studies have several limitations:

representativeness of sample

completeness of data

reliance on retrospective data

How do deviant case analyses extend evaluative case studies?

Case Studies

In a deviant case analysis, researchers examine differences between deviant and normal individuals to identify etiological factors.

This approach may also be applied to nonclinical issues such as social trends and adult morale.

What are retrospective data?

Case Studies

Retrospective data are recollections of past events that are collected in the present.

While your childhood memories constitute retrospective data, your undergraduate portfolio does not since it was collected in the past.

What are the risks of using retrospective data?

Case Studies

This information may be compromised by faulty memory, current mood, and the retrieval cues that are present when you are asked to recall an event.

What are field studies?

Field Studies

Field studies are nonexperimental studies conducted in the field (real-life settings). The experimenter does not manipulate antecedent conditions.

Field studies range from low-low to low-high.

What is naturalistic observation?

Field Studies

Naturalistic observation examines subjects’ spontaneous behavior in their actual environments and may obtain more representative behavior than experiments.

This method can achieve high levels of external validity.

Explain the problem of reactivity.

Field Studies

In reactivity, subjects alter their behavior when they know that they are being observed.

For example, your baby sister stops saying “Gramma” when you place the phone near her mouth.

What is a participant-observer study?

Field Studies

A participant-observer study involves field observation in which the researcher is part of the studied group.

This approach contrasts with naturalistic observation, where the researcher does not interact with research subjects to avoid reactivity.

Which ethical problems complicate participant-observer studies?

Field Studies

The main problems are invasion of privacy, not telling people that you are studying their behavior, and pretending to be a group member.

Pretending to be a group member (e.g., a researcher pretending to be a weight lifter) is a serious problem that requires careful planning.

How do field experiments differ from field studies?

Field Studies

Field experiments are experiments conducted in real-life settings.

Field studies are nonexperimental designs used in real-life settings and include naturalistic observation, unobtrusive measures, participant-observer studies, and surveys.

What is an archival study?

Archival Study

An archival study is a descriptive method where researchers reexamine data that were collected for other purposes.

For example, universities collect a wealth of data through surveys like the Graduating Senior Questionnaire (GSQ) and interviews.

What defines qualitative research?

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research obtains data consisting of words instead of numbers.

This information is obtained through self-reports, personal narratives, and expression of ideas, memories, feelings, and thoughts.

Why is the rise of qualitative research important?

Qualitative Research

The increased use of qualitative research may represent a paradigm shift—a change in attitudes, values, beliefs, methods, and procedures accepted during a specific time period.

How is qualitative research helpful?

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is invaluable in studying contextual phenomena, behavior that can only be understood within its context.

For example, we might examine the meaning of religious faith for patients facing impending surgery.

Which information sources does empirical phenomenology use?

Qualitative Research

Empirical phenomenology might rely on an experimenter’s private experiences or other experiential data:

1. the researcher’s self-reflection on relevant experiences

Which information sources does empirical phenomenology use?

Qualitative Research

2. participants’ oral or written descriptions of their experiences

3. accounts from literature, poetry, visual art, television, theatre, and previous phenomenological (and other) research