The aim of this essay is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of combining the two methodologies, qualitative and quantitative, when designing research in relation to the study of drug use
What are the strengths and weaknesses of combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies when designing research? Relate your answer to the study of drug use in particular. The aim of this essay is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of combining the two methodologies, qualitative and quantitative, when designing research in relation to the study of drug use. Qualitative methods of research and data focus more on the context and integrity of the material and produce research findings that are not arrived at by statistical summary or analysis. The methods used in qualitative research include participant observation, intense interviewing and focus groups which provide researchers with in depth information, unlike quantitative method. Quantitative refers to studies whose findings are mainly the product of statistical summary and analysis. In criminological research the quantitative research methods used are generally surveys and questionnaires. The rise of drug use in recent decades has prompted more research into this area using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies not only to attempt to evaluate the extent of drug use in individual areas but also to seek to understand the reasons behind it. A great number of researchers are more frequently using a mixed method research design now to try and increase the credibility of their findings. Individually each
Essay Questions Concerning Deception in Stanley Milgram Research.
Essay Questions Concerning Deception in Stanley Milgram Research a) Deception was a key feature in the procedure of Milgram's study on obedience. A fundamental deception that was conducted was the fact that none of the participants were made aware that the study was about obedience. The participants were told that the study concerned learning and memory. Another deception that took place was the fact that all the participants were led to believe that the 'learner' was also a voluntary participant, and they believed they had a 50:50 chance between them of selecting the role of 'teacher' or 'learner'. In fact the 'learner' was an actor and the situation was set up so that the real participant would always become 'teacher'. One of the major deceptions in this study was that concerning the electric shocks. The participants believed they were administering increasingly higher electric shocks to the 'learner' in response to wrong or unanswered questions. However at no point during the study was an electric shock administered to the 'learner', all responses were on audio tape and the 'learner' was perfectly safe. b) Deception in Milgram's study gave cause for critism as it led to the breaking of other ethical guidelines. Firstly the participants were unable to give informed consent. This is a major ethical guideline, as experimenters should obtain informed consent
Conformity experiments
Conformity Conformity is defined by Zimbardo (1992) as, 'A tendency for people to adopt behaviour, values and attitudes of other members of a reference group.' Mann (1969) identified the two major types of conformity: normative conformity and informational conformity. Normative conformity is caused by a desire to liked. People conform because they think that other members of their reference group will like and accept them. They also want to avoid embarrassment and humiliation from other group members. It is a desire to right that forms the basis of informational conformity; people conform because they look to others whom they believe to be correct to give them information. In 1951, Asch conducted an experiment into conformity. Previous studies into conformity, such as Sherif's 1935 study using auto-kinetic effect, were based on ambiguous tasks, where there was no obvious answer. Asch believed that if the answer was made obvious, there could be no doubt that the subject was conforming if he followed the answers of the rest of the group. In the experiment, a pair of card where shown to people sitting around the table. The first card had a line on it, and the second card had three lines, of varying length. The participants were asked which of the lines on the second card matched the line on the first card in length, and gave their answer in front of the rest of the group.
Critiquing research papers: methods, methodologies, theoretical perspectives and epistemologies.
Critiquing research papers: methods, methodologies, theoretical perspectives and epistemologies. Zorkina and Nalbone (2003) did a study to see if the confidence levels of college students according to what instructions they were given had an effect on their performance on a cognitive ability test. Zorkina and Nalbone (2003) tested out the hypothesis by placing college students into 2 groups. Each group was given different instructions in order to induce different levels of confidence in them, high level and low level. The participants in both groups were given the same cognitive ability test and the scores were compared for both groups. Peer evaluations were also done on participants' confidence and academic performance for external validity. It was found, that induced level of confidence did have an effect on college students and a bivariate correlation indicated that the results were significant. r(30) = 0.54, p = 0.002. As academic confidence increased, academic performance also increased. The aim of this assignment is to critique the research by Zorkina and Nalbone taking into account the epistemological position of the paper, the theoretical perspective, the methodology and the method of data collection the researcher has used. Epistemology The research paper takes an objective epistemological position of the paper. According to Crotty objectivism is based on the
The validity and accuracy in analysing personality traits using interobserver reliability.
The validity and accuracy in analysing personality traits using interobserver reliability Abstract Four 211 psychology students were shown three scenes from a Star Trek video to empirically test the validity of personality impressions for Captain James T. Kirk and Captain Jean-luc Picard. It is predicted that perceived personality traits will be reflected in observed behaviour and that behavioural data will confirm that Captain Picard is more communicative and Captain Kirk is less communicative. The first video showed both captains together to get an impression of both captains and choose a trait in which to measure their personalities. The four students were then shown a video of Captain Kirk in which they individually noted the times the captain displayed communicative behaviour. This was then repeated for a video of Captain Picard. The results showed that Captain Kirk's behavioural data showed more communicativeness in comparison to Captain Picard. This is due to moderators of personality judgement. Introduction The validity and accuracy of analysing personality traits, through the observation of people's behaviour, has interested personality psychologists for years. In terms of this study, it is very important to understand the accuracy and validity in judgments, which can be illustrated by the moderators of accuracy and inter-rater reliability. Funder has outlined the
Exploring the Existence And Influence of Gender Stereotyping on behaviour and decision-making through a Vignette Study.
Exploring the Existence And Influence of Gender Stereotyping on behaviour and decision-making through a Vignette Study. Abstract. Knowledge is organised in the brain in schemas, which aids fast processing of information, but can also lead to stereotyping and distortions of new information, as the brain tries to categorise new information. To explore these stereotypes (specifically gender) and how they affect behaviour, participants were presented with a short paragraph describing either a male or female giving directions, and asked how much further they would drive. The results showed that participants would drive further when a female had directed them. This suggests that gender stereotypes do exist and that they are a strong subconscious influence on our behaviour. Method Design. The experiment was a between-participants design, as a within-design would have allowed the participants to see the difference in the conditions and therefore work out the point of the experiment. The Independent Variable (IV) was the sex of the direction-giver in the vignette, so half of participants answered condition 1 where the direction-giver was female, and the other half answered condition 2 where the direction-giver was male. The Dependent Variable (DV) was the number of miles the participant would continue to drive after reading the vignette, if they were the driver. Participants
An investigation into the coach - athlete relationship. This research looks specifically at the relationship when the coach is a family member and uses semi-structured interview technique to gather data.
Advanced Research Method Task 3 Research Topic: An investigation into the coach - athlete relationship. This research looks specifically at the relationship when the coach is a family member and uses semi-structured interview technique to gather data. Early sport psychology researchers relied mainly on traditional, scientific approaches and although a large knowledge base has been established from these studies what has been neglected is to better understand behaviours and experiences of people in sport. Even as far back as 1979 a psychologist named Raner Martens recognised the gap between laboratory and field research. (Hardy et al 2002 ) He called for research into sport-specific theories from field-based research and for a sacrifice of internal validity for more external validity. He argued that at that time there was a divide between 'academic' and 'practising' sport psychology and the reason for this divide was because positivistic research was the only accepted way to study psychological phenomenon. However, even since then there is still a shortage of qualitative research. In a recent review by Culver et al (2003) they reported that over a 10-year period, there were 706 journal articles that fitted into the 'qualitative' category, which represents about 20% of the total (p6). People who take a positivistic standpoint believe that the goal of knowledge is to
Describe Milgram's studies of obedience and discuss the ethical problems associated with them.
Describe Milgram's studies of obedience and discuss the ethical problems associated with them. Milgram's obedience studies were influenced by war crimes committed against the Jews by Nazi Germans. Milgram wanted to find out how so many 'normal' people could kill six million Jews by following orders from authority. In 1963 Milgram conducted an experiment that was designed to see whether participants would obey an experimenter when instructed to give another person potentially dangerous electric shocks with a shock generator. Before conducting his experiment Milgram conducted a survey on ordinary people and Psychology professionals asking them what their predictions were. The survey found that less than 3% of people would go all the way to 450 volts; the actual results did not reflect these survey findings. Milgram placed advertisements in a newspaper requesting people for a memory study. The participants were paid for their involvement in the experiment prior to completing it. All of the participants were male from various backgrounds and ages. This fact reflected on Milgram's original interest in the Nazi war crimes as most of the war criminals were male. Highly prestigious Yale University was the location for Milgram's original experiment. The participants were deceived into thinking that the experiment was about effects of punishment on learning. The volunteer participants
A correlational study into the effects of locus of control and perceived life stress regarding gender differences.
A correlational study into the effects of locus of control and perceived life stress regarding gender differences The purpose of present study was two fold, first to examine a correlation between perceived life stress and locus of control, a belief whether the outcomes of our actions are contingent on what we do or on events outside our personal control. (Rotter 1966) Second, an attempt was made to investigate if gender plays a role in perceived life stress level. 12 participants took part by completing two questionnaires, one for the professional life stress scale and the other for the locus of control scale. The finding of a very small and non significant correlation between stress and locus of control (p >0.01) concluded that the extent to which one felt control over important life events was unrelated to how stressed one felt casting some doubts at the learned helplessness theory of depression presented by Seligman (1975). However there was a significant difference (p<0.01) between the stress levels of males and females supporting the experimental prediction. Locus of control, a concept first introduced by Rotter(1966) refers to an individual's belief about what causes certain outcomes in life. It is generally thought of as existing on a continuum with internal at one end and external at the other. Those with an external locus of control feel that outside forces such
An investigation to identify whether there is a difference in the time taken to read colour words written in different colour inks than to read neutral words written in varying ink colours
An investigation to identify whether there is a difference in the time taken to read colour words written in different colour inks than to read neutral words written in varying ink colours Background Information If a central cognitive component of a task has been practised many times, it requires very little, if any thought to carry the task and it is also difficult to stop performing the task. Therefore, performing the task is said to have become automatic. A classic example of automatic processing has been studied in the Stroop effect which was first demonstrated by J.Ridley Stroop. In this type of experiment, participants have to read aloud the colour of the ink in which words are written. The word can be a neutral word where the colour of the ink in which it is written is unrelated to its meaning (eg 'window' written in blue ink) or, the word can be a colour word. If it is a colour word, the ink in which it is printed can be that ink colour or another ink colour. Aim The aim of this investigation is to find out whether there is a significant difference in the time taken to read colour words written in different colour inks than to read neutral words written in varying ink colours. For example, if the word 'green' written in red ink takes longer to read than then the word 'window' written in blue ink. Hypothesis Having carried out this research into automatic