Download Research Methods: Data Collection and Questionnaire Design and more Exams Advanced Education in PDF only on Docsity!
SYA4300 Final Exam With
Complete Solution
Secondary data - Answer data or raw information collected by other researchers versus primary data collected for a specific purpose by a researcher. Benefits of Secondary Data - Answer -Availability of information -Opportunities for replication -Protection of participants -Time effectiveness -Cost effectiveness -Large data sets Availability of information - Answer Allows use of data that may have since become impossible to collect Ex: Emile Durkheim used secondary data to examine government statistics on suicide from different countries. Opportunities for Replication (two ways) - Answer Through primary data collection similar to the original study but with different populations and in a different location Through use of secondary data to which we add additional information, in some cases from the original study participants, that may be missing from the original study Protection of Participants - Answer Useful with sensitive populations of interest Ex: a researcher interested in conducting research with victims of childhood abuse can gather secondary data such as through police reports Time Effectiveness - Answer Collecting primary data requires a great deal of time Collecting quantitative and qualitative data can take a few months to a few years, particularly for larger studies Secondary data eliminates the time and effort involved with primary data collection Cost Effectiveness - Answer Primary data collection can be costly and often requires a large budget
Primary data collection costs include funds for tools, participant incentives, and so on These costs are not present when working with secondary data Large Data Sets - Answer In secondary data the researcher is able to use large amounts of data (e.g., census data) Large data sets also allow the researcher the ability to generalize his or her findings to the population at large Data Scraping - Answer A method by which researchers extract large amounts of information from websites (e.g., social media and media sites) into a readable spreadsheet (e.g., Excel) Major Sources of Secondary Data - Answer -Government statistics (e.g., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes for Health) -Research University Data (e.g., Panel Study of Income Dynamics, data collected by a specific researcher) -Institutional Data (e.g., institutional information on students, staff, and other employees) -Online Sources (e.g., Facebook and Twitter) -Popular data sources (e.g., Driven Data, Kaggle, and Enigma) Disadvantages of Secondary Data - Answer -Uncertainty of constructs -Ambiguity of measurement error -Passage of time Uncertainty of constructs - Answer The original study focus may be different from your study focus Ambiguity of measurement error - Answer With secondary data, you may not be aware of all the details of the study procedures Passage of time - Answer -The information may be outdated (e.g., census data is collected once every 10 years). -This is both a limitation and a strength if one is interested in studying how a concept has changed over time. Secondary Data and Ethical Considerations - Answer Though a researcher using secondary data does not interact with the study participants ethical concerns are still
---Examine your hypothesis and develop a list of constructs to be measured ---For example: If we hypothesize gender influences college students' choice of major, then gender is one construct and major is another. Other constructs of interest may be race, age, parental education, and so on Designing Questionnaires: Step 2 - Answer Determine how each construct will be accurately measured in question form --Search for established instruments measuring these constructs (e.g., census data, Centers for Disease Control questionnaires, etc.) --Examine the literature to find examples of other constructs --Review the appropriateness of the instruments based on your research goals and the appropriateness of the instrument for your sample Designing Questionnaires: Step 3 - Answer Think of all possible answers to these questions --Some questions will be simple --Answers should always be mutually exclusive (e.g., when answer choices do not overlap with each other) Designing Questionnaires: Step 4 - Answer Avoid misleading, socially desirable, double-barreled questions or overly technical terms --Word questions clearly --Be grammatically correct --Avoid leading or biased language --Technical terms can confuse participants --Avoid double-barreled questions (i.e., ask about multiple concepts in one question but only allow one answer) --Consider the language literacy needs of your population Designing Questionnaires: Step 5 - Answer Organization that attracts and holds participant attention --Consider the ordering of questions in your survey (e.g., combine all the demographic questions at the end after the "attention-grabbing" questions) --Follow a logical continuity (e.g., group all religiosity questions together) --Be careful about using only scale measurements (i.e., strongly agree, over very
unlikely), as participants may start skipping or answering questions repetitively Designing Questionnaires: Step 6 - Answer Clarity and brevity --Make sure all the questions are clear, simple, and lack ambiguity --When questions are difficult to understand participants may become frustrated Construct short questions when possible
Designing Questionnaires: Step 7 - Answer Attention to contingency questions --Contingency questions are follow-up questions --Creating these types of questions requires you to think ahead --For example: Do you use psychiatric medications? Yes or No. If the participant chooses Yes we may follow-up and ask about the types of medications they use
Designing Questionnaires: Step 8 - Answer Create an answer scale --When measuring attitudes, belief, and opinions, group the answers in a scale --Likert-type scales or likability scales (e.g., scales from very likely to unlikely in scales of 4 or 5) are usually utilized --Remember to create a scale that measures the same concept (different concepts can create confusion) from a minimum to a maximum. --Consider the number of response choices (odd or even) --To force participants to pick a choice = Even --To allow a neutral point for participant to pick = Odd --Make sure answers are inclusive of all options
Designing Questionnaires: Step 9 - Answer Conduct a pretest to evaluate the instrument --Test your instrument with a group of people --This allows you to assess: --how long it takes to complete your instrument --any issues in question understanding
--set a comfortable environment and tone --not lead the participant
Virtual Data Collection - Answer Online surveys are very popular and can access a large number of participants in a manner of minutes with a higher response rate than face- to-face data or telephone data collection
Limitations include the fact that many people do not have access to the Internet, the fact that people who feel strongly about an issue will be more likely to participate, and the researcher cannot guarantee identity of the participant
Survey Development Considerations - Answer Start with a clear introduction that includes the study focus
Assure participants of confidentiality
Create consistent and visually appealing questions
Be mindful of requiring answers to questions and the ethical implications of doing this
Sociology: - Answer Scientific study of society
Based in statistics (quantitative methods) and ethnography (qualitative methods)
Sociology relies on empirical proof
Sociologists: - Answer Employ various research methods to analyze data about social phenomena
Produce peer-review publications, textbooks, reports, etc.
Trained in statistics, computer programming, sociological methods, technical and artistic writing styles, etc.
Give presentations, write policy, create programs from findings
Lecture and teach on various sociological topics
Analyzing Quantitative Data - Answer A branch of math called statistics is used to analyze large amounts of data
Statistics uses mathematical logic to interpret phenomena and draw conclusions about accumulated data
It establishes relationships between variables and attempts to predict future behaviors or relationships
Univariate Analysis - Answer analysis of a single variable
Descriptive analysis - Answer first-time impression of a variable allows researchers, to sketch the details of variables and become familiar with their sample
Inferential analysis - Answer provides a deeper understanding of a variable because it draws conclusions from a sample to a population
Analysis: - Answer Cleaning and organizing the data
Describing the data (descriptive statistics)
-Interval/Ratio (can be ranked and numbers are continuous)
Bar Graphs - Answer -Use vertical bars to represent each variable being studied -Longer bars represent higher frequency while shorter bars represent lower frequency -The three categories within this race/ethnicity var -Bar graphs usually depict qual vars (nominal) -No relationship b/t vars just shows frequency
Histograms - Answer -Related to bar graphs and used for quantitative variables where categories are related to each other -Bars are connected and you can see how each category relates to all the other categories -No space unless a category is omitted -Can see distribution of a var
Line Graphs - Answer -A line connecting points in a distribution -Useful in depicting two or more categories simultaneously -Useful in demonstrating relationships between variables -Horizontal axis = x-axis -Vertical axis = y-axis
Pie Charts - Answer -Visual representation of a variable's distribution that can impact an audience -Works best with categorical variables (few categories) -Avoid overcrowding a pie chart -Important for making a statement when presenting results
Ethical Consideration: Representation of Data - Answer -Avoid manipulating graphs to make an impact on an audience -For example, consider the scaling of your axis -The same graph on two different scales can reduce the distance between bars visually and look like different results -Need to be as precise and accurate as possible -Recall UNC Stats webpage
Coding Qualitative Data - Answer After completing the first round of codes researchers will read all the codes to begin analysis in attempt to begin sense making and identification of patterns
After categorizing, we connect these groups into broader groups called themes
Once data grouped into themes then interpretation of results will be much simpler--->easier to draw conclusions
Examples of categories include: - Answer -similarities/differences in expressing the same phenomena -similarities/differences in attitudes regarding a similar problem or situation
Analyzing Qualitative Data - Answer The qualitative analytic process can be challenging as each researcher is unique
Qualitative analysis when performed correctly can correct for individual differences between researchers ---Areas for criticism to arise ---Criticism also arises from generalizability
Searching for Frequency - Answer Frequency can play a role in qualitative analysis
Words of phases may come up often by different participants
This could prove meaningful to the entire work one you reach the write-up stage
Could even be something the researcher was not explicit aware of until the count was made
Various packages or software programs are useful and can help us visualize our data
The type of visual that would be produced is what we call a word map
Coding Diversity - Answer We must be open minded and consider diversity in our findings
In our research, we may find diversity in terms of gender, sexual orientation, religiosity, education, income, and other characteristics
However diversity is broader than ascribed characteristics
Research obligated to consider many elements in analysis
Consider underlying cultural explanations for attitudes, behaviors, etc.
Involves understanding diversity not just a human rights but as in diversity in thinking ---New ideas, new solutions, different perspectives, viewing the world
Remembering the Past - Answer Past experiences, personal history, or other backgrounds can influence participants and impact responses
Considering participants history will yield higher quality data analysis and a stronger study
Thinking Theoretically - Answer Countless theories are available to us many of which we may not remember
You need to find the most applicable theories ---You always return to the literature
Thinking Critically - Answer The ability to think critically is developed over time by exposure to different ideas
Remember that if you are fully clear and certain about your direction in the analysis it will not be a learning process
Be comfortable with a degree of initial uncertainty and confusion
Remember confusion can encourage productive critical thinking
Qualitative Data - Answer Qualitative information needs to be sorted, organized, and coded just like quantitative data
Qualitative information can still be systematic and well organized
The results we get from qualitative data is rich but less generalizable than
Enter, Clean, and Organize Qualitative Data - Answer Several types of research design in qualitative methods --Interviews, focus groups, participant obvs, content analysis, case studies, etc.
Need to closely read data and follow rigorous analysis to find the underlying meaning and possible relationships b/t events
In addition to raw data, create a separate file with records including how many interviews/case studies/observations were conducted
Include basic information (e.g., date, time, location, duration of event, etc.)
Enter, Clean, and Organize Qualitative Data (cont.) - Answer Qual process requires intensive attention to detail as the inductive process may not always make it clear what is important at the time of the initial observations
Solution to this is documenting anything that seems important or stand out to you during the data collection processes
Create name codes for participants to protect their confidentiality
Transcription - Answer writing down everything you hear from a recorded interview including nonverbal sounds
---Want to include laughter, umms and uhhg, sighs, etc. ---The process of transcription lets you get really intimate with your data and hear the same things over and over ------>This could prove useful in the forming of the analysis stage
Taking the time to do this thoroughly allows you to become familiar with your data
Protect the confidentiality of your participants when transcribing ------>Ethically as a researcher you will still need to perform listening sessions and omit any personally identifying information before you let others transcribe
Ground rules for transcription - Answer -Not correcting participants grammar -Not omitting participants hesitations -Write everything just as you hear it -Learn how to correctly record pauses in written form -Establishing ground rules for more than one transcriber
Memoing - Answer Take extensive memos and notes -Notes on what you are thinking as you read -Does any past theories come to mind
At first, don't worry about categorizing the data while memoing (unbounded thinking Strauss and Corbin 2015)
Then classify your memos -Happens after memos are written in stream of consciousness or free thinning style
Theoretical memos (relate to theory) -make connections b/t narrative and theory
Self-reflection memos (connect with past experiences) -Aligns with researchers through process about the interview
Hypothetical memos (propose relationships between different parts of the narrative)
Two Ways of Collecting Qualitative Data: - Answer Ethnographic field work (carried out through direct observation called participant observation)
In-depth interviewing (uses elicitation techniques to draw information from a study participant
Ethnographic Fieldwork and Participant Observation - Answer Ethnographic fieldwork is a staple of cultural anthropology since the end of the 19th century
The goal was to chronicle the cultures of non-Western tribal groups who were under threat of cultural extinction
The final product was often an ethnography or piece of cultural writing
The discipline of sociology also has a rich tradition of fieldwork
Fieldwork enables a researcher to: - Answer enter a social setting and spend an extended period of time there interacting with members of a group
engage in work that is long and laborious
put themselves in the position of their participants to understand their behaviors, actions, feelings, customs, and other social phenomena
develop rapport or trust with their subjects
A researcher can take the role of: - Answer A complete participant
A complete observer
A combination of participant-observer
A complete participant: - Answer is experiencing everything that participants experience first hand
must be careful not to "go native"
A complete observer: - Answer is simply observing without participating
may not fully experience the group's culture or understand and appreciate this culture
Participant-observers: - Answer have more flexibility
can lean more to one side or another depending on the circumstances
Questions that arise during fieldwork & observation: - Answer how to inform participants about your role?
how to respond to divisions in a group?
Keep a field journal during your work to document everything you are seeing or hearing
- Answer Write them soon after an experience
They can serve as a place for methodological or theoretical reflection
