JUST 399 Exam 2 JMU

Three Causal Criteria's (Criteria Of Causality)

1. Empirical Association (X->Y)

2.Temporal Priority)X comes Before Y)

3. Nonspuriosness (X->Y because Z is causing it to change)

Empirical Association (Correlation)

an empirical association between the independent and dependent variables. They cause each other to change.

temporal priority (time order)

the change in the independent variable came before change in the dependent variable--the cause must come before its presumed effect.

Nonspuriousnss

Making sure that X->Y is not due to a withstanding variable

true experiment has three features:

1. two comparison groups; which establishes association

2. Variation in the IV before the assessment of change in the DV: Which establishes time order

3. Random assignment of the two variables; establishes nonspuriosness

quasi-experiment

An experiment in which researchers do not randomly assign subjects to the groups

3 type of quasi-experiment designs:

1. Nonequivalent Control Groups- have exp. and control groups that are preassigned

2. Before-and-After Designs- have a pre and post test but no control group

3. Ex Post Facto: use non random control groups after the fact (ex: Disaster relief effort research)

Threats to Validity (Internal/Causal)

-Non-comparable Groups

-Endogenous Change

-History

-Contamination

-Treatment Misidentification

Non-Comparable groups

The problem of noncomparable groups occurs when the experimental group and the control group are not really comparable—

Non-Comparable Group Threats to Validity (3)

-Selection Bias: When the subjects in your groups are initially different, selection bias occurs.

-Mortality: groups can become different over time because of differential attrition, or mor-tality;

-Instrument Decay: Measurement instruments of all sorts wear out, in a process known as instrument decay

Endogenous Change

occur when natural developments in the subjects, independent ofthe experimental treatment itself, account for some or all ofthe observed change between pretest and posttest.

Endogenous Change Threats to Validity (3)

-Testing: Taking the pretest can itself influence posttest scores.

-Maturation—Changes in outcome scores during experiments that involve a lengthy treatment period may be caused by maturation.

-Regression—Subjects who are chosen for a study because they received very low scores on a test may show improvement in the posttest

History Threats to Validity (1)

History, or external events during the experiment (things that happen outside the experiment), could change subjects' outcome scores.

Contamination Threats to Validity (1)

Contamination occurs in an experiment when the comparison and treatment groups somehow affect each other. When comparison group members know they are being compared, they may increase their efforts just to be more competitive.

Treatment Misidentification

Sometimes the subjects experience a "treatment" that wasn't intended by the researcher.

Treatment Misidentification Threats to Validity (3)

1. Expectancies ofexperiment staff—Change among experimental subjects may result from the positive expectancies of experiment staff who are delivering the treatment rather than to the treatment itself.

2. Placebo effect

3. Hawthorne effect—Members of the treatment group may change relative to the dependent variable because their participation in the study makes them feel special.

Threats to Generalizability

1. Sample Generalizability

2. Cross Population Generalizability

Sample Generalizability (Threat)

Subjects who can be recruited for a laboratory experiment, randomly assigned to a group, and kept under carefully controlled conditions for the duration of the study are unlikely to be a representative sample of any large population of interest to social scientists.

Cross Population Generalizability (Threat)

Finding that effects are consistent across subgroups does not establish that the relationship also holds true

for these subgroups in the larger population, but it does provide supportive evidence.

Deception Ethics

Deception occurs when subjects are misled about research procedures to determine how they would react to the treatment if they were not research subjects.

Survey Research

Survey research collects information from a sample ofindividuals through their responses to standardized questions.

3 advantages to survey research

(1) versatility

(2) efficiency

(3) generalizability

Omnibus Survey

Most efficient (GSS)

How to Write Survey Questions? (5)

1. Be Clear

2. Minimize Bias

3. Allow for Disagreement

4. Don't ask questions they cant answer

5. Allow for Uncertainty

ME and Exhaustive

Ethical Issues in survey Research

Usually pose few Ethical dilemmas

-Few surveys can provide true anonymity

Qualiitative Research Methods (3)

1. participant observation

2. intensive interviewing

3. focus groups.

ethnography

Ethnography is the study of a culture or cultures that some group of people share.

As a method, it usually refers to participant observation by a single investigator immersed in the group for a long time

Netography

is the use of ethnographic methods to study online communities.

Participant Observation

Complete Observer; Mixed; Complete Participant

Intensive Interviews

intensive, or depth, interviewing relies on open-ended questions to develop a comprehensive picture of the interviewee's background, atti-tudes, and actions

Focus Groups

unstructured group interviews in which the focus group leader actively encourages discussion among participants on the topics of interest.

Ethical Issues in Qualitative Research (6)

1) Voluntary participation

2) Subject well-being

3) Identity disclosure

4) Confidentiality

5) Appropriate boundaries

6) Researcher safety

Qualitative Data Analysis (2)

1. data as text- hermeneutic (interpretation)

2. Progressive focusing- Analyst; refine observations (leads to more questions)

Techniques of Qual. data analysis (5)

1. Data collection

2. Conceptualization and Coding

3. Examining relationships to show how they influence eachother

4. Authenticating Conclusions by evaluating alt. hypothesis

5. reflexivity

Data Collection

The data for a qualitative study most often are notes jotted down in the field or during an interview or text tran-scribed from audiotapes.

Conceptualizing and coding

Identifying and refining important concepts is a key part of the iterative process of qualitative research.

Examining Relationships

exploring data obtained from two variables at a time

Authenticating Conclusions

No standards exist for evaluating the validity or "authenticity" of conclusions in a qualitative study, but the need to consider carefully the evidence and methods on which conclusions are based.

reflexivity

analyzing and critically considering our own role in, and effect on, our research