Case studies, content/thematic analysis & features of science

What is the definition of a case study?

An in-depth investigation, description & analysis of a single individual, group, institution or event → often produces qualitative data & tends to be longitudinal

What are the strengths & limitations of case studies?

Strengths:

• offers rich, detailed insights that may shed light on very unusual & atypical forms of behaviour

• contribute to our understanding of ‘normal’ functioning

• may generate hypotheses for future study & one solitary contradictory instance may lead to the revision of an entire theory (paradigm shift)

Limitations:

• small sample sizes limit the extent of generalisability

• information that makes it into the final report is based on the subjective selection & interpretation of the researcher

• personal accounts from the participants & their family/friends may be prone to inaccuracy & memory decay → low validity

What is the definition of content analysis?

A research tool used to indirectly observe the presence of certain words, images or concepts within the media (e.g. adverts, books & films) → usually carried out on secondary data

How is a content analysis conducted?

1. Decide on a research question

2. Select a sample (e.g. randomly/systematically) & decide how material will be sampled (e.g. event/time sampling) from a larger quantity of all possible data (e.g. diary entries, tweets, children’s books)

3. Coding → researcher decides on behavioural categories/coding units to be recorded (e.g. occurrences of particular words)

4. Work through data → read sample & tally frequency pre-determined categories appear

5. Data analysis → can be performed on the quantitative data to look for patterns

What should the coding units/behavioural categories in a content analysis be?

Operationalised (should be as clearly defined as possible to try to reduce subjective interpretation)

How could reliability in a content analysis be tested?

• Test-retest reliability: run the content analysis again on the same sample & compare the two sets of data

• Inter-rater reliability: a second rater also performs the content analysis, with the same set of data & the same behavioural categories; compare the two sets of data

What are the strengths & limitations of a content analysis?

Strengths:

• high ecological validity → relies on real communications & artefacts are taken from real world (e.g. recent news reports or books)

• accessible sources (e.g. videos of speeches) enable replication of content analysis, allowing observations to be tested for reliability

• no ethical issues → much of the material an analyst might want to study may already exist within the public domain

Limitations:

• researcher/observer bias reduces objectivity & validity of findings → interpretations of behavioural categories may vary among observers

• content analysis can be culturally biased due to influence of observer’s language & culture on interpretation of verbal or written content & behavioural categories

• data was created for purposes other than the research & may not have been created under controlled conditions → decreases validity

What is the definition of a thematic analysis?

Researchers start by attempting to identify the deeper meaning of the text by reading it first & then allowing themes to emerge

How is a thematic analysis conducted?

1. Collect text or turn recordings into text through transcription (i.e. writing it down)

2. Read text/transcripts first to spot patterns that can be coded & collected

3. Re-read transcriptions/codes looking for emergent themes

What are the strengths & limitations of a thematic analysis?

Strengths:

• avoids researcher bias by preventing researcher from only looking for what they want to see → theories come after the discover of themes

• solely qualitative & high in ecological validity → provides insight into why, how & what people feel

Limitations:

• extremely time-consuming → text must be studied, analysed & reviewed repeatedly to identify & categorise themes

• may be prone to confirmation bias → researchers may overlook themes which do not align with their preconceived ideas & only focus on those which support them

• data may not have been created in controlled conditions

What is the definition of a meta analysis?

The process where researchers collect & collate a wide range of previously conducted research on a specific area to provide an overall conclusion

What are the strengths & limitations of a meta analysis?

Strengths:

• large sample sizes increase extent of generalisability

• biased/uncontrolled studies have less impact on overall results

• comparing studies across contexts can uncover unexpected patterns

Limitations:

• researcher has no control over data quality (some data may not be created under controlled conditions)

• may be prone to publication bias (i.e. file drawer problem) → researcher may not select all relevant studies, choosing to leave out those with negative or non-significant results

What is a mnemonic to remember the features of science?

THE PROF (i.e. the professor → associated with academics & science):

• Theory construction

• Hypothesis testing

• Empirical method

• Paradigm & paradigm shifts

• Replicability

• Objectivity

• Falsifiability

What is the definition of a paradigm & paradigm shift?

• Paradigm: a set of shared assumptions & beliefs about how behaviour is studied/explained within a scientific discipline

• Paradigm shift: a shift occurs where members of a scientific community change from one established way of studying & explaining behaviour to a new way, due to new/contradictory evidence → leads to a scientific revolution

What is the definition of objectivity & how can it be improved?

All sources of personal bias are minimised, so as not to distort or influence the research process:

• systematic data collection: data gathering is carefully designed & consistent (i.e. standardised) for each participant

• double-blind: researcher who doesn’t know the research aims collects the data

• peer review: identifies biased research & stops biased work from being published → researchers carefully consider if they can justify their conclusions objectively before sending research to peer review

What is the definition of the empirical method?

Scientific approaches that are based on the gathering of evidence through direct observation & experience

What is the definition of replicability?

The extent to which scientific procedures & findings can be repeated by other researchers

What is the definition of falsifiability?

The principle that a theory cannot be considered scientific unless it admits the possibility of being proved untrue (proposed by Karl Popper)

What is the definition of a hypothesis & hypothesis testing?

• Hypothesis: a testable statement written as a prediction of what the researcher expects to find as a result of their experiment

• Hypothesis testing: a statistical procedure used to determine whether there is enough evidence in a sample of data to support a specific prediction about a population

What is the definition of a theory & theory construction?

• Theory: a set of general laws or principles that have the ability to explain particular events or behaviours

• Theory construction: occurs through the gathering of evidence from direct observation using empirical methods

What are the stages of the bottom-up (inductive) process of theory construction?

1. Observation:

• psychologists start by observing naturalistic behaviour in ‘the real world

2. Construct a testable hypothesis:

• to allow the observed behaviour to be tested under controlled conditions

3. Conduct an experiment & gain experimental data:

• the collection of empirical data using controlled conditions

• if the data is significant using statistical tests, the researcher can claim a cause-&-effect relationship between the variables

4. Propose a theory that explains the results:

• researcher constructs a theory that can explain the significant results gained in the experiment

What is the top-down (deductive method) of theory construction?

• Researchers start with an established theory & develop hypotheses that test one of the theory’s assumptions

• The result of this study can support the existing theory, add to the theory or even discredit the current view