PSYC232 Week 3

PSYC232 WEEK 3 (LEC 1)

SAMPLING



Sampling and sampling biases

We want to know things about everyone, or particular groups of people or animals, or a particular person/animal.



Sampling describes the selection of people (or animals) to receive information that represents the whole population.



Types of sampling strategies



Probability sampling/random sampling

Each person in a population has an equal chance of being chosen



Stratified sampling

Divide the population into relevant groups, then randomly select people.



Purposive sampling/ targeted sampling

Specifically selected person/people



Convienience sampling

Whoever’s available



Sampling biases



Most studies in the world are done on the WEIRDest people in the world (white, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic).







Probability Sampling/Random Sampling

is not perfect because it relies on your survey being equally interesting, useful, and acceptable to everyone in your population.



Convenience Sampling

is not inherently “bad” but it is important to

 (1) study phenomena that are theoretically relevant in that sample, and 

(2) consider what conclusions you can get from your specific sample characteristics



Considering your sample

Tail to the right = positively skewed

Sampling takeaways

  • Your sample strategies are like picking ingredients for a recipe – know who/what is included and excluded

  • Visualizing your data gives insight into your sample characteristics and biases – this represents something interesting about your phenomenon.

  • Use different sampling strategies to fit your budget and fit your research goals.

PSYC232 WEEK 3 (LEC 2)

METHODS VS METHODOLOGY



Research methods

Ontology

Concerned with reality and truth seeking

  • e.g., what is existence, what is depression



Epistemology

Concerned with the nature of knowledge and the methods of learning

  • e.g., what do you know, how do you know it



Methodology

Concerned with the method of data collection

  • e.g., empiricism, kaupapa Māori, interface research



Methods

Describes how data was collected specifically

  • e.g., surveys, interviews, experiments



How do researchers know what they know?

  1. They watch and test: Researchers do experiments and studies to see how people act and think.

  2. They follow rules: They use a system (the scientific method) to make sure their findings are solid.

  3. They check with others: They share their results with other experts to make sure they're correct.



Ontology

Two camps of ontology



Objective = reality exists independently of the knowledge and experience of it

  • “third person perspective”



Subjective = reality only exists when we experience it and give meaning to it

  • “first person perspective”







Epistemology

Epistemology = how we learn and what knowledge is 

  • “what can I know and how can I know it?”



Lots of different types:

  • Empiricism

  • Positivism

  • Objectivity

  • Perspectivism

  • Collective Identity




Methodology = framework

Method = tools



Qualitative research

Can both be a method and a methodology

  • I.e. the tools and the framework or the leaves and the branches.



‘Data do not exist independently of the ways of collecting them’ - Chamberlain 2015



Some broad differences between qualitative and quantitative paradigms.



Quantitative

Qualitative

Numbers used as data

Words - written and spoken language - (and images) used as data

Seeks to identify relationships between variables, to explain or predict - with the aim of generalising the findings to a wider population

Seeks to understand and interpret more local meanings; recognises data as gathered in a context; sometimes produces knowledge that contributes to a more general understanding

Generates ‘shallow’ but broad data - not a lot of complex detail obtained from each participant, but lots of participants take part (to generate the necessary statistical power)

Generates ‘narrow’ but rich, ‘thich descriptions’ - detailed and complex accounts from each participant; not many take part

Seeks consensus, norms, or general patterns; often aims to reduce diversity of responses to an average response

Tends to seek patterns, but accommodates and explores difference and divergence within data

Tends to be theory-testing, and deductive

Tends to be theory generating, and inductive (working up from the data)

Values detachment and impartiality (objectivity)

Values personal involvement and partiality (subjectivity)

Has a fixed method (harder to change focus once data collection has begun)

Method is less fixed (can accommodate a shift in focus in the same study)

Can be completed quickly

Tends to take longer to complete because it is interpretative and there is no formula



10 fundamentals of qualitative research

  1. It's about meaning, not numbers

  2. does not provide a single answer

  3. Treats context as important

  4. Can be experiential or critical

  5. Is underpinned by ontological assumptions

  6. Is underpinned by epistemological assumptions

  7. Involves a qualitative methodology

  8. Uses all sorts of data

  9. Involves thinking qualitatively 

  10. Values subjectivity and reflexivity