306/7MCResearch MethodsJohn Keenan john.keenan@coventry.ac.uk

Primary Research original done by the researcherSecondary Research found by the researcher from other sources

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO PRIMARY!

If you do...read first

http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/index.php

Books:

302.2

Media research methods

Blog link for PowerPoint:http://whisperingchicken.wordpress.com/

306MC

If you choose it your likely dissertation structure will be:

Introduction outlining dissertation (what, why, how)Literature Review previous studies, gap in knowledgeMethodology how you will study topicResults what you foundConclusions connect literature review with findings

307MC

No structurePresent results in portfolio

Validity - does what it should

Reliability - degree to which measurement is free from error

Validity

Ask the right peopleAsk the right amount of peopleAsk the right questionshttp://www.googleduel.com/reportindex-popculture.phpI like this product the best because it didnt make my dog as sick as the previous four

Reliability

the same results gained over re-testingRe-write the questions to test reliabilityeg would you drink beer out of a bucket?Is a bucket a suitable container for beer?Re-test in same way

Qualitative Research

Advantages:

does not impose reasonsgets understanding not confirmationgains depth of knowledgecan see the world in its natural statephilosophy of the free-thinking individualDiscovers insights

Qualitative Research

focus group 8-12; recorder; moderatorInterviews depth; interview schedule; probes; recordparticipant observation/field recordcase study

Systematicreplicable

Why participant observation?Preliminary studyInexpensiveNatural setting Hawthorne

Why not?Validity what is recorded, one viewpointEthics Covert? (if not, Hawthorne) Danger Street Corner Society

DataCameras, sound recorders transcribedNotepadPurpose ledGive subjects cameras; complete diaries

Why focus groupsSpeedInteraction

Why not?MonopolisationInhibited

RecordingRecord-transcribeNon-verbal?

Why interviews?DepthEasier

Why not?Interviewer bias

RecordingRecord-transcribe

Why case study?simplenatural

Why not?time consuming not generalisable

RecordingRecord-transcribeNotes, diary

Data

Discourse analysisPrograms you can use: http://www.pressure.to/qda/

Sampling for qualitative research

PurposiveRepresentative

Quantitative Research

MeasuredAdvantagesProvides evidence - facts and figuresCan be re-testedCan be generalised

DisadvantagesGives figures not reasons There are lies, damn lies and statistics 82.3% of statistics are made up on the spot

Types of quantitative research

QuestionnaireSurveyContent analysisExperiment

population entire group of people or media about whom information is needed

Convenience Quota sampling - proportionRandom - eg 1 in 10 of populationSnowball - contacts find contacts

Types of Sampling

Structure of Questions

1. Screen - find target audience2. Warm-ups - easy-to-answer questions3. Increasingly difficult questions4. Classification (if not in 1)/personal questions

e.g. to get home-makersBought a house?Got children?Eg to get earth-mothersHow important is recycling to youWhat are the most important things about a car?ScreenAsk key questions first

Problems to avoid

Pilot it!So, Debbie, what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?1. personal2. Leading3. difficultyWhen did you stop beating your wife?How many sexual partners has your mother had? a) 5 b) 6 c) 7 d) more3. Easy options

Age:Under 2021-2425-3940+ Please tick

Gender

MFPlease tickethnicityWBACO

Classification questionsgender, age, marital status, class, occupationwhatever is necessary

Measurement Scales

Questionnaire/Survey Designnominal - numbers How often do you visit the pub in a weekOneTwoThreeFourFiveSixSevenlikert scale - statements possibly from qualitativeeach item is classified beforehandeg I always send my wife to get the drinksAll I want from the pub is to sit down and drink as much beer as I can

Measurement Scalesgraphic - pictures or lineeg how comfortable are you with the idea of censorship?Questionnaire/Survey Design

rank order eg what is most important about beer - please rank - 1(most important) - 5 (least important)taste___ price___ brand___amount___ accessibility____

semantic differential scaleeg how does drinking beer out of a bucket make you feelproud________________________________________________ashamedwild_________________________________________________ controlledhappy _______________________________________________ sad

Questionnaire/Survey Design

Methods of Data Collectionstreetin-homeplace of workvenuephonepostinternet

methods used to analyse images

semiotic analysis content analysis

Images are not neutralText anchors images

populationsampleconstruct categories of contentestablish a quantification system (coding schedule)pilotcodeanalyse data

This is the last painting by Van Gogh before he killed himselfAnchorage

reliability

reliability

reliability

mothervaliditysynonyms for mother referenced to female parentreferenced to term of abusein a childs voicespoken by parent

Experiments

Correlation between variables

Independent variable (predicts a change)dependent variable (will change)

independent affects the value of dependent

Discourse Analysishttp://bank.rug.ac.be/da/da.htmStructural analysis - Claude Levi-Strausshttp://www.colorado.edu/English/ENGL2012Klages/levi-strauss.htmlNarrative analysis - Vladimir Propphttp://social.chass.ncsu.edu/wyrick/debclass/Propp.htmPsychoanalysis - Lacan www.colorado.edu/English/ENGL2012Klages/lacan.htmlTextual Analysis MethodsSemiotic AnalysisContent Analysis

Dealing with DataTabulationAverage: mean, mode, medianStandard deviation Correlation

Statistics transferred to program

ExcelSPSS

Percent

frequency count%

Significance?

Average

mean - add all divide by totalmedian - line up all responses and find the one in the middlemode - find most popular response

Standard deviationsquare root of the variance

how much the scores differ from the mean

Correlation Analysisrelationship between one and the otherEXCEL - CORREL

ethical issues