Research methods key concepts - created from Mind Map

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Research concepts

Validity

Reliability

Representativeness

Generalisability

Where the data provides a true picture of the social reality of those being researched.

The ability to repeat the same research and gain the same or similar results.

The extent to which the sample selected is a fair reflection of the target population.

The ability to make claims about the target population from the research findings.

General key concepts

Primary methods

Secondary methods

Quantitative data

Qualitative data

First hand research. A method carried out directly by the researcher such as questionnaires or observations.

Second hand research. When other peoples/institutions data is used and analysed by a researcher such as government statistics or media.

Methods like surveys and structured interviews give objective results in a numerical form and can easily be put into tables and graphs so results can be correlated. Quantitative methods can gain large scale data e.g. The Census.

Methods like observations and unstructured interviews give results about individuals lives, their meanings and feelings. This is in-depth data which is descriptive and subjective.

Research methods key concepts