Developmental/Social Science Research Methods

According to Barlow and Hersen (1984), qualitative research consists of studies in which the description of observations is not primarily expressed in quantitative (numerical terms). This does not mean that these studies never use numerical measures but only that other methods of description are emphasized.

Qualitative research is often termed "non-experimental" because of its lack of emphasis upon the numerical collection and analysis of data. Best (1981) states that commonly, qualitative research consist of the following methods and procedures:

(1) Case study methods consisting of the in-depth study of a single individual.

(2) Naturalistic observation methods in which people are observed in their normal setting with no attempt to manipulate their behavior.

(3) Certain laboratory methods in which people are observed in a laboratory setting with no attempt to manipulate their behavior.

(4) Interview methods in which participants are asked about some aspects of their lives with responses being

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nto a prediction or hypothesis is given below: Research Question: Will students who are taught history by a teacher of the same gender like history more than students taught history by a teacher of a different gender? Research Hypothesis: Students taught history by a teacher of the same gender will like history significantly more than students taught history by a teacher of a different gender. The use of hypotheses, as opposed to research questions, has some advantages and disadvantages which have been discussed by Kiess and Bloomquist (1985). First, the hypothesis is derived from a deeper level of thought about a phenomenon than is a simple question. Second, a predictive statement is one which ties the current study to existing research thereby associating the study with the existing body of literature in the field. The disadvantages of hypothesis formulation involve the fact that it can lead to bias in the sense that the researcher may (either consciously or unconsciously) attempt to manipulate the data so as to bring about the hypothesized outcome. Another disadvantage is that focusing attention on a hypothesis can prevent researchers from noticing other phenomena that might be important to the study. Another important
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Kaplan Saccuzzo, Kiess Bloomquist, Testing Effects, Hawthorne California, Democrat Independent, Acredolo Goodwyn, Linton Gallo, Jean Piaget, Research Horvath, Papalia Olds, power experiment, null hypothesis, treatment variable, anastasi 1989, qualitative research, level measurement, internal validity, kiess bloomquist 1985, qualitative quantitative, quantitative research, kiess bloomquist, qualitative quantitative methods, students taught history, history teacher gender, taught history teacher,
Approximate Word count = 5786
Approximate Pages = 23 (250 words per page)

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