Unobtrusive research brief descriptions Content analysis Unobtrusive research
Unobtrusive research (brief descriptions) Content analysis
Unobtrusive research • Studying economic or social behavior without affecting it (can be qualitative and/or quantitative). Examining ´clues´ instead of actual behavior. • Some unobtrusive research types: • • • Content analysis (≈ documentary research) Secondary statistical data analysis Unobtrusive online research Comparative and historical research Meta-analysis of research papers
Content/documentary analysis • The study of recorded human communications or products (books, websites, paintings, etc. ). • Considerations: • • • Topics appropriate Conceptualization Units of data collection vs. units of analysis Sampling (units of analysis) Coding (transforming raw data into standardized form) • Manifest content (surface) • Latent content (underlying meaning)
Useful sources (examples only) • Communications (e-mails, letters, blogs, social media etc. ) • Individual (personal) records (diaries, notes, calendars etc. ) • Organizational sources (agendas, administrative records, policy statements, reports, book keeping etc. ) • Government sources • Media sources (TV, radio, online media, printed media etc. )
An example (recording table for TV violance vs. target group research)
Primary vs. secondary data • Were the data collected for this or for another (past) research. • Both have advantages and disadvantages but none of them is ceteris paribus scientifically more or less valuable.
Meta-analysis (source: http: //keithsneuroblogspot. hu)
Advantages • May have fewer resource requirements • Unobtrusive • Longitudinal studies may be feasible • Can provide comparative and contextual data • Can result in unforeseen discoveries • Permanence of data
Disadvantages • May be collected for a purpose that does not match your need • Access may be difficult or costly • Aggregations and definitions may be unsuitable • No real control over data quality • Initial purpose may affect how data are presented
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