POLS 3180 Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: Literature Review, Content Analysis, Ecological Fallacy
13 Dec 2016
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Unobtrusive research is the analysis of already existing data". The data collection is independent of the processes that produced the data. In the most unobtrusive designs, the data were never produced with research purposes in mind. Major advantages: few concerns about reactivity, more direct measurement than by interviewing, few ethical concerns. Major limitation: researcher has no control over nature and availability of data. This class discusses two main types of unobtrusive research. Analysis of existing research and statistics: literature review, secondary analysis. Content analysis: the study of recorded human communications , can be conducted both quantitative and qualitatively. Literature review: a systematic overview of existing studies on the research question under investigation. Probably the most common method in social science. What do existing studies agree and disagree on: what could be explanations for disagreements. A literature review summarizes the findings from academic research of highest possible quality.
