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Diagnose whether this study design qualifies as archival research. Justify your answer by explaining how the data source and the researchers' role align with the definition of archival research, and contrast it with an active data collection approach.
Case context: A team of researchers wants to study how economic recessions affect public mental health. Instead of recruiting participants to fill out mental health surveys, they obtain anonymized records of psychiatric hospital admissions and local employment statistics from 2008 to 2012. They plan to analyze this data to see if higher unemployment rates correlate with increases in psychiatric admissions during those years.
Question: Diagnose whether this study design qualifies as archival research. Justify your answer by explaining how the data source and the researchers' role align with the definition of archival research, and contrast it with an active data collection approach.
Sample answer: Yes, this study qualifies as archival research. The researchers are utilizing pre-existing records (psychiatric hospital admissions and employment statistics) that were originally collected for other purposes (clinical administration and economic monitoring). Furthermore, the researchers are not actively collecting new data or recruiting participants, which contrasts with active data collection approaches like administering surveys or conducting interviews.
Key points:
- The study qualifies as archival research.
- The data consists of pre-existing hospital records and employment statistics.
- The data was originally collected for other clinical/administrative purposes, not this study.
- The researchers did not engage in active data collection (no active participant recruitment or surveys).
Rubric: To receive full credit, the response must: 1. Correctly diagnose the study as archival research. 2. Justify this by referencing the pre-existing nature of the hospital and employment records. 3. Note that the records were originally collected for another purpose. 4. Contrast the method with active data collection (e.g., pointing out that they did not run surveys).
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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