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Research Methods > 1 > Flashcards

1 Flashcards

1
Q

What is a confounding variable?

A

A type of extraneous variable that varies systematically with the different levels of the independent variable and affects the dependent variable

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2
Q

What is an independent variable?

A

The variable that the researcher manipulates and which is assumed to have a direct effect on the dependent variable (DV).

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3
Q

What is a dependent variable?

A

The variable being measured

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4
Q

What is a directional hypotheses?

A

A clear and precise prediction about the difference or relationship between the variables in the study This prediction is typically based on past research, accepted theory or literature on the topic.

E.g. there will be an increase…

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5
Q

What is a non- directional hypotheses?

A

Predicts that a difference will exist between two or more variables without predicting the exact direction of the difference. This is usually because previous research has been inconclusive, and the specific nature (direction) of the effect of the IV on the DV cannot be predicted confidently.

E.g. there will be a difference…

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6
Q

What is operationalisation?

A

Operationalisation is clearly defining a variable and making it measurable. This enables the behaviour under review to be measured objectively.

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7
Q

Operationalise stress

A

Cortisol levels, score on a likert scale

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8
Q

What do we standardise?

A

Investigator effects and situational variables

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9
Q

2 limitations of matched pairs

A
  • time consuming
  • can’t control for every ppt variable
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10
Q

what is matching?

A

making sure a particular characteristic of the participants is divided equally across groups

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11
Q

what does random allocation do?

A

ensures that participant variables are distributed evenly using chance

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12
Q

how can we use random allocation

A

number hat, computer program

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13
Q

What does it mean if participants are blind to the experimental group?

A

They don’t know which experimental group they’re in.

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14
Q

how do we control for ppt variables? (2 ways)

A

matching, random allocation

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15
Q

how do we control for situational variables? (1 way)

A

standardisation

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16
Q

how do we control for investigator effects? (1 way)

A

standardisation

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17
Q

what does blinding do?

A

it makes ppt unaware on what experimental group they’re in so reduces demand charcteristics

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18
Q

What is meant by external reliability?

A

External reliability refers to how consistent the results of a study or specific test are.

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19
Q

3 ways to increase reliability in a questionnaire

A
  • test-retest method
  • adapt/ remove anything unreliable
  • use closed questions instead of open
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20
Q

2 ways to increase reliability in interviews

A
  • same interviewer for each participant
  • structured interview
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21
Q

What is meant by internal reliability?

A

Internal reliability refers to how consistent the results are of individual items on a test or questionnaire.

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22
Q

What is meant by face validity?

A

Face validity refers to whether a test appears to be measuring what it claims to measure.

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23
Q

What is meant by concurrent validity?

A

if results of a test are similar to those of a previously validated test, that appears to measure the same thing

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24
Q

pros of covert

A

pros - less investigator effects so high external validity
- less demand characteristics so high internal validity

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25
Q

cons of covert

A

ethical issues

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26
Q

pros of overt

A

ethical

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27
Q

cons of overt

A

investigator effects and demand characteristics means low internal and external validity

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28
Q

pros of naturalistic

A

high ecological external validity

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29
Q

cons of naturalistic

A

ppt and situational variables hard to control

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30
Q

pros of controlled

A

high internal validity

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31
Q

cons of controlled

A

lacks ecological external validity

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32
Q

pros of participant experiment

A

in depth data

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33
Q

cons of participant experiment

A

investigator effects = less internal validity

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34
Q

pros of non- participant

A

less investigator effects

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35
Q

cons of non- participant

A

lack of closeness means behaviours of interest may be missed

36
Q

3 things that behaviourable categories need to be

A

observable, measurable and clear

37
Q

what is event sampling?

A

tally the number of times a certain event occurs over an entire time period

38
Q

what’s time sampling?

A

observing behaviour at certain time intervals

39
Q

what’s inter- observer reliability?

A

the extent to which two or more observers are observing and recording behviour in the same way

40
Q

4 ways to ensure inter-observer reliability

A
  1. training
  2. operationalise behaviour categories
  3. more observers
  4. same perspective
41
Q

define internal validity

A

when a study measures what it intends to measure by controlling for extraneous variables to ensure only the IV affects the DV in order to establish a clear cause and effect

42
Q

define external validity

A

whether or not the study can be extrapolated beyond the scope of the study

43
Q

3 types of external validity

A

temporal (time period) , population (representative) , ecological (setting)

44
Q

mundane realism?

A

whether or not the study reflects what happens in a day to day life

45
Q

randomisation

A

using chance to control for the effects of bias

46
Q

standardisation

A

where all participants are subject to the same environment, information and experience

47
Q

null hypotheses?

A

statement showing no significant difference between variables

48
Q

experimental hypothesis

A

shows a significant difference between variables

49
Q

what is a pilot study

A

A small- scale trial run of a study, to make improvements before we commit to a large scale investigation.

50
Q

what do pilot studies test for?

A

internal validity, efficiency, reliability, ethics, easily interpreted by participants

51
Q

3 question types to avoid in questionnaires

A

double- barrel, double- negative, expert terminology

52
Q

what is self- report?

A

when participants are asked to provide information about their own thought, feelings and behaviour

53
Q

pros cons of open questions

A

pros - more detailed, less researcher bias
cons - less reliable (harder to analyse)

54
Q

pros and cons of closed questions

A

pros - easier to analyse
cons - less internally valid due to guessing

55
Q

pro and con of structured interview

A

Pro - easier to analyse quantitative data; discover trends
- replicable
Con- Increased risk of investigator effects

56
Q

pro and con of unstructured interview

A

Pro - less chance of demand characteristics and investigator effects.
Con - Difficult to analyse qualitative data
- time consuming and expensive.

57
Q

limitations of self report

A
  • partaker bias (untruthful)
  • social desirability bias
58
Q

4 types of extraneous variables

A

demand characteristics, investigator effects, social desirability bias, extraneous variables

59
Q

how to reduce demand characteristics?

A
  • deception
  • double blind trial
60
Q

how to reduce investigator effects?

A

double blind trial

61
Q

how to reduce social desirability bias?

A
  • covert observation
  • anonymous questionnaire
62
Q

empirical method

A

Empirical method refers to the idea that knowledge is gained from direct experiences in an objective, systematic and controlled manner to produce quantitative data.

It suggests that we cannot create knowledge based on belief alone, and therefore any theory will need to be empirically tested and verified in order to be considered scientific.

63
Q

objectivity

A

A key feature of science is the ability for researchers to remain objective, meaning that they must not let their personal opinions, judgements or biases interfere with the data.

64
Q

replicability

A

Replicability is a key feature of a science, and refers to the ability to conduct research again and achieve consistent results.

65
Q

falsifiability

A

Falsifiability refers to the idea that a research hypothesis could be proved wrong.

66
Q

theory

A

A theory is a set of principles that intend to explain certain behaviours or events

67
Q

paradigm

A

A paradigm is a set of shared assumptions and methods within a particular discipline.

68
Q

paradigm shift

A

The way in which a field of study moves forward is through a scientific revolution. It can start with a handful of scientists challenging an existing, accepted paradigm, which gains popularity over time

69
Q

ethics

A

Deception
Right to withdraw
Informed consent
Privacy and confidentiality
Protection from harm

70
Q

What is BPS code of ethics?

A

The British Psychological Society (BPS) code of ethics sets out a series of guidelines that researchers need to consider when undertaking psychological research.

71
Q

deal with deception

A
  • debrief
  • right to withdraw
72
Q

deal with privacy

A
  • informed consent
  • right to withdraw
  • conidential
73
Q

deal with confidentiality

A

-anonymity

74
Q

deal with protection from harm

A

right to withdraw
informed consent

75
Q

4 reasons for peer- review

A
  • validate quality and relevance
  • suggest amendments
  • allocate research funding
  • reduce misinformation
76
Q

3 cons of peer- review

A
  • criticism of rival researchers
  • publication bias (catchy enough?)
  • time- consuming
77
Q

cost- benefit analysis

A

Psychologists must ‘weigh up’ the benefits to society that may be gained by testing new theories and the costs to the participants within the research.

78
Q

test- retest check

A

administering the same test to the same participants at different times to check for reliability

79
Q

correlation coefficient?

A

+0.8

80
Q

types of order effects and prevention

A

practise
fatigue

mitigate with counterbalancing

81
Q

define experiment

A

An experiment is a study in which the researcher investigates a cause and effect relationship,

by comparing the effect of different levels of an independent variable on the dependent variable.

82
Q

What do we do with audio recordings?

A

We transcribe them

83
Q

What is a schemer?

A

A mental framework developed through experience.

84
Q

Why do we use content analysis?

A

Investigating trends and patterns over time in communication (qualitative info) which ends up as quantitative data

85
Q
A

Research Methods (4 decks)

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