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AQA A level pyschology > 4.2.3 Research methods > Flashcards

4.2.3 Research methods Flashcards

1
Q

what is an experimental method

A

experimental method involves the manipulation of an independent variable to measure the effect on the dependent variable.

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2
Q

what is an aim

A

a general statement of what the researcher intends to investigate , the purpose of the study

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3
Q

what is a hypothesis

A

a clear precise testable statement that states the relationship between variables to be investigated , stated at the outset of any study

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4
Q

what is the difference between an aim and hypothesis

A

an aim is a general statement and a hypothesis is a precise statement that is testable

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5
Q

what is a directional hypothesis and when is it used

A

it states the direction of the difference of the relationship , used when there is previous research to indicate outcome

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6
Q

what is a non directional hypothesis and when is it used

A

it does not state the direction of the study and if us used when there is no previous research or when findings from earlier studies are contradictory

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7
Q

what is a laboratory experiment

A

takes place in a controlled environment in which the researcher manipulates the independent variable and records effect on dependent variable whilst having strict control of extraneous variables

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8
Q

what is a field experiment

A

takes place in a natural setting within which the researcher manipulates the independent variable and records the effect on the dependent variable

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9
Q

what is a natural experiential

A

an experiment where the change in the independent variable is not brought about by the researcher , it would have happened if the researcher had not or been there . The researcher records the the effect on the dependent variable

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10
Q

what is a quasi experiment

A

a study that is almost an experiment but the independent variable has not been determined by anyone , the variables simply exist such as being old or young

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11
Q

evaluate lab experiments

A

strengths:
High internal validity - strict control over extraneous variables
High reliability- High levels of control allows replication to occur
ethical- participants mostly know they are taking part eg informed consent

Weaknesses:
Demand characteristics participants know they are being tested
Low external validity

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12
Q

evaluate field experiments

A

strengths
high levels of external validity takes place in natural setting
no demand characteristics participants don’t know they’re being tested

weaknesses:
low internal validity no control over extraneous variables
ethical issues cannot give informed consent as they are unaware being tested
Less reliability as it cannot be fully replicated due to lack of control

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13
Q

evaluate natural experiments

A

strengths
high external validity - more natural setting
less conflict over ethical issues - events would happen anyway without presence of researcher
no demand characteristics

weaknesses:
low internal validity lack of control and increased risk of extraneous variables influencing results
low reliability due to difficulty of replication

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14
Q

evaluate quasi experiment

A

Strengths:
high internal validity - usually in a lab - control over extraneous variables , however difficulty to know if IV impacted DV
Lack of conflict over ethical issues participants know they’re being tested
reliability as it’s highly controlled allowing replication

weaknesses:
low external validity
demand characteristics

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15
Q

what is a naturalistic observation

A

watching and recording observable behaviour in a setting which it would normally occur

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16
Q

what is a controlled observation

A

watching and recording observable behaviour within a structured environment e.g where some variables are managed

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17
Q

what is a covert observation

A

when participants observable behaviour is watched and recorded without their knowledge and consent

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18
Q

what is an overt observation

A

when participants behaviour is watched and recorded with their knowledge and consent

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19
Q

what is a a participant observation

A

the researcher becomes a member of the grouo whose behaviour he/she is watching and recording

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20
Q

what is non participant observations

A

the researcher remains oustide of the grouo whose behaviour he/she is watching and recording

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21
Q

okay why is the difference between observations and experiments

A

observations are non experimental methods meaning they cannot establish a cause and effect relationship , observations do not have an independent variable , they havw variables but there IS NO MANIPULATION

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22
Q

evaluate naturalistic observations

A

low internal validity
low reliability

high external validity
low demand characteristics

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23
Q

evaluate controlled observations

A

low external validity
high demand characteristics

high internal validity 
high reliability (replication)
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24
Q

evaluate covert observations

A

high ethical issues - no informed consent

high internal validity

low demand characteristics

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25
Q

evaluate overt observations

A

high internal validity

low demand charactestixs

low ethical issues

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26
Q

evaluate participant observations

A

high internal validity

low objectivity

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27
Q

evaluate non participant observations

A

low internal validity

high objectivity

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28
Q

what is an unstructured observation

A

type of observation where every instance of a behaviour is recorded in as much detail as possible . this is useful if the behaviours researchers are interested in do not occur very often

29
Q

what is a structured observation

A

a type of observation where the researcher uses various systems to organise observations such as sampling technique and behavioural categories

30
Q

what is target behaviour

A

behaviours which are the main focus of an investigation

31
Q

what are behavioural categories

A

when a target behaviour is broken up into components that are observable and measurable

32
Q

what is a continuous recording

A

making a note of everything without pause

33
Q

what is event sampling

A

when the researcher records the number of times a particular behaviour or event occurs in a target individual or group

34
Q

what is time sampling

A

when the researcher records behaviour within a pre determined time frame

35
Q

what is inter observer relatability

A

the extent to which there is an agreement between two or more observers involved in the observations of a behaviour. This is measured by correlating the observations of two or more observers . If the correlation between the two observers is +0.8, the date is said to havw high inter observer reliability

36
Q

what is quantitative data

A

data that can be counted usually given as numbers

37
Q

what is qualitative data

A

date taht is expressed in words and non numerical form

38
Q

what is observer bias

A

when observers expectations effect whag they see or hear , this reduces the validity of the observation

39
Q

what are the two types of self report techniques

A

questionaires and interviews

40
Q

what is an interview

A

a live encounter whwre the interviewer asks a set of questions to assess an interviewer thoughts and or experiences. the questions may be pre determined (structured) or developed as the interview goes on (unstructured)

41
Q

what is a structured interview

A

questions are determined in advance

42
Q

what is an unstructured interview

A

interview starts out with general aims and some possible questions and let’s the interviewee’s answers guide subsequent questions

43
Q

what is a semi structured interview

A

contains some predetermined questions and some questions developed in response to answers given . This allows the researcher to ask follow up questions when they deem it appropriate

44
Q

what is an interview schedule

A

a set of pre-set questions for an interviewer to use

45
Q

what is interviewer bias

A

bias that occurs as a result of the interviewer , this may be the way they respond to participants ,the areas they are interested in e.t.c. It affects the results that are obtained from the interview

46
Q

what is a grouo interview

A

more than one participant interviewed at a time

47
Q

why is clarity important in an interview and what are three common errors to avoid in question design

A

clarity is key as if respondents are confused or misinterpret particular questions it can havw a negative impact on the quality of information received.

  • overuse of jargon
  • emotive language and leading questions
  • double barrelled questions and double negatives
48
Q

evaluate structured interviews

A

high reliability and replicability

low interviewer bias

low validity may miss key things due to only asking pre determined questions

straightforward to use for data analysis

high risk of social desirability bias

49
Q

evaluate unstructured interview

A

not reliable and replicable

higher interviewer bias

high validity

harder to analyse data

risk of social desirability bias

50
Q

evaluate semi structured interviews

A

mixed reliability + replicability

mixed interviewer bias

higher validity

semi difficult to analyse data

risk of social desirability bias

51
Q

what is a questionnaire

A

a questionnaire is a type of self report technique. It is a set of written questions used to assess a persons thoughts and or experiences. A questionnaire may be used as a part of an experiment to assess the dependent variable

52
Q

what are the two types of questions used in self report techniques

A

open and closed questions

53
Q

what is an open question

A

an open question is a question where there is no fixed choice of repsonse , they tend to produce qualitative data that is rich in depth but hard to analyse

54
Q

what is a closed question

A

a closed questuon is where there is a fixed set of responses that is determined by the person who sets the questions, this could be a yes or no question or answered in a scale . They produce quantitative data data which is easier to analyse but may lack depth

55
Q

evaluate questionnaires

A

strengths :
cost effective , can gather large amounts of data quickly
can be completed without researcher present
data produced by questionnaires can be generally easy to analyse

weaknesses
participants may not always be honest - social desirability bias
questionnaires often produce response bias - e.g just selecting yes regardless of the question (aquiescence bias)

56
Q

what is a correlation

A

a mathematical technique in which a researcher investigates an association/relationship between two variables called co variables

57
Q

what are co-variables

A

the variables investigated within a correlation , they are not referred to as independent and dependent variables because a correlation investigates an association/relationship between the variables rather than trying to show a cause and effect relationship

58
Q

what is a positive correlation

A

as one co variable increases so does the other

59
Q

what is a negative correlation

A

as one co variable increases the other decreases

60
Q

what is zero correlation

A

when there is no association/relationship between the co variables

61
Q

what is a correlation coefficient

A

the strength and direction of an association/relationship is measured using a correlation coefficient.

It ranges from -1 to +1. + means positive - means negative , the closer to 1 means the stronger the two variables are related

62
Q

what is the difference between correlations and experiments

A

(ex= experiment c = correlation)

ex- difference , c- relationships
ex- manipulate IV measure DV , C-measure both co-variables
ex-controlled , can establish cause and effect C- no control (observing) can’t establish cause and effect
ex- extraneous or confounding variables , c- intervening variable

63
Q

what is content analysis

A

content analysis is a kind of observational study in which behaviour is indirectly studied by examining the communications that people produce , it may involved quantitative or qualitative analysis or both

64
Q

what is coding , referring to content analysis

A

the stage of content analysis in which the communication to be studied is analysed by identifying each instance of the chosen categories , it is the process of placing quantitative or qualitative data into categories

65
Q

what is thermatic analysis

A

an inductive and qualitative approach to analysis that involves identifying implicit or explicit ideas within the data. The data is then organised according to these themes . Themes often emerge once some coding of the data has occurred

66
Q

what is the aim of content analysis

A

the aim is to summarise and describe the data in a systematic way so that overall conclusions can be drawn , this can be done by placing data into categories and counted (quantitative) or can be analysed in themes(qualitative)

67
Q

evaluate content analysis

A

strengths:
can avoid ethical issue e.g data is collected from media that is already readily available
It’s a flexible research method , includes both qualitative and quantitative data , makes it more favourable than research methods thag just produce one
has high ecological validity , based on real world situations and what people actually do

weaknesses:
tells us “what” but doesn’t tell us “why”
at risk of observer bias - interpretation of material subjective which affects validity

68
Q

what are case studies

A

an in depth investigation , description and analysis of a single individual grouo institution or event. often an analysis of unusual events , provide insight into events that couldn’t be created by researchers through manipulation of IV. Often longitudinal and can use qualitative and quantitative data

69
Q

evaluate case studies

A

strength:
Provide rich data into unusual and atypical behaviour e.G HM . helps deepen understanding of human behaviour , wlukd not be possible through manipulation of IV
Hells generate hypothesis for future studies , e.G case of KF showers different types of STM , which can even lead to development of theories eg working memory model

weaknesses:
poor generalisation
potential researcher bias as researcher become very involved with the cases , can reduce validity
poor replicability , reduces the reliability

AQA A level pyschology (16 decks)

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