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Psychology AS > 7. Research Methods > Flashcards

7. Research Methods Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the stages of the scientific cycle?

A
  1. Observing something
  2. Writing a hypothesis
  3. Designing a study
  4. Collecting data
  5. Analysing results
  6. Questioning the validity
  7. Conclusions
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2
Q

What is the Dependant variable?

A

The variable that is measured

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3
Q

What is the Independent variable?

A

The variable that is changed

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4
Q

What is the Experimental method?

A

Scientific method involving manipulation of variables to determine cause + effect

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5
Q

What is the Extraneous variable?

A

A variable that does not vary systematically with the independent variable

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6
Q

What is the Confounding variable?

A

A variable that is not the IV but varies systematically with the IV

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7
Q

What is control?

A

Refers to the extent which any variable is held constant or regulated by a researcher

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8
Q

When you conduct research what should you consider?

A

Ethical issues and related matters

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9
Q

Who should you never use in an experiment?

A
  • Anyone under the age of 16

- Or anyone who could be considered vulnerable

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10
Q

What should you always try to get from a participant before and experiment

A

Informed consent - tell them what they are partaking in and give them the right to refuse to take part

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11
Q

What should you always do after a study?

A

Debrief the participants - tell them of any deception + allow them to withdraw data if the object

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12
Q

What are different levels of the IV?

A

When you are comparing one condition with another

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13
Q

How many levels of an IV should a good study have?

A

At least 2 (or more)

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14
Q

What happens if you don’t have different levels of the IV?

A

You have no basis for comparison

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15
Q

Question: what you will be measuring

Which key term is this?

A

Dependant Variable

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16
Q

Definition: ensuring that variables can easily be tested and repeated
Which key term is this?

A

Operationalisation

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17
Q

Question: what are your two conditions?

Which key term is this?

A

Independent Variable

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18
Q

Question: what will you expect to find?

Which key term is this?

A

Hypothesis

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19
Q

What is the difference between the aims of the the study and the hypothesis of the study?

A

An aim is the intentions or possibility a research question whereas a hypothesis is a statement of the relationship between the IV and DV

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20
Q

Question: what will the participants do?

Which key term is this?

A

Standardised procedures

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21
Q

Question: what else do you need to control?

Which key term is this?

A

Extraneous Variables

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22
Q

What are standardised procedures?

A

Making sure that each participant did exactly the same thing in each condition - Otherwise the this might result in extraneous variables

23
Q

What are extraneous variables?

A

You will have tried to control them i.e. time of day

24
Q

What are the two things in an experiment where one must be traded off for the other?

A

Control and realism

25
Q

Where can the greatest control be achieved?

A

In a lab - however it lacks realism, it is debatable how easily it can be applied to the real world

26
Q

What are the 3 types of external validity?

A
  • Ecological validity
  • Population validity
  • Historical vailidty
27
Q

What is ecological validity?

A

The degree to which a research finding can be generalised to other settings

28
Q

What is population validity?

A

The degree to which a research finding can be generalised to other groups of people

29
Q

What is historical validity?

A

The degree to which a research finding can be generalised over time

30
Q

What are confounding variables?

A

A variable under study that is not the IV but which varies systematically with the IV

31
Q

Give an example of a confounding variable

A

People (generally) are more alert in the morning + this might mean that it was the time of day rather than the lack of noise that caused the change in the IV

32
Q

How could a confounding variable affect a study if two groups of people take part in two different levels of the IV at different times of day?

A

The group in the morning may perform better than the group in the afternoon purely due to the confounding variable of the time of day
This will affect the intended IV

33
Q

What can a confounding variable cause?

A

An experimenter to claim that the IV has caused a change in the DV but this is not the case - could actually have been caused by a confounding variable

34
Q

As a consequence of a confounding variable what happens to the experimenter’s results?

A
  • They become invalid

- They may not have actually tested what they intended to test

35
Q

How could an experimenter avoid the confounding variable of time of day when testing different levels of the iV?

A

They could test both groups at the same time of day

36
Q

Give an example of an extraneous variable when testing a group of people.

A

Some people may have better memories/higher IQ’s than others - especially during memory tests

37
Q

What are nuisance variable called?

A

Extraneous variables

38
Q

How will participants act if a scenario lacks mundane realism?

A

They will not act as normal

39
Q

What is mundane realism?

A

Refers to how an experiment mirrors the real world

40
Q

What is generalisation?

A

How much you can apply the findings to everyday life

41
Q

Do materials which are contrived lack realism?

A

Yes - they are things such as film clips, the behaviour that people observe may lack realism, especially if the participants are aware they’re being studied

42
Q

What is validity?

A

Refers to whether an observed effect is a genuine one

43
Q

Validity is about confirming your expectations - Ture or false?

A

False,

44
Q

What are the two types of validity?

A
  • Internal validity

- External validity

45
Q

What is internal validity?

A

It concerns what goes on inside a study

46
Q

What 3 things does internal validity concern?

A
  • Whether IV produced changed DV
  • Whether the researcher tested what they intended to test
  • Whether the study possessed or lacked mundane realism
47
Q

How can researchers gain high internal validity?

A

They must design the research carefully, controlling confounding + extraneous variables + ensuring they are testing what they intended to test

48
Q

What is external validity?

A

It is affected by internal validity - the degree to which a research finding can be generalised

49
Q

What is a directional hypothesis?

A

States the direction of the predicted difference between two groups of participants

50
Q

What is a non-directional hypothesis?

A

Predicts simply that there is a difference between two conditions or two groups of participants, without stating the direction of the difference

51
Q

What is the alternate hypothesis?

A

A significant difference has boon found

52
Q

What is the null hypothesis?

A

A significant difference has not been found

53
Q

What is a type 1 error?

A

False positive result - accepting the alternate when you should’ve accepted the null

54
Q

What is a type 2 error?

A

False negative result - accepting the null when you should have accepted the alternative

Psychology AS (9 decks)

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