AS RM Flashcards
What is an Independent Variable (IV)?
- Variable that the researcher manipulates in order to determine its effect on the DV
- To provide a standard against which experimental conditions can be compared there may be a control condition where the IV is not manipulated at all
What is a Dependent Variable (DV)?
Variable that is being measured
What is Operationalisation?
Is defining the variables in such a way to make them measurable
What are Extraneous Variables (EV)?
Variables (other than the IV) that COULD affect the DV
What are Confounding Variables (CV)?
Variables (other than the IV) that HAVE affected the DV
What are the 4 types of experimental methods?
- Laboratory
- Field
- Natural
- Quasi
- Laboratory Experiments
Carried out in a controlled environment allowing researcher to exert high level of control over IV + eliminate any EV
What does it mean to be randomly allocated to a condition?
- Means neither the experimenter nor the participant decides which condition the participant is placed in
- An unpredictable method is used to decide: flipping a coin or drawing names out of a hat
Advantages of Lab Experiments
- High level of control —> easy to control for any EV + prevent them from becoming CV
- As researcher can manipulate the IV —> can establish a cause and effect relationship between IV and DV
- Well controlled lab experiment can be easily replicated (easily conducted) by others + if findings are similar to the original study then the results are reliable
What does it mean that results are reliable?
The study can be conducted repeatedly with the same results being found each time which means the results are not due to chance or confounding variables
Disadvantages of Lab Experiments
- Strong chance of demand characteristics (type of EV where participants guess what the experiment is about + alter their behaviour)
- High level of control means it lacks mundane realism + doesn’t have ecological validity
What is mundane realism?
The extent to which an experiment reflects real life
What is ecological validity?
The ability to generalise the findings of research to the real world
What is a field experiment?
- Carried out in the real world
- IV is manipulated by the researcher to see the effect on the DV
Advantages of field experiment
- More mundane realism + ecological validity than lab
- As researcher can manipulate the IV —> cause and effect relationship between IV and DV can be established
- Less chance of demand characteristics as participants may not even be aware they are taking part in research
Disadvantages of field experiments:
- Less control over EV so the effect on the DV may not be caused by the IV but by these EV —> means research is not valid (not measuring what it intends to)
- Less control over sample
- Difficult to replicate
What are natural experiments?
The researcher takes advantage of a naturally occurring IV to see its effect on the DV
Advantages of natural experiments:
- High level of mundane realism + ecological validity
- Very useful when it is impossible or unethical to manipulate the IV/sample in a lab or field experiment
Disadvantages of natural experiments:
- Less control over EV
- Difficult to replicate
- Difficult to determine cause and effect
What are Quasi Experiments?
Contain a naturally occurring IV
However in a quasi the naturally occurring IV is a difference between people that already exists (e.g. gender or age)
The researcher examines the effect of this variable on the DV
Advantages of quasi experiments:
- Controlled conditions - hence replicable + likely to have high internal validity
Disadvantages of quasi experiments
- Cannot randomly allocate participants to conditions so there may confounding variables presented + makes it harder to conclude that the IV caused the DV
What is an observation?
When a researcher watches or listens to participants engaging in the behaviour that is being studied
What is a correlation?
- A correlation is a technique for analysing the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables known as co-variables
- The strength of the variable is known as the correlation coefficient
Types of correlations
- Positive: as one variables increases/decreases, the other increases/ decreases as well
- Negative: as one variables increases, the other decreases
- Strength of a correlation (known as correlation coefficient) can be strong, medium, weak + rated between -1 and 1
- O (no), -1 (negative), 1 (positive)
Advantages of correlations:
- Can establish the strength of the relationship between 2 variables + measure it precisely
- Once a correlation has been conducted predictions can be made about one of the variables based in what is known about the other variable
- Allows researchers to investigate things that could not be manipulated experimentally for ethical or practical reasons
Disadvantages of correlations:
- Can’t demonstrate cause and effect (we cannot tell which variable influences the other)
- Even if there is a correlation, it may be due to a third unknown variable which influences both and that they are not actually related
- Only measures linear relationships and doesn’t detect curvilinear relationships (there is a positive relationship up to a certain point but after that the relationship becomes negative or vice versa)
Difference between correlations and experiments
An experiment tests the effect an IV has on DV but a correlation looks for a relationship between two co-variables
This means that an experiment can predict cause and effect (causation) but a correlation can only predict a relationship as a third EV may be involved that was not known about
What is an aim?
An aim is a precise statement about the purpose of study + what it intends to find out
Should include what is being studied + what the study is trying to achieve
What is a hypothesis?
A hypothesis is a specific, testable statement about the expected outcome of a study + should be operationalised
Difference between correlation and causation
Correlation: the researcher predicts a relationship between 2 variables being investigated
Causation: the researcher predicts a difference in the DV because of the manipulation of an IV
Two types of hypotheses:
Null hypothesis: states that the IV will have no effect on the DV
Alternative hypothesis: predicts that the IV will have an effect in the DV
Two types of alternative hypotheses:
- Non-directional hypothesis: DOES NOT state the direction of the predicted differences between conditions
- Directional hypothesis: DOES state the direction of the predicted differences between conditions
- If there is previous research in the field then we use a directional hypothesis or if not, we use a non-directional hypothesis as previous research will enable us to predict which direction the results are likely to go in
Key steps when writing a hypothesis
- Is it a test of causation or correlation
- Is it a null, non-directional or directional hypotheses
- Is it in the correct tense
- Have all the variables been included
- Have all the variables been operationalised
What are pilot studies?
- Are small scale investigations conducted before research
- Useful as they can help identify whether there needs to be any modifications in the design of the planned study
- Also help to determine whether it would be feasible and worthwhile to conduct a full scale study
What are experimental designs?
The experimental design of a study is how the participants are assigned to different conditions
3 types of experimental designs
- Independent groups
- Repeated measures
- Matched pairs
Independent groups
- Different participants are used in each of the conditions
- Randomly allocated to each condition to balance out any participant variables
Advantages of independent groups:
- Order effects won’t occur as there are different participants in each condition
- Chance of demand characteristics is reduced as participants do only one condition each so have a less chance to guess the purpose of the study
- Same task/materials can be used in both conditions as participants are always naive to the task
Disadvantages of independent groups:
- More participants are needed
- Always a chance that the different results between the 2 conditions are due to participant variables rather than manipulation of the IV
Repeated measures
Each participant is tested in all conditions of the experiment
Advantages of repeated measures
- No participant variables between the conditions as the same people are measured in all conditions
- Half participants are needed compared to independent
Disadvantages of repeated measures:
- Order effects may affect results + one way to avoid this is counterbalancing
- Demand characteristics are more likely as participants are involved in the entire study
- This design takes more time, especially if a time gap between different conditions is required
What is matched pairs design?
Different participants are used in all of the conditions
However participants in the 2 groups are matched on characteristics important for that study (ages, gender, education level)
Identical twins are often used in matched pair designs
Advantages of matched pairs design:
- Less risk of order effects
- Less risk of demand characteristics
- Participants variables are unlikely as the groups have been closely matched
Disadvantages of matched pairs design:
- Twice as many participants needed compared to repeated measures design
- Matching process is difficult (even two closely matched individuals have different levels of motivation and fatigue at any given time)
- Matching process is time consuming
What are order effects?
Are when the sequence in which participants take part in conditions influences their performance or behaviour e.g. memory test participants may get better with practice + participants may also get tired or bored or fatigued when being asked to take part in more than one condition
What is counterbalancing?
- A way to avoid order effects (OE)
- This is when half the participants do condition A first + condition B second and other half do condition B first and condition A second
- Does not eliminate OE which will be present because there are 2 separate tasks to be completed by each person
- However it controls the impact of OE (practice, fatigue, boredom) + allows OE to be distributed evenly across both conditions
What is self report?
Is when participants provide details of their own feelings, thoughts, behaviour to the researcher
Types of self report techniques:
- Interviews
- Questionnaires
Interviews
Involve researchers asking questions in face to face situations
Types of interviews
- Structured
- Unstructured
- Semi-structured
What are structured interviews
All participants are asked the same question in the same order + provide quantitative data
What are unstructured interviews?
An informal in depth conversational exchange between the interviewer and interviewee
Provides qualitative data
What are semi structured interviews?
Mixture of structured + unstructured interview (qualitative and quantitative data)
Advantages of interviews
- Complicated + sensitive issues are best dealt with in an interview
- If participants misunderstand a question this can be clarified
Disadvantages of interviews
- Risk of interviewer effects (when interviewer may indirectly affect respondents answers) + can be unintentional + may be a result of interviewer’s appearance, manner or gender
- Risk of social desirability bias (people lie to present themselves in a positive light particularly when discussing issues that may be socially sensitive) + means data lacks validity
- Training is needed for interviewers + process is time consuming + expensive
What are Questionnaires?
Participants are given a written set of questions + instructions about how to record their answers
Mainly focus on individuals behaviour, opinions, beliefs + attitudes
Closed and open questions
What are closed questions?
- Participants choose from fixed responses (quantitative)
- Researchers can collate + display information
- Collected easily
- Easy to compare specific responses
- Researcher will have certain information as they have restricted the options to include that information
What are open questions
- Answer in own words (qualitative)
- Allow respondents to interpret the question as they want + provide a detailed response
- Researchers can pursue a line of enquiry that they may have not predicted but comes to light because of a response by an interviewee
Advantages of questionnaires:
- Collect large amounts of data quickly + conveniently
- Easy to collate when questions are closed
- They are standardised so it is easy to replicate
Disadvantages of questionnaires:
- Participants may misunderstand the questions + researcher is not there to clarify
- They can have a low response rate
- Can have a biased sample as they are only suitable for those who can read + willing to take part + certain people would be more willing to fill in questionnaires e.g. people without busy careers + so sample may not be representative
Questionnaire Construction (writing good questions)
- Clarity: questions should be clear so participants know what is being asked + no ambiguity + double negatives and double barrelled questions should be avoided
- Bias: may lead to respondent giving a part answer (e.g. leading questions) + respondents may give answer that make them look more attractive, nicer, more generous rather than being truthful (social desirability bias), especially if they are socially sensitive
- Analysis: questions need to be easy to analyse + closed are more easy to analyse than open but participants may be forced to elect answers that don’t reflect their real thoughts, feelings, behaviour
Questionnaire Construction (writing good questionnaires):
- Filler questions: adding irrelevant questions distracts the respondent from that main purpose + reduced the risk of demand characteristics
- Sequence of questions: best to start with easy questions + save those that might make people feel anxious or defensive for later
- Sampling technique: the sampling technique used could cause the questionnaire to have a biased sample + questionnaires often use stratified sampling
- Pilot study: questions could be tested on a small group of people + means questions can be refined later in response to any difficulties encountered
Designs of interviews (recording the interview):
- An interview could take written notes but this could interfere with their listening skills
- If researcher does not write anything down the interviewee may feel what they have said is not valuable
- Alternatively, interviews may be audio recorded or video recorded
Designs of interviews (effect of the interviewer)
- Strength: presence of an interviewer who is interested in the respondents answers may increase the amount of information provided
- Interviewers need to be aware of their non-verbal communication (e.g. don’t sit with arms crossed, frown) + listening skills (e.g. don’t interrupt)
How do we ensure a study has validity?
In order to ensure a study has validity, extraneous variables must be controlled for to prevent them from becoming confounding variables
What are participant variables?
- Are characteristics of participants that may affect the DV (e.g. intelligence, age, gender, personality etc)
- Choosing an appropriate experimental design can help to try to overcome extraneous variables (matched pairs + repeated measures)
- However, repeated measures can lead to order effects so counterbalancing used to avoid
- Random allocation when using independent groups ensure that groups are not biased (however random allocation is not possible for a quasi experiment)
What are environmental variables?
- Factors in the environment where the experiment is conducted that could affect the DV (e.g. temperature, time of day, lighting, noise etc)
- Solution: standardisation - making all conditions, materials and instructions the same for all participants
What are investigator effects?
- When the person collecting the data has knowledge of what the research aim is + that knowledge affects the data obtains
- Observer bias is a type of investigator effect
- Can be overcome by double blind technique - when neither the participants not the investigator know the hypothesis of the study or what conditions the participant is in
- Investigators may indirectly influence the results of their research + certain physical characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity) can influence the behaviour of participants
- Solution: standardised scripts should be written to ensure the investigator acts in a similar way with all participants + greet and ask questions in a neutral tone to all
- For some studies it may be necessary for them to be the same gender
What are demand characteristics?
- Many features that may enable participants to guess a study’s purpose + what is expected of them
- Lead to participant trying to please the researcher by giving the right results or trying to annoy the researcher by giving the wrong results (the screw you effect) + acting unnaturally out of nervousness or out of social desirability bias
- Observer effects + interviewer effects are types of demand characteristics
- Solution: single blind technique - involves making sure participants don’t know what the hypothesis is or what condition they are in + more difficult when using a repeated measures design
Types of extraneous variables:
- Participant variables
- Environmental variables
- Investigator effects
- Demand characteristics
Types of Ethics
- Informed consent
- Protection from harm
- Right to withdraw
- Confidentiality
- Avoid Deception
- Debriefing
Confidentiality
Means that data can be traced back to a name
Anonymity
Means that it can’t be as the participants have never provided their name to the researchers
Meta Analysis
- Is the process where researchers collect + collate a wide range of previously conducted research on a specific area
- Collated research is reviewed together
Non Participant Observation
When the researcher does not get directly involved with the interactions of the participants
Participant Observation
When the researcher is directly involved with the interactions of the participants
Covert Observation
The psychologist goes undercover + doesn’t reveal their true identity + may even give himself a new identity
The group doesn’t know that they are being observed
Overt observation
The researcher watches + records the behaviour of a group that knows it is being observed by a psychologist
Naturalistic Observation
A researcher observed participants in their own environment + there is no deliberate manipulation of the IV
Advantages of a naturalistic observation
- Participants are usually unaware that they are being observed (covert observation) so there is a reduced chance of observer effects (occur when participants change their behaviour because they know they are being observed so the results are not valid)
- Naturalistic observations have high mundane realism + ecological validity
- Naturalistic observations are useful when the deliberate manipulation of variable would be impractical or unethical
Disadvantages of a naturalistic observation
- It is impossible to have any control over extraneous variables (EV)
- It is problematic to try to determine cause and effect
- There is a risk of observer bias (occurs when the observers know the aim of the study or the hypotheses + this knowledge influences their observations)
Controlled Observation
A researcher observed participants in a controlled environment + this allows for manipulation of the IV
Advantages of a controlled observation
- Cause and effect can be determined
- EV can be controlled for
Disadvantages of controlled observation
- Lower mundane realism and ecological validity
- Observer effects could occur as participants usually know they are being observed (overt observation)
- Risk of observer bias
Event Sampling
Recording every time a certain behaviour (or event) occurs in a target individual or individuals e.g. counting how many times a person smiles
Time Sampling
Recording all behaviours within a given time frame e.g. noting what a student is doing in a lesson every 30 seconds
Peer Review
- Research proposals are submitted to a panel of psychologists for peer review
- The research proposal is assessed for merit before the research is conducted
- The panel decides if the research is worth funding
Steps of Peer Review
- Once a piece of research has been conducted + the research report has been written it needs to be published in a scientific journal so that other psychologists can read about it
- Before the research report is published it has to go through peer review again
- During the peer review psychologists conduct an independent scrutiny of a research report before deciding whether or not it should be published
- These psychologists work in a similar field to the one the research is investigating
- The research is considered in terms of it validity, significance + originality
- The appropriateness of the methodology + experimental design used are also assessed
What can do they with the research report?
- The reviewers can accept the manuscript as it is, accept it with revisions, suggest the author makes revisions + re submits it or reject it without the possibility of re submission
- The editor of the scientific journal makes the final decision about whether or not to accept or reject the research report based on the reviewer’s comments/recommendations
What is the purpose of peer review?
- The purpose is to ensure the quality + relevance of research e.g. methodology, data analysis etc to ensure accuracy of findings + to evaluate proposed designs (in terms of aims, quality and the value of the research) for research funding
- Peer review prevents the dissemination of irrelevant findings, unwarranted claims, unacceptable interpretations, personal views + deliberate fraud
Advantage of Peer Review (1)
- Independent scrutiny increases the probability of errors being identified as authors + researchers are less objective about their own work
- Also the double blind procedure can be used to so that researcher who conducted the study is kept anonymous + the researcher also doesn’t know who will peer review their work
Advantage of Peer Review (2)
- Peer review involves a specialist psychologist in the field judging the work + they will have exceptional knowledge + expertise in order to make the best judgement
- However it is not always possible to find an appropriate expert to review a research proposal or report
- This means that poor research might be positively peer reviewed because the reviewer did not really understand it
Disadvantage of Peer Review (1)
- Journals tend to prefer positive results because editors want to increase the standing of their journal
- This results in a bias in published research which leads to a misperception of the facts
- E.g. research which finds gender differences is far more likely to be published than research that finds no such differences between men and women
- This could lead to a misperception that men + women are very different when in fact they are not
Disadvantage of Peer Review (2)
Peer review can be an unfair process where some reviewers have connections with certain universities + therefore favouritism or bias might occur towards researchers depending on their institution
