Booklet 4

Question 1

What are observations?

Answer 1

Non experimental method of research
Involves researcher watching participants for behaviour

Question 2

Naturalistic observation

Answer 2

Involves observing behaviour in its natural environment- researcher simply records what they can see

Question 3

Strength of naturalistic observations

Answer 3

High ecological validity

Question 4

Limitation of naturalistic observations

Answer 4

Low internal validity as little control of extraneous variables

Question 5

Controlled observations

Answer 5

Usually carried out in a psychology lab
Researcher decides where, when and who
Standardised procedure
Participants randomly allocated to groups

Question 6

Strengths of controlled observations

Answer 6

Higher internal validity so more control of extraneous variables
High reliability as has standardised procedure which can be repeated

Question 7

Limitation of controlled observations

Answer 7

Less ecological validity as artificial task and setting

Question 8

Participant observation

Answer 8

Observer joins group- taking part in activities while also observing
Often means writing up later

Question 9

Strength of participant observation

Answer 9

Greater insight into behaviour

Question 10

Limitations of participant observations

Answer 10

More prone to researcher bias as can consciously or unconsciously influence behaviour
Involves retrospective reporting which may be inaccurate so lacks internal validity

Question 11

Non participant observation

Answer 11

Observer just watches activities- doesn’t take part

Question 12

Strengths of non participant observation

Answer 12

Results recorded in real time so more accurate so higher internal validity
Less prone to researcher bias as don’t directly interact with group

Question 13

Limitation of non participant observation

Answer 13

Less insight into behaviour as can see a behaviour has happened but might not know why

Question 14

Overt observation

Answer 14

Also known as disclosed observations
Participants give permission for their behaviour to be observed
Aware of presence of researcher

Question 15

Strength of overt observations

Answer 15

More ethical as can give informed consent and able to withdraw

Question 16

Limitation of overt observations

Answer 16

Prone to demand characteristics

Question 17

Covert observations

Answer 17

Also known as undisclosed observations
Participants don’t know their behaviour is being observed
Unlikely to have consented

Question 18

Strength of covert observations

Answer 18

Less likely to observe demand characteristics

Question 19

Limitations of covert observations

Answer 19

Unable to give informed consent so invasion of privacy

Question 20

Time sampling

Answer 20

When an observer records behaviour at set intervals

Question 21

Event sampling

Answer 21

When an observer records the number of times a certain behaviour occurs

Question 22

How can researcher bias be reduced in observations?

Answer 22

Operationalised behaviours

Question 23

Inter observer reliability

Answer 23

The extent to which two or more researchers are observing and recording behaviour in the same way
They observe the same situation separately then compare results - looking for a correlation of +0.8 or above

Question 24

Describe self report methods

Answer 24

Non experimental
Includes questionaires and interviews
Participant shares thoughts, feelings, beliefs and opinions

Question 25

Primary data - describe and evaluate

Answer 25

Data collected firsthand by the researcher for the purpose of their research Strengths- relevant to their research -more accurate as collected by researcher Limitations- time consuming

Question 26

Secondary data- describe and evaluate

Answer 26

Information someone else has collected for a different purpose Strengths- less time consuming Limitations- lower internal validity/ may not be directly relevant -less confidence in accuracy as collected by someone else

Question 27

Quantitative data- describe and evaluate

Answer 27

Data in the form of numbers Strengths- less subjective -can be summarised using descriptive statistics or displayed as a graph Limitations- less insight into behaviour

Question 28

Qualitative data- describe and evaluate

Answer 28

Non numerical data/ data in the form of words Strengths- more insight into behaviour Limitations- subjective so potentially biased -challenging to summarise/ analyse

Question 29

Structured interviews- describe and evaluate

Answer 29

When questions are standardised- same questions and order for every participant Strengths- easy to replicate -standardised which reduces researcher bias Limitations- can't deviate so important info may be missed/ less insight -time consuming to set up in advance

Question 30

Unstructured interviews- describe and evaluate

Answer 30

More like a conversation- only thing decided in advance is topic Strengths- can ask relevant follow up questions to gain insight Limitations- potential for bias as interviewer may unconsciously or consciously influence -hard to replicate - expensive to train interviewer

Question 31

Interviewer bias

Answer 31

The actions of the interviewer that may consciously or unconsciously influence the responses

Question 32

What is a questionaire?

Answer 32

Set of written questions Collect information about participants Can be administered in person, by post or online

Question 33

Open questions- describe and evaluate

Answer 33

Doesn't restrict response in any way so can answer freely Strengths- provide in depth qualitative data -answers more likely to represent true thoughts and feelings of participant Limitations- answer may be irrelevant -subjective data -hard to analyse data/ responses

Question 34

Closed questions- describe and evaluate

Answer 34

Presents a limited set of predetermined answers to choose from Strengths- quantitative data is easy to analyse -objective so requires little interpretation -data more likely to be relevant Limitations- lack of insight -may force them to answer in a way they wouldn't usually have

Question 35

Likert scale questions- describe and evaluate

Answer 35

Typically a 5, 7 or 9 point agreement scale Type of closed question Strengths- allows researcher to investigate extent of opinion -provides easy to analyse quantitative data -objective/ requires no interpretation Limitations- scale may be subjective to participants/ each participant may interpret scale differently

Question 36

Why might interviews be preferred over questionaires?

Answer 36

Participants can ask for clarification on questions they are unsure about

Question 37

Why might questionaires be preferred over interviews?

Answer 37

Less researcher bias Participants are more likely to be honest Data can be collected more quickly- many questionaires can be sent out at once

Question 38

Features of a good/valid questionaire

Answer 38

Includes all relevant options Only asks relevant questions Questions should be clear No leading questions

Question 39

What is a pilot study?

Answer 39

A small trial version of a study Used to test effectiveness and make improvements Identifies potential issues that can be rectified before committing time and money to a full investigation