Boring maths research methods

Question 1

what are the 3 measures of central tendency

Answer 1

• Mean
• median
• mode

Question 2

what is the mean

Answer 2

it is the arithmetic average, calculated by adding up the sum of scores then dividing it by the number of scores

Question 3

what is the median

Answer 3

it is the middle score after the data is ordered

when 2 scores are in the middle add them up and divide by 2

Question 4

what is the mode

Answer 4

the most frequently occurring score

Question 5

give an advantage and disadvantage of the mean

Answer 5

advantage- most sensitive and representative measure of central tendency as it takes into account all scores

disadvantage- can be distorted by extreme scores and then becomes unrepresentative of the data set

Question 6

give an advantage and disadvantage of the median

Answer 6

advantage- unaffected by extreme scores, more appropriate when there are extreme scores

disadvantage- only takes into account 1 or 2 scores

Question 7

give an advantage and disadvantage of the mode

Answer 7

advantage- unaffected by extreme scores

disadvantage-can be affected by the change in one score, making it unrepresentative

Question 8

name the types of data

Answer 8

• qualitative
• quantitative
• primary
• secondary

Question 9

what is qualitative data

Answer 9

data that is in words not numerical and is detailed information

Question 10

what quantitative data

Answer 10

this is numerical data

Question 11

what are the strengths of qualitative data

Answer 11

rich detail- allows participants to express their thoughts and feelings, gather lots of detail about them
more meaningful data that is more representative of real life

can explain why
- p’s can explain reasons for their behaviour
help develop more accurate theories and useful practical applications

Question 12

what are the weaknesses of qualitative data

Answer 12

subjective- during analysis researcher have to look for themes
this is open to bius as different researchers may interpret it in different ways
can affect the validity of conclusions drawn

difficult to analyse
-very time consuming to analyse
- researcher has to write a transcript of each p’s data and spend time going through it to look for themes
not possible to use many participants and makes it difficult to generalise

Question 13

what is primary data?

Answer 13

original data that has been collected for the purpose of an investigation.
data that has arrived first hand from the participants themselves

Question 14

what is secondary data

Answer 14

data that has been collected by someone else that has already been analysed and published

Question 15

strength and wekaness of primary data

Answer 15

strength- it is authentic data obtained from the participants themselves for the purpose of that research
therefore the experiment can be designed in such a way that targets the information the researcher needs

weakness- requires time and effort
to plan research get the participants etc

Question 16

strength and weakness of secondary data

Answer 16

strength- inexpensive, easily accessed, requiring minimal effort

weakness- data may be invaluable
- at first, it may appear that the data is valuable and promising but on further investigation, it may be outdated or incomplete
the content of the data may not match what the researcher needs

Question 17

what is reliability

Answer 17

refers to the consistency of research. wether the findings or measuring device used is consistent and creates the same results every time

Question 18

what are the ways of assessing reliability

Answer 18

inter-rater reliability

test-retest reliability

Question 19

explain the test-retest method

Answer 19

a person is given a test used in one occasion and the same est is then repeated again a number of times after a reasonable interval with the same person
needs to be long enough so that the respondent does not remember the questions

if there is a positive correlation this means there is good reliability as the outcome is the same or similar everytime. this increases confidence in the study and its conclusions

Question 20

explain inter-observer relaibility

Answer 20

all observers use the same beahvioural category in a study, observing the same participants.
this can be assessed by measuring the extent to which different observers achieve similar results.

observers record their own data individually and then the sets of data are correlated to establish the degree of similarity

inter-observer reliability is achieved if there is a significant positive correlation between scores

Question 21

ways to improve reliability in experiments

Answer 21

test- retest method

• make sure all variables are opertionalised
• control of all variables including extrenous variables
• materials used need to be clearly described and in depth method section included in the report so the study can be replicated
• standardized instructions used to improve control

Question 22

ways to improve reliability in an observation

Answer 22

inter-observer reliability

• use more than one observer and compare reliability
• all observers thoroughly trained and know how to use coding system
• behavioural checklist clear and non-ambiguous
• filming behaviour that is observed to check data against film

Question 23

ways to improve reliability in a self-report (interview/questionnaire)

Answer 23

interview- inter-rater reliability

questionaire- test-retest

• pilot study carried out before to identify any problems with questions
• all questions checked so that they are clear and non-amiguous
• interviewers should be carfully trained and same interviwer should be used for all interviews

Question 24

what is validity

Answer 24

validity refers to the accuracy. thye degree to which something claims its measuring what its supposed to be measuring
extent to which findings can be generalised beyond research settings

Question 25

what are the types of validity

Answer 25

internal validity

external valdity

Question 26

what are the ways of assessing internal validity

Answer 26

face validity

concurrent validity

Question 27

what is internal validity

Answer 27

concerns what goes on inside a study.

wether the researcher tested what they intended to test

Question 28

what is face validity

Answer 28

wether at face value the study appears to measure what it is set out to
may involve one or two experts looking as the design of the study and the measures to if they are appropriate ti the aim of the study

Question 29

what is concurrent validity

Answer 29

where new measures in a study are compared to measures in another study that has been previously validated
a strong positive correlation between the 2 suggests the new measure has validity

Question 30

what is external validity

Answer 30

concerned with factors outside of a study.
the extent to which findings of the study can be generlaiaed to other situations and people beyond those used in the study and across different time periods

Question 31

what are the ways of assessing external validity

Answer 31

• ecological validity

- temporal validity

Question 32

what is ecological validity

Answer 32

the extent to which we can generalise to different contexts
mundane relaism- does the experiment mirror the real world and resemble event that occur in normal everyday life

experimental realism- are the psychological processes being measures the same as occur in everyday life

Question 33

what is temporal validity

Answer 33

the extent to which we can generalise to different time periods

Question 34

ways to improve internal validity in an experiment

Answer 34

• extraneous varables tighlty controled
• all variables operationalised
• ensure way behaviour is measured is accurate
• check the IV and DV are accurately measuring the behaviour

Question 35

ways to improve external validity in an experiment

Answer 35

• ensure sampling technique is representative of target population
• replicate study with different sample of participants to improve population validity
• or increase sample size
• make IV and DV as true to real life as possible to improve ecological validity

Question 36

ways to improve internal validity in an observation

Answer 36

• ensure what is being recorded is an accurate observation
• more than one observer used
• all observers well trained in what they are observing, with clear understanding of how to use coding system
• if coding system is new, assess for concurrent validity
• change behavioural checklist and improve if necessary

Question 37

ways to improve external validity in an observation

Answer 37

• observe as many people as possible, which include a representative sample of the target population
• use covert observation so participants do not change behaviour
• adjust behavioural checklist accordingly to stay with social norms

Question 38

ways of improving internal validity in a questionnaire

Answer 38

• amend questions or order to be a valid representation of the behaviour being studies

Question 39

ways of improving external validity in an experiment

Answer 39

• make questions accessiable to as many people as possible, allow to be completed online to help improve response rate
• update questions to suit contemporary society and changing social norms