Boring maths research methods Flashcards
what are the 3 measures of central tendency
- Mean
- median
- mode
what is the mean
it is the arithmetic average, calculated by adding up the sum of scores then dividing it by the number of scores
what is the median
it is the middle score after the data is ordered
when 2 scores are in the middle add them up and divide by 2
what is the mode
the most frequently occurring score
give an advantage and disadvantage of the mean
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
give an advantage and disadvantage of the median
advantage- unaffected by extreme scores, more appropriate when there are extreme scores
disadvantage- only takes into account 1 or 2 scores
give an advantage and disadvantage of the mode
advantage- unaffected by extreme scores
disadvantage-can be affected by the change in one score, making it unrepresentative
name the types of data
- qualitative
- quantitative
- primary
- secondary
what is qualitative data
data that is in words not numerical and is detailed information
what quantitative data
this is numerical data
what are the strengths of qualitative data
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
what are the weaknesses of qualitative data
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
what is primary data?
original data that has been collected for the purpose of an investigation.
data that has arrived first hand from the participants themselves
what is secondary data
data that has been collected by someone else that has already been analysed and published
strength and wekaness of primary data
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
strength and weakness of secondary data
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
what is reliability
refers to the consistency of research. wether the findings or measuring device used is consistent and creates the same results every time
what are the ways of assessing reliability
inter-rater reliability
test-retest reliability
explain the test-retest method
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
explain inter-observer relaibility
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
ways to improve reliability in experiments
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
ways to improve reliability in an observation
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
ways to improve reliability in a self-report (interview/questionnaire)
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
what is validity
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
what are the types of validity
internal validity
external valdity
what are the ways of assessing internal validity
face validity
concurrent validity
what is internal validity
concerns what goes on inside a study.
wether the researcher tested what they intended to test
what is face validity
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
what is concurrent validity
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
what is external validity
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
what are the ways of assessing external validity
- ecological validity
- temporal validity
what is ecological validity
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
what is temporal validity
the extent to which we can generalise to different time periods
ways to improve internal validity in an experiment
- extraneous varables tighlty controled
- all variables operationalised
- ensure way behaviour is measured is accurate
- check the IV and DV are accurately measuring the behaviour
ways to improve external validity in an experiment
- 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
ways to improve internal validity in an observation
- 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
ways to improve external validity in an observation
- 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
ways of improving internal validity in a questionnaire
- amend questions or order to be a valid representation of the behaviour being studies
ways of improving external validity in an experiment
- 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
