C2 - Research Methods - AO1 Key Terms Flashcards
debrief
Informing the participants of the true nature of the study and restore them to the same state they were in at the start of the study.
ethical issues
Concerns questions of right and wrong
valid consent
Participants must be given comprehensive information concerning the nature and purpose of the research and their role in it.
confidentiality
Keeping personal information about people protected.
deception
A participant is not told the true aims of the study and cannot give valid consent
privacy
A person’s right to control the flow of information about themselves
risk of harm
During a study, participants should not experience negative physical or psychological effects beyond what would be normal for them to experience.
ethical guidelines
A set of principles designed to help professionals behave honestly and with integrity
ethics committees
A group of people within a research institution that must approve a study before it begins
presumptive consent
Asking a group of people who are similar to the research participants whether they would agree to take part in a study and assuming if they consent so would the actual participants
right to withdraw
Participants can stop participating in a study if they are uncomfortable in any way.
aims
A statement of what the researcher intends to find out in a study
confounding variables
Any variable that is not the IV that varies alongside the IV confusing the outcome of the DV.
hypothesis
A precise and testable statement about the assumed relationship between variables
dependent variable
The variable measured by the experimenter
independent variable
The variable measured by the experimenter
operationalise
Ensuring that variables are in a form that can be easily tested
alternative hypothesis
Any hypothesis that is not the null hypothesis
directional hypothesis
States the direction of the predicted difference between two conditions or groups of participants
experimental hypothesis
Another name for the alternative hypothesis
extraneous variables
These are nuisance variables that make it difficult to detect an effect on the IV, e.g. time of day.
non-directional hypothesis
Predicts there is a difference between two conditions or groups of participants without stating the direction of the difference.
null hypothesis
The assumption of no relationship/difference/association between variables being studied.
experiment
A research method where causal conclusions can be drawn because an independent variable has been deliberately manipulated to observe the causal effect on the dependent variable.
standardised procedures
A set of procedures that are the same for all participants in order to be able to repeat the study.
confederate
An individual in a study who is not a real participant and has been instructed how to behave by the investigator
pilot study
A small-scale trial of a study to test aspects of the design.
counterbalancing
An experimental technique used to overcome order effects when using a repeated measures design. Half the participants do condition A followed by condition B, while the other half do condition B followed by condition A.
experimental design
A set of procedures used to control the influence of factors such as participant variables in an experiment
independent groups design
Participants are randomly allocated to two (or more) groups representing different levels of the IV
matched pairs design
Pairs of participants are matched in terms of key variables such as age or IQ. One pair is allocated to one condition and the other to the other condition of the experiment.
order effect
In a repeated measures design, an extraneous variable arising from the order in which conditions are presented (tiredness, boredom etc)
repeated measures design
Each participant takes part in all of the conditions of the experiment.
laboratory
An environment that can be controlled by the researcher to ensure the IV causes the DV.
online
Refers to being connected via the internet to an website or an app on a mobile phone.
the field
Working with participants in an environment that is familiar to them.
quasi-experiments
‘almost’ a study – a research method where the experimenter has not manipulated the IV directly (e.g. the speeds at which different genders drive)
demand characteristics
A cue that makes participants unconsciously aware of the aims of a study or helps participants work out what the researcher expects to find.
researcher bias
Anything that a researcher does that has an effect on a participants’ performance in a study.
behavioural categories
Dividing a target behaviour (such as stress) into a subset of specific and operationalised behaviours
covert observation
When a participant is unaware of being observed.
event sampling
A technique in which a count is kept of the number of times a certain behaviour occurs
inter-observer reliability
The extent to which there is agreement between two or more observers
non-participant observation
The observer is separate from the people being observed
participant observation
Observations made by someone who is also participating in the activity being observed.
social desirability bias
A distortion in the way people answer questions
time sampling
A technique in which the observer records behaviours in a given time frame, e.g. every 30 seconds.
closed questions
Questions that have a predetermined range of answers from which respondents select one
open questions
Questions that invite respondents to provide their own answers.
qualitative data
Non-numerical data
quantitative data
Numerical data
semi-structured interview
The interviewer starts with some questions and lets the respondent’s answers guide subsequent questions
structured interview
Any interview in which questions are decided in advance without deviation.
correlation coeffecient
A number between -1 and +1 that tells us how closely the co-variables in a correlation are associated.
scatter diagram
A graphical representation of the association between two sets of scores.
case study
A research investigation that involves a detailed study of a single individual, institution or event.
content analysis
A kind of observational study in which behaviour is observed indirectly in written or verbal material.
brain scans
A technique used to investigate the functioning of the brain by taking images of the living brain
cross-sectional study
One group of participants representing one section of society (e.g. working class people) are compared with participants from another group (e.g. middle class people)
longitudinal study
A study conducted over a long period of time.
primary data
Information observed or collected directly from first-hand experience
secondary data
Information used in a research study that was collected by someone else or for a purpose other than the current one.
opportunity sampling
A sample of participants who were available at the time the research was conducted.
quota sampling
Similar to stratified sample except they are not randomly selected from their subgroup.
random sampling
A sample of participants produced by using a technique with which all members of the target population has an equal chance of being chosen.
sampling frame
The source material from which a sample is chosen
self-selected sampling
People volunteer to take part in the research
snowball sampling
Relies on referrals from initial participants to generate additional participants
stratified sampling
A sample of participants produced by identifying subgroups according to their frequency in the population who are randomly selected from their subgroup.
systematic sampling
A sample obtained by selecting every nth person
target population
The group of people the researcher is interested in where the sample is chosen from.
event sampling
An observational technique in which a count is kept of the number of times a certain behaviour occurs
time sampling
An observational technique in which the observer records behaviours in a given time frame, e.g. every 30 seconds.
inter-observer/rater reliability
The extent to which there is agreement between two or more observers
social desirability bias
A distortion in the way people answer questions
concurrent validity
A means of establishing external validity by comparing an existing test with the one you are interested in.
construct validity
Demonstrates the extent to which performance on the test measures an identified behaviour – (Does a stress test measure stress?)
external reliability
The extent to which a measure varies from one occasion to another. (Does a test have the same results when taken again later?)
face validity
A form of external validity – the extent to which a test looks like it is measuring what it is meant to measure.
internal reliability
A measure of the extent to which something is consistent within itself.
predictive validity
Correlating the results of a test with some other example of the behaviour that is being tested.
reliability
How consistent something is.
external validity
The degree to which a research finding can be generalised
ecological validity
The degree to which a research finding can be generalised to other settings
population validity
The degree to which a research finding can be generalised to other groups of people
temporal (Historical) validity
The degree to which a research finding can be generalised over time
internal validity
The extent to which an observed effect was due to the manipulation of the IV (Does it test what it is supposed to test?)
validity
How accurate a test is.
split-half reliability
A way to assess internal reliability. Comparing both halves of a test to check how similar the results are
test-retest reliability
A way to assess external reliability. Giving a test to a group of participants and then giving them the same test at another point and comparing the results to see how similar they are.
demand characteristics
A cue that makes participants unconsciously aware of the aims of a study or helps participants work out what the researcher expects to find.
researcher bias
Anything that a researcher does that has an effect on a participants’ performance in a study.
nominal
Data are in separate categories, such as grouping people according to their favourite colour, gender, age etc
ordinal
Data are ordered in some way, for example rating chocolate bars by preference (1st, 2nd, 3rd etc)
interval
Data are measured using units of equal intervals, such as cm.
ratio
There is a true zero point.
mean
The arithmetic average of a data set which adds up all data items and divides by the total number of items
measure of central tendency
A descriptive statistic that provides information about the ‘averages’
measure of dispersion
A descriptive statistic that provides information about how spread out a set of data are.
medan
The middle value of a data set when the items are placed in rank order.
mode
The most frequently occurring value or item in a data set
range
The difference between the highest and lowest item in a data set.
standard deviation
Shows the amount of variation in a data set. It assesses the spread of data around the mean.
bar chart
A graph used to represent the frequency of data, the categories on the x-axis have no fixed order and there are spaces between the bars
histogram
Type of frequency distribution in which the number of scores in each category of continuous data are represented by vertical columns with no spaces between the bars
negative skewed distribution
Most of the scores are bunched towards the right. The mode is to the right of the mean because the mean is affected by the extreme scores tailing off to the left.
normal distribution
A symmetrical bell-shaped frequency distribution. This distribution occurs when certain variables are measured, such as IQ, where most of the scores are close to the midpoint and the mean, mode and median are at the midpoint.
pie-chart
A circular graph divided into sections or ‘slices’ each representing a proportion of the total.
positive skewed distribution
Most of the scores are bunched towards the left. The mode is to the left of the mean because the mean is affected by the extreme scores tailing off to the right
line graph
Like a histogram, but instead of bars a dot is used to mark the top of each bar and each dot is connected by a line.
peer review
The practice of using independent experts to assess the quality of scientific research and academic reports.
observed (calculated) value
The number (value) produced after applying an inferential test formula
critical value
In an inferential test the value of the test statistic that must be reached to show significance and for the null hypothesis to be rejected.
Spearman’s rank order test
Used when the hypothesis predicts a correlation, between related data (from the same person) with at least ordinal data.
Chi-squared test
Used when the hypothesis predicts a difference from independent data with nominal data
Sign test
Used when the hypothesis predicts a difference from related data (matched pairs or repeated measures) with nominal data
Wilcoxon matched pairs signed ranks test
Used when the hypothesis predicts a difference from related data (matched pairs or repeated measures) with at least ordinal data.
Mann-Whitney U test
Used when the hypothesis predicts a difference from independent data with at least ordinal data
probability values
In general, psychologists use a level of 95%, which means there is a 5% likelihood that results are due to chance and not that the IV caused the DV (for example)
