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Chapter 1 - Research methods in psychology Flashcards

1
Q

Define Psychology

A

Psychology is defined more precisely as the scientific study of mental processes and behaviour in humans

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2
Q

What is a mental process?

A

Mental processes refer to a person’s thoughts and feelings, which are personal, or subjective, and cannot be directly observed

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3
Q

What is an inference?

A

An inference is a logical assumption, judgement or conclusion based on available evidence

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4
Q

What is a behaviour?

A

The term behaviour refers to any externally expressed action made by a living person that can be directly observed.

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5
Q

What is the difference between a field setting and a laboratory setting?

A

A field setting is a natural, ‘real life’ environment. The laboratory setting is a carefully controlled condition in which an individual is studied or tested.

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6
Q

How many steps are there in psychological research and what are they?

A 
There are seven steps in psychological research. Step 1 : Identifying the research problem
2 : Constructing the research hypothesis
3 : Designing the method
4 : Collecting the data
5 : Analysing  the data
6 : Interpreting the data
7 : Reporting of the research findings
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7
Q

How are the specific features and procedures of the research method designed and determined?

A

In designing the specific features or procedures of the research method, the researcher must decide:

  • The type of data to be collected
  • How the data will be collected
  • Which participants will be studied
  • How many participants there will be
  • How they will be selected
  • How they will be allocated to the different groups in the study
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8
Q

What are the data collection techniques used to obtain information?

A
  • Observation
  • Self-reports such as questionnaires and one-to-one or group interviews
  • Standardised tests such as intelligence and personality tests
  • Physiological (bodily) recordings such as scans and print-outs from brain imaging and recording technologie
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9
Q

What is a research hypothesis?

A

A researching hypothesis is a testable prediction of the relationship between two or more events or characteristics. Or, a hypothesis is a tentative and testable prediction of the relationship between two or more events or characteristics. It is an educated guess about what will happen in the research.

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10
Q

What are some examples of research methods?

A
  • experiments
  • observational studies
  • case studies
  • surveys
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11
Q

What is objectivity?

A

Objectivity involves taking steps to prevent personal factors from influencing any aspect of research (or its reporting). Objectivity requires that data is collected and recorded free of bias, prejudice and other personal factors that may distort the data.

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12
Q

What is a conclusion and what is a generalisation?

A

A conclusion is a judgement about what the results of an investigation mean. A generalisation is a decision or judgement about how widely the findings of a study can be applied.

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13
Q

What is a research method?

A

A research method is a particular way of conducting a research study to collect accurate and reliable information about behaviour and mental processes.

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14
Q

What is an experiment?

A

An experiment is used to test a cause-effect relationship between variables under controlled conditions

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15
Q

What is an Independent variable?

A

The independent variable (IV) is the variable that is systematically manipulated, changed or varied in some way by the researcher in order to assess its effect on the participants responses

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16
Q

What is a Dependent variable?

A

The dependent variable (DV) shows any effects of the independent variable. It is the aspect of a participant’s behaviour or experience that is observed or measured and is expected to change as a result of the manipulation of the independent variable.

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17
Q

What is operationalised?

A

Things that are operationalised are stated in terms of the procedures (operations) that will be used to manipulate and measure them in the experiment. Eg, an operational hypothesis is a research hypothesis that states how the variables being studied will be observed, manipulated and measured.

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18
Q

What characteristics does an observational hypothesis have?

A
  • The IV is operationalised (how it will be manipulated)
  • The DV is operationalised (how it will be measured)
  • The population
  • It is testable (the variables can be consistently observed and manipulated and measured)
  • It is an educated guess (based on logical thinking, theory or previous research findings)
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19
Q

What are extraneous and confounding variables?

A

An extraneous variable is any variable other than the IV that can cause a change in the DV and therefore affect the results if the experiment in an unwanted way. A confounding variable is a variable other than the IV that has had an unwanted affect on the DV, making it impossible to determine which of the variables has produced the change in the DV.

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20
Q

What are individual participant differences?

A

Individual participant differences or participant variables are the differences in personal characteristics and experiences of the individual participants in an experiment

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21
Q

How can IPD’s affect the results?

A

Participant variables, characteristics, and prior experiences, can affect how participants respond in an experiment.

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22
Q

What is the Hawthorne effect?

A

If participants are aware that they are members of an experimental group, performance may improve simply because of that fact (rather than because of the IV - or experimental treatment - to which they are exposed)

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23
Q

What is a placebo and what is the placebo effect?

A

A placebo is an inactive substance or treatment, which substitutes for the real substance or treatment. The placebo effect occurs wen there is a change in the responses of participants due to their belief that they are receiving some kind of experimental treatment and they respond in accordance with that belief, rather than to the effect of the IV

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24
Q

How do you counteract the placebo effect?

A

Give the control group a placebo, so both groups experience the placebo effect and counteract each other

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25
What is an experimenter effect?
An experimenter effect occurs when there is a change in a participant's response due to the researcher's expectations, biases or actions, rather than to the effect of the IV. Experimenter expectancy involves cues (hints) the researcher provides about the responses participants should give in the experiment. A self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when the researcher obtains results that they expect to obtain due to cues they provide rather than due to the IV. Experimenter may occur.
26
What is an order effect, including its two subgroups; practice and carry-over effects?
An order effect occurs when performance, as measured by the DV, is influenced by the specific order in which the conditions, treatments or tasks are presented rather than the IV. Practice effects are the influence on performance (the DV) that arises from practicing a task. Carry-over effects are the influences that a particular treatment or task has on performance in a subsequent treatment or task that follows it.
27
What are non-standardised instructions/procedures?
Non-standardised procedures means that research procedures are not uniform, or the same, for all participants (except for exposure to the IV by participants in the experimental group)
28
What are the types of sampling?
- Convenience sampling - Random sampling - Stratified sampling - Random-stratified sampling
29
What is convenience sampling?
Convenience sampling, or opportunity sampling, involves selecting participants who are readily available without any attempt to make the sample representative of a population
30
What are the pro's and con's of convenience sampling?
Pro's: quick, easy and inexpensive. Is also useful when conducting researching to pilot (test) procedures or to gain a preliminary indication of possible responses before conducting the actual study. Con's: In most cases causes biased samples due to unfairness in possible participants. Not representative of the target population, limiting ability to generalise results.
31
What is random sampling?
Random sampling is a sampling procedure that ensures every member of the population of research interest had an equal chance of being selected as a participant for a study (and that the selection of one participant does not influence the selection or non-selection of another).
32
What are the pro's and con's of random sampling?
Pro's: More likely to be reprasentative of the target population, leading to assumptions about the population being more accurate. Eliminates bias. Con's: More difficult to achieve, takes time, money and effort.
33
What is stratified sampling?
Stratified sampling involves dividing the population to be sampled into distinct subgroups, or strata, then selecting a separate sample from each stratum in the same proportions as they occur in the target population
34
What are the pro's and con's of random sampling?
Pro's: Sample should be highly representative of the target population enabling generalisations to be made. Con's: Extremely cost and time consuming, and very difficult, very biased sample.
35
What is random-stratified sampling?
Random-stratified sampling involves identifying all of the people within each stratum of research interest, then randomly selecting samples of proportionate size from within each stratum.
36
What are the pro's and con's of random stratified sampling?
Pro's: Sample should be highly representative of the target population enabling generalisations to be made Con's: Extremely cost and time consuming, extremely difficult to achieve.
37
What is the control group?
The control group is exposed to the control condition, whereby the independent variable is either absent or neutral. The results of this group provide a benchmark or baseline standard to which other results, and therefore the impact of the independent variable, can be compared.
38
What is the experimental group?
The experimental group is exposed to the experimental condition, whereby the independent variable is present. The results of this group are used to measure the impact of the independent variable by comparison to the results of the control group, whereby the independent variable is either neutral or absent.
39
What is random allocation?
In random allocation, participants selected for the experiment are as likely to be in one group as the other With a sufficiently large number of participants, it is reasonable to assume that each group will contain about equal numbers of participants with personal characteristics that can affect the results
40
What is counterbalancing?
Counterbalancing involves systematically changing the order of treatments or tasks for participants in a 'balanced' way to counter the unwanted effects on performance of any one order. There are two types of counterbalancing; between-participants, and within-participants.
41
What is between-participants counterbalancing?
The between-participants counterbalancing procedure involves counterbalancing the order in which the groups of participants are exposed to the experimental conditions. Each group of participants receives the treatments in a different order.
42
What is the within-participants counterbalancing?
The within-participants counterbalancing procedure requires each participant to be exposed to the same combination of conditions. Each participant is exposed to the treatment conditions in one order and then again in the reverse order.
43
What are single-blind procedures?
Single-blind procedures involves the participants being not aware of (are blind to) the condition of the experiment to which they have been allocated and therefore the experimental treatment (the IV).
44
What are double-blind procedures?
Double-blind procedures involves the participants and the researcher (or researcher assistant) directly involved with the participants are unaware of (are 'blind' to) the conditions to which the participants have been allocated.
45
What are standardised instructions?
The use of standardised instructions means that the instructions given to all participants for each condition are predetermined and identical in terms of what they state and how they are administered (given).
46
What are standardised procedures?
The techniques used for making observations and measuring responses should be identical for all individual participants. All participants should be treated in the same way, as appropriate to the experimental condition to which they have been assigned.
47
What are they types of experimental designs?
- Repeated measures design - Matched participants design - Independent groups design
48
What is the repeated measures design?
In the repeated-measures design, each participant is involved in both the experimental and control conditions of an experiment so that the effects of individual participant differences balance out exactly
49
What is the matched participants design?
The matched participants design usually involves selection of pairs of participants who are very similar in one or more personal characteristics that can influence the DV, then allocating each member of the pair to different experimental conditions
50
What is the Independent groups design?
In the independent groups design, each participant is randomly allocated to one of two (or more) entirely separate (independent) conditions, or groups.
51
What are the pro's and con's of the repeated measures design?
Pro's: controls individual differences of participants and gives the researcher strict control over all relevant participant variables that can influence the results Con's: Order effects may occur and affect the results due to practice effects or carry over effects experienced by the participants. This design can also result in substantial participant attrition or loss of participants before the completion of the experiment. Often needs to spread out the time between conditions.
52
What are the pro's and con's of the matched participants design?
Pro's: Each group is fairly equivalent in terms of the spread of participant characteristics that can cause a change in the DV, thus cancelling each other out. Participant attrition is less common than with the repeated measures design. Often no need to spread out the time period between the different conditions. Con's: It's difficult to know which specific participant variables should be matched. Often difficult and time-consuming, and may create order effects if using pre-testing methods. More affected by attrition, as the loss of one person equals the loss of the entire pair.
53
What are the pro's and con's of the independent groups design?
Pro's: Using an acceptable random allocation procedure and a large sample is likely to result in two groups that are well matched on participant characteristics. No order effects across conditions to control. Participant attrition is less common that the repeated measures design. Often no need to spread out the time between conditions. Con's: If using a small sample the participant variables may not be well matched or equivalent. It has less control over participant characteristics than both repeated measures and matched participants designs.
54
What is a correlation coefficient?
A correlation coefficient is expressed as a decimal number, which can range from +1.00 to -1.00. This number indicates the strength and the direction of the correlation. The plus and minus described the direction of the relationship.
55
What is qualitative data?
Qualitative data is information about the 'qualities' or characteristics of what is being studied. They are descriptions, words, meanings, pictures, texts and so on.
56
What is quantitative data?
Quantitative data is information about 'quantities' or amounts of what is being studied. This type of data is usually expressed in the form of units of measurement or numbers, such as raw scores, percentages, means, p-values and so on
57
What is a case study?
A case study is an intensive, in-depth investigation of some behaviour or event of interest in an individual, small group or situation
58
What are some advantages and limitations of using a case study?
Advantages: Case studies can avoid artificiality and provide a snapshot of the actual or real-life experience. Provide insights into how others may think, feel or behave under similar circumstances. It can be a valuable source of hypotheses for further research. Limitations: No manipulation or control of variables. Cannot be replicated to test reliability of results. cannot be used to test hypotheses unless combined with the results of other case studies of similar participants. Summarising and reporting these data can be painstaking and time-consuming. May not reflect typical ways of thinking, feeling or behaving. Generalising to populations cannot be done with certainty. Susceptible to biased information from participant or the researcher.
59
What are observational studies? and what is an observation?
An observation refers to any means by which a phenomenon (an observable event) is studied, including the data that represent a phenomenon, such as spoken or written responses, test scored and brain wave recordings. An observational study involves collecting data by carefully watching and recording behaviour as it occurs.
60
What types of observational techniques are there?
Naturalistic Observation: the researcher view a naturally occurring behaviour of interest in an inconspicuous manner so that their presence does not influence the behaviour being observed. Non-Participant Observation: When researchers try to conceal their presence while making observations Participant Observation: The researcher is an active member of the group being observed
61
What are the advantages and limitations of using observational studies?
Advantages: enables the researcher to gain more accurate information about the typical behaviours of organisms. Some types of human behaviour can only be studied as they naturally occur because it would be inappropriate or impractical to study them in a laboratory situation. Does not require the cooperation of participants being observed (ethical concern) Disadvantages: Researcher is unable to observe long-term effects that an organism's natural environment has in shaping complex behaviour patterns. It can be difficult to determine the causes of observed behaviour, because many factors may influence the observed behaviour in a natural environment.
62
What are self reports?
A self-report is the participant's (or respondent's), written or spoken responses to questions, statements or instructions presented by the researcher. This may be done through questionnaires containing fixed and free response questions.
63
What is the difference between free and fixed response questions?
Free-response (open-ended) questions require participants to describe their thoughts, feelings or behaviour 'freely' in their own words, thereby providing qualitative data. Whereas fixed-response (closed) questions typically require participants to select their response from a number of 'fixed' alternative responses.
64
What is the difference between interviews and questionnaires?
A questionnaire typically involves asking and answering questions in writing, whereas an interview typically involves asking and answering questions orally
65
What are the advantages and limitations of using self-reports?
Advantages: survey questions can be an effecient means of collecting self-report data from a large number of people in a relatively short period of time. Disadvantages: People can give false or misleading answers to questions in order to create a favourable impression of themselves (affected by social desirability). Free-response questions are often difficult to summarise and statistically analyse. Fixed-response questions restrict participant responses.
66
What are descriptive and inferential statistics?
Descriptive statistics: are used for analysing, organising, summarising and describing results. Inferential statistics: are used for interpreting and giving meaning to the results
67
What are the three measures of central tendency?
Mode, Mean and Median
68
What are some examples of descriptive and inferential statistics?
Descriptive: Mean, median, mode, graphs, charts etc Inferential: Statistical significance and p-values
69
What is statistical significance?
The term statistical significance is used to indicate whether the difference in the results obtained for the experimental and control groups in an experiment is a real difference (due to the independent variable) and probably not due to the chance factors alone. A significance level of any difference is called a p-value.
70
What are conclusions and generalisations?
A conclusion is a decision or judgement about what the results obtained from an investigation mean. A generalisation is a decision or judgement about how widely the findings of a study can be applied, particularly to other members of the population from which the sample was drawn.

Psychology (5 decks)

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