Data And Analysis Flashcards
What is ecological validity
Within research whether the task or setting are representative of real life
What is quantitative data
Numerical data that can be turned into statistical form
What is qualitative data
Data that’s detailed and in depth in the form of description
What are longitudinal studies
Studies some people or a group over time
Tracks development of behaviour over time
Collects multiple sets of data and conducted more than one point in time
What is a snapshot study
Conducted at one point in time
Collects one set of data
Doesn’t track development of behaviour
What is a sample
Refers to participants in a piece of research
What is the debate of free will
Some argue that human beings are entirely free to act as they choose and bear responsibility for the outcome of their behavioir
What is the debate of determinism
Suggests that we lack control of our behaviour and that it is predetermined by factors such as our genes and past experiences
What is useful research
Research that enhances our knowledge and understanding and can be applied to real world situations
What is limited usefulness
Research that may lack credibility, generalisability or be difficult to apply outside of a research settinf
What is the nature debate
Sees biological factors as the explanation for thinking and behaviour such as genetics nervous system and brain chemistry
What is the nurture debate
Sees behaviour as learned or acquired through experiences in the environment
What is the interaction it’s debate
Accepts that both nature and nurture factors are interconnected and human behaviour it is a product of both
What is reductionism
Attempts to break down behaviour into its constituent parts and using single factors such as individual genes or particular hormones to account for given behaviour
What is holism
A holistic approach sees human behaviour as too complex to be reduced to single explanations: humans are seen as more than the sum of their individual parts and there are many factors contributing to behavioir
What is the individual debate
Look to the person as the cause of behaviour specifically their personalities or dispositions
What is the situational debate
Draw on situations around individuals for example other people or the environment context
What is a measure of central tendency
An average of a data set
How do you calculate the mean
Add all the numbers in a data set together and divide by the total amount of results
How do you calculate the median
Arrange all the numbers of data from smallest to biggest
Find the mid point of the numbers. If there are 2 numbers that are in the middle find the middle of them
Only use when anomalies are present
What is the mode
The value that occurs most frequently. Only use when it’s non numerical data
What is a strength of using the mean
One strength of this method of central tendency is that all of the data is utilised to calculate the answer. Therefore it is an accurate representation of the data
What is a weakness of using the mean
One weakness is that extreme scores can distort the value. Therefore it is not an appropriate measure of central tendency if our data set is skewed so it’s less representative. We turn to the median
How is the median a strength
One strength is that extreme scores don’t distort the value. Therefore it is a robust measure of central tendency if our data set is skewed by extreme values
