Data and Analysis

Question 1

nominal data

Answer 1

recording data in totals of named catagories

Question 2

ordinal data

Answer 2

recording data as points along a scale where the gaps between the points are not necessarily the same

Question 3

interval data

Answer 3

recording data as points on a scale where all gaps are equal

Question 4

quantitative data

Answer 4

numerical data

Question 5

strengths of quantitative data

Answer 5

• tends to be collected using objective measures
• collection tends to be highly reliable​
• can be analysed using stats tests

Question 6

weaknesses of quantitative data

Answer 6

• doesn’t tell us why, reducing validity

Question 7

qualitative data

Answer 7

descriptive data

Question 8

strengths of qualitative data

Answer 8

• high levels of validity due to participants being able to express themselves more fully​
• less likely that key or ‘rare’ observations are lost through averaging or simplifying the data

Question 9

weaknesses of qualitative data

Answer 9

• collected using subjective measures​
• collection may be invalid as recording or interpretation of responses may be biased by researcher’s opinions or feelings​
• data are individual so can be difficult to generalise
• time consuming to analyse

Question 10

measures of central tendency

Answer 10

• mode
• mean
• median

Question 11

measures of dispersion

Answer 11

• variance
• range
• standard deviation

Question 12

significance level

Answer 12

• the probability the pattern in the results could be due to chance
• p<0.05, reject the null hypothesis or accept the alternate hypothesis

Question 13

representativeness

Answer 13

• the extent to which a sample is representative of a population so the results can be generalised to the population

Question 14

generalisability

Answer 14

extent to which the findings can be applied to another sample/situation

Question 15

reliability

Answer 15

consistency of a measure

Question 16

internal reliability

Answer 16

The extent to which the results are
consistent across the same measure

Question 17

external reliability

Answer 17

The extent to which a measure produces the same results in the same situation with the same people

Question 18

inter-rater reliability

Answer 18

A method of measuring the consistency of a measure by assessing the measures of multiple different observers or “raters” to ensure similarities in how they record/rate data
Typically useful for observations

Question 19

test-retest

Answer 19

testing reliability by using the same test twice and if the scores correlate well, then it has good reliability

Question 20

validity

Answer 20

how accurate a piece of research or test is at what it aims to measure

Question 21

internal validity

Answer 21

• the extent to which the procedures in a study achieve the intended manipulations and measures
• high internal validity means you can be sure the DV is a result of the IV

Question 22

face validity

Answer 22

• the extent to which a study appears to do what it is supposed to - its effectiveness

Question 23

construct validity

Answer 23

extent to which what is being measured actually exists

Question 24

population validity

Answer 24

extent that findings from one sample can be generalised to to the whole target population

Question 25

ecological validity

Answer 25

• extent that findings from one situation can be applied to another
• whether the study accurately measures real life

Question 26

demand characteristics

Answer 26

cues or features of an experiment/situation that could indicate to the participant the aims of the study and influence their behaviour

Question 27

social desireability

Answer 27

the tendency of participants to respond/act in a way they think reflects what is acceptable in society and not what they actually want to respond/behave

Question 28

researcher bias

Answer 28

the tendency of researchers to act in ways that influence the results to reflect things such as their own beliefs or culture

Question 29

observer bias

Answer 29

• tendency for observers to see what they want to see
• recording behaviours they believe should/will occur and not the behaviours that actually occur

Question 30

researcher effects

Answer 30

negative influences researchers have on the study by their presence, beliefs, gender etc

Question 31

observer effects

Answer 31

• overt observation
• presence, beliefs etc can influence the study

Question 32

external validity

Answer 32

the extent to which the findings from a specific situation or study will generalise to other situations