Experimental method

Question 1

Key features of the experimental method

Answer 1

1) Manipulation of an IV to know whether a second variable (DV) is changed
2) Control of extraneous variables
3) Random allocation of participants to the conditions

Question 2

Examples of confounding variables and how they are overcome

Answer 2

ISSUE: Differences in instructions given by researcher or stimulus materials being used
RESOLVED: Standardised instructions and materials

ISSUE: Differences between participants (IE age)
RESOLVED: Use a single age group, or ensure age structure of each condition is similar

Question 3

Alternative to random allocation?

Answer 3

Allow all participants to participate in both conditions (not always appropriate

Question 4

Advantages of the experimental method

Answer 4

• Holds all variables but the IV constant, allowing the researcher to establish a cause and effect relationship between IV/DV (difficult to achieve with humans outside laboratory setting)
• Allows researchers to force the pace of the research rather than waiting for periodic or rare natural events. Control of when and where
• Possible to generalise findings to the population that was used in the test sample

Question 5

Disadvantages of the experimental method

Answer 5

• Difficult to generalise findings beyond population. Populations may be male dominated, race dominant, they may all be volunteers
• Participants are mostly aware they are participating in an experiment, which may affect their behavior
• May not be possible to use (unethical)

Question 6

Laboratory experiments

Answer 6

• Highest level of control over variables

- Setting does not indicate it is a laboratory setting! Observational research may occur in a laboratory

Question 7

Advantages of laboratory experiments

Answer 7

Replicability: Well designed, clearly reported and therefore easy to reproduce which can make the findings stronger (more reliable)

Control over variables: Easiest way to control potential confounding variables so that a cause> effect (IV>DV) relationship can be established

Sophisticated equipment can be used for accurate results, which may be sensitive to external conditions

Question 8

Disadvantages of laboratory experiments

Answer 8

Loss of validity: High control=artificial. Low ecological validity as setting is unusual

Demand characteristics: Participants adjust their behavior in light of the fact they are in an experiment. May guess the hypothesis, act in a way that is helpful to the researcher or give a ‘screw you’ response. Provoked by standardized procedure

Question 9

Ecological validity

Answer 9

The extent to which findings may be generalised to settings other than the one in which the research took place

Lab-low ecological validity because it is an unusual setting

Question 10

Demand characteristics

Answer 10

Participants try to make sense of the research situation they are in and adjust their behavior accordingly

Question 11

Ethical issues of laboratory experiments

Answer 11

Consent: overwhelmed by their environment, participants may not feel able to withdraw from the procedure. Violates right to withdraw

Deception: Some lab experiments involve deception, particularly in social psychology. Debriefing about the nature of the study, the findings and permission to use them is essential

Animals: Used because they offer the researcher greater experimental control than with humans. However this makes them susceptible to unnecessary suffering as they are unable to give consent

Question 12

Field experiments

Answer 12

Carried out in the natural environment of those being studied so realism is improved
*IV is still manipulated DO NOT CONFUSE WITH NATURAL

Question 13

Advantages of field experiments

Answer 13

Improved ecological validity: natural real life setting, improvement on laboratory

Reduced demand characteristics: participants less conscious they are taking part in an experiment

Question 14

Weaknesses of field experiments

Answer 14

Establishing controls: Difficult to control variables; both IV, DV and confounding. IE non participants talking in passing. Therefore less replicable

Generalising to other situations: High realism, but can’t be generalised from the setting where the research took place

More costly

More difficult to use sophisticated equipment that doesn’t function properly outside of the highly controlled laboratory environment

Question 15

Ethical issues involving field experiments

Answer 15

Consent: Issues relating to informed consent and right to withdraw

Confidentiality: Real world settings, therefore identity of participants, or organisations must be protected. Participants must be warned when complete anonymity cannot be guaranteed

Use of animals: When animals are the subject of the experiment their natural environment is altered in some way

Question 16

Natural experiments

Answer 16

Uses naturally occurring IV (no researcher control) Quasi experiment as no complete control. May be used after unforeseen events in environment permit study

Question 17

Advantages of a natural experiment:

Answer 17

Reduction of demand characteristics: Less conscious they are taking part in experiment

Lack of direct intervention: Researcher doesn’t intervene so reduction of effect on participant’s behavior, though even their presence may still effect the results

Question 18

Disadvantages of a natural experiment

Answer 18

Loss of control: No control of IV and no allocation of participants to conditions, therefore low degree of control and increased chance of confounding variables, meaning a certain cause>effect relationship may not be established

Replicability: Natural event that has opened possibility of research may not occur often

Question 19

Ethical issues with a natural experiment

Answer 19

Consent: Issues arising from lack of informed consent and right to withdraw, similar to field experiment

Protection of participants: Research may cause unwarranted distress. Ie asking participants about their opinions on the death penalty in a period of increased murders/terrorist atrocities may cause distress

Confidentiality: Real world settings, therefore identity of participants, or organisations must be protected. Participants must be warned when complete anonymity cannot be guaranteed

Question 20

Correlational analysis

Answer 20

• Measures the relationship between two variables. Value between +1 (perfect) and -1 (inverse perfect correlation) is recorded
• Correlational research measures the relationship between two variables

Question 21

Advantages of Correlational analysis

Answer 21

Measure the strengths of a relationship, a precise numerical value is given, can be compared to other relationships

Value to exploratory research: Can be used to measure many variables/relationships between them. Therefore good tool for complex relationships

Question 22

Weaknesses of Correlational analysis

Answer 22

Causality: Not possible to determine cause and effect, can only determine the degree of a relationship. Two variables may be linked but the cause could still be external to the relationship

Measurement of non linear relationships: Cannot be be measured by correlational means as no meaningful relationship is established (non linear means curved ect), so the relationship must instead be plotted

Question 23

Ethical issues for Correlational analysis

Answer 23

Consent: Issues of informed consent and right to withdraw

Use of findings: Relationships may be established regarding sensitive subjects. Consent from participant is necessary for participation but also for the use of findings

Question 24

Observational research

Answer 24

-Behavior is observed and recorded, no manipulation of variables. Emphasis on how people behave in certain situations. Can be used when intervention would be inappropriate (funeral) or unethical (with children)

Question 25

The study setting for observational research

Answer 25

NATURALISTIC

• Often in natural setting of participant (naturalistic observation)
• Useful for when behavior would be difficult to measure in a laboratory
• Useful in study of non-human animals observed in natural habitat
• OBSERVATION IN A LABORATORY IS STILL SOMETIMES NATURALISTIC: One may assume behavior would be artificial and structured, but rats adapt well to laboratory settings so behavior may be natural enough for naturalistic observation. Further, laboratories may be made to look like playrooms (ie Strange Situation observation) where participants can be observed through a one way mirror- sufficiently natural for naturalistic

Question 26

The role of the Researcher in observational research

Answer 26

Participant observation or non-participant observation (in the group or external), and should the observer be disclosed or remain undisclosed?
*Important ethical issues to consider about deception and consent

Question 27

The structure of observation activity in observational research

Answer 27

• Unstructured: detailed verbal transcripts of behavior - suitable for when trying to establish the cause of said behavior
• Structured: Categorizing aspects of behavior, to determine the most common behaviors and how frequently they occur, quantitative data

Question 28

Advantages of observational techniques

Answer 28

Preliminary research tool: Allows potential researcher to identify possible hypothesis for an experiment

Validity: Allows one to show or be shown that findings from laboratory research apply outside the lab in the real world. Realism + ecological validity are good so long as observer remains undisclosed

Question 29

Weaknesses of observational techniques

Answer 29

Control: Level of control over confounding variables is poor, no cause and effect

Not easy to replicate due to differences in natural settings, not generalisable

Observer effects: Participants know they are being observed and change their behavior, and participant observers may be biased

Ecological validity lower in laboratory observation than naturalistic

Cost

Coding systems: Subjective categorization of findings. Aggression and ‘rough play’ may be different levels of behavior for different researchers - hard to compare

Question 30

Ethical issues with observational techniques

Answer 30

Privacy: unless presumptive consent/consent is gathered, researchers should protect the psychological well being of the participants by only observing in an environment they would usually be expected to be observed in (by strangers)

Confidentiality/consent: If not observing in a place participants would expect to be observed they should gain consent to use the findings, debrief them and guarantee their anonymity/inform them anonymity cannot be guaranteed

Question 31

Self Report techniques: questionnaires

Answer 31

• Participants provide information knowingly on information relative to themselves
• Series of questions on area of interest
• Systematic gathering of information from large population
• Carried out on generalisable sample
• Wide variety of suitable situations

Question 32

Closed questions

Answer 32

• Researcher determines the range of possible answers
• Produce information easy to analyze, quantify (often numerical)
• May lack realism due to forced choice of responses (not every response will fit the pre selected categories

Question 33

Open-ended questions

Answer 33

• Researcher does not restrict the range of possible answers
• Detailed, verbal information
• More difficult to analyse due to wide range of possible answers

Question 34

Leading questions

Answer 34

-Choice of wording used suggests the respondent should reply in a particular way

Question 35

Good practice when constructing a questionnaire

Answer 35

• small number of questions
• short questions
• clear phrasing
• avoid emotionally charged questions
• use a PILOT STUDY

Question 36

Advantages of questionnaires

Answer 36

Simplicity- can be used with minimum training once properly developed. Closed question generated data is easy to analyse
Speed and cost- large amounts of questionnaires can be produced quickly and analyzed in the same fashion
Less influence of interpersonal variables - Researcher is not involved directly and cannot influence the response as much

Question 37

Weaknesses of questionnaires

Answer 37

Ambiguous phrasing may lead to differing interpretations of a question
Leading questions
Different interpretations of language, ie rarely can mean once a month, or once a year (?)
Social desirability: participants do not answer truthfully so they are seen in the best possible light (true especially with embarrassing questions). Also researcher bias if given face to face

Poorly designed questionnaires produce poor data: questions that are hard to interpret or analyse, and those that do not give useful data, waste of time

Low response rate: many will not fill in the questionnaire, therefore not representative and only certain type of person will respond - not generalisable

Question 38

Ethical issues with questionnaires

Answer 38

Privacy: Must treat information as private and must be published confidentially,protecting identity

Consent: Right to withdraw data from study

Risk of harm: Probing personal matters that may elicit stress response. Protect from harm by ensuring answers may not be given

Debriefing and support: Questions on a sensitive topic can be harmful, may require debriefing

Question 39

Self report techniques: interviews

Answer 39

• Used both as basis of case study or survey
• Used face to face, or at distance
• Researcher communicates with the participant directly in a structured or unstructured manner

Question 40

Structured interviews

Answer 40

Questions decided in advance to structure responses, usually produce quantitative data

• Less likely to deviate from topic, analysis is simpler, results easier to generalise, less training needed, and more objective so less interviewer bias
• However, can’t follow up new lines of enquiry and validity threatened as clients react to formality of the structured interview

Question 41

Unstructured interviews

Answer 41

• Little decided in advance, broad questions as start point and then conversation takes its course
• More flexible and results more valid, as interviewee may say whatever is appropriate
• Harder to analyse data due to wide variety of possible answers, less generalisable and more training needed

Question 42

Semi-structured interview

Answer 42

• Some prepared questions provided by interviewer supplemented by additional questions allowing the participant to expand
• Middle way between structured and unstructured

Question 43

Focus groups in interviews

Answer 43

• Multiple individuals interviewed communally
• Gives greater understanding of group dynamic and social responses to different issues
• However may not be representative of the group’s view as individuals may dominate the session

Question 44

Advantages of interviews

Answer 44

Flexible: explores complex issues, not possible with other techniques
Explores sensitive issues: Not as easy with indirect address
Different types of interview generate different types of data, and are appropriate for different situations, flexible

Question 45

Weaknesses of interviews

Answer 45

• Interpreting data: subjective and difficult with unstructured interviews
• Time and effort: people may not be willing to give up time, limits number of possible people in sample

Limitations of interviewee responses: may not be able to properly articulate their responses

Interpersonal variables: sex and age may affect the correspondence between the interviewer and interviewee

Demand characteristics: social desirability bias

Cost

Need for training

Question 46

Ethical issues with interviews

Answer 46

Respecting privacy

Consent: right to withdraw and consent to be interviewed

Protection from harm

Debriefing and support

Question 47

Case studies

Answer 47

• In depth and long term study of individual case
• Real life context
• Representative case or exceptional circumstances
• Both numerical data and an account of events are produced

Question 48

Advantages of case studies

Answer 48

Rich/interesting data: High degree of realism and can provide substantial detailed information into areas hard to investigate

Challenging existing theory: Findings may contradict existing evidence, leading to development of the theory

Question 49

Weaknesses of case studies

Answer 49

Low reliability: Hard to replicate as rare or unethical

Subjective findings: Lengthy research means researcher develops relationship with the subject of the study, causing subjective interpretation of the findings

Selecting from large amounts of data: Large amounts of data collected, researcher must decide what to leave out (subjective)

Distortion: if the individual is required to recall historical events then they may be inaccurate in their recall (retrospective)

Question 50

Ethical issues with case studies

Answer 50

• Level of intrusion for individual does not damage well being
• Similar to observational/interview
• ->consent
• -> right to withdraw
• -> protection from harm
• -> confidentiality
• -> debriefing