Foundations of psych - Research methods Flashcards
Descriptive methods
○ Often concerned with a single variable of interest
○ Involve the systematic observation and classification of behaviour
Examples of descriptive methods
Surveys
- Allow us to gather large amount of information quickly and easily
Focus groups and interviews
- Can provide rich, detailed information that may be lacking from a survey
Case studies and observational research
- Can provide important insights and stimulate further research to test specific hypotheses
Problems with descriptive methods
Reactivity (ex. the Hawthorne effect)
- When people know they are being observed, they might change their behaviour
Observer/experimenter bias
Self-report bias
- Social desirability bias
- The “better-than-average” effect
Correlational methods
- Examine associations between two or more variables
- Involve examining how variables are related without manipulating any of the variables
- Single group of participants, at least 2 measures (variables of interest)
- Allow researchers to make claims about associations between variables, but not causal claims
Problems with correlational methods
- These studies do not tell us whether one variable causes changes in another variable
- Directionality problem A <–> B
- Third variable problem A <– C –> B
Experimental methods
Examine cause-and-effect relationships between two or more variables
Variables
Independent variable
- Variable that is manipulated in order to see its impact on the dependent variable
Dependent variables
- Variables that are measured in order to see how it is affected by the independent variable
Experiments
- Involve manipulating an independent variable to determine its impact on a dependent variable (which we measure)
- Are tightly controlled (typically take place in laboratory)
- Participants are randomly assigned to study conditions
Confound
- Anything that may unintentionally vary along with the independent variable
- Limit our ability to make causal claims
Random assignment
- Each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any condition in the study
- Necessary component of an experiment, because this ensures that your different groups are equivalent on average
Random sample
- Each member of the population you are interested in has an equal chance of being chosen to participate
Double-blind experiments
- Participant and researcher are unaware of the condition the participants are in
Quasi-experiments
- Experimental design where random assignment is not possible
- Ex. researcher takes advantage of pre-existing groups
- Risk of potential confounds limits the claims that a researcher can make
- But they can be very useful for studying variables where random assignment isn’t feasible or ethical
Field experiments
- Experiments that occur in real-world settings rather than in a laboratory
- Random assignment is possible however researchers have less control over the study
- Participants are often unaware of the study
Population
- The group that you want to be able to generalize your findings to
Sample
- The group of individuals from this population who are part of your study
Types of samples - Random samples
- Convenience samples
Psychology’s WEIRD problem
Western
Educated
Industrialized
Rich
Democratic
Naturalistic observation
- Passive observation
- Observers do not change or alter ongoing behaviour intentionally
Participant observation
- Active observation
- The researcher is actively involved in the situation
Laboratory observation
- Systematic observations are made within a laboratory setting (rather than in the ‘real world’)
Descriptive methods subsequent claims
regarding the frequency of some behaviour
Correlational methods subsequent claims
regarding the association between two variables
Experimental methods subsequent claims
regarding the causal relationship between two variables
Interrater reliability
The extent to which two or more raters (or observers, coders, examiners) agree
Test-retest reliability
Measures the consistency of results when you repeat the same test on the same sample at a different point in time
Construct validity
Operationalizations
- How valid are the measures used in the study?
I.E. How accurately (or appropriately) have the variables been operationalized?
External validity
Generalizability
- How well would we expect the results of the study to generalize to people and contexts behind those in the study itself
Internal validity
Causality
- How well has the study established a cause-and-effect relationship between variables
I.E. Are there confounds in the experiment?
Descriptive statistics
- Organize data into meaningful patterns and summaries
- They describe the data
Ex. percentages, counts, averages, correlations
Inferential statistics
- Allow us to extend conclusions from a sample to a population
- Allow us to make inferences based on data
These inferences are always probabilistic
Reproducibility
- A study can be duplicated in method and/or analysis
Replicability
- A study about a phenomenon produces similar results from a previous study of the same phenomenon
- Close/exact replications
- Conceptual replications
