key science skills Flashcards
psychology
the scientific study of human mental state and behaviour
Model
a representation of a concept, process or behaviour made to simplify and represent
*often a visual representation of a theory
*ensures that scientific ideas are more easily accessible to the public
Theory
proposition or set of principles that is used to explain something or make predictions
Aim
a statement outlining the purpose of the investigation
Hypothesis
a testable prediction about the outcome of an investigation
I.P.A.D
iv, dv, direction and population
Operationalising (variables)
specifying exactly how the variables will be measured and manipulated in a controlled experiment
Controlled variables
things that can affect the dependent variable in an experiment besides the independent variable
Independent Variable (IV)
The variable that is manipulated, want to know its effect on DV
Dependent Variable (DV)
the variable that is measures, want to understand how it is affected by the IV
Controlled experiment
allows a researcher to strictly manipulate variables of interest in a controlled environment
-infure a causal relationship
-There are controlled and experimental groups
*control group- group of participants who receive no experimental treatment or intervention in order to serve as a comparative baseline
Experimental group- the group of participants who are exposed to a manipulated independent variable
within subject design
an experimental design in which participants complete every experimental condition.
pros and cons of within subject design
pros: eliminates participant differences, cost effective, time effective
cons: produce order effects, participants dropping out significantly impacts the study
Between subject design
an experimental design in which individuals are divided into different groups and complete only one experimental condition.
pros and cons of between subject design
Pros: less time consuming, eliminates the possibility of order effects
Cons: participants related differences, more participants are required, experimenter effect may occur
Mixed subject design
an experimental design which combines elements of both within and between subject design
pros and cons with mixed subject design
Pros: allows experimenters to compare results, creates a baseline/ control group
Cons: demanding for researchers and assistants, costly, time consuming
Case studies
an in depth investigation of a individual group or participants phenomenon that contains a real or hypothetical situation.
Correctional studies
a non-experimental study in which researchers observe and measure the relationship between two or more variables without any manipulation of them
aims to find a relationship between variables
what are the three different coronations
Positive: variables change together in the same way
Negative: variables change in opposite directions
Zero correlation: no relationship between variables (no noticeable correlation)
Classification
the arrangement of phenomena, objects or events into manageable sets based on common features and characteristics
- Used to create labels
Identification
a process of recognition of phenomena as belonging to a particular set or possibly being part of a new or unique set
*Used by psychologists to the ascribe phenomena to a particular classification
Fieldwork
refers to any research involving observation and interaction with people and environments in real-world settings, conducted beyond the laboratory
-collecting firsthand information (primary data)
-real world, authentic setting (no manipulation)
Direct observation
a researcher watches and listens to the participants of the study with no direct intervention (it may use deception)
Qualitative interview
researcher asking questions to gather in- depth information about a particular topic, theme or idea, asking open-ended questions
Questionnaires
a set of questions or prompts given to participants to answer digitally or with pen and paper
Focus groups
a researcher conducting a discussion with a small group of people on a specific topic, it may induce conformity and therefore group shift and group think
Yarning circles
traditional approach to group discussion which involves talking, exchanging ideas, reflection and deep considered listening without judgement,
- Researcher must become an active member of the discussion,
Literature review
refers to the process of collating and analysing secondary data related to other people’s scientific findings and/or viewpoints
-identify weaknesses/ limitations in others research
-can build on current understanding
-
Simulation
refers to the process of using a model (tangible) to study the behaviour of a real or theoretical system
- Used when it would be too complex, impractical or dangerous to test the relationships
between the variables in reality
Population
refers to the group of people who are the focus of the research and from which the sample is drawn
Sample
refers to a subset of the population who participate in a study, drawn from the population
Sample= research participants
-highly representative of the research population
-include as much diversity as possible
-Allows a study’s results to be more accurate and generalisable (only if it is representative)
Convenience sampling
refers to any sampling technique that involves selecting readily available members of the population, rather than using a random or systematic approach
pros and cons of convenient sampling
pros: time effective, cost effective, and the least amount of work
cons: less generalisable, most likely to be unrepresentative
Random sampling
refers to any sampling technique that uses a procedure to ensure every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected
pros and cons of random sampling
Pros: may produce a representative sample if it is large enough
Cons: time consuming, may not be entirely representative
stratified sampling
involves selecting people from the population in a way that ensures that its strata (subgroups) are proportionately represented in the sample
pros and cons of stratified sampling
pros: most likely to produce a representative sample
Cons: can be time consuming, expensive, demanding on the researcher
Allocation
refers to the process of assigning participants to experimental conditions or groups
- Either random or non-random allocation
Extraneous variable
any variable that is not the independent variable (IV) but may cause an unwanted effect on the dependent variable
eg. demand characteristics, placebo effect, non standardised instructions, demand characteristics, situational variables, order effect and partisepent related differences
should be controlled or at least monitored
Participant related differences
Characteristics of a study’s participants that may effect the results,
eg: age, intelligence, gender
how to prevent participant related differences
Using a larger sample size increasing the samples representativeness.
Using random or stratified sampling
Order effects
The order in which participants complete the experimental condition to have an effect on their behaviour
specific to within-subjects design)
what are the two types or order effects
1.Practice effects: participants perform better in later conditions
- Fatigue effects: participants perform worse in later conditions due to being tired or bored
how to reduce order effects
Using a between subjects design as participants then only complete one experimental condition.
Using counterbalancing for a mixed/ within subjects design
Placebo effect
Expectancy effect where participants expectations about the treatment/condition cause changes in their behaviour
how to reduce placebo effects
Placebo- an inactive treatment/condition, equalises level of expectancy or participants are less likely to have expectations
Experimenter effects
Refers to when the expectations of the researcher affect the results of an experiment.
- May inadvertently bias the way they
collect/record data (unconscious)
how to reduce experimenter effects
Double blind procedure- in which both the participants and the experimenter don’t know which conditions the groups are allocated to
Situational variables
Any environmental factor that may affect the dependent variable
eg: lighting, temperature, time of day
how to reduce situatinal variables
Standardised testing conditions and procedures- ensuring that each participant in an experiment receives the exact same instructions and follows
the same procedures
(situational variables can only be reduced not eliminated)
Non-standardised instructions & procedures
When directions and procedures differ across participants or experimental conditions
- Introduces unwanted situational variables
how to reduce none- standardised instructions and procedures
Standardised testing conditions and procedures- ensuring that each participant in an experiment receives the exact same instructions and follows the same procedures
Demand characteristics
Cues in an experiment that may signal to a participant the intention of the study and influence their behaviour
- May cause participants to conform to the experiments hypothesis
how to reduce demand characteristics
Double blind procedure- in which both the participants and the experimenter don’t know which conditions the groups are allocated to
Secondary data
data sourced from others/prior research
-Has already been collected in the past, not directly
sourced
- Eg: literature reviews, newspapers, websites
primary data
data collected first-hand by a researcher
- AKA raw data,
eg. interviews, questionnaires, experiments
Qualitative data
data that is expressed non-numerically
May be collected through open ended
questionnaires and interviews
Quantitative data
data that is expressed numerically
May be collected via closed ended surveys, rating
scales or multiple-choice questions
Objective data
factual data that is observed and measured independently of personal opinion
Subjective data
informed by personal opinion, perception, or interpretation (biased)
-Comes from self-reports and qualitative descriptions
Percentages
Calculated by multiplying the ratio of a total by 100
Percentage change
subtracting the new number from the old number and
Measures of central tendency
Descriptive statistics that summarise a data set by describing the centre of the distribution of the data with a single value
mean, median and mode
Mean
describes the numerical average of a data set as a single value
+tell a researcher what the typical response or score is
-Likely to be influenced by extreme values and outliers
Median
the middle value in a data set ordered from lowest to highest
+able to identify a typical response in a data set with outliers
-Ignores all but the middle of a distribution
Mode
the most frequently occurring value in a data set
+helps researchers to understand the centre of the data set when the mean/median cannot be calculated
-Doesn’t take all the scores in the data set into consideration
Measures of variability (spread)
Statistics that summarise and describe the spread and distribution of a data set, they help to indicate how widely participants responses vary in a data set
range
value obtained by subtracting the lowest value from the highest value
- Used to summarise the overall dispersion (distribution) of scores
Standard deviation
shows how much data ‘deviates’ from the mean
- Allows comparisons to be made between different data sets based on their dispersions
- A smaller SD indicates a more accurate and precise data set that is likely to be free from error
Accuracy
refers to how close a measurement is to the true value of the quantity being measured
- Described as more accurate or less accurate
Precision
refers to how closely a set of measurement values agree with each other
*gives no indication of how clow the measurements are to the true value
*does the tool consistently provide the same results when measuring the same ‘thing’
Systematic errors
errors in data that differ from the true value by a consistent amount
Random errors
errors in data that are unsystematic and occur due to chance
oMay occur due to poorly controlled or varying measurement procedures
oCan be impacted by participant differences or environmental factors
Repeatability
Extent to which successive measurements would produce the same results when carried out under identical conditions
same conditions
Reproducibility
Extent to which successive measurements would produce the same results when carried out under different conditions
different conditions
Validity
Refers to the extent to which psychological tools and investigations truly support their findings or conclusions
Internal validity
the extent to which an investigations measures or investigates what it claims
*Without internal validity conclusions cannot be drawn
*Researcher must consider: minimising extraneous variables, bias, representativeness of the sample, impact of potential confounding variables
External validity
the extent to which the results of an investigation can be applied to similar individuals in different settings
Can only be considered when internal validity is present
- Can be improved through a stratified sampling procedure, using a larger sample size, and having a representative sample
