Methodologies Flashcards
Experiments def
A research method where the Iv is manipulated by a researcher to measure to measure the effect on a DV
Quasi experiment definition
a research method where the iV changes naturally and is NOT manipulated by a researcher. The DV is still measured
Quasi experiments main features?
- involves researching a naturally changing IV
- The effect on the DV of a changing the IV is measured
- can involve a natural experiment (natural setting) or difference study (natural or controlled setting)
- the researcher has no control over allocating ppts to IV groups
The two types of quasi experiment are?
- natural = Iv is naturally occurring (something that is already happening ➡saint Helena’s - TV Exposure, aggression in kids
- difference = a difference between people that already exists ➡ gender, race, age
quasi experiments negatives?
- difficult to establish cause and effect relationship between IV and DV as the researcher doesn’t have control over or directly manipulate the IV so there could be an extraneous variable meaning these could be responsible for the effect on the DV
- lacks reliability as there is low control over the research meaning it is difficult to get the same circumstances to repeat the research and check for consistent results
Quasi experiment positives?
- high ecological validity as there is no artificial manipulation of the IV therefore it is possible to generalise (apply) the findings to behaviour in real life situations
- allows researcher to study areas which would be unethical or impractical to manipulate e.g. comparing sighted to non sighted children. so, valuable for studying certain behaviours
Field experiment definition?
- researcher manipulates IV and measures effect on DV
- Real life settings (Natural) - school, playground, house
Field experiments +
- less chance of demand characteristics as ppts may be unaware that they are being studied therefore they are unlikely to pick up on clues so their behaviour is more likely to be natural
- High ecological validity as the experiment is carried out in a real life environment/ setting therefroe it is possible to generalise (apply) the findings to behaviour in real life situations
Field experiments -
Difficult to establish cause and effect between the IV and DV as the research is carried out in a real life/ natural environment so there’s low control over extraneous variables these could be responsible for the effect on the dv
Lab experiments definition
- the researcher manipulates the IV and measures the effect on the DV
- Highly controlled environment - not always lab, anywhere that is controlled e.g. classroom
lab experiments +
High control over extraneous variables as the researcher can control the environment and research - therefore it is possible to establish cause and effect between the IV & DV
- High reliability as they can easily be repeated due to controlled conditions and so it is possible to check for consistent results
Lab experiments -
High chance of demand characteristics as ppts are aware they are being studied therefore they are likely to pick up on clues as to the nature of the research and may change their behaviour to help/ hinder meaning thieir behaviour is not natural
- low ecological validity as the envir is highly controled and artificial theerfroe it is difficult to generalise the findings to behaviour to real life situations
DEFINITION: generalise
To apply from one situation or group of ppl to another
DEFINITION: External validity
the extent to which the findings from the study can be generalised (are valid/ accurate true) outside of the original context in which the study was conducted. Do the results only show how those specific ppts behaved in that setting at that time?
DEFINITION: Reliability
consistency - if the research was to be repeated and consistent findings were gained, then it woulf have reliability. The researcher could be confident that their findings weren’t a fluke/ one off
DEFINITION: Demand Characteristics?
any clues which help ppts become aware of the aims of the study causing them to change their behaviour to either help or hinder (‘the screw you effect’) the research so tehir behaviour is not natural
DEFINITION: establishing cause and effect
being able to say one variable (IV) causes and an effect on another variable (DV)
DEFINITION; Ecological validity
a type of external validity that refers to the extent to which the findings can be generalised to a real life setting
Objective def
scientific, black and white
subjective def
interpretation, bias
Representative definition
The results can be applied to a wider group of ppl as they are valid and not biased
Biased sample def?
ALL ppts do not have an equal chance of being selected
main features of an experiment?
- involve the researcher deliberately manipulating an operationalised IV
- the effect of changing the IV is measured on the DV
- usually contains experimental & control conditions
- the researcher allocated ppts to experimental and/ or control conditions
- aim is to establish cause & effect relationships
- can be conducted in a lab or in the field
Quantitative data definition?
Quantitative data gathers data in a numerical form which can be put into categories, rank order, or measured in units of measurement. This type of data can be used to construct graphs and tables of raw data
quantitative data examples?
- data collected in experiments
- closed answer questionnaires
- Observations - tallies on behaviour checklists
- Content analysis - number of occurrences of cateogories
Quantitative data +
+ easy to make comparisons to other sets of data E>G experimental & control conditions, which can be analysed using descriptive and inferential statistic tests- so conclusions are more scientifically objective
+ unlike qual, can be easily replicated and assessed for reliability - numerical data less open to subjective interpretation & so can be measured again
qualitative data definition?
data which is descriptive rather than quantified or counted, therefore it is observed or reported rather than measured
qualitative data examples?
- case studies - e.g. Bowlby’s 44 Juvenile Thieves study
- open answer questionnaires
- observations - description of behaviours observed e.g. Milgram’s description of the distress the ppts showed when administering the shocks
- content analysis - converts qual -> quan data
qualitative data +
+ may have high validity as qual data provides dtalied information which provides insights into ppts’ true thoughts/ behaviours, so meaningful conclusions can be made
+ can represent all acpects of human thought & behaviour as it is descriptive - e.g. feelings towards parents
qualitative data -
- diff to make comaprisons across diffrnt groups or [[ts as data is not uniformed and is often very complex, so diff to analyse data
- unlike quan data, qual is diff to replicate and be assessed for reliabilty
why is qualitative data diff to replicate?
as descriptive data is open to subjective interpretation and so diif to be measured again y the same or other researchers
primary data definition?
data which is collected or observed directly by the researcher from ppts which is specifically for the purpose of the research study
primary data examples?
- data collected in experiments
- responses to questionnaires
- observations conducted by the researchers
- interviews carried out by the researcher
primary data strengths?
+ the researcher controls the methods & tools used to collect data, so they can ensure it fits the aims and hypothesis of their study
+ as researcher designs the methods used to collect the data, including controlling EVs ect, they can ensure the internal validity
primary data limitations?
- more time consuming than using secondary data as researcher deigns study and collects data themselves
- can be difficult, impractical, unethical to collect large sets of data for some behaviours e.g. national crime rates
secondary data definitions?
- data which is collected by someone other than the researcher of the study and purpose was for something other than the aims of the study
secondary data examples?
- Gov stats
- Meta analysis
- Literature review - e.g. Myers & Diener (1995) study
- Artefacts for content analysis
what is meta analysis?
combining data from several different studies
2ndry data strengths?
+ quicker than collecting primary data as the researcher has not design study, collected data themselves
+ can analyse data which might be impractical or unethical to collect using primary sources such as large sets of data for some behaviours like national crime rates
2ndry data limitations?
- as the researcher does not control the design of the methods used to collect the data, inc, controlling EVs, cannot ensure interval validity
- the researcher does not control the methods and tools used to collect the data, so the data may not fully match the aims & hypothesis of their study
what is an observation?
one method for collecting research data. It involves watching a ppt and recording relevant behaviour for later analysis
define a ppt observation?
- the researcher observes behaviour whilst part of the group being observed
- data collected whilst being part of the group or situation e.g. joining a cult
define a non-ppt observation?
- the researcher is seperate from the group whilst observing their behaviour and does not interfere in any way
- data collected from distance e.g. video camera
what is covert observation?
when a ppt is unaware of being observed. the observer may watch through a one- way mirror or be hidden in some other way
what is an overt observation?
ppts are aware their beh is being observed so will be aware of the purpose of the research. The researcher is clearly visible to the ppt.
behavioural categories def?
dividing a target behaviour (e.g. stress or aggression) into a subset of specific and operationalised behaviours
event sampling definition?
an observational technique in which a count is kept of the number of times a certain behaviour (event) occurs
time sampling definition?
an observational tech in which the observer records behaviours in a given time frame e.g. recording what is happening every 2 mins
strengths of ppt observation?
+ researcher can gain an in-depth understanding of the group’s behaviour as they are part of the group and so will not miss important aspects e.g. feelings and motivations
+ it can give access not only to the behaviours of the ppts but also their attitudes, opinions and feelings
+ it enables access to groups that may not allow an outsider to observe e.g. cults- Festinger study
limitations of ppt observation?
- the researcher becomes part of the group meaning there is a greater chance of bias in the research findings lowering the IV
- researcher might be overwhelmed w the amount of data and may have difficulty recording the data
strengths of non-ppt observations?
+ the researcher is not part of the group so can be more objective thus reducing the chance of bias therefore increasing the IV of the observation
+ as the observer is seperate from the situation, they are more able to manage the amount of data and recording is more straight forward
-s of non-ppt observation?
- by not being part of the group, may miss behaviour e.g. feelings and motivation unlike in a ppt observation where the researcher can gain an in-depth understanding of the groups behaviour
BUT sometimes a video camera can replace the observer and this is then analysed afterwards, which can resolve this limitation - more likely to be covert, thfr there are ethical isues as ppts m feel their privacy has been invaded
what is a controlled observation?
the conditions are manipulated by the researcher. This type of observation may be carried out in a lab type situation
What is a naturalistic observation?
watching behaviour in a natural envir. No intervention or manipulation of variables e.g. aggression in playground
designing observations - steps?
1) decide on the behaviour to be observed
2) decide on the location (controlled/ naturalistic?) (lab/ school) and for how long the ppts be observed
3) overt/covert? ppt/ non ppt?
4) produce behavioural categories
5) Decide on TIME (when and how long will observe for)
6) how to record- tally or rating?
when creating behavioural categories ?
make sure the categories u write are SPECIFIC, CLEAR and not open to interpretation. e.g. ‘hitting’ is too vague. Use punching, kicking, slapping
Content Analysis definition?
- an indirect observation of an artefact such as an interview, magazine article, diary. This usually involves changing qual data into quan data by indentifying themes
what is an artefact?
object made by a human being
why is a content analysis an indirect form of observation?
bc you are not observing ppl directly, but observing them through the artfacts they produce
what is meant by the term sampling methods in relation to a content analysis?
what material to sample and how freq (e.g. which TV channels to include, how many programmes, what length of time)
identify how CA could generate quan data?
numbers of males and females are counted in the categories
identify how CA could generate qual data?
- where e.g.s in each category are described rather than counted
- e.g. when performing a CA of adolescent behaviour from letters in a teen magazine, the researcher would provide quotes from diff letters to illustrate the category
main features of a CA? (5)
- Indirect observation of an artefact - e.g. even if researcher conducted the interview as analysed after interview was done
- involves coding categories or themes in an artefact
- turns descriptive qual. data into quan data by counting the occurences of diff themes/ categories
- can also produce qual. data - may describe
- artefacts usually sampled through opportunity