Methods Flashcards
what is an experimental method?
involves manipulating the independent variable to measure an effect on the dependent variable - can be lab, field, natural or quasi
what is an aim?
a general statement of what the researcher intends to investigate - the purpose of the study
what is a hypothesis?
a clear, precise, testable statement that states the relationship between the variables being investigated. stated at the outset of a study.
what is a directional hypothesis?
states the direction of the difference or relationship. used when there is previous data to suggest a direction
what is a non-directional hypothesis?
a hypothesis that does not state direction - used when there is no previous research or theory.
what is a variable?
anything which can change or vary within an investigation. used in experiments to determine whether a change in one thing causes a change in another.
what is an independent variable?
the aspect/variable in an experiment that you purposefully change or changes naturally.
what is a dependent variable?
the variable that is measured by the researcher.
what does operationalisation mean?
clearly defining the variables within a hypothesis in terms of how they can be measured.
what is a control condition?
the condition within the experiment that acts as the control
what is a experimental condition?
the condition within the experiment that measures the effect on the DV.
what is an extraneous variable?
any variable, other than the independent variable that may have an effect on the DV if it is not controlled. they are essentially nuisance variables that do not vary systematically with the IV.
what is a confounding variable?
any variable, other than the IV that may affect the DV so we are unsure whether the change in the IV caused the change in the DV. confounding variables do vary systematically with the IV.
what are demand characteristics?
any cue from the researcher or research situation that be interpreted by participants as revealing the purpose of the investigation. this may lead to participants changing their behaviour.
what are investigator effects?
any effect of the investigators behaviour on the research outcome. this may include anything from the design of the study to the researchers interaction with the participant. this may include things like leading questions etc.
what is randomisation?
the use of chance in order to control for the effects of bias when designing materials and deciding the order of conditions
what is standardisation?
using exactly the same formalised procedures and instructions for all participants in a study.
what is an experimental design?
the different ways in which the testing of participants can be organised in relation to the experimental condition.
what is the independent groups design?
participants are allocated to different groups where each group represents one experimental condition. the mean value of each group would then be compared.
what is the repeated measures design?
all participants take part in all conditions of the experiment
what is the matched pairs design?
pairs of participants are matched by some variable that may affect the DV. then one member of each pair does each condition.
what is random allocation?
an attempt to control for participant variables in the independent groups design which ensures each participant has the same chance of being in one condition as they do the other.
what is counterbalancing?
an attempt to control for the effects of order in a repeated measures design - half the participants do the conditions in one order and the other half do the opposite order.
evaluate independent groups design.
- order effects not a problem
- random allocation should be used to minimize individual differences.
evaluate repeated measures design.
- participant variables are not an issue
- order effects need to be controlled for with counterbalancing. doing more than one condition could improve result with practise or make it worse with fatigue.
evaluate matched pairs design.
- order effects and demand characteristics not a problem
- participants can never be matched exactly, even in identical twins
- matching can be time consuming and expensive
what is a population?
a group of people who are the focus of a researchers interest, from which a smaller sample is drawn.
what is a sample?
a group of people who take part in a research investigation. they should be representative of the wider population from which they were chosen.
what is a sampling technique?
a method used to select people from a population
what is bias in the context of sampling?
when certain groups are either over or under represented in a sample. limits the amount results can be generalised.
what is generalisation?
the extent to which findings can be broadly applied to the population. made possible by the sample used being representative of the population they came from.
what is a random sample?
- all of the population has an equal chance of being selected
- all of population is given a number then a certain amount of numbers are randomly generated.
what is a systematic sample?
when every nth member of the population is selected
what is a stratified sample?
the composition of the sample reflects the proportions of people in each sub group of the population
what is a opportunity sample?
anyone who happens to be willing and available at a certain time and place
what is a volunteer sample?
people self-select or volunteer to be part of a study.
evaluate a random sample.
- free from researcher bias
- difficult and time consuming
- may still be unrepresentative
- people may not be willing to take part
evaluate a systematic sample.
- may be hidden periodic traits
- free from researcher bias
- usually fairly representative
evaluate a stratified sample.
- avoids researcher bias as once strata have been identified they are randomly selected
- produces a very representative sample
- complete representation is impossible due to other differences in the population
evaluate an opportunity sample.
- saves researcher time and money
- unrepresentative as drawn from a specific area
- researcher bias as researcher has complete control of who to approach.
evaluate a volunteer sample.
- easy and cheap
- volunteer bias is a major issue
what is a lab experiment?
an experiment that takes place in a controlled environment within which the researcher manipulates the IV and records the effect on the DV, whilst maintaining strict control of the variables.
evaluate a lab experiment.
- good control of extraneous variables
- high internal validity
- replication is possible
- findings are generally more valid
- may lack generalisability due to lab environment - low external validity
- demand characteristics are generally more problematic
- low mundane realism
what is a field experiment?
an experiment that takes place in a natural setting within which the researcher manipulates the IV and measures the effect on the DV.
evaluate a field experiment.
- high mundane realism
- high external validity
- lack of control over extraneous variables
- can be ethical issues with consent and privacy
what is a natural experiment?
an experiment where the change in the IV is not bought about by the experimenter but would have happened even if the researcher had not been there. the researcher only records the effect on the DV.
evaluate a natural experiment.
- opportunity to study something that may not be possible to study in a lab
- high external validity and mundane realism
- limited scope for generalising results and few opportunities to carry out research
- no control of extraneous variables meaning lower validity
- not able to randomly allocate participants so possible participant variables.
what is a quasi-experiment?
a study that is almost an experiment but not quite. the IV has not been determined by anyone, it simply exists on its own such as being old or young. it is not technically an experiment.
evaluate a quasi-experiment.
- carried out under controlled conditions so have the strengths and weaknesses of a lab experiment.
- cannot randomly allocate participants to conditions so there may be confounding variables.
what are ethical issues?
arise when there are conflicts between the rights of participants in the research and the studies goal to produce authentic, valid and worthwhile data.
what is the BPS code of ethics?
a quasi-legal document produced by the British Psychological Society that instructs psychologists in the UK about what behaviour is and is not acceptable when dealing with participants. it is built around the four major principles of respect, competence, responsibility and integrity.
what is informed consent?
involves making the participants aware of the aims of the research, the procedures involved and their rights including their right to withdraw and confidentiality. this may however be pointless as it would change their behaviour and make the study meaningless.
what is presumtive consent?
a similar group of people to the sample is asked for their consent/whether the study is acceptable. if they agree the study can go ahead with the sample.
what is prior general consent?
participants consent to take part in a number of different studies, one involving deception. they are then effectively consenting to be deceived.
what is retrospective consent?
participants are asked for their consent during the debriefing process. they may not have been aware that they were involved in a study etc.
what is deception?
deliberately misleading or withholding information from participants at any point during the study. may be necessary for an investigation to be valid.
what is protection from harm?
participants should not be placed at any more risk in the experiment than they are in their daily lives. their psychological and physical health should be protected. this includes them being aware of their right to withdraw at any time.
what is privacy and confidentiality?
participants have the right to control any information about themselves. and the right to have any personal data protected.
how do you provide protection from harm?
- participants should be given a full debrief
- participants have the right to withhold data
- the researcher should be able to provide counselling
how do you deal with confidentiality?
participants are given numbers so they have anonymity. case studies generally use initials instead of full names.
what is a pilot study?
a small scale version of an investigation that takes place before the real investigation is conducted. the aim is to check that the procedures, materials and measurements etc., work and to allow the researcher to make any changes or modifications necessary.
what is a single blind procedure?
when the participant does not know what condition they are in during the experiment.
what is a double blind procedure?
when neither the participant or the researcher is aware of the aim of the study or which condition they are in. this is a key feature of drug trials where one is real and the other is a placebo.
what is a naturalistic observation?
watching and recording behaviour within the setting where it would naturally occur
what is a controlled observation?
watching and recording behaviour within a structured environment where some variables are managed
what is a covert observation?
participants behaviour is watched and recorded without the participants consent
what is a overt observation?
participants behaviour is watched and recorded with their consent
what is a participant observation?
the researcher becomes a member of the group that they are observing and recording.
what is a non-participant observation?
the researcher remains outside of the group whose behaviour they are observing.
what are behavioural categories?
when a target behaviour is broken up into components that are measurable and observable
what is event sampling?
a target event is first established then the researcher records this event every time it happens.
what is time sampling?
a target individual or group is first established then the observer records their behaviour in a fixed time frame, such as every 60 seconds.
what is a unstructured observation?
the researcher records everything they see
what is a structured observation?
a predetermined list of behaviours is made up. it is then counted how many times each behaviour occurs.
what type of data do structured and unstructured observations produce?
structured produce quantitative. unstructured produce qualitative
what could go wrong with a unstructured observation?
greater risk of observer bias
when is event or time sampling used?
event - when the behaviour is relatively simple and infrequent
time - when there are complex events and you want to make less observations.
what is a self report technique?
any method in which a person is asked to state or explain their own feelings, opinions behaviours and/or experiences related to a given topic
what is a questionnaire?
a set of written questions or ‘items’ used to assess a persons thoughts or behaviours - researcher can be absent or present.
what is an interview?
a ‘live’ encounter where one person asks a set of questions to assess the interviewees thoughts or behaviours. questions may be pre-set or develop as the interview goes on.
what is an open question?
a question to which there is no set range of answers, participants can answer in any way they wish. it produces qualitative data.
what is a closed question?
a question to which there is a pre set range of answers from which participants can choose an answer. this produces quantitative data.
what is a structured interview?
pre-determined questions asked in a set order
what is a unstructured interview?
essentially a conversation with no set questions just a general idea of a topic that will be discussed.
what is a semi-structured?
a list of questions has been prepared but the interviewer is free to ask follow up questions etc.
evaluate the use of questionnaires.
- cost effective
- not much effort as can be completed without interviewer being there
- data is easy to analyse and use/compare
- social desirability bias is an issue as respondents may misrepresent themselves
- response bias of just ticking yes - acquiescence bias.
evaluate the use of interviews.
Structured:
- straightforward to replicate
- structured interviews do not allow any deviation - not whole story etc.
Unstructured:
- more flexibility
- analysis of data is much harder
- risk of social desirability bias but should be overcome by interviewer rapport with interviewee.
what is a likert scale?
a type of closed question in which agreement is measured usually with a series of 5 points (1 = strongly agree 5 = strongly disagree etc)
what is a rating scale?
a type of closed question that gets respondents to identify a number that represents their feelings about a certain topic (1 = very fun 5 = not fun at all)
what is a fixed choice option?
a type of closed question where participants are given a range of answers and can tick a box to indicate which one applies to them.
what has to be taken into account when designing an interview?
- interview schedule (questions)
- standardisation
- interviewer bias
- group interview or individual
- ethical issues
what must interviewers avoid?
- over use of jargon
- emotive language
- leading questions
- double barrelled questions
- use of double negatives.
what is a correlation?
a mathematical technique where a researcher investigates an association between two co-variables.
what is a co-variable?
a variable investigated within a correlation. they are not called the IV and DV as correlations show a relationship rather than just cause and effect.
what is a positive correlation?
as one co-variable increases so does the other
what is a negative correlation?
as one co-variable increases the other decreases.
what is a zero correlation?
when there is no relationship between the covariables.
evaluate the use of correlations.
- provide a pattern that can be used for future research
- they are quick and easy to carry out.
- do not show causation
- there may be a third variable involved that is not shown
- correlations can be misinterpreted or misused.
what is qualitative data?
data that is expressed in words and non-numerical
what is quantitative data?
data that can be counted - usually given as numbers.
what is primary data?
information that has been obtained first hand for the purposes of the research. this often takes the form of an experiment, self report or observation.
what is secondary data?
information that has already been collected by someone else and pre-dates the current research. may include previous studies or government statistics.
what is a meta analysis?
the process of combining results from a number of studies on a particular topic to provide an overall view. can be qualitative or quantitative.
evaluate quantitative/qualitative data.
qualitative: - broader in scope and detail - better external validity - difficult to analyse - conclusions are often subjective quantitative: - easy to analyse - less detailed - better internal validity - less subjective
evaluate primary and secondary data.
primary: - authentic - specific to the exact study - requires time and effort secondary: - inexpensive and minimal effort - data may not fit criteria or be outdated (for some reason unusable)
what are descriptive statistics?
the use of graphs, tables and summary statistics to identify trends and analyse sets of data
what is a measure of central tendency?
the general term for any measure of the average value in a set of data
what is the mean?
the arithmetic average calculated by adding up all the values in a data set and dividing the sum by the total number of values there are.
what is the median?
the central value in a set of data when values are arranged from lowest to highest
what is the mode?
the most frequently occurring value in a data set.
what are measures of dispersion?
the general term for any measure of the spread or variation in a set of scores
what is the range?
a simple calculation of dispersion in a set of scores which is worked out by subtracting the lowest value from the highest value and adding one as a mathematical correction
what is standard deviation?
a sophisticated measure of dispersion in a set of scores. it tells us how much scores deviate from the mean by calculating the difference between the mean and each score. all the differences are added up and divided by the number of scores, like calculating a mean. this gives the variance. the standard deviation is the square root of the variance.
what is a scattergram?
a type of graph that represents the strength and direction of a relationship between two co-variables in a correlational analysis.
what is a bar chart?
a type of graph in which the frequency of each variable is represented by the height of the bars. usually to represent discrete data
what is a histogram?
a type of graph similar to a bar chart but showing continuous data, there are no gaps between the bars. in psychology it is not frequency density on the y axis, just frequency.
what is normal distribution?
a symmetrical spread of frequency data that forms a bell-shaped pattern. the mean median and mode are all located at the highest peak.
what is a skewed distribution?
a spread of frequency data that is not symmetrical, where the data clusters at one end.
what is a positive skew?
a type of distribution in which the long tail is on the positive (right) side of the peak and the majority of the distribution is on the left
what is a negative skew?
a type of distribution where the long tail is on the negative (left) side of the peak and the majority of the distribution is on the right.
what is statistical testing?
provides a way of determining whether a hypothesis should be accepted or rejected. in psychology, they tell us whether differences or relationships between co-variables are statistically significant or have occurred by chance.
what is the sign test?
a statistical test used to analyse the difference in scores between related items.
when can the sign test be used?
- difference rather than association
- repeated measures design
- nominal data (data in categories)
what is the accepted level of probability that a result happens by chance?
5% (0.05) in most experiments 1% in ones that cannot be repeated or involve a cost to humans.
what information do you need to be able to use the table of critical values?
- the significance level desired
- the number of participants in the study (no change is discounted)
- directional or non directional hypothesis
what is peer review?
the assessment of scientific work by others who are specialists in the same field to ensure that any research intended for publication is of high enough quality.
what are the aims of peer review?
- to allocate research funding
- to validate the quality and relevance of research
- to suggest amendments and improvements.
evaluate peer review.
- anonymity leads to more honest appraisals but can also lead to researchers purposefully trying to sabotage opponents as they are often competing for funding.
- publication bias means that non-sensational studies are often not published - leads to the file drawer problem in meta analysis
- established scientists may want to maintain the status quo in their field so sensational data may be buried.
what is a correlation?
A mathematical technique in which a researcher investigates an association between two variables, called co-variables.
what is a correlation coefficient?
a number between -1 and +1 that represents the direction and strength of a relationship between co-variables.
what is a case study?
an in depth investigation, description and analysis of a single individual, group, institution or event. they can collect quantitative or qualitative data and are almost always longitudinal studies.
what are the strengths of a case study?
- rich and detailed insights into unusual or atypical events
- may contribute to our understanding of ‘normal’ functioning
- generate hypotheses for further, more general studies in the area.
what are the limitations of a case study?
- hard to generalise findings
- observations and recordings of case studies are often very subjective.
- personal accounts from participants and family members are prone to inaccuracy and memory decay so may not be the most valid.
what is content analysis?
a research technique that enables the indirect study of behaviour by examining communications that people produce, for example adverts or text messages.
what is coding?
the stage of a content analysis in which the communication to be studied is analysed by identifying each instance of the chosen categories. it can produce quantitative data if the amount of times a certain word or phrase appeared is counted for example.
what is thematic analysis?
an inductive and qualitative approach to analysis that involved identifying implicit and explicit ideas within the data. themes will often emerge once the data has been coded.
what are the strengths of content analysis?
- gets around ethical issues as most of the material is already in the public domain.
- high in external validity
what are the limitations of content analysis?
- risk of the researcher misinterpreting some themes or specific sentences.
- may suffer from a lack of objectivity.
what is reliability?
refers to how consistent findings from an investigation or measuring device are. a measuring device is said to be reliable if it produces consistent results every time it is used.
what is test-retest reliability?
a method of assessing the reliability of a questionnaire or psychological test by assessing the same person twice, on two separate occasions. this shows to what extent the test produces the same answers.
what is inter-observer reliability?
the extent to which there is an agreement between two or more observers involved in an observation. the general rule is that when correlated two sets of results should have a coefficient of +0.8
how can you improve reliability in questionnaires?
- test-retest method and ensure a correlation of +0.8.
- closed questions are less ambiguous
how can you improve the reliability of interviews?
- use the same interviewer each time
- structured interviews
how can you improve the reliability of experiments?
- lab experiments are most reliable
- replicability
- control of variables
how can you improve the reliability of observations?
- behavioural categories properly operationalised
- self-evident and non overlapping
what is validity?
the extent to which an observed effect is genuine - does it measure what it is supposed to measure, and can it be generalised to other situations.
what is face validity?
the basic form of validity in which a measure is scrutinised as to whether it measures what it is supposed to measure.
what is concurrent validity?
the extent to which a psychological measure relates to an existing, similar measure.
what is ecological validity?
the extent to which findings can be generalised to other settings and situations.
what is population validity?
the extent to which findings can be generalised to other people not in the origional sample.
what is temporal validity?
the extent to which findings from a research study can be generalised to other times.
what is internal validity?
whether the independent variable is actually causing the change in the dependent variable. subject to things like demand characteristics.
how can validity be improved in experimental research?
- presence of a control group
- standardised procedures
- double blind procedures
how can validity be improved in questionnaires?
- lie scale
- insurance of anonymity.
how can validity be improved in observations?
- covert observations
- clear, unambiguous behavioural categories.
how can validity be improved in qualitative methods?
- case studies and interviews have higher external validity
- lacking in interpretive validity so triangulation has to be used.
what is a statistical test?
a test used in psychology to determine whether a significant difference or correlation exists and consequently whether the null hypothesis should be retained or rejected.
what are the three levels of measurement?
- nominal
- ordinal
- interval
what are the 9 statistical tests?
- chi squared
- sign test
- mann whitney
- wilcoxon
- spearmans rho
- pearsons r
- related t-test
- unrelated t-test
when is the chi-squared test used?
- test of difference
- unrelated design
- nominal data
OR - test of correlation
- nominal data
when is a sign test used?
- test of difference
- related design
- nominal data
when is a mann-whitney test used?
- test of difference
- ordinal data
- unrelated design
when is a wilcoxon test used?
- test of difference
- related design
- ordinal data
when is a spearman’s rho test used?
- test of correlation
- ordinal data
when is an unrelated t-test used?
- test of difference
- unrelated design
- interval data
when is a related t-test used?
- test of difference
- related design
- interval data
when is a pearson’s r test used?
- test of correlation
- interval data
what is nominal data?
data represented in the form of categories
what is ordinal data?
data that is ordered in some way, such as a scale of 1-10 or equivalent.
what is interval data?
data that is based on numerical scales with precise, equal and measurable units.
what are the three parametric tests?
related t-test
unrelated t-test
Pearson’s r
what are parametric tests?
statistical tests that are more powerful and more robust than other tests.
what are the conditions for a parametric test?
- interval level data
- normal distribution
- homogeneity of variance
what measure of central tendency should be used for nominal data?
mode
what measure of central tendency should be used for ordinal data?
median
what measure of central tendency should be used for interval data?
mean
