Paper 2 Research Methods Flashcards
What is an aim?
The purpose of an investigation
What is a hypothesis?
The formulation of a testable statement
What is an independent variable?
What is manipulated in order to see if it had an affect on another variable
What is a dependent variable?
What is measured to see if it’s been affected
What’s an extraneous variable?
Nuisance variable which should be controlled as it can affect the DV
What’s a confounding variable?
Can change within the IV but can’t be controlled
What does it mean by operationalise?
The process of ensuring variables are in a form which can be easily tested and specifically defined in order to be folly understood
What does it mean by a one tailed (directional) hypothesis?
States the direction of the results
Predicts an outcome
There will be… increase/decrease
What does it mean by a two tailed (non-directional) hypothesis?
Suggests a difference but NOT a direction
Vague
There will be a difference between x and y when measuring xx
What is a null hypothesis?
State there will be no difference
When would you chose a directional/non-directional hypothesis?
Directional- more confident in prediction, previous research
Non-directional- more unsure, less confident on which way it’ll go
What are the 4 types of research METHods?
Lab
Field
Natural
Quasi
What is a laboratory experiment?
Controlled Artificial IV manipulated P randomly allocated DV is measured
What is a field experiment?
Natural environment
IV is manipulated
P mostly randomly allocated
DV measured
What is a natural experiment?
IV has been naturally manipulated/ already occurred
DV is measured
What is a quasi experiment?
‘Fake experiment’
IV is pre-existing based on differences between people
Effect on DV is recorded
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of a lab experiment?
+ high internal validity, controlled
+ cause and effect easily established
- low external validity, artificial
- mundane realism
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of a field experiment?
+ high ecological validity
+
- lower internal validity, extraneous variables can’t be controlled
- ethical issues
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of a natural experiment?
+ high ecological validity, naturally occurs
+ test in ethically sensitive areas as it naturally occurred
- low internal validity, no random allocation
- individual differences
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of a quasi experiment?
+ test in ethically sensitive areas
+ high external validity
- low internal validity, no random allocation
- p. Know they’re being studied, lower internal validity
Define investigator effects?
The unconscious/unintentional influence of the researcher on the data collected in the study
May become EVs or CVs
Define demand characteristics?
Cues that make participants unintentionally aware of the aims of a study or help p. Work out what the researcher expects to find out
May become EVs or CVs
Explain case studies?
Looking to gather in depth information on an individual or a small group of people who are normally unique
Aim to uncover answers the scientific world needs
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of case studies?
+ provides rich, insightful, detailed qualitative information
+ permits investigations of otherwise unethical/impractical areas
- generalisability
- researcher bias, subjectivity of the case
- difficult to replicate
- time consuming
What are the 3 types of expeRIMental designs?
Repeated measures- same p. used in both conditions
Independent groups- p. randomly allocated to different groups which represent different conditions
Matched pairs- pairs of p. are closely matched then are randomly allocated to a condition
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of repeated measures?
\+ unaffected by individual differences \+ more economical, fewer participants - order effects - time consuming, do it twice - need more materials
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of independent groups?
+ eliminates order effects
+ don’t need more than 1 material, less economical
- individual differences, can’t control participant variables
- need more p. to end up with same amount of data
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of matched pairs?
\+ don’t need more materials \+ eliminates order effects \+ good attempt at controlling p. variables - time consuming - difficult to match pairs exactly - requires more p.
Give examples of order effects?
Boredom, fatigue, practice, understand the aim
What is meant by counterbalancing?
A technique used to balance/ try tilt bent order effects
When and how is random allocation used?
Randomisation is the use of chance to reduce the researchers influence
Why is standardisation important?
Ensures all p. are subject to the same experience
Once the researcher has identified the target population, he must then identify the sample which he is going to use. What are the 5 sampling techniques?
Opportunity Random Stratified Systematic Volunteer
How is an opportunity sample used?
Select people who are most easily available at the time of the study
How is a random sample used?
Every member of the target population have an equal chance of selection
How is a stratified sample used?
Identify subgroups according to their frequency in the population. P. are then randomly selected from the subgroups
How is a systematic sample used?
Select every nth person from a list
It can be random if the first person is selected randomly
How is a volunteer sample used?
Participants self select
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of an opportunity sample?
+ convenient
+ less time consuming
- unrepresentative, small part of the population
- researcher bias
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of a random sample?
+ unbiased
+ equal chance of selection
- time consuming
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of a stratified sample?
+ most representative
+ proportionate to the target population
+ no bias
- very time consuming
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of an systematic sample?
+ no bias
+ fairly representative
- may be bias unless random method is used to select first person
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of a volunteer sample?
+ less time consuming
- attracts a certain profile of person (extroverts, helpful, broke/need money)
Explain bias in terms of implications of sampling techniques?
Unrepresentative
Sample doesn’t reflect the characteristics of the larger population
Explain generalisability in terms of implications of sampling techniques?
Accurate to the target population?
Applying the findings of a particular study to the population
Otherwise the results will only inform us about sample and not humans as a whole
Explain a pilot study- What is it, the importance of it, what would you test?
Small scale study conducted on a small sample to help identify any methodological problems with the experimental method/design/instructions given to p. etc.
Identify flaws so changes can be implemented as its costly to do research
Eg. Duration of music, volume of music, instructions, difficulty of task
Name 6 types of observational techniques/studies?
Naturalistic v controlled
Overt v covert
Participant v non-participant
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of a naturalistic observation?
Setting in which behaviour normally occurs
+ high external validity
- lack of control makes replication difficult
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of a controlled observation?
Structured environment where some variables are managed
+ replication is easier
- harder to generalise to real life settings
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of a overt observation?
P. behaviour is watched and recorded with their knowledge and consent
+ more ethically acceptable
- knowledge that they’re being observed may influence behaviour
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of a covert observation?
P. behaviour is watched and recorded without their knowledge and consent
+ more natural behaviour, higher validity
- ethics, may not want behaviour noted down
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of a participant observation?
Researcher becomes a member of the group whose behaviour they’re observing
+ increases insight and validity
- danger of going native where researcher becomes too strongly identified with the group and loses objective
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of a non-participant observation?
Researcher remains outside the group
+ maintains an objective, psychological distance, less risk of going native
- may lose valuable insight if they’re too far removed from the behaviour
What are behavioural categories?
When behaviour is defined before a study takes place. It allows researchers to focus their investigation on a specific behaviour in order to gather the most valid and reliable data
Observational design (procedures)- what is meant by time sampling, give 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses?
Recording behaviours in a given time frame eg. What the individual is doing every 5mins
+ time efficient
- could miss an infrequent behaviour, not representative of the observation as a whole
Observational design (procedures)- what is meant by event sampling, give 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses?
Count the number of times a certain behaviour occurs within a given time frame eg. how many times a person smiles in 10 mins
+ useful when the target behaviour is infrequent
+ won’t miss behaviour
- time consuming
What is a self report technique, what are the 2 types?
When a person reports on their own feelings/thoughts/behaviours themselves.
Questionnaire
Interview
What is a questionnaire?
Series of questions to respond to normally paper based, given out and collected back
No ambiguous questions/double negatives
No double barrelled questions
Open or closed questions?
What is an interview?
When the researcher asks participants questions directly in real time
Structured?
Open or closed questions?
Record it?
What’s the difference between open and closed questions? Evaluate the types of questions?
Open- invites respondents to provide their own answers
+ insight
+ detailed info
- difficult to summarise wide range of response
- difficult to detect clear patterns
Closed- questions that have a predetermined range of answers
+ easier to analyse
- limited range of answers
- may not reflect real thoughts
- select don’t know = data’s not informative
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of a questionnaire?
+ cheap and quick to collect data from large sample/ distribute to large sample
+ p. may be more willing to reveal personal info
+ impersonal nature may reduce social desirability
- only completed by literate people willing to spend time filling them in, bias?
- poor design, misunderstanding, not truthful answers= validity?
List 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of a structured and unstructured interview?
Structured
+ standardised questions, easily repeated
+ responses can be more easily quantified and compared
- may be constructed according to interviewers expectations which may influences p. response
Unstructured
+ more detailed, insightful, relevant information
- need well trained interviewers= more expensive
- each interview is unique, not always possible to compare and generalise results
What’s the difference between structured and unstructured interview?
Structured- questions are decided in advance
Unstructured- start out with some general aims and possibly some questions and let’s the interviewees answer guide subsequent questions
What is a correlation?
Statistical test designed to investigate the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables
Correlation co-efficient expresses the strength of the correlation
What is a co variable?
Variables investigated within a correlation eg. Height and weight
Explain a positive, negative and zero correlation?
Positive- as one co variable increases so does the other
Negative- as one co variable increase the other decreases
Zero- there is no relationship
What is the difference between a correlation and an experiment?
Experiment- researcher manipulates the IV to measure the DV to establish cause and effect
Correlation- no manipulation of one variable, can’t establish cause and effect between co variables
Explain what the sign and number means for a correlation co-efficient?
The + or - tells you the direction
The number tells you the strength, the closer to 1 the stronger it is, the closer to 0 the weaker it is
What are 6 ethical issues?
Informed consent Deception Protection from harm Right to withdraw Confidentially Privacy
Why did the BPS introduce ethical guidelines, why do some researchers not follow them?
To protect the participants so that they aren’t harmed and to protect researchers.
When the cost is outweighed by the benefit.
How would you deal with the following ethical issues? Informed consent Deception Protection from harm Right to withdraw Confidentially
Informed consent- consent form, retrospective consent, general consent, presumptive consent
Deception- debrief
Protection from harm- counselling, AVOID at all costs
Right to withdraw- remind before, during and after
Confidentially- don’t disclose personal info, get rid of data after, use numbers/initials
Define, list an advantage and a disadvantage, and state the method of collection for quantitative data?
Information measured in numbers, can be counted
+ statistics are clear, can be checked for reliability
+ simple to analyse
+ objective/less open to bias
- may be oversimplified
Collected using closed questions, questionnaires
Define, list an advantage and a disadvantage, and state the method of collection for qualitative data?
Information in words that can’t be counted
+ detailed
+ insightful
- complex
- difficult to agree on analysis
- subjective= bias?
Collected through open questions and interviews
Define, list an advantage and a disadvantage for primary data?
Information collected first hand \+ designed to fit the aim \+ control over the data \+ no bias - time consuming - expensive - researcher bias
Define, list an advantage and a disadvantage for secondary data?
Information collected by someone else, it already exists
+ quick
+ cheap to access
- may not fit the needs
- may have gaps/inconsistencies which threatens the validity
- may not be up to date
What is meta analysis?
Researchers look at the findings from a number of different studies in order to reach a general conclusion about a particular hypothesis.
It’s a combination of secondary data.
Measures of central tendency- what’s a mean, how’s it calculated, what are the strengths and weaknesses?
Statistical average
Add up all the scores and divide by total number of scores
+ most sensitive, uses all the values
- sensitive so can be dirtied by one value
- can’t be used with nominal data eg. Average number of dogs legs
Measures of central tendency- what’s a median, how’s it calculated, what are the strengths and weaknesses?
Middle value in a data set organised from lowest to highest
+ useful when there are extreme scores as it’s not affected by them
+ easy to calculate with ordinal data
- not sensitive, doesn’t use all the values
Measures of central tendency- what’s a mode, how’s it calculated, what are the strengths and weaknesses?
Most frequently occurring value in a data set
+ unaffected by extreme values
+ only method that can be used when the data is nominal
- not a useful way of describing data when there are multiple modes
Measures of dispersion- what’s the range, how’s it calculated, what are the strengths and weaknesses?
Subtract the lowest score from the highest score
Lower score is better as the results are more consistent
+ easy to calculate
- sensitive to distortion by extreme values
- fails to take into account the distribution of data
Measures of dispersion- what’s standard deviation, how’s it calculated, what are the strengths and weaknesses?
Measures the spread of scores around the mean
Large= vastly spread around the mean
Small= more closely clustered around the mean
+ precise measurement, takes all values into account
- may conceal some characteristics of the date eg. extreme values
What are the features of a histogram?
Bars are joined together
Shows continuous data
What are the features of a bar chart?
Uses discrete data (categories)
Bars are separate
What are the features of a scattergram?
Shows a correlation/association between co variables
Line of best fit
Correlations can be positive, negative or have no correlation
What is meant sweked distribution, what shape does the graph look like?
A spread of frequency data that is not symmetrical, where the data clusters to one end
Bell shaped pattern
Explain the difference between normal distribution, positive skew and negative skew?
Normal- mean, mode and median are all at the same point (highest peak), symmetrically spread
Positive- most distribution is concentrated on the left
Negative- most distribution is concentrated on the right
What are the 4 steps to calculating the sign test?
1) convert data to nominal, label + - =
2) total the + and - *ignore the = and adjust no. of p. accordingly
3) identify the calculated value (S) (less frequent sign)
4) compare calculated value to the critical value
Peer review- what is it, what does it involve, what are the aims?
Written part of an investigation is scrutinised by specialists in the same field to ensure research intended for publication is high quality
2-3 experts who are unknown to the researcher and are objective
Aims- allocate funding
- validate quality and relevance
- suggest improvements or amendments
What are 3 things to consider when designing an observation?
Unstructured and structured
Behavioural categories
Sampling methods
Criticisms of peer review?
Unknown experts lead to a more honest appraisal BUT could experts use their anonymity to criticise rival researchers
Publication bias, even if it’s relevant and worthy, research could be disregarded it doesn’t meet the journals criteria
Ground breaking research could be buried if it opposes reviewers own research
How can reliability be assessed and improved for observations?
Assessed- inter observer reliability, record behaviour
Improved- clear, specific behavioural categories
How can the reliability be assessed and improved for self report?
Assessed- test retest
Improved- clear questions, reduce ambiguity, rewrite questions so p. understands what you’re specifically asking
How can reliability be assessed and improved for experiments?
Assessed- test retest, inter observer reliability
Improved- standardisation, other researchers could repeat the study
What’s validity?
Is data gathered in the study accurate/genuine. Does it represent reality
What is internal validity, what are 5 things that can affect it?
Are you measuring what you want to measure within the experiment or are there other factors affecting DV
What is external validity, list 3 types?
How far can findings be generalised outside the research setting
1) ecological- generalisable to real world settings
2) population- generalisable to the wider population
3) temporal- generalisable outside the time period the study was conducted in
What are 2 ways to assess validity?
1) face validity- whether a measure looks like it is measuring what it is meant to measure eg. Are questions on a happiness questionnaire are actually related to happiness
2) concurrent validity- whether the current measure is accurate when compared to a previous, validated measure eg. Compare results of a questionnaire to a previous questionnaire
Explain what is meant by content analysis?
Analyse qualitative data
Indirect study of a persons behaviour
Study communications eg. Diary extracts
Aim is to identify patterns/different themes (thus may involve thematic analysis)
What are the 3 steps in carrying out content analysis?
1) sampling the data- what material to sample/ how frequently
2) coding the data- look for themes using behavioural categories
3) representing the data- graph(quantitative) or description(qualitative)
Evaluate content analysis?
\+ multiple copies of transcripts \+ based on real observations \+ inexpensive, done on secondary research \+ no participant interaction - researcher bias, interpreting findings - culture bias, misinterpretation - time consuming - limited materials - subjectivity
Explain thematic analysis?
Used when analysing qualitative data in order to identify themes. Data can then be organised into themes and conclusions can be made
What are the 4 steps in carrying out thematic analysis?
1) read every transcript to gain an understanding of what’s being communicated
2) break the data up into smaller units, code the units eg. Into key words
3) combine the smaller codes into larger themes
4) identify the most common themes, summarise so general conclusions can be drawn, present in a graph/description
Features of science- explain empirical methods?
Based on factual experiments
Scientific
Direct observation and experience
Features of science- explain objectivity?
Personal bias is minimised so it doesn’t distort research
Measurable
Need carefully controlled conditions
Features of science- explain replicability?
Extent to which scientific procedures/findings can be repeated by other researchers
Important scientists carefully record procedures so it can be repeated and original results can be verified
Features of science- explain theory construction?
Explanations of theories must be constructed to make sense of the facts
Collection of general principles that explain observations
Features of science- explain hypothesis testing?
Validity of a theory is tested
Enables modifications where scientists fail to find support for the hypothesis
What is meant by falsifiability?
In science it is necessary to be able to create a hypothesis that can be proved wrong
The scientific process- explain the induction method?
Observations Testable hypothesis Conduct a study to test the hypothesis Draw conclusions Propose theory
The scientific process- explain the deduction method?
Observations Propose theory Testable hypothesis Conduct a study to test the hypothesis Draw conclusions
What is a paradigm? So what is a paradigm shift?
Shared set of beliefs by society
So… change in assumption/shift in societies belief over time
Define probability?
A numerical measure of likelihood that a certain event will happen
Define significance?
A statistical term used to indicate whether the research findings are sufficiently strong enough to reject the null hypothesis and accept the experimental hypothesis.
Accepted level is 0.05
5% room for error
What is the difference between a type 1 and and type 2 error?
Type 1- an error which occurs when a researcher rejects a null hypothesis which is true
Type2- an error which occurs when a researcher accepts a null hypothesis which wasn’t true
What is the rhyme to remember the order of statistical tests?
Carrots should come
Mashed with swede
Under roast potatoes
Which tests test for a difference?
Sign test Mann Whitney Wilcoxon Unrelated t test Related t test
Which tests test for a correlation?
Spearman’s rho
Pearson’s r
Which tests test for an association (correlation or difference)?
Chi squared
Which tests use an unrelated design (independent groups)?
*tests for a difference
Chi squared
Mann Whitney
Unrelated t test
Which tests use a related design (repeated measures, matched pairs)? *test for a difference
Sign test
Wilcoxon
Related t test
Which tests use nominal data?
Chi squared
Sign test
Chi squared
Which tests use ordinal data?
Mann Whitney
Wilcoxon
Spearman’s rho
Which tests use interval data?
Unrelated t test
Related t test
Pearson’s r
Levels of measurement- what is meant by nominal, ordinal and interval data?
Nominal- categories/count/ numbers
Ordinal- ordered/ranked
Interval- measured on a scale with equal intervals
What is the rule of r?
If the test had an r in it then the value must be MORE than the critical value
What is the 6 stage process of reporting investigations?
1) Abstract- summary covering the aims, hypothesis, method, results, conclusion, 150-200, quick picture of the study
2) Introduction- aim, hypothesis, previous research to rationalise why the study is to be conducted, indication of the result
3) Method- detailed description of how the research was conducted, info on design, participants, materials, procedure, ethics
4) Results- insight into what was found, specific details, descriptive statistics, statistical test reports of results from content analysis
5) Discussion- more detailed account of what was found, what it suggest, what could be done different next time, summary of methodology, compare to previous research, suggest future research
6) References- details of all resources used, prevents accusations of plagiarism, allows reader to access wider reading
Define sample?
A group of p. from target population (the group we’re interested in)
What is relatability?
Consistency, you expect the same thing every time
How do you write a reference?
Surname, initials, year, title of book (edition if relevant), publisher, place of publishing
Define inter observer reliability?
The extent to which two or more observers are observing and recording behaviour in the same way
What is social desirability? (Please you effect)
Participants present themselves in a better light
What is the screw you effect?
Go against what you think the researcher wants
Threats to research can be controlled using a single blind or double blind technique, explain the difference?
Single blind- avoids demand characteristics where the researcher knows the aim but the participants DONT
Double blind- avoids investigator effects and demand characteristics where neither the researcher nor the participants know the aim
Evaluate the use of correlations?
\+ identify a trend \+ establish a relationship \+ cheap and easy to carry out - difficult to interpret - can’t establish cause and effect
Define mundane realism?
The degree to which the materials and procedures involved are similar to events that occur in the real world
