Psych research skills

Question 1

Confidentiality

Answer 1

privacy, protection and security of participant’s personal info in terms of personal details and anonymity of individual results, including removal of identifying elements

Question 2

Debriefing

Answer 2

at the end of experiment, participant leaves with true understanding of the aim, results and conclusion. Any questions addressed and support is provided to ensure there is no long-lasting harm

Question 3

Voluntary participation

Answer 3

no coercion or pressure on participant to partake, freely choose to be involved

Question 4

Informed consent

Answer 4

participants understand the nature and purpose of the experiment, including potential risks, before agreeing to participate. Voluntary written consent should be obtained and if participants are unable to give consent, a parent or legal guardian should provide this

Question 5

Withdrawal rights

Answer 5

can discontinue involvement at any time, during or after conclusion of experiment, without penalty. May include removal of results after study’s completion

Question 6

Deception

Answer 6

deliberately misleading participants, which is only permissible when knowing the true purpose may affect behaviour and the subsequent validity

Question 7

Respect

Answer 7

considering the value of living things, giving regard to the capacity of living things to make their own decisions

Question 8

Integrity

Answer 8

commitment to searching for knowledge, and understanding and the honest reporting of all sources of info and results

Question 9

Justice

Answer 9

moral obligation to ensure that competing claims are considered fairly, and there is no unfair burden on a particular group and fair distribution and access to the benefits of action

Question 10

Beneficience

Answer 10

commitment to maximising benefits and minimising risks and harm

Question 11

Non-maleficence

Answer 11

avoid causing harm

Question 12

Accuracy

Answer 12

how close a measurement is to the true value of the quantity being measured

Question 13

Precision

Answer 13

how closely a set of measurements values agree with each other

Question 14

Internal validity

Answer 14

Investigates what it sets out or claims to investigate
Consider:
* Appropriateness of investigation design
* Sampling and allocation techniques
* Impact of EVs and CVs
* Lack of internal validity means conclusions can’t be made and external validity is irrelevant

Question 15

External validity

Answer 15

Results of research can be applied to similar individuals in different settings
* Increased by broad inclusion criteria, specific sampling techniques, large sample
Consider when evaluating:
* Sample size, sampling methods …

Question 16

Generalisability

Question 17

Controlled experiment

Answer 17

IV is manipulated to test its effects on the DV –> to establish causal relationship

Question 18

Correlational study

Answer 18

observe general relationships and associations between variables, often in a real world setting
Pros:
- Observation of real life behaviours with no manipulation (natural)
- Direction and strength of a relationship between variables can be measured
Cons:
- Results can’t draw conclusions about cause and effect
- Relationship is bidirectional, so can’t determine which variable has more influence

Question 19

Between subjects

Answer 19

participants randomly allocated to one of two (or more) entirely separate conditions

Question 20

Within subjects

Answer 20

each participant is in both the experimental and the control group (repeating the task) –> compares scores within the same participants

Question 21

Mixed design

Answer 21

components of within and between, multiple groups and data recorded at multiple timepoints
- 2 IVs at 2 levels – 1 between, 1 within

Question 22

Within subjects evaluation

Answer 22

Strengths
* Ensures results more likely from manipulation of IV than any participant differences that would happen if they were in separate groups
* Less people needed
Weaknesses
* Can produce order effects - completing one condition first may influence how they perform in later condition (fatigue, practice, expectations)
* Participant dropping out has greater impact on study

Question 23

Between subjects evaluation

Answer 23

Strengths
* Less time-consuming, participants can complete conditions simultaneously
- Doesn’t create order effects
Weaknesses
* May require more participants than within-subjects
* Individual participant differences can affect results –> e.g. results may be due to split of participants rather than the IV

Question 24

Mixed design evaluation

Answer 24

Strengths
* Experimenters can note differences that occur within each experimental group over time and compare differences across experimental groups
* Useful for studying effectiveness of a treatment or program: e.g. treatment v control (between) – before and after treatment (within)
* Multiple experimental conditions can be compared to a baseline control group
Weaknesses
* More costly and time consuming to plan, conduct and then analyse results
* Demanding for researchers and assistants to be across multiple methods

Question 25

Stratified sampling

Answer 25

divides population into distinct strata and selects a separate sample from each stratum in the same proportions as the population

Question 26

Random sampling

Answer 26

every member of the population has an equal chance for selection

Question 27

Counterbalancing

Answer 27

method to reduce order effects that involves ordering experimental conditions in a certain way

Question 28

Case study

Answer 28

in depth investigation of an individual, group or phenomenon
Pros:
- useful when limited number of participants available
- effective when it would be unethical or impossible to expose a person to a particular variable
- rich qualitative data
Cons:
- Not representative of population - low external validity, thus cannot be generalised
- time consuming
- may not be repeatable

Question 29

Subjective data

Answer 29

relies on personal opinion or interpretation

Question 30

Objective data

Answer 30

can be observed by multiple people and yield the same result

Question 31

Repeatability

Answer 31

extent to which same study/measure under identical conditions will produce the same results

Question 32

Measures of central tendency

Answer 32

Mean, Median, Mode

Question 33

Measures of variability

Answer 33

Range, standard deviation

Question 34

Reproducibility

Answer 34

extent to which the same study/experiment can be carried out under different and produce the same results

Question 35

True value

Answer 35

values or set of values that would be obtained if the quantity could be measured perfectly

Question 36

Systematic error

Answer 36

differ from true value by a consistent amount - affects accuracy

Question 37

Random error

Answer 37

unpredictable variations in the measurement process - affects precision

Question 38

Personal error

Answer 38

mistakes miscalculations and observer errors

Question 39

Literature review

Answer 39

process of collating and analysing secondary data, to answer a question or provide background info for observed events, or as preparation to generate primary data
Pros:
- provides background info which can inform new studies and hypotheses
may uncover patterns of gaps of knowledge
Cons:
- time consuming
- difficult if there is little research on a topic

Question 40

Fieldwork

Answer 40

involves collecting data first-hand, and may be through a variety of methods:
- yarning circles, participant observation, qualitative interviews/questionnaires
Pros:
- conducted in naturalistic setting - high ecological validity
- rich detailed data
Cons:
- can be time-consuming and expensive
- generally, can’t inform conclusions about cause and effect
difficult to control environment and v ariables