Psych research skills Flashcards
Confidentiality
privacy, protection and security of participant’s personal info in terms of personal details and anonymity of individual results, including removal of identifying elements
Debriefing
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
Voluntary participation
no coercion or pressure on participant to partake, freely choose to be involved
Informed consent
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
Withdrawal rights
can discontinue involvement at any time, during or after conclusion of experiment, without penalty. May include removal of results after study’s completion
Deception
deliberately misleading participants, which is only permissible when knowing the true purpose may affect behaviour and the subsequent validity
Respect
considering the value of living things, giving regard to the capacity of living things to make their own decisions
Integrity
commitment to searching for knowledge, and understanding and the honest reporting of all sources of info and results
Justice
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
Beneficience
commitment to maximising benefits and minimising risks and harm
Non-maleficence
avoid causing harm
Accuracy
how close a measurement is to the true value of the quantity being measured
Precision
how closely a set of measurements values agree with each other
Internal validity
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
External validity
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 …
Generalisability
Controlled experiment
IV is manipulated to test its effects on the DV –> to establish causal relationship
Correlational study
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
Between subjects
participants randomly allocated to one of two (or more) entirely separate conditions
Within subjects
each participant is in both the experimental and the control group (repeating the task) –> compares scores within the same participants
Mixed design
components of within and between, multiple groups and data recorded at multiple timepoints
- 2 IVs at 2 levels – 1 between, 1 within
Within subjects evaluation
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
Between subjects evaluation
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
Mixed design evaluation
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
Stratified sampling
divides population into distinct strata and selects a separate sample from each stratum in the same proportions as the population
Random sampling
every member of the population has an equal chance for selection
Counterbalancing
method to reduce order effects that involves ordering experimental conditions in a certain way
Case study
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
Subjective data
relies on personal opinion or interpretation
Objective data
can be observed by multiple people and yield the same result
Repeatability
extent to which same study/measure under identical conditions will produce the same results
Measures of central tendency
Mean, Median, Mode
Measures of variability
Range, standard deviation
Reproducibility
extent to which the same study/experiment can be carried out under different and produce the same results
True value
values or set of values that would be obtained if the quantity could be measured perfectly
Systematic error
differ from true value by a consistent amount - affects accuracy
Random error
unpredictable variations in the measurement process - affects precision
Personal error
mistakes miscalculations and observer errors
Literature review
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
Fieldwork
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
