psychology a level content research methods Flashcards
what is content analysis
content analysis is a technique for analysing qualitative date of various kinds. Data can be placed into categories and counted (quantitative data) or can be analysed in themes (qualitative)
what is a case study
an in-depth investigation, description and analysis of an individual group, institution or event, mainly unusual cases
how is a case study conducted
usually produce qualitative data, conduct a case history of the person, may use psychological testing to produce quantitative data, usually longitudinal
what is coding
initial stage of content analysis, categorise information into meaningful units so categories can be analysed
what are the strengths of case studies
detailed information of an individual’s behaviour, can generate hypotheses for future studies
what are the weaknesses of case studies
cannot generalise the findings to other groups of people, information in the final report is subjective, personal accounts may be inaccurate or prone to memory decay
what are the two types of content analysis
content analysis- converts qualitative information into quantitative information, thematic analysis- condenses qualitative information into categories
what are the stages of content analysis
CHARLIE’S PANTS ARE QUITE REVEALING
coding system is created, pilot study conducted, conduct the analysis, turn the data into quantitative information, check the reliability
what are the strengths of content analysis
can make comparisons, see trends over time, cheap and easy to use, replicable, high ecological validity
what are the weaknesses of content analysis
observer bias reduces objectivity and validity of findings, biased information with putting info into categories, culture bias
how is thematic content analysis carried out
familiarisation with data, coding, search for themes, review themes, define and name themes, write the report
when is thematic content analysis used
most common with interviews, interview conducted and recorded, transcription created, analyse by coding the transcript
what does popper say about falsifiability
if a subject can be research then it is scientific, this research can prove or disprove ideas within the subject, therefore the research can falsify ideas, theories surviving the most attempts to falsify are the strongest
why do psychologists use phrases such as ‘this supports’ and have a null hypothesis
allows the alternative hypotheses to be falsified
what is a paradigm shift
result of scientific evolution where there is significant change within the dominant theory in a scientific evidence, there is too much contradictory evidence to ignore
what is a paradigm
a set of shared assumptions and agreed methods within a scientific discipline, natural sciences have principles at their core
what does kuhn say about psychology as a science
social sciences including psychology lack a universally accepted paradigm and are best seen as a ‘pre science’, psychology has too much internal disagreement to qualify as a science
what is objectivity
all sources of personal bias are minimised to ensure that the research process is not influenced or distorted
what is empirical method
scientific processes based on gathering evidence through direct observation and experience, Locke says that a theory cannot be scientific unless it is empirically tested/verified
what is a theory
a general set of laws/principles that have the ability to explain particular events/behaviours
what is theory construction
gathering information via direct observation, develop an explanation for the causes of behaviour by gathering evidence then organising this into a theory
what is hypothesis testing
a theory should produce statements (hypotheses) that can be tested, as this allows a theory to be falsified
what is deduction
deriving new hypotheses from an existing theory
what is reliability
a measure of consistency - if the particular measurement can be repeated e.g when you measure a ppt’s IQ you would expect the same result even on a different day (unless the IQ test has changed)
how can you test reliability?
test-retest
inter-observer reliability
test-retest (3)
- involves administering the same test to same sample on different occasions
- if the test is reliable than results should be similar
- commonly used for questionnaires + interviews
inter-observer reliability (3)
- used in observational research to avoid subjectivity bias
- may involve a pilot study observation - check observers are applying behavioural categories in the same way (watch the same event, record data independently, and share data)
- commonly used in observation - content analysis (inter-rater reliability), interviews (inter-interviewer reliability)
how to improve reliability: questionnaires (1)
- test-retest methods - comparing 2 sets of data - should produce correlation that exceeds +.8 (if not, deselect, re-write, replace open questions with closed to red ambiguity)
how to improve reliability: interviews (2)
- use same interviewer
- or train interviewers not to ask leading questions - easily avoided in structured interviews (interviewer’s behaviour is more controlled by fixed questions)
why do lab experiments have high reliability?
- strict control over procedures, standardisation - allows precise replication
how to improve reliability: observations (2)
- behavioural categories properly operationalised - measureable, self-evident, not overlapping, all possible behaviours
- otherwise different observers may apply own judgment - inconsistent data
what is internal reliablity?
how is this tested?
- extent to which a measure is consistent within itself
- tested through SPLIT HALF METHOD - measures extent that all parts of the test equally contribute to what’s being measured
what is external reliability?
how is this tested?
- Whether it is possible to generalise the results beyond the experimental setting
- test re-test, inter-rater
what is validity?
extent to which an observed effect is genuine - does it measure what it’s supposed to measure, is it generalisable?
what is internal validity
are effects observed due to the manipulation of the IV or other factors?
- internal valiity may often be reduced due to demand characteristics
give an example where internal validity was reduced by demand characteristics?
- Milgram - were the shocks due to the manipulation of variables or demands of the situation?
what is external validity?
refers to factors outside the investigators e.g generalising to other settings
what are the 2 types of external validity?
ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY - the extent to which findings from a research studt can be generalised to other settings
TEMPORAL VALIDITY - the extent to which findings from a resarch study can be generalised to other historical times/eras
why do lab experiments have low ecological validity? give an example
lab settings have low ecological validity - sometimes due to artifical settings, but also the artificality of the task
e.g a test of intelligence based on American trivia in a lab setting
give an example of a theory with low temporal validity?
Freud’s penis envy - product of patricarchal Victorian society
how can you assess the validity of an experiment?
- face validity
- concurrent validity
what is face vaildity?
face validity - if a test/measuremtn appears to measure what it’s supposed to measure at face value (expert checks)
what is concurrent validity?
concurrent validity - shown when a test/scale obtain results which are similar to those obatined on abother well-recognised test
how could you test the concurrent validity of an IQ test?
compare ppt IQ test scores with a well established tests (e.g Stanford-Binet Test) - close agreement (must exceed +.8) = high concurrent validity
how can data be reliable but not valid?
EXAMPLES: WEIGHING SCALE, IQ TEST
WEIGHING SCALES: data may be reliable but not valid e.g broken scales may give a consistent readng, but it may be consistently 7lbs over actual weight
IQ TEST: does it measure intellligence or ppt’s knowledge of the test?
how to improve validity: EXPERIMENTS (3)
- control groups - allow to demonstrate if changes in DV are due to manipulation of IV or external factors
- standardisation - red impact of demand characteristics and investigator effects
- single/blind procedures - red demand characteristics (ppt don’t know aim), investigator effects (investigators don’t know aim)
how to improve validity: QUESTIONNAIRES (2)
- lie scale - assess consistency of ppt’s response and reduce social desirability bias
- Anonymity - also achieves this
how to improve validity: OBSERVATIONS (2)
- covert observation - esnures high ecological validity (little intervention by researcher) + behaviour’s stays natural and authentic
- operationalised behavioural categories
why do qualitative methods have higher ecological validity than quantitive methods?
more depth and detail e.g case studies and interviews attempt to capture ppt’s reality
how to improve validity: QUALITATIVE METHODS (2)
triangulation - researcher including a number of different sources of evidence e.g data complied through interviews, dairy entires, families, obervations etc
- interpretative validity - research must demonstarte this in conclusions - must be coherence between reseacher’s reports and ppt’s interpretations (aided by ppt direct quotes and triangulation)
Explain what is meant by replicability. Why is replicability an important feature of science?
(5 marks)
- Replicability is the ability to check and verify scientific information. To have replicability, a study must have the ability to repeat its method and obtain similar findings.
- Replicability is an important part of the scientific process. Scientific method involves formulating hypothesise which are tested with empirical research.
- If we wish to draw conclusions from research studies, the procedures and findings should be repeatable.
- Unrepeatable results may imply flaws or lack of control within the method used and are of limited use in theory construction.
TYPE 1 ERROR
the incorrect rejection of a true null hypothesis
TYPE 2 ERROR
the incorrect acceptance of a false null hypothesis
RULE OF R
tests with the letter ‘R’ in their names calculated value must be equal to or more than the critical value
REPORTING PSYCHOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS: 6 sections
abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion and references
what is ‘significance’?
significance - the degree of certainty that a difference/correlation exists. a significant result means that the researcher can reject the null hypothesis
what is a ‘null hypothesis’?
null hypothesis - states there is no difference between the conditions
what is an abstract? why is it important?
abstract - key details of research report (aims, hypothesis, procedure etc)
psychologists read lots of abstracts to identify investigations that are worthy of examination
what is an introduction? why is it important?
introduction - look at past research on a similar topic - includes aims/hypothesis
allows broad look at topic and establishment of aims/hypothesis
what is the method section? why is it important?
method - description of design, sample, procedure etc
divided into 5 subsections (design, sample, apparatus, procedure (including (de)briefing, standardised instructions said to ppt) , ethics)
allows replication
what is included in the results section? (4)
results - description of what researchers found
DESCRIPTIVE STATS - tables, graphs, central tendency
INFERENTIAL STATS - statistical test, calculated/critical value, level of significance
RAW DATA
QUALITATIVE DATA - including analysis of themes/categories
what is included in the discussion section? (3)
discussion - consideration of what the results of research study tells us in term of psychological study
SUMMARISE - findings in verbal form
MINDFUL OF LIMITATIONS - and how they will be addressed in future study
WIDER IMPLICATIONS - real-world applications, ethical implications
what is the referencing section?
referencing - list of sources that are referred to/quoted in the article
how do you reference a book/article?
author, date, title of book (italics), place of publication, publisher
HOW TO CARRY OUT A SIGN TEST: 4 steps
- convert data to nominal data - DATA FOR CONDITION A minus DATA FOR CONDITION B - if result is lower put a minus, if the result is higher put a plus, if it’s the same =
- add up pluses and minuses - take the less frequent sign, this is your calculated value ‘S’
- compare calculated value, with critical value - decide if it was a one/two-tailed test, count number of ppt (not including = sign people), and use 0.05 significance level
- the calculated value of S must equal to or less the critical value at the 0.05 level of significance
WHEN IS THE MEAN USED?
- data must be quantitative
- data must be continuous
- as all numbers are taken into account - data should be similar
What is a contingency table?
Contingency table (also known as two-way tables) are grids in which Chi-square data is organized and displayed.
Design an observational study to investigate how people spend their time at the
gym.
In your answer you will be awarded credit for providing appropriate details of:
• type of observation with justification
• operationalised behavioural categories
• use of time and/or event sampling with justification
• how reliability of data collection could be assessed.
(12 marks)
Type of observation with justification
• Operationalised behavioural categories – detail of at least two specific and observable behaviours to be recorded. This must go beyond the idea of global constructs such as
exercising, socialising, use of other facilities
• Use of time and/or event sampling with justification – recordings can take place at specified time intervals (time sampling) eg every minute or as the behaviour occurs (event
sampling) eg number of times interaction occurs with another gym member.
The type(s) of sampling must be appropriate for the behaviours chosen
How reliability of the data collection could be assessed, inter-observer reliability eg
using two observers/raters and comparing separate recordings
strengths/weaknesses of nominal data
- large amounts produced quickly
- produces quantitative data which is easier for comparisons
- lacks depth - cannot express degrees of response
- can only use the mode
strengths/weaknesses of ordinal data
- provides more depth/info than nominal data
- Indicates relative values on a linear scale instead of just totals
- Gaps between the values aren’t equal meaning the mean cannot be used
strengths/weaknesses of interval data
- More information as points are directly comparable as are all of equal value
- Scientific measures used to record the distance between the values- reliability
- lack depth and information qualitative data may add
