Psychology Basics Flashcards
Experiments vs non experiments
Research without administering treatments is known as non experimental
Non experimental research can either be quantitative or qualitative .
Non experimental studies
Do not give treatments
Observe subjects as they exist
These are also used to explore cause effect relationships
Correlational Studies
Study Relationships between quantitative variables.
The researcher measures two variables and assesses the statistical relationship between them with little or no effort to control extraneous variables.
Surveys
Surveys for description , situation of attitudes , beliefs etc
Other Methods
Use questionnaires
Interviews
Census
Field Research
The behavior is systematically observed and recorded .
The goal is to describe a set or sets of goals.
Observational research is non experimental because nothing is manipulated / controlled , therefore conclusions cant be met . Data is often qualitative but it ca be quantitative
Naturalistic Observation
This is a method which involves observing peoples behavior in an environment in which they are familiar at , however observers should be careful as to not expose themselves.
Method is ethically accepted because this is done in public where you normally dont expect to have much privacy , however participant must remain anonymous for this to remain ethically accepted
Participant Research
In this the researchers become active participants in the situation they are studying , this also involves studying peoples behavior in their natural environment and is interpreted in notes , photos , recordings.
Participant observation is done because there may be information only accessible for participants , there are two forms of this ; undisguised and disguised participant observation. In disguised they pretend to be members while in undisguised they let the members know their true identities .
However ethical issues come up once again as consent is not asked
Structured Observation
The observer makes observations based off of reactions in a set up environment .
The goal here is to gather quantitative data rather than qualitative data .
It can be quantified as the behaviors are limited to a small number
Case studies
One on one studies conducted for a long time .
Case studies are usually used when little is known about something.
Case studies provide detailed descriptions of individual/(s).
Depending on the case study the individual(s) may or may not be studied in their natural setting if thats not what is required for the study.
There are multiple ways in which information can be collected eg ; interviews , psychological testing , structured observation etc .
Types of data
Qualitative Data
Quantitative Data : Discrete and Continuous .
Categorical Data : Nominal Ordinal
Numerical Data : Interval and Ratio
Continuous Data and Discrete Data
Continuous data is data that can take any value in a given range, examples may include : temperature and height.
Discrete Data : Data that can take only specific values in a given range , examples may include : amount of children in a family , amount of students in a class .
Nominal Data and Ordinal Data
Nominal data is data that can be classified into categories without any order to the categories , examples may include : Gender
Ordinal data is data that can only be classified into categories with order , examples may include : Education qualification levels
Interval Data and Ratio Data
Interval data is the distance between adjacent numbers which is equal however a zero doesn’t mean there is none of that particular thing , examples may include : temperature
Ratio data is the distance between adjacent numbers which are equal however zero means that there is non of it , example may include : height and weight
Primary and secondary Data
Primary data ; Those which are collected for the first time for the intended study
Secondary data ; Data which was already collected by someone for some purpose and is available for the present study .
Sampling
Sampling is the process of selecting a representative group from the population under study .
Population is the total group of individuals from which the same might be drawn/whole set of elements in the universe of interest to the researcher .
A sample is the group of people who take part in the investigation . The people who take part are referred to as “participants”
Generalizability refers to the extent to which we can apply the findings of our research to the target population we are interested in.
Sampling error is an error in a statistical analysis arising from the unrepresentativeness of the sample taken .
Sampling bias refers to situations where the sample does not reflect the characteristics of the target population .
The purpose of Sampling
In some types of research the target population might be as broad as all humans , but in other researches the target population might be smaller .
Its more or less impossible to study every single person in a target population so psychologists select a sample of the population that’s likely to be representative of the target population we are interested in .
This is important because we want to generalize from sample to target population . If its more representative the researcher can be more confident to generalize results to the target population .
Random Sampling
Random sampling is a type of probability sampling where the entire target population has a chance of being picked
This form of sampling eliminates sampling bias , however it takes a long time as well as a lot of money to achieve .
Stratified Sampling
The researcher identifies the different types of people that make up the target population and works out the proportions needed for the sample to be representative .
However gathering such a sample would take a lot of time so it’ll be very time consuming .
The advantage though is that as a the sample is very large , it’ll be highly representative of the target population , therefore generalization can be done.
Opportunity Sampling
Uses people from the target population that’s available at the time that are willing to participate.
An example to this may be asking a student leaving the school library .
This is a quick and easy way to choose participants however the selected participants may not be representative of the target population and could be biased
Volunteer Sampling
This is a sampling technique where participants are able to self select and participate in a study , participants may be asked through newspapers , TV and etc.
Number of participants needed
This depends on several factors: the size of the target population is important , if its very large then a fairly large sample is needed in order for it to be representative.
If the target population is much smaller then the sample can be smaller as well , however there should be enough representatives to represent the target population , and the sample shouldn’t be too large in order for it to not take too long or be too expensive .
What is a hypothesis?
A hypothesis is a precise , testable statement of what the researcher predict will be the outcome of the study .
This usually involves proposing a possible relationship between two variables : the independent variable and the dependent variable .
In research , the is a convention that a hypothesis is written in two forms , the null hypothesis , and the alternative hypothesis or experimental hypothesis
Null Hypothesis
The null hypothesis states that there is no relationship between the two variables being studied .
It’s stated that due to chance results are not significant in supporting the idea that’s being investigated.
Non Directional Hypothesis
Predicts that the independent variable have an effect on the dependent variable, but the direction of the effect is not specified , an example may be the difference of how many numbers can be correctly recalled by adults and children .
Directional Hypothesis
Predicts the nature of the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable , an example may include that adults are able to correctly recall more words than children .
