Psychology Research Methods

Question 1

Experiment

Answer 1

• IV- DV
• Participants were randomly assigned
• Procedures standardized for replicability.
• control vs experimental

Question 2

field experiment

Answer 2

• Naturalistic Setting
• control of extraneous variables limited
• challenges with consent

Question 3

Quasi

Answer 3

• non-random allocation
• compared diff groups
• no iv-dv

Question 4

Natural

Answer 4

• Naturally occurring IV
• Often measured behavior before and after the event.
• no iv-dv

Question 5

Evaluating Experiments

Answer 5

• Extraneous variables
• demand characteristics
• researcher bias
• part variability

Question 6

Correlational study

Answer 6

• Tests association between 2 variables.
• No manipulation
• limited control
  High external validity

Question 7

R-Measure Design evaluation

Answer 7

• Participant variability controlled.
• Order effects
• Demand characteristics
• Confounding variables

Question 8

I-M Design

Answer 8

• Order effects controlled
• Same materials used
• participant variability
• Requires more ppl

Question 9

M-P Design

Answer 9

• Reduces variability
• limits confounding variables
• Hard to match ppl so time-consuming
• requires a lot of ppl

Question 10

Questionnaires

Answer 10

• Can include open-ended questions.
• often sent in advance
• Focused on individual responses, provides rich insight.
• can reach a large number of participants easily
• provides detailed and rich data
• cost-effective
• anonymity
• difficult to analyse, time-consuming
• social desirability bias
• inaccurate responses due to potential ambiguity

Question 11

Survey

Answer 11

• Oft uses close-ended Likert scale questions, which involves understanding patterns or choices among a population.
• provides numerical data
• Ensures consistency in questions, allowing for reliable comparisons.
• Can have large samples, enhancing generalizability.
• efficient, quick,
• Social desirability risk
• limited depth
• uses ordinal data, may be inappropriate to use with some statistical tests.
  Responses may vary significantly.
• misinterpretations of scale/question

Question 12

Characteristics of Qualitative data:

Answer 12

• Subjective interpretation as it emphasizes different emotions.
• limited generalizability
• uses purposive sampling, chosen based on specific criteria
• Credibility focus, researchers must reflect on bias
• Provides rich data
• high ecological validity as most is done in a naturalistic setting.
• can lead to new theories
• time-consuming
• ## complex analysis

Question 13

Characteristics of observation

Answer 13

• no IV is manipulated
• naturalistic setting
• Provides rich data
• high eco validity
• flexibility; researchers can adapt to what they see
  Holistic view of behavior
• data interpretation may be influenced by researcher bias
• reflexivity: participants may alter their behavior if they know they are being observed (Overt)
  -time-consuming
• ethical concerns (covert)

Question 14

Unstructured interviews

Answer 14

• Flexible with open-ended questions.
• no strict order, theme-guided
• Allows for in-depth exploration.
• rich data, flexibility, inductive approach as new themes can arise during the interview
• researcher bias, artificial setting, and eco validity, time-consuming and difficult to standardize

Question 14

Focus group interviews

Answer 14

• Group discussion with a guiding facilitator.
• Encourages interaction and idea generation
• higher eco validity
• efficient data collection as multiple perspectives are gathered at once.
• Topics may be sensitive, and participants may withhold data
• group dynamics and risk of conformity
• ## Can be harder to analyze

Question 15

Case studies

Answer 15

• in-depth longitudinal investigation of a single phenomenon
• occurs in a naturalistic setting
• uses data triangulation
• can be intrinsic (focused and unique case) or instrumental (generalizable insights).
• Has contextual analysis
• gathers qualitative data primarily.
• Provides rich data
• Credibility due to triangulation
• explores complex issues
• can generate new theoretical frameworks.
• not applicable to a broader population
• researcher bias
• Lack of replicability
• Reliance on memory (self-reported data may not be accurate)
• Time-consuming data analysis and collection