Psychology-Research Methods Flashcards
What does aim mean?
The aim is what the researcher wants to find out. It is the general statement regarding what a study is about
What is the independent variable?
Things that are manipulated or changed by the psychologist
What is the dependant variable?
The thing that changes as a result of the independent variable, the variable that is measured by the psychologist
What does operationalising variables mean?
Clear definitions of what the variables are and exactly how we are going to measure them (making them specific to the research and what is being studied)
What is a hypothesis?
Prediction regarding how you think your investigation will find out
How do the aim and hypothesis link?
The aim is why, the hypothesis is what the study is designed to test
What are the three types of hypothesis?
Directional, non-directional and null
What is a directional hypothesis?
(one tailed) predicts the direction in which change is expected to occur. It is precise and uses words such as: faster/slower, bigger/smaller, more/less etc
What is a non-directional hypothesis?
(two tailed) predicts change and does not specify direction. It is non-specific and uses words like: effect, change, difference etc
What is a null hypothesis?
Predicts that there will be no difference between the conditions, or no relationship between the co-variables
What is an extraneous variable?
Doesn’t vary systematically with the IV (not an alternative IV) but potentially may have an effect on the DV. If not controlled they can become confounding variables
What is a confounding variable?
A variable that changes the DV, but isn’t the IV and so results may become meaningless
What is the balance between control and realism?
Control is the extent to which any variable is held constant or regulated by a researcher. Mundane realism is how far a study mirrors the real world
What are examples of participant variables?
Age, gender, mood, background, ethnicity, IQ, personality, memory, beliefs, past experiences etc
What are three ways to control participant variables?
Sample (large random sample to gain representative samples), design (repeated measures or matched pairs) and allocation (randomly allocate to conditions if independent groups is being used)
What are examples of situation variables?
Time, order effects, demand characteristics
What are four ways to control situation variables?
Standardise (procedure, instructions etc for each participant), counterbalance (reduce order effects ABBA), deception (hide aim, distractor questions) and single blind study
What are experimenter variables?
Subtle cues or signals from an experimenter that affect the participant performance eg body language, tone of voice (experimenter bias is when this is done on purpose)
What are the two controls for experimenter variables?
Double blind study and inter rater reliability (independent raters rate the same behaviour as researcher and check for agreement)
What is a pilot study?
A small scale trial run of a study to test any aspects of the design with a view to making improvements before the researchers commit to conducting their full scale main study
What does a pilot study test for problems with?
Design of experiment, method, clarity of instructions, measuring instruments, measurements taken. Also allows a time scale of the actual experiment to be estimated
Why are pilot studies important?
These problems can then be rectified (or the decision can be made to scrap the study entirely), without an entire participant sample and a set of stimulus materials being wasted. This can save a lot of time and money
What are the types of experimental method?
Laboratory experiment, field experiment, quasi experiment and natural experiment
What is a lab experiment?
AN experiment carried out in a controlled setting. An experiment conducted in a special environment where variables can be carefully controlled, participants are aware they’re in an experiment