Reseach Methods Year 2

Question 1

How to carry out sign test

Answer 1

Find difference between sets of data
Record if the difference is positive or negative
Add up number of + and -
Smallest out of these is observed number
Observed number can also be called calculated number or s
Determine whether test is 1 or 2 tailed
One tailed if there is a directional hypothesis
Find the level of significance that corresponds to 1 or 2 tailed test using N (number of ppts, excluding where there is no difference)
s must be equal to or less than critical value in order to accept hypothesis

Question 2

Assumptions of chi squared test

Answer 2

A test of difference or association
The data is nominal and recorded as a frequency
Independent groups design
Unrelated

Question 3

How to tell if the results of the chi squared test are significant

Answer 3

If there is a big difference between the expected and observed frequencies it is more likely the results will be significant
They won’t match what would happen if the null hypothesis was true

Question 4

What do the expected frequencies tell you in the chi squared test compared to observed frequencies

Answer 4

Expected frequencies tell you what the outcome would be if the null hypothesis was true
They indicates that there would be no difference between groups
The observed frequencies are the actual results

Question 5

Carry out the chi squared test using this example:
Null hypothesis: there’s no association between finding reality TV entertaining and being male or female

Answer 5

Example has observed value (X^2) of 8.62
Must use critical value table to see significance
Work out degrees of freedom = (No. of rows -1)x(No. of columns-1)
E.g. df=(2-1)x(2-1)=1
For chi squared test result to be significant, X^2 needs to be greater or equal to critical value
Results are significant as critical value at p = 0.05 which is less than 8.62
Null hypothesis is rejected

Question 6

Assumptions of Mann-Whitney test

Answer 6

Test of difference
Independent groups
Ordinal data - scores

Question 7

Assumptions of Wilcoxon test

Answer 7

Test of difference
Related data
Experimental design can be repeated measures of matched pairs
Ordinal data

Question 8

When to use pearson’s R test

Answer 8

Both variables must be interval or ratio and be normally distributed
The correlation of the two variables must fall between -1 and +1
The closer r is to -1 or +1, the stronger the relationship
Degrees of Freedom - N-2

Question 9

When to use Spearman’s Rho test

Answer 9

Two sets of values at an ordinal level
Looking for a relationship in correlation

Question 10

When to use related T test

Answer 10

Repeated measures design or matched pairs
Test of difference
Interval or ratio data

Question 11

When to use unrelated T test

Answer 11

Independent groups
Interval data is needed
Test of difference

Question 12

Assumptions of sign test

Answer 12

Test of difference not an association
Repeated measures design
Nominal data (categories)

Question 13

What is the null hypothesis

Answer 13

This is the hypothesis that you test
States there is no significant statistical difference between the results you obtained and the expected data
If it is established that changing the independent variable created results that had a difference that was statistically significant in their difference then the null hypothesis is rejected

Question 14

What is peer review

Answer 14

This involves all aspects of the psychological research being scrutinised by a small group of two or three experts in a particular field
Peers should be objective and unknown to the researcher(s)

Question 15

Aims of peer review

Answer 15

To allocate research funding

To validate the quality and relevance of research

To suggest amendments or improvements

Government run funding organisations- medical research council

Quality and accuracy – the formulation of the hypotheses, methodology chosen, statistical tests

Question 16

Evaluations of peer review

Answer 16

Anonymity:
The peer should remain anonymous to maintain an honest appraisal
Direct competition for grants/ funding

Publication bias:
There is a tendency for editors to publish significant findings to increase credibility of their publication
Could create false impression of the current state of psychology if editors are selective in what they publish
File drawer problem - especially in meta analysis where non-significant or negative results are not published

Burying ground-breaking research:
Reviewers are especially critical of research that contradicts their own and are favourable to those that match theirs.
Reviewers tend to be established scientists and are more likely to publish research that ‘fits’ with current opinions rather than new and innovative research that challenges.
This could slow down the rate of change

Question 17

How may psychological research have implications for the economy, with example

Answer 17

Must ask question: How does it influence, benefit, or devalue economic prosperity?
E.g. Attachment research: multiple attachments in particular the father
Both parents are equally capable of providing the necessary emotional support for development.
Can lead to flexible working arrangements within families

Question 18

Examples of psychological research that impacted the economy: Development of treatments for mental illness

Answer 18

Absences at work cost the economy an estimated £15 billion per year - A third caused by depression, anxiety and stress (The Telegraph, 2014)
CBT/ SSRIs and antianxiety drugs have allowed people with mild mental health disorders to return to work and access medical treatment

Question 19

Examples of psychological research that impacted the economy: Sleep behaviour and shift workers

Answer 19

Czeisler et al. (1982) studied workers at a factory whose shift patterns appeared to cause sleep and health problems.
Recommended rotating shifts every 21 days and changing shifts forward in time
Previously employees had worked during the night for a week, late afternoons for the second week and mornings for the third week and returning to the night work
The changes indicated increased productivity and job satisfaction

Question 20

How to report psychological investigations

Answer 20

Title: what study is about including IDP and DP
Abstract: concise summary of the report (aims, hypotheses, method, results) under 200 words
Introduction: literature review of area of investigation, presenting aims and hypotheses
Results: descriptive statistics (tables, graphs), inferential statistics, whether hypotheses rejected or accepted, raw data presented in appendix, qualitative results presented in analysis of themes, tables, categories, direct quotes
References: includes information about journals, books, articles website. In alphabetical order
Appendices: Should include:
Copies of the questionnaires used
Raw data
Statistical calculations
Ethical forms- consent/ debrief/ copy of instructions

Question 21

What are paradigms

Answer 21

The shared set of beliefs, assumptions and methods about a current theory
Progress within an established science occurs when there is a scientific revolution causing a paradigm shift

Question 22

What are paradigm shifts

Answer 22

A paradigm shift occurs when there is contradictory evidence to a theory

Behavioural approach was a paradigm shift because it changed what we believed about behaviour
Also cognitive neuroscience

Question 23

What is a theory

Answer 23

Set of generalised laws or principles that have the ability to explain particular events or behaviours
Theory construction occurs through gathering evidence via direct observations (the empirical method)

Question 24

What is a hypothesis?

Answer 24

Prediction based on theory
Scientifically tested

Question 25

Falsifiability

Answer 25

Popper ‘genuine scientific theories should hold themselves up for hypothesis testing and the possibility of being proven wrong’
Even ‘proven’ research is not true, it has just not yet been proven false
‘This supports’ or ‘this seems to support’ and the null hypothesis

Question 26

Replicability

Answer 26

An element of Popper’s hypothetico-deductive method
Trusted findings should be repeatable across a number of contexts and circumstances
Increases validity and reliability

Question 27

Objectivity and empirical method

Answer 27

Independent of beliefs or opinions
Carried out using controlled laboratory studies
Results based on data not just theory

Question 28

Case for psychology as a science

Answer 28

Key findings in psychology are counter-intuitive and not predictable
Psychology gained credibility by adopting scientific methods of enquiry
Practical application as it challenged/modified understanding of human behaviour

Question 29

The case against psychology as a science

Answer 29

Methods can be subjective, non standardised and unscientific
Does not create universality
Based on inference rather than objective measurement

Question 30

What is Type 1 error

Answer 30

Type I: is when null hypothesis is rejected and alternative hypothesis is accepted but should be the other way around
Referred to as an optimistic error or false positive as researcher claims to find significance that does not exist.

Question 31

What is Type II error

Answer 31

Type II: when the null hypothesis is accepted, but the alternative hypothesis should have been.
Pessimistic error or false negative

Question 32

What is reliability

Answer 32

The overall consistency of a measure

Question 33

What is external reliability

Answer 33

Refers to the ability of the test to produce the same results each time it is carried out

Question 34

How to distinguish between a science and non science using paradigms

Answer 34

Kuhn stated that the way to distinguish between scientific and non scientific disciplines is to investigate the shared set of assumptions and methods
Social sciences lack a universally accepted paradigm and should be seen as ‘pre science’
Progress within an established science occurs when there is a scientific revolution

Question 35

Table for inferential statistics

Answer 35