Research Methods 1

Question 1

Pilot study description

Answer 1

• A pilot study is a small scale trial run of the investigation/experiment first
• This is done in order to find out if certain things specific to the study work or not
• The researcher can also check that the tasks aren’t too easy (ceiling effect) or too hard (floor effect)

Question 2

Confederates description

Answer 2

• Sometimes a researcher has to use another person to play a role in their investigation.
• This person is a confederate and not a participant

Question 3

Aims and hypothesis

Answer 3

• Aim = This is a broad statement based on what is going to be investigated in the study
• Hypothesis = This is a prediction of the findings. It is a precise and testable statement of the relationship between two variables

Question 4

Operationalising variables

-Simple and operationalised variables

Answer 4

• Simple hypothesis = Ones which give probabilities to potential observations
• Operationalised hypothesis = Tells the reader how the main concepts were put into effect

Question 5

IV and DV

Answer 5

• Independent variable = This is the variable that the researcher manipulates or alters
• Dependent variable = This is the measurement taken by the researcher
• The investigator is looking at the how the IV has affected the DV

Question 6

Types of hypotheses

-Alternative (experimental) hypothesis

Answer 6

• This is a prediction of what the researcher thinks will happen to the DV when the IV changes
• E.g. ‘Females will drive round a 100m track at a lower average than males’

Question 7

Types of hypotheses

-Null hypothesis

Answer 7

• The null hypothesis states that the IV will have no effect on the DV and any observed differences will be due to chance
• E.g. ‘There will be no difference in the average speed round a 100m track between males and females’. Any observed differences will be due to chance

Question 8

Types of hypothesis

-Non-directional hypothesis

Answer 8

• Predicts that there will be a difference between two conditions or groups of participants, without stating the direction
• E.g. ‘There will be a difference in recall of words (out of 20) between those who drink herbal tea one hour before the test and those who have no tea’
• There is no previous research

Question 9

Types of hypothesis

-Directional hypothesis

Answer 9

• States the direction of the predicted difference between two conditions or two groups of participants
• E.g. ‘Pt’s who drink herbal tea one hour before a test will recall more words out of 20 than pt’s who have no tea’
• Previous research implies a pattern of findings indicating an expected finding

Question 10

Operationalisation

Answer 10

• This means making variables as specific and measurable as possible
• This also applies to hypothesis and making them as detailed and specific as possible

Question 11

Extraneous variables

Answer 11

• EV’s are other variables which must be eliminated or controlled otherwise they may affect the DV and damage the validity of results
• Participant variables (internal) = These are variables which are due to the participants, such as age or gender
• Situational variables (external) = These are variables to do with the situation which might interfere with and affect the behaviour of participants in an experiment
• Confounding variables = EV’s that have not been controlled may affect the results of the study and become confounding variables

Question 12

Demand characteristics

Answer 12

• A demand characteristic is an aspect of the research situation which leads pt’s to guess the aim and change their behaviour accordingly. The behaviour changed is known as the ‘screw you’ effect
• Demand characteristics can partially be controlled by: deception and the single blind method

Question 13

Investigator effects

Answer 13

• Investigator effects are anything the researcher does which can affect how the participant behaves and the subsequent data collected
• They can affect the DV and therefore be an example of an extraneous variable
• They can be controlled by: the Double blind method

Question 14

Reliability

Answer 14

• Reliability refers to whether a measure is consistent and stable over time
• Reliability can be tested through ‘test-retest’

Question 15

Validity

Answer 15

• Validity refers to whether a test measures what it intends to measure. A test can be reliable, but still not be valid
• Internal validity = This is whether or not we can say for certain that the IV has caused the effect seen in the DV
• External validity = This is the extent to which results can be generalised to other settings, such as ecological validity
• You can measure validity through ‘face validity’ (this involves doing an eyeball test)

Question 16

Sampling

-Selecting participants

Answer 16

Target population = This is the group of people the researchers want to apply their results to and who they draw their sample from
The Sample = This is a small number of people from the target population who take part in the investigation
-The sample should be representative of the target population so that we can generalise the results to the rest of the target population without having to study all of them

Question 17

Sampling bias

Answer 17

• This may occur if the sample selected is not representative of the rest of the target population
• To avoid sampling bias, the sample should be as large as possible

Question 18

Sampling techniques

-Random sampling

Answer 18

• Is a set of individuals randomly selected by researchers to represent an entire group as a whole
• Strengths = There is no researcher bias so is as representative as possible
• Weaknesses = The sample may still be unrepresentative, especially if the sample is too small

Question 19

Sampling techniques

-Opportunity sampling

Answer 19

• Uses people from the target population available at the time and is willing to take part
• Strengths = Easier and more convenient to find participants for the research
• Weaknesses = The sample is not likely to be very representative as not every one is taking part

Question 20

Sampling techniques

-Volunteer sampling

Answer 20

• Where participants self-select to become part of a study
• Strengths = Convenient as volunteers want to participate and help researchers
• Weaknesses = Not representative as people self select themselves

Question 21

Sampling techniques

-Systematic sampling

Answer 21

• A technique that uses a predetermined system to select the participants from a target group
• Strengths = Researchers can cover representation well and collect straightforward data
• Weaknesses = If the population used is large, it will take a long time for the researchers to collect the data they want

Question 22

Sampling techniques

-Stratified sampling

Answer 22

• When the researcher divides the target group into sections
• Strengths = Likely to be the most representative of all as it divides the target group into sections
• Weaknesses = Requires the most amount of time and resources

Question 23

Quantitative data

Answer 23

• Numerical data (numbers)
• Involves measuring something
• Statistical analysis can be uses
• Collected in experiment-based research methods

Question 24

Qualitative data

Answer 24

• Not specific
• Non -numerical, descriptive data
• Involves finding out what people think and how they feel in more detail
• Often collected in case studies, unstructured observations and unstructured interviews

Question 25

Descriptive statistics

Answer 25

-These allow us to describe and summarise quantitative data
-The 2 main types of results in descriptive statistics;
Measures of central tendency = Information about the ‘typical’ score (averages)
Measures of dispersion = Information about how spread-out the scores are (variability)

Question 26

Measures of central tendency

Answer 26

• Mean = This is the statistical average
• Median = This is the central value (middle number) (central number)
• Mode = This is the most frequently occurring score (most common value)

Question 27

Standard deviation

Answer 27

• Takes into account all scores and their difference from the mean value
• The larger the standard deviation, the greater the spread of scores

Question 28

Normal and skewed distributions

Answer 28

• The normal distribution = With this distribution, the mean and the mode all occur at the same place (the peak of the curve)
• Negatively skewed distribution = This will contain significantly more high scores than low scores and can be classed as having a ceiling effect (leans towards the right)
• Positively skewed distribution = This distribution contains more low scores than high scores. It will also be classed as having a floor effect (leans towards the left)