Research Methods 1

Question 1

What is a Pilot Study?

Answer 1

• A small scale trial run of the investigation/ experiment first. Done in order to find out of the study works or not and whether the procedures need tweaking.
• Researcher can also check if the tasks are too easy/ hard (ceiling effect= everyones scores too high, floor effect= everyone’s scores too low)

Question 2

What is a confederate?

Answer 2

A participant in an experiment that is in on it and plays a part in the investigation - aka an actor

Question 3

BPS code of ethics - 4 main principles

Answer 3

Respect - respect of dignity no matter status, ethnicity, gender, etc
Competence - members must only provide services they are specifically trained in.
Responsibility - members must accept appropriate responsibility, ensures that trust is not abused.
Integrity - being honest, truthful, accurate and consistent in ones actions and words.

Question 4

Ethical guidelines

Answer 4

• Informed consent
• Right to withdraw
• Deception
• Debriefing
• Protection from harm
• Confidentiality
• Competance

Question 5

Standardisation

Answer 5

Procedures, materials and instructions within a study are kept the same for ALL participants (except the IV).

Question 6

Random sampling (description + example + strength + weakness)

Answer 6

• every member of target population has an equal chance of being selected
• names pulled out of hat/ names selected randomly on computer program
• very representative as no chance of researcher bias (they have no influence)
• could still be unrepresentative as by chance, all participants could have same demographics (all female etc)

Question 7

Opportunity sampling (description + example + strength + weakness)

Answer 7

• obtaining people who are available at a certain location at a certain time to just take part
• selecting students who happen to be walking past the library at 12:30
• easier and more convenient (less time, money and resources required)
• not likely to be representative (population drawn from one specific area that may not reflect wider target population)

Question 8

Volunteer sampling (description + example + strength + weakness)

Answer 8

• volunteers and people not selected by researcher, they are “self-selected” by responding to an advertisement placed in a strategic position.
• people responding (eg emailing) to advertisement at a sports centre
• requires minimal effort from researcher - uses less time, money and resources than other forms of sampling.
• may not be representative as asking for volunteers may attract a certain type of people ( helpful keen and curious ) - may affect how far results can be generalised.

Question 9

Systematic sampling (description + example + strength + weakness)

Answer 9

• every nth member of the target population (or sampling frame) is selected and placed in different conditions
• list all 500 students names at a school and then select every 10th person to get a sample of 50
• you are likely to get a complete sampling frame and removes much researcher bias
• the researcher can organise the list how they want, then pick the system for selection, it also doesn’t guarantee representativeness.

Question 10

Stratified sampling

Answer 10

• (1) identify key stratum (layers) for research (eg age). (2) calculate correct proportion from each stratum based on proportion of the population. (3) samples then selected by using random allocation of each stratum.
• if 12% of population is aged between 20-30 years and 25% are aged between 35-40 years, then in a sample of 100; 12 should be 20-30 and 25 should be 35-45.
• very representative as it makes sure each stratum in the sample clearly reflects the target population as much as possible.
• requires the most amount of time and resources- need to obtain full sampling frame as well as calculating correct proportions of each group, plus spending time using random allocations of participants

Question 11

Non-directional experimental hypotheses

Answer 11

Predicts there will be a difference between 2 conditions, without stating the direction

Question 12

Directional experimental hypothesis

Answer 12

States the direction of the predicted difference between two conditions or two groups of participants.

Question 13

Extraneous variables

Answer 13

• Variables which mist be eliminated or controlled otherwise they may affect the DV and damage the validity of the results.
• 2 types: participant and situational

Question 14

Participant variables (what is it? How can it be controlled?)

Answer 14

Variables which are to do with the participants; age, gender, social class, ethnicity, intelligence, personality etc

Can be controlled by randomly allocating participants to groups so that any differences cancel each other out with a large enough sample (putting people with similar demographics into separate groups so theres more variety in each group)

Question 15

Situational variable (what is it? how can it be controlled?)

Answer 15

Variables to do with the situation which might affect the behaviour of participants within the experiment: time of day, lighting, temperature, materials, instructions, etc

Can be controlled by using standardised procedures and standardised instructions to ensure that all participants have exactly the same experience.

Question 16

Confounding variables

Answer 16

Extraneous variables that have not been controlled and end up affecting the final result of the experiment. These are present in every study, all studies are flawed.

Question 17

Demand characteristics (What is it? Screw you affect? How can it be partially controlled?)

Answer 17

An aspect of the research situation which lead pts to guess the aim of the experiment and change their behaviour accordingly, hence they do not behave naturally.
(May try harder than usual for the sake of the study - they might want to please the experimenter, especially if they’re being paid)

Participants may also deliberately behave in a way that spoils the experiment; ‘screw you’ effect.

Can be partially controlled by…
Deception - participants not told research aim (but can be ethically wrong)
Single blind method - where participants are not told which conditions they’re in.

Question 18

Investigator effects

Answer 18

Anything the researcher does which can effect how the participant behaves and the subsequent data collected.
(May unknowingly suggest to the participants how they are supposed to behave)

Question 19

lab experiments strengths and weaknesses (2 of each)

Answer 19

✅ highly controlled, any effect on DV is likely to be result of IV (less extraneous variables)
✅ reliability can be checked, can see whether findings are valid or just one off (easily replicable)
❌ lacks ecological validity (lacks generalisability due to artificial environment)
❌ more prone to demand characteristics - pts usually aware they’re being tested

Question 20

field experiments strengths and weaknesses (2 of each)

Answer 20

✅ greater ecological validity, natural environment
✅ less bias from demand characteristics, may not be aware of aim of experiment
❌ more difficult to establish cause and effect, harder to control extraneous variables (increased realism)
❌ more difficult to check reliability - may not be easily replicable

Question 21

natural vs quasi experiment definitions

Answer 21

natural - when researcher takes advantage of pre-existing situational variable
quasi - when researcher takes advantage of pre-existing internal (participant) variable

Question 22

natural/ quasi experiments, strengths and weaknesses

Answer 22

✅ have greatest ecological validity as they involve study of real life issues and problems as they happen
✅ least likely to suffer bias from demand characteristics because they’re testing pre-existing behaviours and actions therefore they’re going to be authentic
❌difficult to establish cause and effect because of the increased realism
❌most difficult to check reliability as they’re hard to replicate

Question 23

3 experimental designs + explanations

Answer 23

1) independant measures design - using different people in each condition of IV (eg one group for drug + one group for placebo)
2) repeated measures design - using same people to take part in each condition of IV (counterbalancing: when one group will take condition a first and other group will take condition b first, then vice versa)
3) matched pairs design - where pts are matched or paired with another who is similar in a relevant variable (eg age, gender, ethnicity etc). Then you randomly allocate one of each pair to each condition.

Question 24

experimental designs - independent measures (strengths + weaknesses)

Answer 24

✅ easy to do, less time + money
✅ no problem with order effects, everyone only takes part in one condition
❌ may be important individual differences between pts (random allocation should eliminate this)
❌ fairly large sample required

Question 25

experimental designs - repeated measures (strengths + weaknesses)

Answer 25

✅ requires fewer pts
✅ no risk of individual differences confounding results
❌ pts have more opportunity to guess purpose of study - demand characteristics
❌ order effects

Question 26

order effects (definition)

Answer 26

when performance in 2nd condition may be affected by performance in 1st condition due to tiredness, boredom, etc

Question 27

experimental designs - matched pairs (strengths + weaknesses)

Answer 27

✅ no order effects
✅ reduced risk of individual differences between pts confounding results
❌ time consuming and expensive (requires large number of pts to begin with)
❌ can be difficult to ensure that pairs are matched as adequately as needed

Question 28

Case study definition + eg

Answer 28

An in-depth investigation of one person or a small group of people - typically investigate naturally occurring events
Can be longitudinal or retrospective
Eg little hans

Question 29

What’s an observation

Answer 29

The systematic measurement of spontaneously occurring behaviour
Can be in controlled environment (lab) or naturalistic environment (playground)
Can be structured (predetermined categories) or unstructured (observing behaviour as it occurs)
Can be overt or covert
Can be participant or non-participant

Question 30

Naturalistic and controlled observations

Answer 30

Naturalistic - takes place in participants natural environment (eg kids playground)
Controlled - takes place in controlled environment (but doesn’t just have to be lab) (eg Ainsworth strange situation)

Question 31

Structured and unstructured observation (what are they + strength n weakness)

Answer 31

Structured - data gathered using a pre-written collection grid or coding sheet (tally chart) to record frequency behaviours occur. (Standardised)
✅ increased reliability
❌ researchers may not always know what kinds of behaviour they’re likely to observe

Unstructured - researcher uses direct observation to record behaviours as they occur and have no pre determined plan
✅useful starting point in areas where there’s no previous research
❌ low reliability

Question 32

Participant and non-participant observation (definitions + strength n weakness)

Answer 32

Participant - researcher joins in the behaviour of group.
✅ allows researcher to observe behaviour that otherwise would be out of reach eg football hooligans
❌observations much more subjective n relying on researchers memory
Non-participant - psychologist doesn’t participate with group n simply observes
✅ researcher can use behaviour checklist - record behaviours in real time and not rely on memory
❌ certain categories of behaviour that are unobservable (eg mafia)

Question 33

Covert and overt (definition + strength n weakness)

Answer 33

Overt - when pts know they’re being watched
✅ necessary to observe behaviours that may otherwise be unobservable
❌ reducing validity bc of demand characteristics
Covert - when pts don’t know they’re being observed
✅ high ecological validity - can observe behaviour that would normally occur
❌ ethical issues - informed consent, right to withdraw etc