Research Methods Flashcards
What is a laboratory experiment
It’s a controlled situation in which the researcher manipulated one variable to discover its effects on another variable.
The other variables are held constant
And kind of an environment and what kind of tasks are completed in lab experiments?
Artificial tasks and environment
What are the advantages of a lab experiment
Control variables to discover the effects of one on another (clear measure)
For that same reason it can be replicated so it’s more reliable
What are disadvantages of laboratory experiments?
It is unnatural so there are demand characteristics because peoples behaviour changes so it questions validity
It is an artificial task so the results can’t be generalised to real life (ecological validity)
What is a field experiment
Research with a manipulated independent variable and measured dependent variable but in the participants environment
What are the advantages of a field experiment
It isn’t artificial so there is more ecological validity
There aren’t as many demand characteristics because it isn’t artificial
What are the disadvantages of a field experiment
Less control over variables so it’s harder to replicate and less reliable
This also means there isn’t a clear measure of cause and effect
Ethics issue - no consent and deception
What is a case study?
In depth, detailed investigations of one individual or small group
What are two advantages of a case study
Rich detail - provide great depth and understanding about individuals
The only possible method to use - allow psychologists to study unique behaviours or experiences that can’t be studied any other way
What are two disadvantages of a case study
Not representative - no two case studies are alike so generalisations can’t be made
Researcher bias - researchers conducting car studies may be biased in their interpretations or method of reporting making findings suspect
What is content analysis?
A method of quantifying qualitative data through the use of coding units and is commonly used with media research
What are the two advantages of content analysis
Ease of application - easy to perform, inexpensive method of research
Reliability - establishing reliability is simple as content analysis is easy to replicate
What are two weaknesses of content analysis
Descriptive - content analysis is purely descriptive and doesn’t reveal underlying reasons for behaviour/attitude
Flawed results - limited availability of material so observed trends may not reflect reality. Negative events receive more coverage than positive ones
What are the strengths of qualitative data
Rich and detailed
Meaningful and high validity
What are the strengths of quantitative data
East to analyse
Can replicate
More objective
What are limitations of qualitative data?
Difficult to replicate
Difficult to analyse
Low reliability
What are the limitations of quantitative data?
Less meaningful
low in ecological validity
What is standard deviation?
Measures the average difference of each score or item of data from the mean
What are descriptive statistics?
They provide a summary of a set of data drawn from a sample that can be applied to a target population
What is a hypothesis?
A precise, testable prediction of the outcome of a study
What is an alternate (H1) and null (H0) hypothesis?
A null hypothesis is the expected/original hypothesis which is non directional
An alternative hypothesis is the other possible outcomes which are non directional or directional
What is volunteer sampling?
Advantages and disadvantages
When individuals have chosen to be involved in a study
Convenient and ethical (consent)
Unrepresentative as it leads to bias from participant
What is stratified sampling?
Advantages and disadvantages?
Selecting members in proportion to the occurrence in the population
Deliberate attempt to be representative
Can be time consuming
What is systematic sampling?
Advantages and disadvantages?
Every nth person is chosen
Avoids bias by selection
Could be unrepresentative
What is random sampling?
Advantages and disadvantages?
Everyone with equal chance of selection
Best chance of unbiased representative sample
Time consuming for long lists
What is opportunity sampling?
Advantages and disadvantages?
Selecting those who are available
Quick, convenient and cheap
Very unrepresentative and biased
What are the 6 ethical issues of research in psychology?
Informed consent - Ps aware of aims, procedures, their rights so they can consent
Deception - misleading Ps
Right to withdraw - able to leave whenever
Protection from harm - no more risk than normal
Confidentiality - law for data protection
Privacy - control info about them
How do you deal with the ethical issues
Participants asked for their consent
Made clear they can leave whenever
Participants debriefed if deceived
Study not designed to cause harm
Fake names not real names for participants
Gain prior consent for observations when appropriate
What is a structured interview and what are the advantages?
Questions are decided before and it’s always the same questions and order
Has a focus so it can generate answers that stick to the objective
Time is saved
Can compare interviews and more reliable for the objective
What are disadvantages of a structured interview?
Lack of flexibility so things could be missed out that help with the objective
Investigator effects may intimidate the participant into answering the questions how they think the investigator wants them to be answered - bias
What is an unstructured interview?
What are advantages of it?
More conversational and relaxed. Questions lead on from each other
More flexible with follow up questions and more likely to gain truthful answers in a relaxed environment
