RESEARCH METHODS Flashcards
Define “experimental method”
Involves the manipulation of an independent variable to measure the effect on the dependent variable. Experiments may be laboratory, field, natural or quasi
Define “aim”
A general statement of what the researcher intends to investigate; the purpose of the study
Define “hypothesis”
A clear, precise, testable statement that states the relationship between the variables to be investigates. Stated at the outset of any study
Define “directional hypothesis”
States the direction of the difference of relationship
Define “non-directional hypothesis”
Does not state the direction
Define “variables”
Any “thing” that can vary or change within an investigation. Variables are generally used in experiments to determine if changes in one thing result in changes to another
What is the “independent variable (IV)”?
Some aspect of the experimental situation that is manipulated by the researcher - or changes naturally - so the effect on the DV can be measured
What is the “dependent variable (DV)”
The variable that is measured by the researcher. Any effect on the DV should be caused by the change in the IV
Define “operationalisation”
Clearly defining variables in terms of how they can be measured
What is meant by an “extraneous variable”
Any variable, other than the independent variable (IV), that may have an effect on the dependent variable (DV) if it is not controlled. EVs are essentially nuisance variables that do not vary systematically with the IV
What is meant by a “confounding variable”
Any variable, other than the IV, that may have affected the DV so we cannot be sure of the true source of changes to the DV. Confounding variables vary systematically with the IV.
Define “demand characteristics”
Any cue from the researcher or from the research situation that may be interpreted by participants as revealing the purpose of the investigation. This may lead to a participant changing their behaviour within the research situation.
Define “investigator effects”
Any effect of the investigator’s behaviour (conscious or unconscious) on the research outcome (the DV). This may include everything from the design of the study to the selection of, and interaction with, participants during the research process
Define “randomisation” and give an example
The use of chance in order to control for the effects of bias when designing materials and deciding the order of conditions.
e.g. using random allocation - in an independent group design with 4 conditions you might randomly allocate your selected participants into each of the groups.
Define “standardisation”
Using exactly the same formalised procedures and instructions for all aprticipants in a reseaecrh study
Define “experimental design”
The different ways in which the testing of participants can be organised in relation to the experimental conditions
What is “independent groups design”
The different ways in which the testing of participants can be organised in relation to the experimental conditions
What is “repeated measures deisgn”
All participants take part in all conditions of the experiment
What is “matched pairs design”?
Pairs of participants are first matched on some vairables that may affect the DV> Then one number of the pair is assigned to condition A and the other to Condition B
Define “random allocation”
An attemopt to control for participation variables in an independent groups design which ensures that each participant has the same chance of being in one condition as any other
Define “Counterbalancing”
An attempt to control for the effects of order in a repeated measures design: half the participants experience the conditions in one order and the other half in the opposite order.
What is a “laboratory experiment”
An experiment that takes place in a controlled environment within which the researcher manipulates the IV and record the effect on the DV, whilst maintaining strict control of extraneous variables
What is a “field experiment”
An experiment that takes place in a natural setting within which the researcher manipulates the IV and records the effect on the DV
What is a “natural experiment”
An experiment where the change in the IV is not brought about by the researcher but would have happened even if the researcher had not been there. The researcher records the effect on the DV
What is a “quasi-experiment”
A study that is almost an experiment but lacks key ingredients. The IV has not been determined by anyone (the researcher or any other person) - the “variables” simply exist, such as being old or being young. Strictly speaking, this is not an experiment
Define “population”
A group of people who are the focus of the researcher’s interest, from which a smaller sample is drawn
Define “sample”
A group of people who take part in a research investigation. The sample is drawn froma atrget population is resumed to be representative of that popualtion i.e. it stands fairly for th epopulation being studied
What are “sampling techniques”
The method used to select people from the population
What is meant by “bias”
In the context of sampling, when certain groups may be over or under-represented within the sample selected. For instance, there may be too many younger people or too many people of one ethnic origin in a sample. This limits the extent to which generalisations can be made to the target population
Define “generalisation”
The extent to which findings and conclusions from a particular investigation can be broadly applied to the population. This is made possible if the sample of participants is representative of the population
What are “ethical issues” in psyhcology
These arise when a conflict exists between the rights of participants in research studies and the goals of research to produce authentc, valid and worthwhile data
What is he BPS code of ethics?
A quasi legal document produced by the British Psychological Society that instructs psychologists in the UK about what behaviour is and is not acceptable when dealing with participants. It is built around four major principles: respect, competence, responsibility and integrity
What is meant by “pilot study” and why is it useful?
A small-scale version of an investigation that takes place before thee real investigation is conducted. The aim is to check that procedures, materials, measuring scales etc work and to allow the researcher to make changes or modifications if necessary
Define “naturalistic observation”
Watching and recording behaviour in the setting within which it would normally occur
Define “controlled observation”
Watching and recording behaviour within a structured environment, i.e one where some variables are managed
Define” covert observation”
Participants behaviour is watched and recorded without their knowledge and consent
Define “overt observation”
Participants behaviour is watched and recorded with their knowledge and consent
Define “participant obsevration”
The researcher becomes a member of the group whose behaviour he/she is watching and recording
Define “non-participation observation”
The researcher remains outside of the group whose behaviour he/she is watching and recording
Whhat are behavioural categories?
When a target behaviour is broken up into components tha are observable and measurable
Define “event sampling”
A target bahveiour or event is first estaiblished then the researcher records his event every time it occurs
Define “time sampling”
A atrget indiviudal or group is first established then the researcher records their bahviou in a fixed time fram, e.g. every 60s
What is a “self-report technique” in Psychology
Any method in which a person is asked to state or explain their own feelings, opinions, behaviours and/or experiences related to a given topic
Define “questionnaire”
A set of written questions (sometimes referred to as “items”) used to assess a person’s thoughts and/or experiences
Define “interview”
A “live” encounter (face-to-face or on the phone) where one person (the interviewer) asks a set of questions to assess an interviewee’s thoughts and/or experiences. The questions may be pre-set (as in a structured interviews) or may develop as the interview goes along (unstructured interview)
Define “open questions” an give an example
Questions for which there is no fixed choice of response and respondents can answer in any way they wish: for example, why did you take up smoking?
Define “closed questions” and give an example
Questions for which there is a fixed choice of responses determined by the question setter: for example, do you smoke? (yes/no)
What is meant by the term “correlation” in Psychology
A mathematical technique in which a researcher investigates an association between two variables, called co-variables
What is meant by the term “co-variables”
The variables investigated within a correlation, for example, height and weight. They are not referred to as the independent and dependent variable because a correlation invetsigates the association between the variables, rather than trying to show a cause and effect relationship
Define “positive correlation”
As one co-variable increases, so does the other. For example, the number of people in a room and noise are positively correlated
Define “negative correlation”
As one co-variable increases, the other decreases. For example, the following two variables: number of people in a room and the amount of personal space are negatively correlated
Define “zero correlation”
When there is no relationship between the co-variables. For example, the association between the number of people in a room in Manchester and the total daily rainfall in Peru
Define “qualitative data”
Data that is expressed in words and non numerical - although qualitative data may be converted to numbers for the purpose of analysis
Define “quantitative data”
Data that can be counted, usually given as numbers
Define “primary data”
Information that has been obtained first hand by the researcher for the purposes of a research project. In psychology, such data is often gathered directly from participants as part of an experiment, self-report or observation
Define “secondary data”
Information that has already been collected by someone else and so pre dates the current research project. In psychology, such data might include the work of other psychologists or government statistics
Define “meta-analysis”
“research about research”, refers to the process of combining results from a number of studies on a particular topic to provide an overall view. This may involve a qualitative review of conclusions and/or a quantitative analysis of the results producing an effect size
What are “descriptive statistics”
The use of graphs, tables and summary statistics to identify trends and analyse sets of data
What are “measures of central tendency”?
The general term for any measure of the average value in a set of data
Define “mean”
The arithmetic average calculated by adding up all the values in a set of data and dividing it by the number of values there are
Define “median”
The central value in a set of data when values are arranged from lowest to highest
Define “mode”
The most frequently occurring value in a set of data
What is a scattergram?
A type of graph that represents the strength and direction of a relationship between co-variables in a correlational analysis
what is a bar chart?
A type of graph in which the frequency of each variable is represented by the height of the bars
What is statistical testing?
Provides a way of determining whether hypotheses should be accepted or rejected.
In Psych, they tell us whether differences or relationships between variables are statistically significant or have occurred by chance
What is the sign test?
A statistical test used to analyse the difference in scores between related items (e.g. the same participant tested twice)
Define “peer review”
The assessment of scientific work by others who are specialists in the same field to ensure that any research intended for publication is of high quality
Define “economy”
The state of a country or region in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services
Strengths of independent group design
(+) Order effects are not a problem because each participant only experiences one condition.
(+) Pariciaptns are less liekly to guess the aim because they only experience one condition and do not see any manipulation
Limitations of Independent Group design
(-) The participant who occupy the different groups ae not the same. If a researcher finds a difference between groups on the DV, it may be due to individual differences (participant variables) rather than the IV
(-) Design is less economical than repeated measures as each participant contributes a single result only. Twice as many participants are needed to produce equivalent data to that that is used in repeated measures
Strengths of repeated measures design
(+) Participant variables are controlled as you compare each participant score in one condition their score in another
(-) Fewer participants are needed because they take part in more than one condition which means the study is more economical
Limitations of repeated Measures Design
(-) As each particpant has tto do atleast two tasks then the order of these tasks may be significant (i.e. there are order effects e.g. tiredness). Order acts as a confounding variable
(-) More liekly people will work out the aim off the study when they experience al conditions of the experiment. for this reason, demand characteritsics tend to be more of a featre of repeated measures than independent groups
Strengths of matched pairs design
(+) An attempt to reduce particiant variables as all particiants are matched on important variales
(+) participants only take part in a single condition so order effects are less of a problem
(+) participants are less liekly to guess the aim ofthe study (demand characteristics) because they only take part in a single condition and see no manipulation
Limitiations of matched pairs desgn
(-) Participants can never be matched exactly, even when identical twins are used, there will still be some participant variables
(-) matching is time consuming, expensive and requires a large sample size which makes it less economical than other designs
Strengths of lab experiments
(+) High control over extraneous vaairbales which means the reseacher can ensure that any efect on the DV is likely to be the result of manuplation of the IV. (moew xertain abotu cause and effect - internal validity
(+) replication is more possible than in othe types of experiment because of the level of control. this ensures that new extraneous variables are not introduced when repeating the experiment
