research methods Flashcards
what is a lab experiment
an experiment conducted under controlled conditions
iv is manipulated
adv of lab experiments
high level of control
standardised so it can be replicated
disadv of lab experiments
artificial environment
may not apply to real life
participants may behave unnaturally
what is a field experiment
a real life environment
the iv is still manipulated
adv of field experiments
participants will behave more natural
can relate more to everyday life
disadv of field experiments
hard to repeat
there may be no consent from participants making it unethical
lacks internal validity
what is a natural experiment
there is a natural independant variable and the researcher has no control
adv of natural experiments
people behave naturally so if can reflect real life
disadv on natural experiments
expensive
no control over variables
difficult to repeat
what is a quasi experiment
independent variable is a pre existing difference.
the experiment lacks control
adv of quasi experiments
cheap and easy to carry out
disadv of quasi experiments
not scientific so they lack validity
what does validity mean
the extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure
what does reliability mean
results are consistent and dependable
what is an aim
a clear and precise statement for the meaning of the study
what is a direct hypothesis
a prediction made by a researcher regarding a change in a positive or negative direction or the difference between two variables.
this is used when previous research has been done
what is a non direct hypothesis
it predicts that the independent variable of the experiment will have an effect of the result but it does not specify the direction.
used when there is no previous research
what is an independent variable
a characteristic that is manipulated or changed by the researcher
e.g time
what is a dependant variable
the thing in the experiment that you measure
e.g memory
what is an extraneous variable
a variable that could effect the DV
the researcher should try control this e.g lighting
what is an confounding variable
factors other than the IV may change the result of the experiment
e.g a study of caffeine (some people may of got more sleep)
what is a demand characteristic
participants change their behaviour based on the clues given by the researcher to produce unnatural results in the experiments
what is an investigator effect
when the researcher consciously or unconsciously influences the results of the experiment
what is an experimental design
the way in which ppts are allocated to the two conditions of the independent variable of the of them experiment
what is the meaning of an independent group design
there are different ppts in each group
what is the meaning of no order effects
no one gets better through practise or worse by being tired or bored
repeated measures design
the same ppts repeat the two conditions of the IV
matched pairs
every ppts in group A is matched with someone in group B based on their age, sex, wealth etc
people are paired of relative characteristics that suit the experiment
what does sampling mean
the method used to select people from the population to take part in the experiment
generalisability meaning
the extent to which we can apply the findings of our research to the target population
biased sampling meaning
when certain groups are over/ under represented within one sample
random sampling meaning
every person in the target population has an equal chance of being selected
adv of random sampling
removes researcher bias
fair selection
disadv of random sampling
time and cost to produce a list of the population
chosen ppts might refuse to take part
systematic sampling meaning
every nth member (e.g every 5th member)
adv of systematic sampling
no bias
representative of the population
disadv of systematic sampling
time, effort and money to produce
stratified sampling meaning
divides population into sections, each representing a key group that should presented in the final sample
e.g if the pop is more males then the sample should include more males than females
adv of stratified sampling
represents population well
no bias
disadv of stratified sampling
very time consuming
opportunity sampling meaning
taking people who are there at that moment and using them in the investigation
adv of opportunity sampling
quick and easy
disadv of opportunity sampling
bias
not representative of the population
volunteer sampling meaning
self-selected
e.g could be from an advert
what does ethics mean
a conflict of interest between the researcher and the participants rights
informed consent
ppts are aware of the aims of the research and their rights
however this means participants behaviour will not be natural
ppts should be sent a consent form detailing all information that may affect their decision
deception
deliberately misleading or withholding information from ppts
this means behaviour may be more natural
ppts should be aware of the true aims of the research and what their data will be used for
protection from harm
ppts aren’t at anymore risk than they would be in everyday life
protected from physical and psychological harm
privacy and confidentiality
can control what information about themselves is used in the research
what is the BPS code of conduct
ethical guidelines for all psychological researchers to follow
what is a pilot study?
an initial run through of the procedure which is helpful to identify any issues
it may test validity, instructions, debriefs etc
they DO NOT test the results of the investigation only the procedures
what is a briefing and debriefing statement
a briefing statement is given to the ppts before the research is carried out outlining the investigation
a debriefing statement is given to the ppts after the research is carried out
controlled observation
conditions are manipulated by the researcher
lab study
+ high levels of control
+ study can be replicated
- demand characteristics
- artificial environment means low ecological validity
naturalistic observations
no manipulation of variables natural environment \+ less cost/ time \+ real world environment means high ecological validity - impossible to replicate - low control over extraneous variables
covert observation
ppts unaware the are part of the study public environment \+ removes demand characteristics \+ high validity for natural behaviour - ethical issues as no informed consent so a debriefing statement would be used - difficult to set up/ find behaviour
overt observation
know they are being observed and have given informed consent
+ ethical as informed consent in advance
- demand characteristics
participant observation
researcher joins ppts to get first hand account
+ high validity as researcher has insight into behaviour
- lose objectivity
non-participant observation
remains separate from ppts
+ less risk of losing objectivity
- may lose valuable insight
correlations
the relationship between the x and y variables
positive = right, neg = left
strong = close together, weak = far apart
interview
ppts give information in response to direct questions asked by the interviewer
questionnaire
ppts give information in response to questions that are sent out to them eg. post, online
open questions
questions are answered with no direction. you can give long answers and gives qualitative data (non numerical answers)
closed questions
yes or no, likehurt scales, set answers. quantitative data that can be numerical and put into graphs
