research methods Flashcards
when carrying out research scientists can use _______ or _______ methods
primary or secondary
what are primary methods
the psychologists carries out research first hand for their own purpose
what are secondary methods
the psychologists makes use of existing information that was collected for someone else’s purposes
primary & secondary methods can produce either ________ or________ data
quantitative, qualitative
what is quantitative data and give an example
data in numerical form e.g. government statistics
what is qualitative data and give an example
data in non numerical form e.g. newspaper art
what is an aim
a statement of intention (what the researcher wants to investigate)
what is a hypothesis
a testable statement that predicts the relationship between variables
a hypothesis can either be _______ or ________
directional or non directional
what is a directional hypothesis and how do we know if a hypothesis is directional
directional - states the direction of the relationship
a hypothesis will be directional if there is existing research correlated to the experiment
what is a non directional hypothesis and how do we know if a hypothesis is non directional
non directional - does not state the direction of the relationship
we know a hypothesis is non directional when there is no existing research correlated to the study
a directional hypothesis can also be referred to as ____ tailed
one
a non directional hypothesis can also be referred to as ____ tailed
two
what is the independent variable
the variable we change
what is the dependent variable
the variable we measure
define operationalisation
clearly defining variables in a way they can be measured
why is operationalisation important
allows research to be replicated + means research is accurate
the ability to be repeated and give the same results can be defined as …..
reliability i.e. consistency
measuring what you intended to measure can be defined as …..
validity i.e. accuracy
what are extraneous variables
any variable , other than the IV but NOT linked to the study, that MIGHT impact the DV
what are confounding variables
any variable , other than the IV but LINKED to the study, that WILL impact the DV
name two possible extraneous variables
noise outside or around the experiment
temperature of room e.g. too hot or too cold
name two possible confounding variables
shy participants
tiredness
what are demand characteristics
cues that might reveal the purpose of the research to the participant, leading to them changing their behaviour
demand characteristics can lead to participants either trying to _______ or _______
overperform or underperform
what are investigator effects
the investigator unconsciously behaves in a way which gives cues to the participants or the instructions give away clues
what are the 4 ways of controlling research so it is not impacted by EV’S , CV’S , demand characteristics & investigator effects
standardisation
randomisation
single blind procedure
double blind procedure
what is standardisation
keeping conditions, environment , resources & instructions the same for all participants which minimises the influence of EV’s
what is randomisation
using chance and random selection wherever possible to minimise investigator effects as they are less in control so can give off less cues
what is single blind procedure
the researcher knows the aim and whose in which condition the participants don’t know which minimises demand characteristics
what is double blind procedure
neither researcher or participant know which condition they are in, there will be a third party to carry out the test without knowing the aim & minimises investigator effects
what is a pilot study
a small scale trial run of the research before the real thing
why do researchers carry out pilot studies give three reasons
to check the procedures work , to save time & money if it doesn’t, change anything they need to make better
who the researcher wants to study (the group) is known as
the population
populations can be very ___ & very ____
large, small
due to constraints on ___ , ____ & _____ researchers take a _____ of their population
time , money & access
sample
a sample is…..
a sub group of the population
what is a sampling frame
a list of all members of the population
what are the two categories sampling techniques are divided into
random & non random
in order for a sampling technique to be random …..
all members of the population have to have an equal chance of being selected (used if a sampling frame is available)
in order for a sampling technique to be non random …..
all members of a population have to not have an equal chance of being selected (used if a sampling frame is not available)
what sampling techniques are non random
opportunity & volunteer sampling
what sampling techniques are random
random, stratified & systematic sampling
which non random sampling technique relies on the participant approaching the researcher
volunteer sampling
which non random sampling technique relies on the researcher approaching the participants
opportunity sampling
random sampling is ….
when the participants are randomly picked out to participate in the experiment e.g. names in a hat pick at random
dividing the population into sub-categories then randomly selecting from each category until the sample reflects the population is known as….
stratified sampling
ethics refer to the ….
moral guidelines that state how participants of research should be treated
what is informed consent
participants know what they are agreeing to
what are the 3 alternatives to informed consent
prior general consent ( ask if they would partake in a study which involves deception ) presumptive consent ( ask others ) retrospective consent ( ask afterwards )
what are 4 ethical issues
protection from harm
privacy & confidentiality
deception
right to withdraw
what is protection from harm
participants are protected from physical , emotional & physiological harm
what is deception
lying or misleading a participant about the research (no informed consent)
give one way of ensuring privacy & confidentiality
pseudonyms
if informed consent is not obtained during briefing what must be done after the research
debriefing with full information
lab experiments take place in any ______ or _______ settings where the ___ is manipulated and the __ is measured
artificial or controlled
IV, DV
an example of a lab experiment is
Zimbardo’s Stanford prison experiment
what is internal validity
the experiment accurately measures what it intended to measure
what is external validity
accurately represents the real world
what are the pros of lab experiments
internal validity (accurate) replicable & reliable
what are the cons of lab experiments
artificial = low external validity
may produce DC’s and lack generalisability
field experiments take place in any _____, ______ setting where the ___ is manipulated and the __ is measured
natural , everyday
IV , DV
what is an example of a field experiment
Rosenhan’s ‘Sane in insane places’ experiment
what are the pros of field experiments
natural environment = generalisable & high in external validity
what are the cons of field experiments
low control = lacks internal validity & cannot be replicated
participants often unaware = ethical issues
natural experiments take place in either a _______ or a ________ environment but the ___ itself is naturally occurring and would change regardless of the researchers investigation
controlled, natural
IV
an example of a natural experiment is
Rutter’s Romanian orphanage study
what are the pros of a natural experiment
high external validity (often study real life issues)
can study issues it would be unethical to manipulate
what are the cons of a natural experiment
may be rare and ungeneralizable
lack of control - cant be sure the IV impacted the DV
Quasi experiments often occur in a _______ setting but the ___ is a naturally occurring difference between participants , this __ cant be _______
controlled , IV
IV , manipulated
what is a con of a quasi experiment
cant randomly allocate participants - harder to control EV’s & CV’s
what are the pros of a quasi experiment
control so has internal validity
replicable & reliable
what are the three different types of experimental design
Matched pairs
Independent groups
Repeated measures
what is a independent groups design
One group of ppts do the experimental condition
A different set of people then do the control condition
Researchers then compare the results
What is a repeated measures design
The same ppts do all conditions
The results are then compared
what is a matched pairs design
Match ppts in pairs on any factors important to our research e.g. personality , chattiness
Then divide the pairs so that one from each experiences one of the conditions
Compare the results
give three strengths of the independent groups design
Fewer materials needed
No order effects
Demand characteristics reduced
give two limitations of the independent groups design
Individual differences could be a confounding variable
More ppts needed than in repeated measures
give two strengths of the repeated measures design
Individual differences are eliminated
Fewer ppts needed than other designs (cost reduced)
Give three limitations of the repeated measures design
Order effects
Demand characteristics more likely
More materials are needed
give three strengths of the matched pairs design
No order effects
Individual differences are reduced
Fewer materials are needed
Give three limitations of the matched pairs design
More ppts needed than other designs
Time consuming
Individual differences reduced but not eliminated
What can be used to minimise order effects
Counterbalancing e.g. half ppts do A then B and ten half do B then A
what 3 components make up an observation
The setting
The involvement of the researcher
The knowledge of the participants
What are the 6 types of observation
Observations must have one from each section
Naturalistic or Controlled
Covert or Overt
Participant or Non- participant
What is a naturalistic observation (setting)
Happens in a ppt’s natural environment
(where they would have been anyway)
What is a controlled observation (setting)
Happens in an artificial setting
What is a covert observation (knowledge)
When participants are unaware that they are being watched
What is a overt observation (knowledge)
Participants are aware that they are being observed
What is a participant observation (researcher)
Researcher joins the group they are observing
what is a non participant observation (researcher)
Researcher does not join the group they are observing
A researcher secretly joins a religious cult to see if people are being brainwashed - what type of observation is this
Naturalistic , covert , participant
A researcher watches primary school children through a two way mirror in a playroom to investigate co-operation - what type of observation is this
Controlled , covert , non - participant
What is a strength of a naturalistic observation
Higher external validity as behaviour is studied in its natural setting - generalisable
What is a limitation of a naturalistic observation
Less control which makes it harder to replicate others - unreliable
what is a strength of a controlled observation
High levels of control means it is easy to replicate - reliable
What is a limitation of a controlled observation
Lower external validity - controlled setting may lead to less natural behaviour - ungeneralisible
What is a strength of a covert observation
Lower demand characteristics - participants unaware they are being observed - high internal validity
What is a limitation of a covert observation
Ethical concerns (deception)
what is a strength of an overt observation
More ethical than covert has informed consent
what is a limitation of a overt observation
Demand characteristics more likely to effect the results as they know they are being watched - so lacks internal validity
What is a strength of a participant observation
Greater insight into behaviours they are studying
What is a limitation of a participant observation
Researchers may become too attached and lose objectivity
What is a strength of a non participant observation
The researcher are objective and maintain a safe distance
What is a limitation of a non participant observation
Lose valuable insight gained from participant observation
The observer’s notes can either be _________ or __________
Structured , unstructured
What is unstructured note taking
Writing down everything you see - only really possible for small scale interactions with few people
What is structured note taking
Involves making specific behavioural categories and tallying when you see them
Used for larger scale more complex interactions
What is event sampling
Tallying every time you see a target behaviour
what is time sampling
Tallying every time you see a behaviour within a time frame
What is inter observer reliability
Researchers improve the reliability of their results by having 2+ observers carry out the research - should use the same categories , observe same targets at same time - results compared
The more similar the results are the more reliable
We can conduct interviews over the ______ or ____ to _____
Phone
Face to face
Interviews can be ________ or _________
Structured
Unstructured
What is a structured interview
A preset list of standardised closed questions
What is a pro of a structured interview
Replicable / reliable
What is a con of a structured interview
Inability to deviate may limit validity
What is an unstructured interview
A general topic area the interviewer poses and engages in a conversation with the interviewer
What is a pro of an unstructured interview
Flexibility + builds rapport
What is a con of an unstructured interview
Analysis may be difficult
What is a group interview
Interviewing multiple people at once
What is a semi structured interview
Having preset list of questions but they are not standardised so the interviewer can deviate
What is a pro of primary data
Authentically obtained for the researchers own purpose
What is a con of primary data
Lengthy & costly for the researcher
What is a pro of secondary data
Inexpensive and easily accessible
What is a con of secondary data
May not be an exact match - could be outdated or incomplete
Closed , structured questions produce _______ data
Quantitative
Open , unstructured questions produce _________ data
Qualitative
Students rate their enjoyment of research methods on a scale of 1-10 - will this produce quantitative or qualitative data
Quantitative
A recovering patient describes his schizophrenia- will this produce quantitative or qualitative data
Qualitative
What is a pro of qualitative data
Rich & broad in detail offering higher external validity
What is a con of qualitative data
Analysed subjectively which is difficult & may produce bias
What is a pro of quantitative data
Easily, objectively analysed allowing for comparisons + representativeness
What is a con of quantitative data
Narrow & shallow, therefore may not reflect real life
A correlation is a technique used to …..
Establish an association between two variables - called co-variables
When a graph shows a ________ correlation one variable _________ ,so does the other
Positive
Increases
When a graph shows a ________ correlation one variable ________ while the other _________
Negative
Increases
Decreases
When a graph shows a ____ correlation there is no relationship between the __-_________
Zero
Co-variables
A _________ hypothesis is written with the same principles as an __________ hypothesis
Correlational
Experimental
(Either directional or non-directional )
What is the difference between an experiment and a correlation
E - IV manipulated , impact on DV measured , cause & effect established
C - no manipulation/ control , no cause & effect only relationship + association , may not account for intervening variables
What is a strength of correlations
Often the starting point for future casual research
What is a limitation of correlations
Correlation does not equal causation - two things can have a strong correlation but logically are not likely causal , a third intervening variable probably responsible
What is the accepted level of significance for the sign test
0.05
When is the sign test acceptable to use
There is difference (not relationship)
Repeated measures or matched pairs design
Categorical data (nominal) e.g. bar chart cannot put it in order
What is step 1 of the sign test
Identify whether the hypothesis is one tailed (directional) or two tailed (non-directional)
What is step 2 of the sign test
Calculate the sign for each participant (how many of the results increased or decreased after the experiment) whichever one you have fewer of is your S value (calculated value)
What is step 3 of the sign test
Calculate the N value (number of participants - any non-signs)
Non signs = no difference before or after experiment
What is step 4 of the sign test
Locate the critical value by using the level of probability (0.05) for the right hypothesis and the N value
In order for significance in a table to be shown the ___ value must be less than or equal to the ________ value
S
Critical
