research methods Flashcards
1
Q
when carrying out research scientists can use _______ or _______ methods
A
primary or secondary
2
Q
what are primary methods
A
the psychologists carries out research first hand for their own purpose
3
Q
what are secondary methods
A
the psychologists makes use of existing information that was collected for someone else’s purposes
4
Q
primary & secondary methods can produce either ________ or________ data
A
quantitative, qualitative
5
Q
what is quantitative data and give an example
A
data in numerical form e.g. government statistics
6
Q
what is qualitative data and give an example
A
data in non numerical form e.g. newspaper art
7
Q
what is an aim
A
a statement of intention (what the researcher wants to investigate)
8
Q
what is a hypothesis
A
a testable statement that predicts the relationship between variables
9
Q
a hypothesis can either be _______ or ________
A
directional or non directional
10
Q
what is a directional hypothesis and how do we know if a hypothesis is directional
A
directional - states the direction of the relationship
a hypothesis will be directional if there is existing research correlated to the experiment
11
Q
what is a non directional hypothesis and how do we know if a hypothesis is non directional
A
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
12
Q
a directional hypothesis can also be referred to as ____ tailed
A
one
13
Q
a non directional hypothesis can also be referred to as ____ tailed
A
two
14
Q
what is the independent variable
A
the variable we change
15
Q
what is the dependent variable
A
the variable we measure
16
Q
define operationalisation
A
clearly defining variables in a way they can be measured
17
Q
why is operationalisation important
A
allows research to be replicated + means research is accurate
18
Q
the ability to be repeated and give the same results can be defined as …..
A
reliability i.e. consistency
19
Q
measuring what you intended to measure can be defined as …..
A
validity i.e. accuracy
20
Q
what are extraneous variables
A
any variable , other than the IV but NOT linked to the study, that MIGHT impact the DV
21
Q
what are confounding variables
A
any variable , other than the IV but LINKED to the study, that WILL impact the DV
22
Q
name two possible extraneous variables
A
noise outside or around the experiment
temperature of room e.g. too hot or too cold
23
Q
name two possible confounding variables
A
shy participants
tiredness
24
Q
what are demand characteristics
A
cues that might reveal the purpose of the research to the participant, leading to them changing their behaviour
25
demand characteristics can lead to participants either trying to _______ or _______
overperform or underperform
26
what are investigator effects
the investigator unconsciously behaves in a way which gives cues to the participants or the instructions give away clues
27
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
28
what is standardisation
keeping conditions, environment , resources & instructions the same for all participants which minimises the influence of EV's
29
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
30
what is single blind procedure
the researcher knows the aim and whose in which condition the participants don't know which minimises demand characteristics
31
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
32
what is a pilot study
a small scale trial run of the research before the real thing
33
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
34
who the researcher wants to study (the group) is known as
the population
35
populations can be very ___ & very ____
large, small
36
due to constraints on ___ , ____ & _____ researchers take a _____ of their population
time , money & access
| sample
37
a sample is.....
a sub group of the population
38
what is a sampling frame
a list of all members of the population
39
what are the two categories sampling techniques are divided into
random & non random
40
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)
41
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)
42
what sampling techniques are non random
opportunity & volunteer sampling
43
what sampling techniques are random
random, stratified & systematic sampling
44
which non random sampling technique relies on the participant approaching the researcher
volunteer sampling
45
which non random sampling technique relies on the researcher approaching the participants
opportunity sampling
46
random sampling is ....
when the participants are randomly picked out to participate in the experiment e.g. names in a hat pick at random
47
dividing the population into sub-categories then randomly selecting from each category until the sample reflects the population is known as....
stratified sampling
48
ethics refer to the ....
moral guidelines that state how participants of research should be treated
49
what is informed consent
participants know what they are agreeing to
50
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 )
```
51
what are 4 ethical issues
protection from harm
privacy & confidentiality
deception
right to withdraw
52
what is protection from harm
participants are protected from physical , emotional & physiological harm
53
what is deception
lying or misleading a participant about the research (no informed consent)
54
give one way of ensuring privacy & confidentiality
pseudonyms
55
if informed consent is not obtained during briefing what must be done after the research
debriefing with full information
56
lab experiments take place in any ______ or _______ settings where the ___ is manipulated and the __ is measured
artificial or controlled
| IV, DV
57
an example of a lab experiment is
Zimbardo's Stanford prison experiment
58
what is internal validity
the experiment accurately measures what it intended to measure
59
what is external validity
accurately represents the real world
60
what are the pros of lab experiments
```
internal validity (accurate)
replicable & reliable
```
61
what are the cons of lab experiments
artificial = low external validity
| may produce DC's and lack generalisability
62
field experiments take place in any _____, ______ setting where the ___ is manipulated and the __ is measured
natural , everyday
| IV , DV
63
what is an example of a field experiment
Rosenhan's 'Sane in insane places' experiment
64
what are the pros of field experiments
natural environment = generalisable & high in external validity
65
what are the cons of field experiments
low control = lacks internal validity & cannot be replicated
participants often unaware = ethical issues
66
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
67
an example of a natural experiment is
Rutter's Romanian orphanage study
68
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
69
what are the cons of a natural experiment
may be rare and ungeneralizable
| lack of control - cant be sure the IV impacted the DV
70
Quasi experiments often occur in a _______ setting but the ___ is a naturally occurring difference between participants , this __ cant be _______
controlled , IV
| IV , manipulated
71
what is a con of a quasi experiment
cant randomly allocate participants - harder to control EV's & CV's
72
what are the pros of a quasi experiment
control so has internal validity
| replicable & reliable
73
what are the three different types of experimental design
Matched pairs
Independent groups
Repeated measures
74
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
75
What is a repeated measures design
The same ppts do all conditions
| The results are then compared
76
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
77
give three strengths of the independent groups design
Fewer materials needed
No order effects
Demand characteristics reduced
78
give two limitations of the independent groups design
Individual differences could be a confounding variable
| More ppts needed than in repeated measures
79
give two strengths of the repeated measures design
Individual differences are eliminated
| Fewer ppts needed than other designs (cost reduced)
80
Give three limitations of the repeated measures design
Order effects
Demand characteristics more likely
More materials are needed
81
give three strengths of the matched pairs design
No order effects
Individual differences are reduced
Fewer materials are needed
82
Give three limitations of the matched pairs design
More ppts needed than other designs
Time consuming
Individual differences reduced but not eliminated
83
What can be used to minimise order effects
Counterbalancing e.g. half ppts do A then B and ten half do B then A
84
what 3 components make up an observation
The setting
The involvement of the researcher
The knowledge of the participants
85
What are the 6 types of observation
Observations must have one from each section
Naturalistic or Controlled
Covert or Overt
Participant or Non- participant
86
What is a naturalistic observation (setting)
Happens in a ppt’s natural environment
| (where they would have been anyway)
87
What is a controlled observation (setting)
Happens in an artificial setting
88
What is a covert observation (knowledge)
When participants are unaware that they are being watched
89
What is a overt observation (knowledge)
Participants are aware that they are being observed
90
What is a participant observation (researcher)
Researcher joins the group they are observing
91
what is a non participant observation (researcher)
Researcher does not join the group they are observing
92
A researcher secretly joins a religious cult to see if people are being brainwashed - what type of observation is this
Naturalistic , covert , participant
93
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
94
What is a strength of a naturalistic observation
Higher external validity as behaviour is studied in its natural setting - generalisable
95
What is a limitation of a naturalistic observation
Less control which makes it harder to replicate others - unreliable
96
what is a strength of a controlled observation
High levels of control means it is easy to replicate - reliable
97
What is a limitation of a controlled observation
Lower external validity - controlled setting may lead to less natural behaviour - ungeneralisible
98
What is a strength of a covert observation
Lower demand characteristics - participants unaware they are being observed - high internal validity
99
What is a limitation of a covert observation
Ethical concerns (deception)
100
what is a strength of an overt observation
More ethical than covert has informed consent
101
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
102
What is a strength of a participant observation
Greater insight into behaviours they are studying
103
What is a limitation of a participant observation
Researchers may become too attached and lose objectivity
104
What is a strength of a non participant observation
The researcher are objective and maintain a safe distance
105
What is a limitation of a non participant observation
Lose valuable insight gained from participant observation
106
The observer’s notes can either be _________ or __________
Structured , unstructured
107
What is unstructured note taking
Writing down everything you see - only really possible for small scale interactions with few people
108
What is structured note taking
Involves making specific behavioural categories and tallying when you see them
Used for larger scale more complex interactions
109
What is event sampling
Tallying every time you see a target behaviour
110
what is time sampling
Tallying every time you see a behaviour within a time frame
111
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
112
We can conduct interviews over the ______ or ____ to _____
Phone
| Face to face
113
Interviews can be ________ or _________
Structured
| Unstructured
114
What is a structured interview
A preset list of standardised closed questions
115
What is a pro of a structured interview
Replicable / reliable
116
What is a con of a structured interview
Inability to deviate may limit validity
117
What is an unstructured interview
A general topic area the interviewer poses and engages in a conversation with the interviewer
118
What is a pro of an unstructured interview
Flexibility + builds rapport
119
What is a con of an unstructured interview
Analysis may be difficult
120
What is a group interview
Interviewing multiple people at once
121
What is a semi structured interview
Having preset list of questions but they are not standardised so the interviewer can deviate
122
What is a pro of primary data
Authentically obtained for the researchers own purpose
123
What is a con of primary data
Lengthy & costly for the researcher
124
What is a pro of secondary data
Inexpensive and easily accessible
125
What is a con of secondary data
May not be an exact match - could be outdated or incomplete
126
Closed , structured questions produce _______ data
Quantitative
127
Open , unstructured questions produce _________ data
Qualitative
128
Students rate their enjoyment of research methods on a scale of 1-10 - will this produce quantitative or qualitative data
Quantitative
129
A recovering patient describes his schizophrenia- will this produce quantitative or qualitative data
Qualitative
130
What is a pro of qualitative data
Rich & broad in detail offering higher external validity
131
What is a con of qualitative data
Analysed subjectively which is difficult & may produce bias
132
What is a pro of quantitative data
Easily, objectively analysed allowing for comparisons + representativeness
133
What is a con of quantitative data
Narrow & shallow, therefore may not reflect real life
134
A correlation is a technique used to …..
Establish an association between two variables - called co-variables
135
When a graph shows a ________ correlation one variable _________ ,so does the other
Positive
| Increases
136
When a graph shows a ________ correlation one variable ________ while the other _________
Negative
Increases
Decreases
137
When a graph shows a ____ correlation there is no relationship between the __-_________
Zero
| Co-variables
138
A _________ hypothesis is written with the same principles as an __________ hypothesis
Correlational
Experimental
(Either directional or non-directional )
139
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
140
What is a strength of correlations
Often the starting point for future casual research
141
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
142
What is the accepted level of significance for the sign test
0.05
143
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
144
What is step 1 of the sign test
Identify whether the hypothesis is one tailed (directional) or two tailed (non-directional)
145
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)
146
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
147
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
148
In order for significance in a table to be shown the ___ value must be less than or equal to the ________ value
S
| Critical
