research methods

Question 1

What is an experimental method?

Answer 1

Experimental methods involved the manipulation of variables to establish cause and effect relationships and where a hypothesis is scientifically tested.

Question 2

What is the difference between a directional and a non-directional hypothesis?

Answer 2

Directional hypothesis: Predicts the direction of the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable , for example “ Children who listen to loud music will perform worse on a test than children who listen to relaxing music”

Non-directional hypothesis: The independent variable will have an effect on the dependent variable however the direction is not specified. For example, “ There will be a difference between the performance level of the children depending on what music they listen to”

Question 3

What is a lab experiment and what are some pros and cons of it?

Answer 3

A lab experiment is conducted under highly controlled conditions and study behaviour in a very standardised procedure.
The researcher will have all control of variables and participants will be randomly allocated to conditions to avoid bias.

+ Replicable , making the experiment/hypothesis if found true to be more reliable
+ Allow precise control of extraneous variables which may effect the results, more validity
+ Allow the establishment of a cause and effect relationship

X Artificial settings are not reflective of real life behaviours, therefore has a low ecological validity (lacks mundane realism)
X Demand characteristic may affect how the participants behave, may not be an accurate measurement of how they would actually behave

Question 4

What is a field experiment, state the pros and cons.

Answer 4

A field experiment is an experiment conducted in every day life of participants. The experimenter is still responsible for manipulating the IV but do not have full control over extraneous variables.

+ The natural environment are more likely to reflect real life behaviours as they are unaware they are being studied
+ Less likelihood of demand characteristics for the same reason

X Less control over extraneous variables which may bias and effect the results
X Harder to replicate

Question 5

What is a natural experiment, list the pros and cons.

Answer 5

A natural experiment is conducted in everyday live, but the experimenter has no control over the independent variable as it occurs naturally.

+ Very high ecological validity due to its natural settings
+ Less likely hood of demand characteristics as participants are unaware they are being studied
+ Can be used to research unethical situations as the IV they wish to study has already occurred

X No control over extraneous variables so it if difficult to replicate

Question 6

What is a Quasai experiment?

Answer 6

Research where the investigator can’t randomly assign participants to conditions, control the IV and limit the influence the extraneous variables.
They use pre-existing groups

Question 7

What is a participant observation and what are the pros and cons?

Answer 7

Participant observation is a variant of a natural observation where the researcher will join in directly with the group being studied.
This can occur in cover (undercover) or overt (researcher asks permission to observe)

+ Allows insight deep in cultures and has high ecological validity as the researcher is looking from the groups perspective

X If the researcher becomes too involved with the group it could lead to potential bias that will affect the results
X Difficult to get time and privacy for recording as covert studies require note taking and videoing under cover

Question 8

What is a controlled observation?

Answer 8

A structured observation conducted in laboratory settings where the researcher will decide where it takes place, what time and what participants as it is a highly standardised procedure.
They will operationalise distinct behaviours into categories and record behaviour based on these, e.g Mary Ainsworth.

+ Easy to replicate + test for reliability
+ Quantitate data = More objective and easier to analysis

X Lacks validity due to mundane realism and demand characteristics as participants are aware they are being observed
X Lacks generalisability as a result

Question 9

What is a natural observation?

Answer 9

A natural observation is studying/observing behaviours in a natural environment where all relevant behaviour is recorded and usually a pilot study is conducted beforehand so what behaviours need to be recorded can be set beforehand.

+Greater ecological validity than a controlled observation
+Generates new ideas like case studies

=Less reliable due to not being able to control extraneous variables and therefore hard to repeat
=Cannot establish cause and effect as a result

Question 10

What is a participant observation?

Answer 10

An observation conduced where the researcher joins in the group . This can be covert (undercover) or overt (researcher asks premission to observe)

+High ecological validity as the observer gains direct insight in the shoes of the people being observed

=Difficult to have time to record and observe behaviours, recording may blow their cover
=If researcher becomes too involved, they may develop biased ideas

Question 11

How is data classified in observations?

Answer 11

Event sampling: What type of behaviour/events are in interest and what is not needed to be recorded

Time sampling: What time periods should samples be taken and how often should this occur?

Question 12

What does correlation mean?

Answer 12

The extent to which two variables are related/ effect each other.

Question 13

What is correlational analysis and how can you represent correlational data?

Answer 13

Correlational analysis is testing a hypothesis by using an association between two variables and this can be represented by a scatter graph or a correlation coefficent.

Question 14

What are the strengths and weaknesses of correlational analysis?

Answer 14

+ Allows the analysis of situations that cannot be experimentally measured
+ Develops analyse and predict casual relationships between two variables

= Correlation does not always mean causation
= Confounding variables may influence correlation

Question 15

What is a questionnaire?

Answer 15

A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions for the purpose of gathering information which can use both open and closed questions.

+Researcher does not need to be present to gather the data so it is useful in gathering insight on large populations

=Can be inaccurate due to social desirability bias

Question 16

What are the differences between open and closed questions?

Answer 16

Open: Allow people to express how they feel in their own words and in detail providing rich qualitative data.
+Allows more flexible information than closed questions and can be used for more complex situations
=Harder to analyse experimentally

Closed: Answers consist of pre-decided categories, nominal or ordinal data
+Provides a large amount of data that can be easily converted to quantitive data
=Lacks detail and hard to understand for more complex situations

Question 17

What are interviews?

Answer 17

Interviews are a directed conversation between a researcher and client/participant which aims to gain information for the purposes of research, diagnosis or treatment.

Question 18

What are the differences between structured and unstructured interviews?

Answer 18

Structured interviews use closed-end questions with an interview schedule with a standardised format which will not be deviated from.
+Easy to replicate and therefore can be test for replicability
+ Easy to conduct on a large sample as the same standardised format is used hence more information
=Not flexible to all situations as the format cannot be changed
=Lacks detail so the researcher way not know why a person acts a specific way as they cannot ask further

Unstructured interviews do not follow a specific schedule and asks open ended questions based on a specific research topics which attempts to flow like a natural conversation and gain detailed quantitative data.
+More fliexible as questions can be adapted and changed, therefore more in depth data therefore increased validity
=Time consuming as each interview has to be conducted for a longer time and you have to be more specialised

Question 19

What is a focus group interview?

Answer 19

A focus group interview is when respondents are interviewed together to gain an understanding of social issues and these people are purposely chosen for this event.
+Generate detailed qualitative data with different contributing ideas and increased validity
=Social desirability and conformity may affect the results therefore inaccurate

Question 20

What is an independent measures design?

Answer 20

Different participants are allocated to each condition of the independent variable meaning each condition will contain a different group.
These groups are chosen randomly, equal chance of being chosen.

+Avoids order effects on participants as participants only appear in one condition each
=Individual differences may affect results such as the variation of age, ethnicity

Question 21

What is a repeated measures design?

Answer 21

The same participants will appear in each condition of the IV meaning each condition will have the same group of participants.
+No individual differences can effect results
=Order effects, they may preform better as they know what is coming

Order effects can be decreased by alternating the order which participants preform in different conditions, counter balancing

Question 22

What is a matched pairs design?

Answer 22

Pairs of participants are matched in terms of key variables where one member of each pair is placed in an experimental group and another one is placed in a control group
+Reduces individual differences greatly as they are matched for a trait and avoids order effects
=One person dropping out can loose both the data

Question 23

What is the difference between quantitative data and qualitative data?

Answer 23

Quantitative data is information regarding numbers whereas qualitative data is descriptive information that cannot be measured with numbers.

Question 24

What did the BPS state about psychological research?

Answer 24

The BPS stated that psychological research should benefit the economy in a substantial way which can be applied to every day life and benefit society.

Question 25

What must you consider when thinking about economical implications?

Answer 25

Who will benefit from the research? What does it mean for society? Can the research be used in a higher setting?

Question 26

What are investigator effects?

Answer 26

The effect of the investigator which causes experimental bias which was not intended for the experiment which can be unconscious or conscious.

Question 27

What are some examples of things that can cause investigator effects?

Answer 27

Physical characteristics: Age, ethnicity, gender
Less personal characteristics: Stern voice, unfriendly attire
Being biased from previous research that they have conducted therefore know what to expect

Question 28

What is a single blind procedure?

Answer 28

Participants are unaware what conditions they are in to eliminate demand characteristics

Question 29

What are questionnaires?

Answer 29

Questionnaires are a set of questions with instructions on how to answer and can be used to explain/investigate a variety of things such as personality.
Can consist of fixed choices such as yes or no or more open ended questions

Question 30

What are considerations you must take when making a questionaire?

Answer 30

+ Must be short to the point to avoid people dropping out
+ Use previous questionnaires as a basis to develop a new one
+ Pilot study to identify any problems
+ Consider the values for the likert scale that would work the best

Question 31

What is peer review?

Answer 31

Peer review is a part of a verification process where research is deemed to be scientifically acceptable or not and wether they can be published by scientific journels or not.

Question 32

What is involved in a peer review process?

Answer 32

1) Author will present a specific piece of research
2) Editor will send a copy to a peer (Someone who is in the same field of research)
3) Checks manuscript for validity and assess its validity
4) Paper is accepted and published, put into a data base and accessible for everyone

Question 33

What is difference between a single bind and double bind peer review?

Answer 33

Single bind: The names of the reviewer are not revealed

Double bind: Both the researcher and reviewer will not be revealed to each other to prevent bias

Question 34

What is an open review?

Answer 34

An open review is when both the reviewer and researcher are both openly discussing their research to each other to allow honest reviewing and less likely to to reduce the risk of personal comments and plagiarism.

Question 35

What does the parliamentary office of science and technology suggest about the purpose of peer review?

Answer 35

Has three main purposes to allocate..

1) Allocation with research funding
2) Publication of research in scientific journels and books
3) Assess the research rating of university departments

Question 36

What are the strengths of peer review?

Answer 36

+ Allows anonymity methods to prevent bias and allow objectivity and anonymity when reviewing research
+ Prevent the publication of inaccurate and faulty research that could disadvantage certain groups of people
+ Open review allow more honest and critical reviews to provide the best research and prevent plagiarism
+ The reviewing is conducted by peers, who are specialists in what they are reviewing hence more reliability

Question 37

What are some weaknesses of peer review?

Answer 37

+ When appropriate researchers are not available for peer review less qualified people may review which could lead to the publishing of faulty or not perfect research
+ Journals tend to mainly want to publish positive research that goes with an existing theory rather than one which will clash with it
+ Cannot help with altering already published research

Question 38

What is content analysis?

Answer 38

The process which presentations of behaviour or qualitative data from self reports/media are analysed to identify specific coding units and explain trends.

Question 39

Outline the process of content analysis

Answer 39

1) Researcher will establish aims and hypothesis
2) Researcher will familiarise themselves with the data
3) Identify coding units which fit with the question/what the research is looking for
4) Once coding units and confirmed, researcher will reanalyse the data and identify examples of each code

Question 40

Evaluate content analysis

Answer 40

+ Allows the analysis of many forms of data so that insights on to social and cultural trends can be analysed
= The identification of codes to fit a hypothesis is subjective, what one person sees to fit the hypothesis may not fit with another persons view due to personal experiences

Question 41

What is thematic analysis?

Answer 41

Also a qualitative analysis method which report themes within data by identifying patterns via data coding however is more in-depth than content analysis as it understands the context in a deeper lvl.