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Psychology Year 12 > Research Methods > Flashcards

Research Methods Flashcards

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1
Q

The Experimental Method

A
  • Aims are stated
  • There are two or more levels of the independent variable (IV), manipulated by the experimenter
  • The effect is measured on a dependent variable (DV), which is operationalised
  • Extraneous variables are controlled and procedures are standardised
  • The hypothesis states the relationship between the IV and DV
  • Casual conclusions can be drawn
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2
Q

Control of Variables

A
  • Confounding variables vary systematically with the IV, thus any changes in the DV may be due to a confounding variable instead of the IV
  • Extraneous variables are nuisance variables and make it harder to detect change in the DV
  • Mundane realism is the extent to which features of a study mirror the real world
  • Generalisation-findings from a study may lack generalisability if the materials or environment lack mundane realism or if participants know they are being studied
  • Validity= legitimacy, genuineness
  • Internal Validity- enhanced by control of confounding variables, high mundane realism
  • External Validity- generalising to other situations (ecological validity), people (population validity) and historical periods (historical validity)
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3
Q

Hypothesis

A
  • Directional hypothesis states more, less, higher, lower etc
  • Non-directional hypothesis does not state the direction of the difference
  • State direction if indicated by past research
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4
Q

Pilot Study

A
  • A Pilot Study is a trial run with similar participants to test procedures and amend them if necessary
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5
Q

Confederates

A
  • Confederates are directed by a researcher to play certain roles in a study
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6
Q

Sampling

A
  • A small group of people selected from a population
  • Opportunity sample= recruit those easily available
    + easy because participants are there
    • biased
  • Random sample= using a random technique e.g. lottery method or a random number generator
    + unbiased
    • takes time
  • Stratified sample= identify relevant subgroups, randomly select appropriate proportion from each subgroups
    + proportional, representative and unbiased
    • time consuming
  • Systematic sample= selecting every nth person
    + unbiased
    • not truly random
  • Volunteer sample= people respond to an advertisement
    + variety of participants
    • volunteer bias
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7
Q

Ethical Issues- Researcher:

A
  • Informed consent= may give away the aims of the study
  • Deception= acceptable when information withheld, less acceptable then dishonest
  • The right to withdraw= biases the sample
  • Protection from psychological and physical harm= difficult to guarantee because it is unpredictable
  • Confidentiality- publication of findings may reveal the identify even if anonymous
  • Privacy- hard to protect when participants studied without their awareness
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8
Q

Ethical Issues- Participants:

A
  • Informed consent= basic human right based on knowing what is involved
  • Deception= prevents informed consent, may distrust psychologists in the future
  • The right to withdraw= compensates for situations involving deception
  • Protection from psychological and physical harm= risks should be no greater than everyday life
  • Confidentiality= a legal right (the data protection act)
  • Privacy= even in a public place people may not wish to be observed
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9
Q

Dealing with ethical issues:

A
  • Ethical guidelines= tell psychologists what is acceptable
    + rules and sanctions approach offers clarity
    • can not cover everything
    • closes off discussion
    • absolves researcher responsibility
  • Cost- benefit analysis= judged from the participant’s perspective or perspective of society
    • can not predict costs/benefits beforehand
    • just creates new dilemmas (Baumrind)
  • Ethics committees= approve studies based on cost-benefit considerations
  • Punishment= may be barred from work as a psychologist
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10
Q

Dealing with specific ethical issues:

A
  • Informed consent= sign a form, presumptive consent, the right to withdraw
    • -> participants may not understand what is actually involved
    • -> presumptive consent is a hypothetical agreement is different from real agreement
  • Deception= debriefing is required and the right to withhold data
    • -> debriefing can not turn the clock back, the harm is already done
  • The right to withdraw= part of informed consent
    • -> participants may feel that they can not
  • Protection from harm= researcher can stop the study
    • -> may only be apparent with hindsight
  • Confidentiality= maintain anonymity
    • -> people may work out identity
  • Privacy= only acceptable in a public place
    • -> lack of universal agreement about what counts as public
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11
Q

Experimental design:

A
  • Repeated design- each participant is tested twice/ experiences both levels of the IV
    • order effects (e.g. practice or boredom)
    • may guess the aims of the study
      + can counterbalance
  • Independent groups- each participant is only tested on one level of the IV
    • participant variables not controlled
    • need more participants
      + can use random allocation
  • Matched pairs- each participant is paired with another participant, each pair receives both levels of the IV
    • matching takes time
    • may not account for all variables that matter
      + good compromise
  • Counterbalancing- each condition is tested first or second in equal amounts, could be AB or BA or ABBA
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12
Q

Laboratory Experiments:

A

Laboratory Experiments- study with an IV and DV, conducted in the controlled environment. The IV may be contrived and thus reduce the mundane realism.
+ high internal validity
- usually aware of being studied
- operationalised of IV or DV may have low mundane realism
- participants may feel uncomfortable in the setting

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13
Q

Field Experiment:

A

Field Experiment- study with an IV and DV conducted in a more natural environment. The IV may be contrived and thus reduce mundane realism
+ usually not aware of being studied
+ more natural setting, so more relaxed
- Operationalisation of IV or DV may have low mundane realism
- difficult to control extraneous variables
- difficult to debrief

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14
Q

Natural Experiment:

A

Natural Experiment- the IV is natural insofar as it varies whether or not the researcher is there. The DV may be measured in a lab.
+ used where the IV can not be manipulated for ethical or practical reasons
+ can study ‘real’ problems
- can not demonstrate casual relationships
- random allocation is not possible, so low internal validity
- can only be used with existing conditions
- participants may be aware of being studied
- Operationalisation of DV may have low mundane realism

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15
Q

Quasi Experiment:

A

Quasi Experiment- the IV is not a variable, it is a condition that exists such as age or having an external locus of control

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16
Q

Problems with Experiments:

A

Demand Characteristics- cues in an experimental situation that convey hypothesis to participants, creating expectations of how to behave
Investigator effects- unconscious cues from investigator that affect participant’s performance other than what was intended, including indirect effects e.g. investigator experimental design effects
Single blind or double blind trials- minimise these problems

17
Q

Observational Techniques:

A

Naturalistic observations- everything is left as it is normally, in an everyday setting
+ realistic picture, high in ecological validity
- little control, which makes conclusions difficult
Controlled observations- researcher regulates aspects of the environment
+ useful for focusing on particular behaviours
- behaviour may be less natural
Overt observations- participants aware that they are being observed, whereas not aware during a covert observation (may be informed afterwards)
- affects naturalness of behaviour, demand characteristics
Participant observations- observer is part of group being observed, whereas in non-participant observation observer watches from a psychological and probably physical distance
+ more objective
- likely to be covert, so ethical issues

18
Q

Observational Design:

A

Unstructured observations- observer records everything
Structured observations- a system is used
Behavioural categories- target behaviour divided into individual behaviours that can be clearly identified e.g. smile showing teeth rather than being happy
Sampling procedures- record events (event sampling) or record behavioural categories at time intervals (time sampling)

19
Q

Self-report Techniques:

A

Questionnaire- data collected through written, fixed questions
+ collect data from large number of people
- people may be more willing to reveal confidential information than in an interview
- can only be filled in by people who can write and have the time, biased sample
Structured interview- questionnaire delivered face-to-face or over phone; in real-time
+ can be repeated exactly (as can a questionnaire) good for making comparisons between people
+ good for analysis
- may lack comparability between interviewers
- interviewer bias
Unstructured questionnaire- may start with some predetermined questions and further questions developed in response to answers given
+ more detailed information
- more issues with interviewer skills and bias, more expensive because of training needed
- in-depth questions lack objectivity
- interviewer bias

20
Q

Self-report design:

A

Clarity of questions- avoid ambiguity, double negatives, double-barreled questions
Bias- avoid leading questions and social desirability bias
Analysis- use closed or open questions
Open Questions
+respondents can expand answers, more detail provided
+ unexpected answers, new insights
- respondents may not give full answers
- may be difficult to analyse
Closed Questions
+ mainly quantitave data produced, easier to analyse and draw conclusions
+ procedures can be easily repeated, to confirm findings
- no causal relationship demonstrated
- people may act on erroneous causal conclusions, which may be dangerous
- apparent correlations may be due to intervening variables
- measurement of variables may lack validity or poor sampling may mean low generalisability
Other considerations- filler questions, leave anxiety-provoking questions until later, consider sampling technique, run a pilot study
Recording interviews- writing down answers may make interviewee feel evaluated
Effect of interviewer- non-verbal cues (e.g. crossing arms), listening skills (e.g. regulating comments)
Questioning skills in unstructured interview- how and what questions to ask (e.g. not too probing or repetitive)

21
Q

Correlations:

A

Correlations- an analysis of association between continuous co-variables
Positive correlation- dots on scattergram from bottom left to top right, co-variables increase together
Negative correlation- top left to bottom right, as one co-variable increases the other decreases
Zero correlation- no significant association
Correlation Hypothesis can be directional (positive or negative correlation) or null (zero correlation)
A correlation coefficient is a number between +1 and -1 to show the strength of the correlation
Evaluations:
+ can investigate trends, which may justify further investigations or may rule out any causal link
+ procedures can be easily repeated, to confirm findings
- no causal relationships demonstrated
- people may act on erroneous causal conclusions, which may be dangerous
- apparent correlations may be due to the intervening variables
- measurement of variables may lack validity or poor sampling may mean low generalisability

22
Q

Meta-analysis:

A

Meta-analysis= data analyzed from a review of studies sharing the same aim/hypothesis, effect size (dependent variable) may be produced
+ results from number of studies increases validity
+ balances out contradictory results and gives an overall figure
- studies may not be comparable

23
Q

Case Study:

A

Case Study= a detailed study of a single individual, institution or event using many different research methods
+ in-depth data overlooked using other methods
+ good for studying rare events/ behaviours
+ complex interactions can be studied
- unique characteristics
- may involve recollection of past events
- there is generally no ‘before’ comparison

24
Q

Content Analysis:

A

Content Analysis- form of indirect observation of the artefacts people produce
+ based on real events, high ecological validity
+ easily replicated if data is public
- may suffer from observer bias

25
Q

Scientific Process and Peer Review:

A
  • Assessing the quality of research (peer review) is part of the process of science
  • Allocation of research funding- ensure it is spent on high-quality research
  • Research is academic journals and books- prevent incorrect data from being published
  • Research rating of university departments- determined by REF peer review
  • Online journals (e.g. Philica) policed by ‘wisdom of crowds’
    Evaluation:
  • Finding an expert- for some topics there are not suitable peers
  • Anonymity- may help bury rival research
  • Publication bias- journals prefer to publish positive results
  • Status quo- preference against research that challenged accepted theories
  • Fraudulent research- remains in public domain
26
Q

Psychology and the Economy:

A

Economic psychology researches the effects of social, cognitive and emotional factors on economical decisions
Kahneman’s research into irrational thinking has changed may aspects of professional life e.g. juries, business
Examples of irrational thinking- availability heuristic, framing effect
Social change- e.g. use social norms to reduce drink driving
Improving memory- e.g. the cognitive interview reduces police costs
Attachment- understanding the importance of emotional care in infancy promotes a healthy adult population
Mental Health- research on dementia and drug therapies saves money in an area of vast expenditure
Biopsychology- neuropsychology helps to build smart, money-saving machines

27
Q

Displays of Quantitave Data:

A
  • Tables and graphs must have a title and clear labels
  • Tables may contain measures of central tendency and dispersion
  • Bar chart- height of bar represents frequency, data on x-axis may not be continuous
  • Histograms- represents frequency of continuous data, true zero and bars next to each other
  • Line graph- frequency represented by a line rather than bars
  • Scattergram- shows correlation between co-variables
28
Q

Data Distubutions:

A
  • Normal Distribution- symmetrical bell-shaped curve; mean, median and mode at mid-point; about 68% of people are one standard deviation above and below the mid-point, 95% within two standard deviations from the mid-point
  • Positive skew- tail to the right, occurs e.g. when test too hard
  • Negative skew- tail to left, occurs e.g. when a test is too easy
29
Q

Types of Data:

A

Quantitave data- numerical e.g. measuring a dependent variables, answers to closed questions
+ easy to analyse, and draw conclusions
- may oversimplify reality
Qualitative data- can not be directly counted, non-numerical e.g. answers to open questions
+ detailed and possibly unexpected information
- more difficult to draw conclusions
Primary data- collected by the researcher for current study, involves the design of a study to collect data.
+ controlled by researcher and suits the needs of the study
- time consuming to design and collect so it is expensive
Secondary data- using data collected for a previous study e.g. government statistics
+ saves time and money
+ may already have been subject to statistical testing
- may not fit the exact needs of the study

30
Q

Statistical Testing:

A
  • When we use the test- the sign test is used with paired or related data
  • How to calculate the test- represent each pair of data with plus or minus, calculated value of S= least frequent sign
  • Look up critical value of S- need to know N and whether one-tailed test (directional hypothesis) and two-tailed test (non-directional hypothesis)
  • Conclusion- if calculated value is less than or equal to critical value, the difference is significant
  • Probability level of 5% is commonly used
31
Q

Maths Skills:

A
  • Fractions- numerator and denominator, can be reduced to simplest form by dividing both by the lowest common denominator
  • Percentage is out of 100, can convert to a fraction by writing number/100 and reducing it to the simplest form.
  • Can convert a fraction to a percentage by dividing denominator by numerator and move decimal place two places to the right.
  • Ratios can be part-to-part (e.g. 4:1) or part-to-whole (e.g. 4:5), can reduce to the simplest form or change to a fraction
  • Estimate results- round your numbers up or down to produce a sum you can do in your head and then add the zeros
  • Significant figures- refers to the number of important digits used to represent a number
  • ## Order of magnitude- show number by giving one or two significant figures and powers of 10, e.g. 5.4 x 10^4 or 3.6 x 10^-3 which are 540,000 and 0.0036
32
Q

Measures of Central Tendency:

A

Mean- add up all numbers and divide by N. Ratios and interval data only
+ most sensitive because uses exact distances
- distorted by extreme values
- not appropriate for nominal data or discrete values
Median- order all numbers and select the mid-point. Ratio, interval and ordinal data
+ not affected by extreme values
+ appropriate for ordinal data
+ can be easier to calculate than the mean
- not as sensitive as mean
Mode- most common value or group. May be bi-modal. Can be used with all levels of measurement.
+ unaffected by extreme values
+ more useful for discrete data
+ useful for nominal data
- not good where many modal groups
- tells nothing about other values/distrubution

33
Q

Measures of Dispersion:

A

Range- subtract the lowest from the highest and add a correction of 1.
+ easy to calculate
- affected by extreme numbers
- does not reflect data distribution
Standard Deviation- average distance between each number and the mean.
+ takes exact values
- can be easily calculated with a calculator
- may be affected by extreme values

Psychology Year 12 (3 decks)

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