Research Methods

Question 1

experiment

Answer 1

assess cause and effect relationship between independent and dependent variable

Question 2

strengths of experiments

Answer 2

+ only research method that can establish cause and effect- scientific

+ likely to be high in internal validity- researcher manipulating IV and controlling extraneous variables

Question 3

weaknesses of experiments

Answer 3

• lower in external validity- don’t normally represent real life
• Ps know they’re taking part- social desirability and demand characteristics

Question 4

quasi-experiments

Answer 4

not a ‘true’ experiment- researcher hasn’t deliberately manipulated IV and Ps not randomly allocated to experimental/control condition

Question 5

natural experiment

Answer 5

research doesn’t deliberately manipulate IV- use ‘naturally occurring’ IV

Question 6

strengths of quasi/natural experiments

Answer 6

+ researchers can investigate IVs that would be unethical to manipulate on purpose

+ some IVs can’t be manipulated- but quasi experiments allow us to ‘scientifically’ investigate differences

Question 7

weaknesses of quasi/natural experiments

Answer 7

• researcher cannot claim for certain that any change in IV caused any changes in DV- confounding variables
• low levels of population validity- may be differences in nature of Ps and general public

Question 8

strengths of observational studies

Answer 8

+ see ACTUAL behaviour instead of just asking people about how they think they would behave

Question 9

weaknesses of observational studies

Answer 9

• you can’t observe people’s thoughts, attitudes and feeling etc
• ethical issues- if those being observed are unaware of being observed

Question 10

participant observations

Answer 10

observers are part of group being observed

Question 11

strengths of participant observations

Answer 11

+ increase validity- researcher sees first-hand behaviour

+ researcher may end up finding out information they didn’t know existed

Question 12

weaknesses of participant observations

Answer 12

• observer bias- researcher’s expectations affect their perception of events- subjective
• difficult for researcher to accurately record behaviours- may be overwhelmed by information

Question 13

non-participant observations

Answer 13

observer is watching/listening to behaviour of others

Question 14

strengths of non-participant observations

Answer 14

+ easier for researcher to accurately record behaviours than in participant observation

+ more objective than participant observations

Question 15

weaknesses of non-participant observations

Answer 15

• validity may decrease as researcher is removed from actual behaviour- may miss finer details
• Ps more likely to know they’re being observed- social desirability + demand characteristics

Question 16

content analysis

Answer 16

kind of observational study- behaviour is observed indirectly in written/verbal artefacts

Question 17

strengths of content analysis

Answer 17

+ high ecological validity- observing what people actually do

+ findings can be replicated

Question 18

weaknesses of content analysis

Answer 18

• observer bias reduces objectivity and validity of findings- different observers may interpret the meaning of behavioural categories differently
• purely descriptive method- may not reveal underlying motives for an observed pattern