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A Level Psychology > Research Methods > Flashcards

Research Methods Flashcards

1
Q

What types of variables are there (4)

A
  • independent
  • dependent
  • extraneous
  • confounding
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2
Q

What is the independent variable

A
  • variable that the researcher manipulates in order to determine effects on the dependent variable
  • may be divided into levels, sometimes referred to as experimental conditions
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3
Q

What is the controlled condition

A
  • a standard against which the experimental conditions can be compared to
  • IV is not manipulated at all
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4
Q

What is the dependent variable

A
  • variable being measured
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5
Q

What are extraneous variables

A
  • variables other than the IV that could affect the DV
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6
Q

What are confounding variables

A
  • variables (other than the IV) that have affected the DV
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7
Q

What is operationalisation

A
  • defining the variables and explaining how they would be measured
  • necessary for any experiment to be successful
  • IV and DV both get operationalised
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8
Q

What are laboratory experiments

A
  • experiment carried out in a controlled environment (lab)
  • high amounts of control over IV and eliminate EVs
  • participants randomly allocated to condition
  • conducted in an artificial setting
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9
Q

What are advantages of lab experiments (3)

A
  • high control
  • cause and effect relationship
  • replicable => reliable
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10
Q

What are disadvantages of lab experiments (2)

A
  • demand characteristics
  • lack of mundane realism / ecological validity => cannot generalise
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11
Q

What are the different types of experiments (4)

A
  • lab
  • field
  • natural
  • quasi
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12
Q

What is a field experiment

A
  • carried out in real world
  • IV is manipulated to see effect on DV
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13
Q

What are advantages of field experiments (3)

A
  • high mundane realism / ecological validity => can generalise
  • cause and effect
  • low chance of demand characteristics
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14
Q

What are disadvantages of field experiments (3)

A
  • low control => low validity
  • less control over sample
  • hard to replicate
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15
Q

What are natural experiments

A
  • research takes advantage of a naturally occurring IV to see effect on DV
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16
Q

What are advantages of natural experiments (2)

A
  • high mundane realism / ecological validity => can generalise
  • useful when it is impossible/unethical to manipulate IV/sample in lab/field experiment
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17
Q

What are disadvantages of natural experiments (3)

A
  • less control
  • difficult to replicate
  • hard to establish cause and effect
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18
Q

What is a quasi experiment

A
  • contain a naturally occurring IV
  • however natural occurring IV is a difference between people that already exists (gender/age)
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19
Q

What are different types of observations (6)

A
  • non participant
  • participants
  • covert
  • overt
  • naturalistic
  • controlled
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20
Q

What is an observation

A
  • when a research watches or listens to participants engaging in the behaviour that is being studied
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21
Q

What is a non participant observation

A
  • when the researcher does not get directly involved with the interactions of the participants
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22
Q

What is a participant observation

A
  • when the researcher is directly involved with the interactions of the participants
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23
Q

What is an overt observation

A
  • researcher watches and records the behaviour of a group that knows it is being observed by a psychologist
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24
Q

What is a covert observation

A
  • psychologist goes undercover and does not reveal true identity
  • group does not know they are being observed
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25
Q

What is a naturalistic observation

A
  • researcher observes participants in their own environment
  • no deliberate manipulation of IV
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26
Q

What is a controlled observation

A
  • research observers participants in a controlled environment
  • allows for manipulation of IV
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27
Q

What are advantages of a naturalistic observation (3)

A
  • low chance of observer effects
  • high mundane realism / ecological validity => can generalise
  • useful when manipulation of IV is impossible/unethical
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28
Q

What are disadvantages of a naturalistic observation (2)

A
  • less control => low validity
  • hard to determine cause and effect
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29
Q

What are advantages of a controlled observation (2)

A
  • cause and effect can be determined
  • high control
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30
Q

What are disadvantages of a controlled observation (2)

A
  • low mundane realism / ecological validity => cannot generalise
  • observer bias / observer effects
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31
Q

What are behavioural categories

A
  • specific and observable behaviours to be recorded during an observation
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32
Q

What is observer bias

A
  • observer knows aims of study/hypotheses and this knowledge influences their observations
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33
Q

How can observer bias be avoided (2)

A
  • interrater reliability
  • intrarater reliability
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34
Q

What is interrater reliability

A
  • two observer agrees on a conclusion
  • each researcher observes the participants at the same time, but records observations independently
  • recordings then correlated using an appropriate statistical test to ascertain their level of agreement
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35
Q

What is intrarater reliability

A
  • observation is video recorded so it can be watched several times to identify information that was previously overlooked
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36
Q

What are the the types of behavioural sampling (2)

A
  • time sampling
  • event sampling
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37
Q

What is event sampling

A
  • recording every time a certain behaviour or event occurs in a target individual
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38
Q

What is time sampling

A
  • recording all behaviours within a give time frame
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39
Q

What is self report

A
  • when participants provide details of their own feelings, thoughts and/or behaviour to the research
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40
Q

What are the different types of self report techniques (2)

A
  • interviews
  • questionnaires
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41
Q

What are interviews

A
  • interviews involve researchers asking questions in face to face situations
  • different types
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42
Q

What are the different types of interviews (3)

A
  • structured
  • unstructured
  • semi structured
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43
Q

What is a structured interview

A
  • all participants asked same questions in the same order
  • produces quantitative data
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44
Q

What is an unstructured interview

A
  • informal in depth conversational exchange between interviewer and interviewee
  • provides qualitative data
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45
Q

What is a semi structured interview

A
  • combines mixture of structured and unstructured techniques
  • quantitative and qualitative data
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46
Q

What are advantages of interviews (2)

A
  • complicated or sensitive issues are best dealt with an interview
  • if participants misunderstand a question, this can be clarified
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47
Q

What are disadvantages of interviews (3)

A
  • risk of interviewer effects
  • risk of social desirability bias
  • training is needed for interviews, and the process can be time consuming and expensive
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48
Q

What are interviewer effects

A
  • when the interviewer may inadvertently affect respondent’s answer
  • can be unintentional and may even be a result of the interviewer’s appearance, manner or gender
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49
Q

What is social desirability bias

A
  • people lie to present themselves in a positive light
  • particularly when discussing issues that may be socially sensitive
  • reduces validity
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50
Q

What are questionnaires

A
  • participants are given a written set of questions and instructions on how to record their answers
  • focus on individual’s behaviour, options, beliefs and attitudes
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51
Q

What types of questions can be on questionnaires (2)

A
  • closed questions
  • open questions
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52
Q

What are closed questions

A
  • require participants to choose from fixed responses
  • quantitative data
  • can be collated and displayed easily
  • allow for easier comparison
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53
Q

What are open questions

A
  • allow participant to answer in their own words
  • qualitative data
  • allow respondents to interpret the question as they wish
  • develop response with detail/depth
  • allow researchers to pursue a line of enquiry that may not have been predicted but comes to light because of a response by an interviewee
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54
Q

What are advantages of questionnaires (3)

A
  • easy to collect large amount of data quickly
  • easy to collate when questions are closed
  • standardised => replicable
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55
Q

What are disadvantages of questionnaires (3)

A
  • participants may misunderstand questions
  • low response rate
  • can have sample bias => only suitable for those willing and able to spend time on them => certain people would be more willing to fill in questionnaires
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56
Q

What is correlations

A
  • a technique for analysing the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables
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57
Q

What are the different types of correlations

A
  • positive => as one variable increases, so does the other
  • negative => as one variable increases, the other decreases
  • no correlation => no relationship between the two variables
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58
Q

What are the advantages of correlations (2)

A
  • strength of relationship can be established
  • allows for predictions to be made
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59
Q

What are the disadvantages of correlations (3)

A
  • correlational analysis does not demonstrate cause and effect
  • may be a third unknown variable influencing both
  • correlation only measures linear relationships, not curvilinear
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60
Q

What is an aim

A
  • precise statement about the purpose of the study and what it intends ro find out
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61
Q

What is a hypothesis

A
  • specific, testable statement about the expected outcome of an investigation
  • should be operationalised
  • first part of hypothesis needs to address whether the study predicts causation or correlation
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62
Q

What is the difference between causation and correlation

A
  • causation => research predicts a difference in the DV because of manipulation of an IV
  • correlation => research predicts a relationship between the two variables being investigated
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63
Q

What are the different types of hypotheses (2)

A
  • null hypothesis => states IV will have no effect on the DV
  • alternative hypothesis => predicts IV will have an effect on the DV
    => two categories
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64
Q

What are the different categories for an alternative hypothesis

A
  • non directional hypothesis (two tailed) => does not state direction of predicted differences
  • directional hypothesis (one tailed) => states direction of predicted differences
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65
Q

What are pilot studies

A
  • small scale investigations conducted before research
  • useful as they help identify whether there needs to be any modifications in the design of the planned study
  • also help to determine whether it would be feasible and worthwhile to conduct a full scale study
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66
Q

What is a target population

A
  • group who researchers are studying and want to generalise their results to
  • sampling techniques are used to obtain a sample of the target population and are essential to avoid studying entire population
  • should be representative
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67
Q

What are the different sampling techniques (5)

A
  • random sampling
  • systematic sampling
  • stratified sampling
  • opportunity sampling
  • volunteer sampling
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68
Q

What is random sampling

A
  • every member of the target population has same chance of being selected
  • like to be representative so findings can be generalised (positive)
  • difficult to get full details of target population and not all selected to take part will be willing to (negative)
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69
Q

What is systematic sampling

A
  • participants are selected by taking every Nth person from a list
  • simpler than random (positive)
  • can interact with a hidden periodic trait (negative)
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70
Q

What is stratified sampling

A
  • involves classifying the target population into categories and then randomly choosing a sample that consists of participants from each category in the same proportions as they appear in the target population
  • all groups in target population included (positive)
  • time consuming (negative)
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71
Q

What is opportunity sampling

A
  • selecting participants who are readily available and willing to take part
  • easiest and most practical method (positive)
  • high chance sample is not representative (negative)
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72
Q

What is volunteer sampling

A
  • people self selecting to take part in a study
  • research usually advertises for people to take part in study
  • saves time (positive)
  • certain type of person is likely to volunteer => unrepresentative (negative)
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73
Q

What is the experiment design

A
  • how the participants are organised
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74
Q

What are the different types of experiment designs

A
  • independent groups
  • repeated measures
  • matched pairs
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75
Q

What is an independent groups design

A
  • different participants used in each conditioned
  • randomly allocated to each condition
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76
Q

What are advantages of independent groups design (3)

A
  • order effects do not occur
  • reduced chance of demand characteristics
  • same task/materials can be used in all conditions
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77
Q

What are disadvantages of the independent groups design (2)

A
  • more participants needed
  • more chance of different results due to participant variables rather than manipulation of IV
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78
Q

What is a repeated measures design

A
  • each participants is tested in all conditions of the experiment
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79
Q

What are order effects

A
  • when the sequence in which participants take part in condition influences their performance
  • participants may also get bored/tired when being asked to take part in more than one condition
80
Q

What are advantages of a repeated measures design (2)

A
  • no participant variables
  • half as many people needed compared to independent groups design
81
Q

What are disadvantages of a repeated measures design (3)

A
  • order effects may affect results => can be avoided by counterbalancing
  • demand characteristics more likely
  • takes more time, especially if a time gap between different conditions is required
82
Q

What is counterbalancing

A
  • half participants do condition A then B while other half do the other way
  • does not eliminate order effects but controls impact of order effects and allows order effects to be evenly distributed across both conditions
83
Q

What is a matched pairs design

A
  • different participants are used in all conditions
  • however participants in two groups are matched on characteristics that are important for that study
84
Q

What are advantages of a matched pairs design (3)

A
  • less risk of order effects
  • less risk of demand characteristics
  • participant variables unlikely as groups have been closely matched
85
Q

What are the disadvantages of matched pairs design (2)

A
  • twice as many participants needed compared to repeated measures design
  • matching process is difficult and time consuming
86
Q

What are different extraneous variables (3)

A
  • participant variables
  • environmental variables
  • experimenter variables
87
Q

What are participant variables in terms of extraneous variables

A
  • characteristics of participant that may affect DV
  • matched pairs and repeated measure can prevent this
88
Q

What are environmental variables in terms of extraneous variables

A
  • factors in the environment that could affect the DV
  • avoided through standardisation
89
Q

What are experimenter variables in terms of extraneous variables

A
  • person collecting data has knowledge of what the research aim is and that knowledge affects data obtained
  • can be overcome by double blind technique
90
Q

What are ethics

A
  • high quality research involves good ethical practise and ethical issues must be fully considered before research is conducted
  • most research institutions have ethical committees
91
Q

What are different forms of ethics (6)

A
  • informed consent
  • protection from harm
  • right to withdraw
  • confidentiality
  • deception
  • debriefing
92
Q

Explain what informed consent is

A
  • inform participants about the objectives where possible
  • no pressure to consent, can withdraw at any time
  • data will be confidential and can ask questions
  • full debriefing occurs at the end
  • different types
93
Q

What are the different types of informed consent (3)

A
  • presumptive => consent from people with a similar background to participants => assume they will also consent
  • prior general => agree to be deceived but don’t know how or when => aim is withheld
  • retrospective => asking for consent after study
94
Q

Explain what protection from harm is

A
  • researchers have a responsibility to protect participants from physical and psychological harm
  • risk of harm should not be greater than in ordinary life
  • stop study immediately if they suspect harm
95
Q

Explain what right to withdraw is

A
  • at start of research, participants should be made aware they can leave at any time
  • difficult to implement during covert observations
  • should be made aware they can withdraw data in future
96
Q

Explain what confidentiality is

A
  • participants’ data is confidential and should not be disclosed to anyone unless it has been agreed in advance
  • numbers/letters used instead of names when published
97
Q

Explain what deception is

A
  • cannot intentionally with old information or deliberately mislead them without scientific justification
  • sometimes unavoidable to prevent demand characteristics
  • ethics committee conducts cost benefit analysis to determine whether potential harm is lower than potential gains
98
Q

Explain what debriefing is

A
  • takes place after study
  • participants told aim of study and information about other conditions
  • check welfare
  • remind about right to withdraw and right to confidentiality
  • allow them to ask questions
  • does not provide justification for unethical aspects of research
99
Q

What is peer review

A
  • process of research proposal being assessed for merit before research is conducted
  • panel decides if the research is worth funding
  • peer review happens again before research report is published
100
Q

What happens during a peer review

A
  • psychologists conduct an independent scrutiny of a research report before deciding whether it should be published
  • considered in terms of its validity, significance and originality
  • appropriateness of the methodology and experimental design used are also assessed
101
Q

What is the purpose of peer review

A
  • ensure quality and relevance of research, to ensure accuracy of findings, and to evaluate proposed designs
  • prevents dissemination of irrelevant findings, unwarranted claims, unacceptable interpretations, personal views and deliberate fraud
102
Q

What are positive evaluation points for peer review (3)

A
  • increases probability of finding errors
  • double blind procedure can be used
  • involves specialist psychologist
103
Q

What are negative evaluation points for peer review (2)

A
  • journals prefer positive results to increase standing => bias in published research => misperception of facts
  • can be an unfair process => some reviewers have connections with certain universities => bias/favouritism
104
Q

How has social influence affect the economy

A
  • understand how behaviours/attitudes change
  • used to encourage people to engage in more healthy behaviours
  • results in healthier people
  • reduced pressure on NHS resources and people taking less time off of work sick, improving productivity
105
Q

How has memory affect the economy

A
  • cognitive interview
  • imporved amount of accurate information
  • less money spent on wrongful arrests/imprisonments and wasted police time will be vastly reduced
106
Q

How has attachment affect the economy

A
  • shown importance of father
  • normal for households to have flexible working arrangements
  • parents better equipped to maximise income and contribute more effectively to the economy
107
Q

How has mental health affect the economy

A
  • direct cost of mental health issues on economy in England predicted to be £22.5bn annually
  • absence from work costs £15bn /year => 1/3 due to mental health
  • research on effective drug therapies have helped people manage mental health and take less time off work
  • reduced costs to economy
  • also helps improve productivity
108
Q

What are the different types of data

A
  • quantitative
  • qualitative
  • primary
  • secondary
109
Q

What is quantitative data

A
  • involves numbers and can be measured objectively
  • immediately quantifiable
    => DV
    => closed questions in experiment
    => structured interviews
    => tally of behavioural category in observation
110
Q

What is qualitative data

A
  • involves words
  • based on subjective interpretation of language
  • only quantifiable if put into categories and frequency is county
    => open questions
    => transcript from unstructured interview
    => researchers describing what they see in an observation
  • challenging to analyse as it relies on interpretation and is not easy to collate
111
Q

What is primary data

A
  • collected directly by researcher for the purpose of the investigation
112
Q

What is secondary data

A
  • information that was collected for a purpose other than the current use
113
Q

What is a meta analysis

A
  • the process of combining results from a number of studies on a particular topic to provide an overall view
  • allow data to be viewed with more confidence
  • results can be generalised to larger populations
  • can be prone to publication bias
114
Q

How can quantitative data be presented

A
  • tables
  • bar charts
  • histograms
  • line graphs
  • scattergrams
115
Q

What are tables

A
  • not raw scores
  • converted into descriptive statistics
  • paragraph underneath explaining data
116
Q

What are bar charts

A
  • used for nominal data
  • shows frequency data for discrete variables
117
Q

What are histograms

A
  • used for ordinal and interval data
  • bars are proportional to frequencies
118
Q

What are line graphs

A
  • used for ordinal or interval data
  • points connected by lines
  • show change in value over time
119
Q

What are scattergrams

A
  • relationship between covariables
  • correlation shown
120
Q

What are distributions

A
  • normal distribution
    => most people located in middle
    => mean, mode and median all in the middle
    => ends never touch x axis
  • skewed distribution
    => positive skew => central tendencies on the left side
    => negative skew => central tendencies on the right side
121
Q

What are descriptive statistics

A
  • analyse data to describe/show/summarise it
  • central tendency and dispersion
122
Q

What are central tendencies

A
  • central value for a set of data
  • mean, median, mode
123
Q

What are measures of dispersion

A
  • how spread the data is
  • range => difference between highest and lowest value
  • standard deviation => average amount each score differs to mean
124
Q

What are the different types of statistics

A
  • descriptive
  • inferential
125
Q

What are descriptive statistics

A
  • measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion
126
Q

What are inferential statistics

A
  • when a sample is used to test something and the findings are generalised to the target population
  • inferential statistics are used to see if results are significant
    => work out probability (p) that something occurs due to chance and not the IV
    => accepted level of probability tends to be p<0.05 (less than 5%)
127
Q

What is a sign test

A
  • can only be used when there is one group of participants and numerical data
    => repeated measures design
    => quantitative data
    => calculating difference between data
128
Q

How is a sign test carried out

A
  • state hypothesis
  • record data and sign (difference between set 1 and set 2) => sign depends on whether difference is positive or negative
  • add up + and - values and select the smaller value which is the S value
  • find the critical value using N and the table, compare this to the S value => S must be equal to or less than the critical value for significance to be shown
129
Q

Hypothesis test conclusions

A
  • if S≤Critical Value = Significant
    => reject H0 and accept H1
  • if S>Critical Value = Not significant
    => accept H0 and reject H1
  • H0 = Null Hypothesis
  • H1 = Alternative Hypothesis
130
Q

What is a content analysis

A
  • method used to analyse qualitative data
    => interview transcripts, documents, texts
    => allows qualitative data to be transferred into quantitative
  • research uses coding units
    => e.g. positive/negative words and count them
131
Q

How is a content analysis carried out

A
  • data is collected
  • research reads data, making themselves familiar
  • research identifies coding units
  • data is analysed by applying the coding units
  • tally is made of the number of times a coding unit appears
132
Q

What is a thematic analysis

A
  • method for analysing qualitative data involving identifiying and reporting patterns in material
    => TV ad, interview transcripts
133
Q

How is a thematic analysis carried out, use the example of an interview

A
  • a transcript of the interview is made
  • coding units are used to initially analyse the transcript
  • coding units are reviewed to look for themes
134
Q

What are positive evaluation points for content analyses (3)

A
  • reliable => not open for interpretation
  • easy and not time consuming
  • allows for statistical analysis to be conducted
135
Q

What are negative evaluation points for content analyses (2)

A
  • causality cannot be established as it merely describes the data
  • cannot extract deeper meaning/explanation from data for the patterns as it is only descriptive
136
Q

What are case studies

A
  • involve detailed research into an individual/group/institution
  • scientific approach
  • objective and systematic
137
Q

What is the significance of case studies

A
  • involve a small sample size
  • rare and fascinating behaviour
  • can be either qualitative or quantitative data
  • can be done over a long time => longitudinal
138
Q

What are positive evaluation points for case studies (2)

A
  • rich and detailed insights into behaviour => qualitative valid data collected
  • can investigate rare/unusual behaviour which would be unethical to do otherwise
139
Q

What are negative evaluation points for case studies (3)

A
  • small sample size => difficult to generalise, may lead to researcher bias (subjective selection and interpretation of results)
  • little control over variables => difficult to establish causal relationship
  • rare behaviour difficult to be replicated => reduced reliability
140
Q

What is reliability

A
  • the consistence of a research study or a measuring test
141
Q

What are the different types of reliability

A
  • internal reliability
  • external reliability
142
Q

What is internal reliability

A
  • extent to which a measure is consistent within itself
  • can be assessed using split half method
143
Q

What is the split half method

A
  • measures the extent to which all parts of the test contribute equally to what is being measured
  • compare results of one half to the other (split in any way)
  • if there are similar results, there is internal reliability
144
Q

What is external reliability

A
  • extent to which a measure varies from one to another
  • can be assessed using test retest
145
Q

What is a test retest

A
  • same test on two separate occasions
  • same participants
  • results are correlated on scattergraph
  • strength can be assessed using Spearman’s Rho or Pearson’s R
  • degree of reliability is determined by the correlation and statistical table
  • should have a correlation of 0.8 for a strong correlation => same with interrater reliability
146
Q

What is validity

A
  • whether a measure is actually measuring what it intends to
147
Q

What are the different types of validity

A
  • internal validity
  • external validity
148
Q

What is internal validity

A
  • when effects observed are due to the IV and not chance
  • causal relationship can be established
  • improved by controlling EV
    => standardises instructions, counterbalancing
  • different types
149
Q

What are the different types of internal validity

A
  • face validity => when something appears at first sight to represent what is being measured
    => improved by expert examination
  • concurrent validity => validity of a new test can be compared to an older established test where the validity is known (e.g. Stanford-Binet IQ Test)
    => improved by removing irrelevant and ambiguous questions
150
Q

What is external validity

A
  • extent to which findings can be generalised
    => improved by using natural settings and random sampling
151
Q

What are the different types of external validity

A
  • ecological validity => accurately reflects normal circumstances
  • temporal validity => reflects behaviour at different time periods
  • population validity => generalised to the wider population
152
Q

What are the key features of science

A
  • empirical methods
  • paradigms and paradigm shifts
  • objectivity
  • replicability
  • falsifiability
  • theory construction
153
Q

Explain empirical methods as a feature of science

A
  • method of gaining knowledge which relies on direct observations or testing
  • separates unfounded beliefs from real truth
154
Q

Explain paradigms are a feature of science

A
  • shared set of assumptions and agreed methods
    => psychology is seen as a pre science
    => lacks universal acceptance of paradigms
    => too many internal disagreements and conflicting approaches
155
Q

Explain paradigm shifts are a feature of science

A
  • when the results of a scientific revolution occurs
  • a signing change in the dominant unifying theory of a scientific discipline occurs and causes a paradigm shift
  • occurs in two stages
156
Q

What are the two stages of a paradigm shift

A
  • one theory remains dominant
    => some researchers question the accepted paradigm and have contradictory research that disagrees
    => counter evidence accumulates against main paradigm
    => present paradigm might then be overthrown due to emergence of a new one
  • established science makes rapid progress and a scientific revolution occurs due to the paradigm shift
157
Q

Explain objectivity are a feature of science

A
  • dealing with facts in a way that is unaffected by beliefs, options, feelings or expectations
  • good researcher keeps a critical distance from research
  • high objectivity makes research replicable
  • basis of empirical method
158
Q

Explain replicability are a feature of science

A
  • extent to which findings can be repeated in different contexts and settings
    => guarding against scientific fraud
    => check to see if results were gained due to a fluke cause by EV or CV
    => reliable
    => validity
  • highest in lab, lowest in observations
159
Q

Explain falsifiability are a feature of science

A
  • the notion that scientific theories can potentially be disproved by evidence
  • Popper (1969) => genuine scientific theories should be tested if not been proven false - yet
    => good sciences are constantly challenged => not disproved as strong
    => pseudoscience cannot be falsified, e.g. Freud
160
Q

Explain theory construction are a feature of science

A
  • constructed via hypothesis testing and retesting
  • based on results of a range of work conducted by many researchers
  • must be testable and falsifiable
  • split into two methods
161
Q

What are the methods of theory construction

A
  • deductive reasoning
  • inductive reasoning
162
Q

Explain the stages of deductive reasoning

A
  • propose a theory
  • develop a hypothesis
  • test the theory
  • draw conclusions
163
Q

Explain the stages of inductive reasoning

A
  • observe facts about the environment
  • develop a hypothesis
  • test the hypothesis
  • draw a conclusion
  • devise a theory
164
Q

What are the different components of a psychological report (7)

A
  • title
  • abstract
  • introduction
  • method
  • results
  • discussion
  • reference
165
Q

Explain the title component of a psychological report

A
  • provide a clear focus involving key variables
166
Q

Explain the abstract component of a psychological report and what is included (10)

A
  • conscious summary => 150-200 words
  • background research
  • aims
  • H0
  • H1
  • research methods and procedure
  • experimental design
  • sample used and sampling method
  • brief account of findings => statistical test, results, significance level
  • conclusion
  • limitations/implications
167
Q

Explain the introduction component of a psychological report

A
  • previous research (review of related research)
  • why it was studied
  • general discussion => become focused
  • aim (maybe H0 and H1)
168
Q

Explain the method component of a psychological report

A
  • design
  • sample
  • apparatus / materials
  • procedure
169
Q

Explain the results component of a psychological report

A
  • descriptive statistics
  • inferential statistics
  • qualitative data => categories and themes
  • H0 and H1, accepted or rejected
170
Q

Explain the discussion component of a psychological report

A
  • interpret results
    => summary (some explanation about results)
    => relationship to background research
    => limitations of methodology and modifications
    => implications and suggestions
171
Q

Explain the reference component of a psychological report

A
  • full details of journals / books referenced
  • journal references
    => surname, first name, date of publication, title, volume, page number
  • book references
    => surname, first name, title, place of publication, publisher
172
Q

What is the level of statistical significance, chance, significance level and probability

A
  • LoSS => level at which H0 is rejected
  • chance => something which has no real cause
  • SL => level of testing
  • p => a numerical measure that determines whether results are due to chance or are significant
173
Q

What is the conventional SL used

A
  • p<0.05 or less than 5%
  • probability the findings were due to chance is 5%
  • 1% is used for critical and important findings
174
Q

What are the different types of errors that can occur from hypothesis testing

A
  • Type I => rejected H0 even though the findings were due to chance
  • Type II => accepted H0 even though there was a real difference
175
Q

What are levels of measurement

A
  • used to try categorise data into types so most appropriate statistical test can be used
176
Q

What are the different levels of measurement

A
  • nominal
  • ordinal
  • interval
177
Q

Explain nominal as a level of measurement

A
  • categorical
  • the data consists of the numbers of participants that might fall into different categories
  • person can only be placed in one category
178
Q

Explain ordinal as a level of measurement

A
  • ordered
  • data can be placed in rank order from lowest to highest
  • ordinal scale can consist of measurements than are of unequal intervals
  • data is concerned with the order that the data can be presented in
179
Q

Explain interval as a level of measurement

A
  • data has fixed and even intervals (differs from ordinal data and that has unequal intervals)
  • units of data are fixed and have the same distance throughout the range
180
Q

What are different types of statistical tests

A
  • parametric
  • non parametric
181
Q

What are examples of parametric tests

A
  • Pearson’s R
  • Related T Test
  • Unrelated T Test
182
Q

What are examples of nonparametric tests

A
  • Chi Squared
  • Sign Test
  • Spearman’s Rho
  • Mann Whitney
  • Wilcoxon
183
Q

How to decide which statistical test to you

A
  • does the research involve a test of difference or a test of association/correlation
  • if research uses a test of difference, is it an independent measures design or a repeated measures/matched pairs
  • which level of measurement is being used: nominal, ordinal or interval
  • is the test parametric or non parametric
184
Q

What is a way to remember statistical tests

A
  • carrots should come
  • mashed with swede
  • under roast potatoes
185
Q

What is the table for statistical tests
KNOW THIS

186
Q

When doing a non parametric test, what do you need to look out for

A
  • Spearman’s Rho => calculated value ≥ critical value
  • Sign Test => calculated value ≤ critical value
  • Mann Whitney => calculated value ≤ critical value
  • Chi Squared => calculated value ≥ critical value
  • Wilcoxon => calculated value ≤ critical value
187
Q

Explain Spearman’s Rho

A
  • used when we wish to test relationship or correlation between two variables
  • data should be ordinal
  • data are in related pairs
  • non parametric test
  • calculates strength between two variables
188
Q

Explain Mann Whitney

A
  • test used when we are looking for a test of difference
  • used when we have an independent group design
  • data is ordinal or interval
  • test is non parametric
189
Q

Explain Chi Squared

A
  • can be used for either a test of association or for a test of difference
  • used for test of difference if there is an independent measures design
  • nominal data
  • non parametric test
190
Q

Explain Wilcoxon

A
  • measure test do difference
  • repeated measures design or matched pairs design
  • data is ordinal
  • non parametric test
191
Q

How to justify using a non parametric test

A
  • refer to whether it was a test of difference, correlation or association, what design was used and what the level of measurement was
  • calculate results of statistical test
  • compare results to critical value
  • mention SL selected and whether hypothesis was one or two tailed
  • state whether experimental and null hypothesis were accepted or rejected
192
Q

When doing a parametric test, what do you need to look out for

A
  • Related T Test => calculated value ≥ critical value
  • Unrelated T Test => calculated value ≥ critical value
  • Pearson’s R => calculated value ≥ critical value
193
Q

Explain Related T Test

A
  • used when we wish to test a difference
  • repeated measures
  • interval data
  • parametric test
194
Q

Explain Unrelated T Test

A
  • looking for a test of difference
  • independent group design
  • level of measurement is interval
  • parametric test
195
Q

Explain Pearson’s R

A
  • investigates correlations or relationships between variables
  • level of measurement is interval
  • parametric test

A Level Psychology (12 decks)

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