Research methods Flashcards
IV
variable that is manipulated by the researcher to see if it has an effect on the DV
DV
variable that is measured to see the effect of the IV
operationalising definition
be specific and clear when defining the IV and DV to make it easier to measure
aim
this is a general statement of what the researcher intends to investigate the purpose of the study
hypothesis
specific and testable statement in which the researcher predicts what will happen between the variables
directional hypothesis
researcher predicts the direction that the results will go in to see what difference they expect to find between two conditions
non-directional
researcher does not predict the directional that hey think the results will go in
they will just say there will be a difference
null hypothesis
IV does not effect the DV
results due to chance
lab method AO1
highly controlled environment
researcher manipulates the IV
to see the effect on the DV
lab methods strengths
High level of control over extraneous variables therefore cause and effect can be established between the IV and the DV which increases the internal validity of the research.
High in reliability as the experiment can be easily repeated in the same conditions to check for consistent results.
lab methods limitations
Lacks Ecological validity as it’s carried out in an artificial environment therefore it is difficult to generalise the findings beyond the setting of the study, lowering the external validity.
Can encourage demand characteristics, where the Ppt’s change their natural behaviour based on clues given off by the researcher this could lead to ppts choosing to either help/hinder the researcher, reducing the internal validity.
field method AO1
natural environment
researcher manipulates the IV and records the effect on DV
field method strength
Less prone to demand characteristics as people might not know they are being watched so they are less likely to guess clues given off by the researcher and change their natural behaviour in order to help/hinder the research Therefore increasing the internal validity.
High ecological validity as it is based in a real life setting therefore it is easier to generalise the findings beyond the setting of the study to other similar settings increasing the external validity.
field method weakness
Low in reliability as the environment is real so it is difficult to repeat with exactly the same conditions to check for consistent results.
This could create an ethical issue of lack of informed consent as people may not be aware they are being studied on so wouldn’t have given their consent. If they become aware they may become upset and wish to withdraw their data from the research.
natural method AO1
naturally occurring IV
changed even if the experimenter not interested
could happen in a lab or a field
natural method strength
Natural experiments provide opportunities for research that may not otherwise be undertaken for practical/ethical reasons. For example, Rutter’s study on Romanian orphans would have been unethical to manipulate unless the institutionalisation (IV) had not occurred naturally. Therefore, natural experiments contribute to a greater psychological understanding of behaviour.
High ecological validity as natural experiments are often based in a real life setting therefore it is easier to generalise the findings beyond the setting of the study to other similar settings increasing the external validity.
natural method limitations
Naturally occurring event may only happen very rarely which limits opportunities for research, unlike lab experiments where IVs can be manipulated by the researcher any time. Suggesting other types of experiment may be more convenient for research than natural experiments.
Low control over extraneous variables as natural experiments usually take place in a natural environment. Therefore it is difficult to establish cause and effect between the IV and the DV lowering the internal validity of the study.
quasi method AO1
existing difference between people
which the researcher has not manipulated
records the effect on DV
eg. age or gender
quasi method strength
could be lab or field
quasi method limitations
Sample bias as the sample being studied may have unique characteristics, which may mean that it is difficult to generalise to the target population decreasing the external validity of the study.
independent groups design AO1
ppts take part in one condition only
each condition has different groups of ppts
independent groups strength
There will be no order effects as ppts only take part in one condition so they will not get bored/fatigued/better at the task or have lasting effects from one condition to the next UNLIKE repeated measures design where ppts take part in all conditions and could have order effects.
Can be used when repeated measures design is inappropriate (e.g. quasi experiments when looking at gender differences) as each condition needs different ppts
independent groups limitations
Individual differences may affect the DV as there are separate groups of ppts in each condition e.g. some ppts could have a better memory which wouldn’t be suitable in a memory study lowering the internal validity UNLIKE repeated measures that uses the same group of individuals in all conditions to reduce the effect of individual differences.
More ppts are needed as two different groups are required for the different conditions UNLIKE repeated measures where you use less ppts as every ppt takes part in all conditions.
repeated measures AO1
all ppts take part in all conditions of the experiment
repeated measured strength
Individual differences between participants in each condition are removed as the same ppts take part in all conditions.Therefore the researcher can be sure any effect to the DV is sue to the IV and not any confounding variables increasing the internal validity of the research UNLIKE IGD will use different ppts
in different conditions so individual
differences could affect the DV
Requires fewer participants as the same ppts take part in all conditions UNLIKE in an independent measures design as separate groups are needed for separate conditions.
repeated measures limitation
Order effects may occur when participants take part in more than one experimental condition they may perform worse/better in the second condition due to bored/fatigue/better in the second condition (due to practice), or there may be lasting effects from condition 1 to condition 2 lowering the internal validity UNLIKE independent measures where ppts only take part in one condition so cannot be susceptible to order effects
Increased chances of demand characteristics as participants take part in all conditions. They may pick up on clues given off by the researcher as they spend much more time with them, or from the research situation , and change their natural behaviour to help or hinder the research. Lowering the internal validity UNLIKE IGD where ppts are less likely to pick up on clues as the only take part in one condition of the research
Matched pairs AO1
ppts are matched on important characteristics in the study
given them an appropriate test and match two ppts on same score
each member is randomly allocated across each condition
matched pairs strength
Reduces individual differences between participants as it matches ppts on variables important to the research, such as IQ/age/happiness.Therefore the researcher can be sure the effect on the DV is due to the IV and not any confounding variables UNLIKE IGD where separate ppts are in separate conditions
There will be no order effects as ppts only take part in one condition so they will not get bored/fatigued/better at the task/have lasting effects from one condition to the next UNLIKE repeated measures design where ppts take part in all conditions and could have order effects.
matched pairs limitations
Very time consuming to match up and find similar participants. The psychologists would need a very large pool of people UNLIKE repeated measures design where you use the same ppts in all conditions
Individual differences cannot be fully eliminated. Psychologists match ppts on variables important for the research but are not able to match ppts on all variables. Therefore this could question the validity of the matched-pairs design. UNLIKE RM where each condition will use the same ppts therefore, individual differences will be eliminated.
Pilot study definition
small scale trial run of the research before the real main research
to identify problems and amend them
what are the aims of a pilot study
CONTEXT NEEDED
1.Any problems can be identified and amended
2.Check standardised procedures and general design
3. Check the amount of time given to ppts is enough to complete the task
3. For questionnaire/ interview to make sure the questions are clear
4. For observations check coding systems and behaviour categories are understood/operationalised, check
observer/camera in a good position to see behaviours.
5. Extraneous variables can be identified and possibly eliminated ( how to be eliminated )
6. Ask the ppts to discuss their experiences of the experiment post-research debrief
what does a high SD tell us
-more spread around the mean
-means more variation in the scores
-scores are less consistent and there are more individual differences in the results
what does a low SD tell us
-less spread around the mean
-means less variation in scores
-scores are more consistent and there are less individual differences
what does the mean tell us
-provides a good indication of the average
-generally the higher the mean the greater the score
NOT ALWAYS THO
draw the NORIC TABLE
look in booklet
the writing frame for a Man Whitney U stats test
The appropriate statistical test is Man whitney U This is because the study is a test of difference independent groups between _______ and __________ . They used a design as (context). The level of measurement is ordinal because (contextualise the DV of the experiment).
the writing frame for spearman’s rho
The appropriate statistical test is spearman’s rho The researchers are looking at a correlation between _________ and ____________ . The level of measurement is ordinal because (contextualise the DV of the experiment).
calculated value is equal or less than critical
sign
Mann Whitney U
wilcoxon
Define a type 1 error
lenient P value
think the results are sig. when they are not sig.
wrongly accept the alt. hypothesis and wrongly reject the null hypothesis
Define a type 2 error
stringent P value
think the results are non sig. when they are sig.
wrongly reject the alt. hypothesis and wrongly accept the null hypothesis
difference between type 1 and type 2
lenient/stringent
type 1- reject the null when it is true
type 2- accept the null when it is false
why do psychologists use the 5% sig level
strikes a balance between the risk of making a type 1 and type 2 error
what is meant by a peer review
process by which psychological research papers are subjected to independent scrutiny before publication by other psychologists working in a similar field to consider the research in terms of its validity, significance and originality
what is the purpose of a peer review (1 mark)
a gatekeeper to filter out flawed or unscientific research
process of a peer review (6 marks)
-paper before publication is subjected to independent scrutiny by other researches in similar field to decide if it to be published
-considered in terms of its validity, significance, and originality
-assessment of appropriateness of methods and designs used
-researcher can accept,reject or improve the research
-review can be open, single blind and double blind
-editor of the journal will make the final decision based on the comments of the reviewer
what is the purpose of a peer review (4 marks)
-ensure quality and relevance of research
-showing the work to others increases the likeliness weaknesses will be addressed
-ensures published research can be taken seriously because it has been independently scrutinised by fellow researchers
-prevents spread of irrelevant findings and personal views
-determines whether research should receive funding
problems associated with a peer review (6 marks)
-fraud: in small cases it has failed to identify fraudulent research before publication
-anonymity: due to direct competition for limited research funding a minority of reviewers may use their anonymity as a way of criticizing rival reviewers
-bias: institution bias as there is a tendency to favour research which comes from prestigious universities or gender bias where there is a tendency to favour male research and bias towards positive findings
-values: impossible to separate personal,cultural and political views so if the research agrees with those views the research is more likely accepted to be objective
peer review - fraud
fraud: in small cases it has failed to identify fraudulent research before publication
peer review - anonymity
anonymity: due to direct competition for limited research funding a minority of reviewers may use their anonymity as a way of criticizing rival reviewers
peer review - bias
bias: institution bias as there is a tendency to favour research which comes from prestigious universities or gender bias where there is a tendency to favour male research and bias towards positive findings
peer review - values
values: impossible to separate personal,cultural and political views so if the research agrees with those views the research is more likely accepted to be objective
5 parts to reporting a psychological investigation
abstract
introduction
method results
discussion
referencing
what is the purpose of an abstract
allow the reader an overview of the study to help them decide if they want to read on
what goes in an abstract
a summary that covers the aim,hypothesis,method,results and conclusion
150-350 words
what goes in an introduction
describe and link to previous research
how the current research will add to previous research
into ends with the aim and hypotheses of the research
what is the purpose of an introduction
gives background on relevant studies to explain how aims and hypotheses developed
what is the purpose of an method
detailed description of the study
detailed enough to be able to replicate the study
what is the acronym for what goes in a method
S ampling method
P rocedure
E quipment
E thics
D esign
what goes in a method section
Sampling method- how many and info on ppts eg.age
Procedure- exact order of events as standardised instruction
Equipment- details of any materials and apparatus used
Ethics- sig. ethical issues and how they were dealt with
Design- RM/IGD/MP and justify why used
what is the purpose of the results
present the overall summary of the findings instead of the raw data
what goes in the results section
-descriptive statistics: tables/graphs showing frequencies and measures of CT and dispersion
-inferential statistics: stats tests are reported and calculated values and sig levels
-qualitative data: categories and theme are described along with examples
what are descriptive statistcs
tables/graphs showing frequencies and measures of CT and dispersion
what are inferential statistics
stats tests are reported and calculated values and sig levels detailed
what is the purpose of the discussion section
discuss the findings and suggest possible uses and future areas of research
what goes in the discussion section
-summary of the results
-compare with other results
-limitations and modifications
-implication and future research
what is the purpose of the reference section
to give details of any other articles/books tht are mentioned in the research
How can experimental designs be improved
random allocation
counterbalancing
how can independent groups design be improved
random allocation
-put the names of ppt in a random name computer generator
-randomly select the ppts names and place half in condition 1 and the other half in condition 2
how can repeated measures design be improved
-counterbalancing
half the ppts in condition A then condition B
half of the ppts in condition B then condition A
order effects have been balanced
