Research Methods Flashcards
what is an aim of a study?
the aim of a study is to answer a particular question
what is a hypothesis?
a hypothesis is a testable statement with operationalised variables with as much detail as possible to fully define the independent variable and the dependant variable
what is a one tailed hypothesis?
it is a prediction to test which way results will go. This isn used when you have previous research
what is a two tailed hypothesis?
the will a difference in reduction between the two groups. used when there is no previous research.
what is a bar chart?
a type of graph that is used in order to represent independent or discreet data
what is a histogram?
it is a type of graph that is used in order to represent related or continuous pieces of data for example what is found in repeated measures designed experiments
what’s a scattergraph?
it is uses correlational pieces of data
what can be used to remember a positively skewed?
the right foot
what can be used to remember a negatively skewed?
the left foot
what is a positive correlation?
when there is a pattern of points of data on a graph go up to the right of the graph from the bottom left
what is a negative correlation?
when there is a pattern points of a graph goes to the bottom right from the top left
what is no correlation?
there is no clear pattern
what does a positively skewed graph show?
it would show the test was too hard
what does a negatively skewed graph show?
it would show the test was too easy
what is the independent variable?
it is the variable that we manipulate
what is the dependant variable?
it is the wavetable that is measured
what is the random allocation control?
people are randomly selected for their conditions which removes the possibility of bias
what is validity?
it shows how truthful something is
what is temporal validity?
does something stay the same over time
what is informed consent?
tells the participant the true aims of the study and what will happen, they must be aware of the ethics and requires the persons signature
what is the right to withdraw?
the patient is able to leave the experiment at any moment, this can cause an issue with results so they are often given an incentive to give them more reason to stay. when it comes to children under 16 the parent has control
what is confidentiality?
a participant should not receive any harm mentally or physically eg a cut or embarrassment
why can a debrief be so useful?
thanks participant, offers support such as counselling if necessary. tells full intentions of data and leaves a form of contact eg email if a participant wishes to know more
what is independent groups?
when participants only take part in one condition
what’s a strength of independent groups?
no order effects
what’s a weakness of independent groups?
participant individuals/individual differences
what is repeated measures?
participants take part in both conditions
what’s an advantage of repeated measures?
no participant variables/individual differences
whats a weakness of repeated measures?
order effects
what are demand characteristics?
people will act in unnatural ways when they are in experiment for example if they are trying to figure out what the experiment is for. this therefor will affect the validity of the results
what are behavioural categories?
a table of predetermined observational categories
whats a structured interview?
it provides quantitive data and is planned
what is an unstructured interview?
it provides qualitative data and is spontaneous
what is the mean?
its an average used in interval level data
how is the mean calculated?
its the sum of all the values divided by the number if values
what is the mode?
the most common number and is used with nominal level data
how is the mode calculated?
find the most common value
what is the median and what level of data is used for?
the middle value and is used in ordinal level data
how is the median calculated?
order the numbers in numerical order and then find the middle
what is qualitative data?
non numerical, thoughts, feels ect
what is quantitive data?
numbers and data, can be analysed
what is primary data?
primary data is data of which you have found yourself
what is secondary data?
data that other people have found
what is a closed questionnaire?
yes or no questions
what is an open questionnaire?
questions that are not a yes or no answer
what is a case study?
a study that is carried on single individual who is completely unique
what is an example of a case study?
Little Hans
what is random sampling?
people are not specifically selected for their conditions
what is volunteer sampling?
you ask people who are available at the time and they choose if they want to participate
what is opportunity sampling?
an advertisement is put up eg a poster where people can choose to go out of their way to take part
what are implications of psychological research on the economy?
expensive for the NHS
allows people to go back to work
people who earn from it pay more back through taxes
what is falsifiability?
can be proved to be wrong
what is hypothesis testing?
a testable statement
what is a paradigm shift?
shared set of assumptions which can be changed
what is objectivity?
based on fact
what is theory construction?
an early idea
what are empirical methods?
knowledge gained through experimental/observational methods
what is meant be replicability?
it can be repeated by others
