Research Methods Flashcards
What is an experiment?
A way of conducting research in a controlled way
What is the aim of a laboratory experiment?
To control all relevant variables except for the independent variable
What is the independent variable?
The variable that you alter
Where is a laboratory experiment conducted?
In an artificial setting
What are three strengths of a laboratory experiment?
- High level of control
- Easy to replicate
- Possible to establish causal relationships
What are three limitations of a laboratory experiment?
- Artificial setting means low ecological validity
- Demand characteristics
- May be ethical issues
Where are field experiments conducted?
Outside the laboratory in a natural environment
What are two strengths of field experiments?
- High ecological validity as natural setting
- Minimised demand characteristics
What are two limitations of field experiments?
- Low levels of control
- May be ethical issues
What is a natural experiment?
When researchers look at how an independent variable that is not manipulated affects a dependent variable- the independent variable is an event that occurs naturally
What are three strengths of natural experiments?
- Possible to study variables that would be unethical to manipulate
- Demand characteristics unlikely
- High ecological validity
What are two limitations of natural experiments?
- Hard to establish causal relationships
- May be ethical issues
What is involved in a quasi experiment?
Researchers aren’t able to use random allocation to put participants in different conditions because the independent variable is normally a feature of participants
What are two strengths of quasi experiments?
- High level of control
- High ecological validity
What are two limitations of quasi experiments?
- No random allocation so confounding variables may alter results
- Hard to establish causal relationships
What does a naturalistic observation involve?
Observing subjects in their natural environment
What are two strengths of naturalistic observations?
- High ecological validity
- Can be useful for theory development
What are three limitations of naturalistic observations?
- Can’t control extraneous variables
- May be observer bias
- May be ethical issues
What is a controlled observation?
Where the observation is carried out under controlled conditions
What does correlational research look for?
A relationship between two variables
What are two strengths of correlational research?
- Causal relationships are established
- Can study variables that would be unethical to manipulate
What are two limitations of correlational research?
- Causal relationships may be due to coincidence
- Misinterpretation could be an issue
What are the four ways questionnaires can be given?
Written
Face-to-face
On the phone
Via the internet
What is one strength of questionnaires?
You can collect a lot of information quickly and cheaply
What are four limitations of questionnaires?
- Leading questions or unclear questions can be a problem
- Low response rate makes sample unrepresentative
- Could be social desirability bias
- May be ethical issues
What are structured interviews?
Follow a fixed set of questions that are the same for all participants
What are unstructured interviews?
May have discussion topics but are less constrained about how the conversation goes
What are two strengths of interviews?
- Can get rich data, especially with unstructured interviews
- Useful way to get information before a study
What are four limitations of interviews?
- Results can be unreliable and affected by social desirability bias
- Can be time consuming and needs skilled interviewers
- Analysing data can be hard
- May be ethical issues
What are two strengths of case studies?
- Provide rich data
- Can challenge existing ideas and suggest ideas for future research
What are three limitations of case studies?
- Causal relationships cannot be established
- Generalisation is difficult
- Can be ethical issues
What is content analysis?
A method used to analyse secondary data and already collected data
What does content analysis involve?
Splitting the data into assigned categories
What are two strengths of content analysis?
- Easy and inexpensive
- Few ethical issues
What are two limitations of content analysis?
- Analysing data can be time-consuming
- Interpretation and categorisation can be subjective
