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Psychology Evaluation > Research Methods > Flashcards

Research Methods Flashcards

1
Q

What are two strengths of independent groups design?

A
  • No order effects (tested once), no EV/CV, no practice/fatigue
  • Won’t guess aim so behaviour is natural
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2
Q

What are two limitations of independent groups design?

A
  • Participant variables- different participants each group, EV/CV
  • Less economical- need twice participants as repeated measures
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3
Q

What are two strengths of repeated measures design?

A
  • No participant variables (same people), controls EV/CV
  • Fewer participants- compared to independent groups
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4
Q

What are two limitations of repeated measures design?

A
  • Order effects- similar task twice, EV/CV, practice/fatigue effect
  • Guess aims- more likely when in both conditions, change behaviour
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5
Q

What are two strengths of matched pairs design?

A
  • Fewer participant variables- reduced through matching
  • No order effects (tested once), no EV/CV, no practice/fatigue
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6
Q

What are two limitations of matched pairs design?

A
  • Imperfect matching- takes time, not all relevant variables
  • Less economical- need twice as many as repeated measures
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7
Q

What are two strengths of lab experiments?

A
  • EVs/CVs controlled- demonstrates causation
  • Easily replicated- so can confirm findings
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8
Q

What are two limitations of lab experiments?

A
  • Low generalisability- artificial, so low external validity
  • Demand characteristics- participants aware of being studied
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9
Q

What are two strengths of field experiments?

A
  • More authentic- own environment, generalisable
  • Participants unaware of being studied- more usual behaviour
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10
Q

What are two limitations of field experiments?

A
  • CVs/EVs harder to control- cause/effect not shown
  • Ethical issues- informed consent difficult, invasion of privacy
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11
Q

What are two strengths of natural experiments?

A
  • Ethical option- in cases where can’t manipulate IV
  • External validity- real-world issues, more relevant
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12
Q

What are two limitations of natural experiments?

A
  • Rare natural event- ‘one off’, reduces ability to generalise
  • No random allocation- as IV is pre-existing, CVs uncontrolled
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13
Q

What are two strengths of quasi-experiments?

A
  • High control- often lab so replication possible
  • Comparisons between pre-existing types of people
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14
Q

What are two limitations of quasi-experiments?

A
  • No random allocation- pre-existing IV, CVs
  • No causation- no control over IV, unknown what causes changes in DV
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15
Q

What is one strength of random sampling?

A

Potentially unbiased

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16
Q

What is one limitation of random sampling?

A

Representativeness not guaranteed

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17
Q

What are two strengths of systematic sampling?

A
  • Unbiased
  • Objective
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18
Q

What is one limitation of systematic sampling?

A

More time/effort

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19
Q

What are two strengths of stratified sampling?

A
  • Representative
  • Generalisable
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20
Q

What is one limitation of stratified sampling?

A

Imperfect stratification

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21
Q

What are three strengths of opportunity sampling?

A
  • Quick
  • Cheaper
  • Most common
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22
Q

What is one limitation of opportunity sampling?

A

Inevitably biased

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23
Q

What is one strength of volunteer sampling?

A

Willing participants so more engaged

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24
Q

What is one limitation of volunteer sampling?

A

Volunteer bias

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25
Q

What is one strength of observations?

A

Capture what people do

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26
Q

What is one limitation of observations?

A

Observer bias

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27
Q

What is one strength of naturalistic observations?

A

High external validity

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28
Q

What is one limitation of naturalistic observations?

A

Low control

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29
Q

What is one strength of controlled observations?

A

Replication possible

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30
Q

What is one limitation of controlled observations?

A

Low external validity

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31
Q

What is one strength of covert observations?

A

Fewer demand characteristics

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32
Q

What is one limitation of covert observations?

A

Ethically questionable

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33
Q

What is one strength of overt observations?

A

More ethically acceptable

34
Q

What is one limitation of overt observations?

A

Some demand characteristics

35
Q

What is one strength of participant observations?

A

Greater insight so enhances external validity

36
Q

What is one limitation of participant observations?

A

Possible loss of objectivity

37
Q

What is one strength of non-participant observations?

A

More objective so higher internal validity

38
Q

What is one limitation of non-participant observations?

A

Loss of insight- too distant

39
Q

What are two limitations of behavioural categories?

A
  • Difficult to be unambiguous
  • Dustbin categories
40
Q

What is one strength of event sampling?

A

Records infrequent behaviour

41
Q

What is one limitation of event sampling?

A

Complex behaviour oversimplified

42
Q

What is one strength of time sampling?

A

Reduces observations

43
Q

What is one limitation of time sampling?

A

Miss things outside of time frame

44
Q

What are two strengths of correlations?

A
  • Useful starting point, future experiments
  • Relatively economical, eg. use secondary data
45
Q

What are two limitations of correlations?

A
  • No cause and effect shown
  • Intervening variables missed, wrong conclusions
46
Q

What are two strengths of questionnaires?

A
  • Lots of data because given to lots of people
  • Fixed-choice questions so easy to analyse
47
Q

What are two limitations of questionnaires?

A
  • Social desirability
  • Response bias
48
Q

What is one strength of structured interviews?

A

Easy to replicate

49
Q

What is one limitation of structured interviews?

A

Interviewers cannot elaborate

50
Q

What is one strength of unstructured interviews?

A

Points followed up so increases insight

51
Q

What is one limitation of unstructured interviews?

A

More chance of interviewer bias

52
Q

What is one strength of closed questions?

A

Easier to analyse and draw conclusions

53
Q

What is one limitation of closed questions?

A

Responses are restricted

54
Q

What is one strength of open questions?

A

Detailed, unexpected responses

55
Q

What is one limitation of open questions?

A

More difficult to analyse

56
Q

What is one strength of qualitative data?

A

Richness of detail

57
Q

What is one limitation of qualitative data?

A

Difficult to analyse

58
Q

What is one strength of quantitative data?

A

Comparisons possible, eg. using graphs

59
Q

What is one limitation of quantitative data?

A

Expresses less meaning

60
Q

What is one strength of primary data?

A

Tailored to the study itself

61
Q

What is one limitation of primary data?

A

Requires time and therefore expense

62
Q

What is one strength of secondary data?

A

Inexpensive, data already exists

63
Q

What is one limitation of secondary data?

A

Quality may be poor or mismatch aims

64
Q

What is one strength of a meta-analysis?

A

Conclusions have greater validity

65
Q

What is one limitation of a meta-analysis?

A

Publication bias, not all relevant studies included, lowers validity

66
Q

What is one strength of the mean?

A

Sensitive measure that includes all scores

67
Q

What is one limitation of the mean?

A

Easily distorted by extreme values

68
Q

What is the strength of the median?

A

Less affected by extremes

69
Q

What is the limitation of the median?

A

Extreme values may be important

70
Q

What is one strength of the mode?

A

Relevant to categorical data

71
Q

What is one limitation of the mode?

A

Overly simple, crude measure

72
Q

What is one strength of the range?

A

Easy to calculate

73
Q

What is one limitation of the range

A

No account of distribution

74
Q

What is one strength of standard deviation?

A

More precise than range

75
Q

What is one limitation of standard deviation?

A

Can be distorted by extreme values

76
Q

What is one strength of peer review?

A

Aims to protect the quality of research

77
Q

What are three limitations of peer review?

A
  • Anonymous, may criticise rival research
  • Publication bias
  • Groundbreaking research buried
78
Q

What are two strengths of case studies?

A
  • Can provide new insights
  • Allows study of both unusual and typical behaviour
79
Q

What are two limitations of case studies?

A
  • Subjective selection of data and biased accounts
  • Small, unique sample, low generalisability
80
Q

What are two strengths of content analysis?

A
  • Ethical issues avoided- eg. consent not always needed
  • Flexible method- adapt to aims of research (quantitative and qualitative)
81
Q

What are two limitations of content analysis?

A
  • Communication studied out of context- reduces validity
  • May lack objectivity- choice of categories may depend on researcher’s personal views

Psychology Evaluation (11 decks)

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