Research Methods Flashcards
What is an Aim?
- An aim is a statement of a study’s purpose.
- “To study majority influence in an ambiguous task” - which study was this?
- Aims are stated before the research begins to make it clear what the study intends to investigate.
-they are regularly developed from theories and develop from reading about other similar research
what is a one tailed hypothesis
A directional (one-tailed) hypothesis predicts the nature of the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable. It predicts in which direction the change will take place. (i.e. greater, smaller, less, more)
what is a two tailed hypothesis
A non-directional (two-tailed) hypothesis predicts that the independent variable will have an effect on the dependent variable, but the direction of the effect is not specified. It just states that there will be a difference. “There will be a difference between the groups.”
what is a null hypothesis
a statement saying that a study will find no meaningful differences between the groups or conditions under investigation,
what are ivs and dvs
The iv = the things that is manipulated/changed e.g. the different groups, the different conditions.
The dv=The thing that is measured/will be affected by the changed.
What is meant by the term ‘operationalisation’?
This means how we are going to measure our variables:
We must define how we intend to measure the IV and DV = operationalisation.
what are the 4 controls
Random allocation-
Counterbalancing-
Randomisation-
Standardisation-
what is random allocation
When the researchers divide the participants and allocate them to certain groups using a random method. This means that everyone has an equal chance of doing either condition.
what is Counterbalancing-
Counterbalancing psychology is a technique used to minimize the influence of extraneous factors, such as practice or fatigue, on experimental results1,2,3. It is a type of experimental design in which all possible orders of presenting the variables are included4. It is often used in repeated measures design, where the participant sample is divided in half and completes the conditions in different orders .Half of the participants participate in condition A before condition B and vice versa. This means that
the first and second condition is not the same for every participant.
what is Randomisation-
This is a way of controlling for the effects of extraneous/confounding variables. Allocating participants to tasks, selecting samples of participants, and so on, should be left to chance as far as possible, to reduce the investigator’s influence on a study. Participants are assigned to condition A or B first by tossing a coin or picking out a name.
what is Standardisation-
Standardization in psychology refers to the process of establishing consistent procedures for administering tests, collecting data, and measuring variables. Standardization helps to ensure that research is conducted in a consistent and reliable manner .Everything should be as similar as possible for all the participants. For example, instructions are the same across the conditions.
what are extranareous variables
Anything other than the IV that affects the DV and could influence your results. These should have been counted for before the experiment takes place.
Determine which type of extraneous variables are present in your study. As you plan your study, consider analyzing each part of the research process to determine if any extraneous variables may appear. …
Select a method of control. …
Implement the method of control
what are confounding variables
Anything other than the IV which has influenced your results which has not been accounted for before the experiment begins.
it can also be known as a variable other than the iv that changes systematically with the iv however it is difficult to be sure of the origin of the impact of the dv as the confounding variable could not have been the cause
What are the 5 ethical guidelines?
Informed Consent: Knowing aims and giving your permission to take part in the study (Menges, 1973))
Deception: Deliberately misleading or withholding information
The BPS state that deception is only acceptable if there is a strong scientific justification for the research and there are no alternative procedures available.
Right to Withdraw: Being able to leave when desired
Confidentiality: Deliberately should be kept private
Protection from harm: No more harm than daily life (Glass and singer, 1972)
What is meant by the term ‘double blind’ and why is it used?
Neither the participants or the researcher are aware of the aims of the investigation
what is ecological validity
Ecological validity is one aspect of external validity in which researchers ask whether research results represent what happens in everyday life.
what is concurrent validity
It compares a new assessment with one that has already been tested and proven to be valid. Concurrent validity is a subtype of criterion validity.shows you the extent of the agreement between two measures or assessments taken at the same time
what is population validity
the extent to which the findings csn be generalised to other populations of people
temporal validity
– this is high when research findings successfully apply across time (certain variables in the past may no longer be relevant now or in the future).
what is face validity
?
what is independent groups-experimental design
There are two separate groups of participants. One group takes part in condition A, the other takes part in condition B
what are the advantages of independent groups-experimental design
- No order effects - only take part in one condition, so don’t get bored or practiced.
- Fewer demand characteristics participants may only know their condition.
what are the disadvantages to independent groups-experimental design
More participants are needed
Individual differences as the people taking part in each condition are different - one group might simply be better at that task.
what are repeated measures-experimental design
participants taking part in both conditions
what are the advantages of repeated measures
no participant variables
what are the disadvantages of repeated measures
Demand characteristics
order effects-taking part in the 2nd condition may affect the 1st condition eg rat man experiment
what are matched pairs-experimental design
There are two separate groups, but this time they are matched into pairs for certain qualities, (such as age or intelligence). One of each pair takes part in condition A, the other takes part in condition B.
what are the advantages of matched pairs
No order effects
Controls for individual differences. Can be more sure the IV caused difference in DV rather than big differences between the 2 groups.
what are the disadvantages of matched pairs
time consuming
not possible to control all variables to match others may affect it
what are the 4 types of experiment
Laboratory
Field
Quasi
Natural
what is a laboratory experiment
description: An experiment that takes place in special environment whereby different variables can be carefully controlled
Strengths: High degree of control-experimenters control all variables, the IV has been precisely replicated leading to greater accuracy.
Replication-researchers can repeat experiments and check results
Limitations:
Experimenters bias-this bias can affect results and participants may be influenced by these expectations.
Low ecological validity- high degree f control makes the situation artificial unlike real life
what is a field experiment
An experiment conducted in a more natural environment, not in a lab but with variables still being well controlled
Naturalistic-so more natural behaviours hence high ecological validity. Controlled IV
Ethical considerations-invasion of privacy and likely to have been no informed consent.
Loss of control-over extraneous variables hence precise replication not possible
