Research methods Flashcards
What are the 4 types of experiments?
Laboratory
Field
Quasi
Natural
What is a field experiment?
Takes place in a natural environment. The independent variable is manipulated. Participants aren’t necessarily randomly allocated to conditions.
What is a lab experiment?
An experiment carried out in a controlled environment where the independent variable is manipulated. Other extraneous variables are controlled.
What is a quasi experiment?
The IV doesn’t vary. It is a condition that just simply exists. e.g age, gender because we’re not deliberately manipulating the IV.
What is a natural experiment?
Researcher takes advantage of a naturally occurring variables. Theres no random allocation of participants.
What are strengths and weaknesses of a field experiment?
- There is less control over extraneous variables that might bias the results.
+ Behaviour in a field experiment is more likely to reflect real life because of its natural setting. High ecological validity.
+ Less likelihood of demand characteristics affecting the results.
What are strengths and weaknesses of a natural experiment
- They may be more expensive and time-consuming than lab experiments.
- There is no control over extraneous variables that might bias the results.
+ Behaviour in a natural experiment is more likely to reflect real life because of its natural setting.
+ Less likelihood of demand characteristics affecting the results.
What are strengths and weaknesses of a lab experiment?
- Demand characteristics or experimenter effects may bias the results and become confounding variables.
- The artificiality of the setting may produce unnatural behaviour that does not reflect real life, i.e. low ecological validity.
+ It is easier to replicate (i.e. copy) a laboratory experiment.
+ They allow for precise control of extraneous and independent variables.
What are strengths and weaknesses of a quasi experiment?
- Aware they’re studied= with less internal validity.
- Confounding environmental variables are more likely= and less reliable.
+ Allows comparison between types of people.
+ Studies the ‘real effects’ so there is increased realism and ecological validity.
What are the 6 non - experimental methods?
Observations
Self-report technique
Case studies
Meta-analysis
Correlational analysis
Content and thematic analysis
What are the 2 types of observations carried out?
Naturalistic
Controlled
What is a naturalistic observation?
Behaviour is studied in a natural setting. E.g observing shoppers in a supermarket. The environment has been left as normal.
What is a controlled observation?
Variables in the environment are regulated by the researcher. Ppts are likely to know they’re being observed.
What is a covert observation?
Participants are unaware they’re being observed.
What is an overt observation?
Participants are aware they’re being studied.
What is a structured observational design?
A researcher uses various systems to organise observations such as behavioural categories and sampling procedures.
What are advantages and disadvantages of a naturalistic observation?
+ Realistic picture of spontaneous behaviour.
+ High ecological validity
- Theres little control of all other things that are happening.
What are advantages and disadvantages of a controlled observation?
+ Observer can focus on particular aspects.
- Feels unnatural participants behaviour.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of a covert observation?
+ Ppts are unaware they’re being observed so less chance for demand characteristics.
- Ethical issues.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of an overt observation?
+ No ethical issues
- May affect the naturalness of their behaviour.
- Difficult to replicate
- Demand characteristics
What are advantages and disadvantages of unstructured observation?
+ Good to use a pilot study, especially when the area of research is new.
- Visible and eye catching but may not be important to the researcher.
- There may be too much data to record.
What are advantages and disadvantages of structured observation?
+ Objective and rigorous.
+ Better method to use in comparisons to unstructured observations.
- May be problematic if researchers don’t agree upon and understand behavioural categories prior to the study.
What is a non- participant?
Observer is separate from people being observed.
What is a participant?
Observations made by someone who is also participating in the activity.
How can you design a good questionnaire?
CLARITY: respondent needs to know what is being asked of them.
BIAS: avoid all questions that may lead to ppts answering in a certain way.
ANALYSIS: questions need to be easy to analyse.
PILOT STUDY: carry out a small-scale version in order to make changes.
SAMPLING: use a sample that represents the population.
SEQUENCE: leave more difficult questions to the end.
FILLER QUESTIONS: irrelevant questions should be included to distract ppts, reducing demand characteristics.
What are strengths and weaknesses of questionnaires?
+ They’re ethical as they allow for informed consent and withdrawal.
+ Reliable due to standardised instructions.
- Social desirability bias may occur.
- Low response rate.
What are strengths and weaknesses of structured interviews?
+ Can easily be repeated as the questions are standardised.
+ High response rate as new respondents can be accessed.
- Interviewers expectations may influence the answer given, a form of investigator effects.
What are strengths and weaknesses of unstructured interviews?
+ More detailed info can be obtained.
+ Easier for misinterpretation to be reduced.
- Ethical issues if researcher brings up a sensitive topic to the interviewee.
- They take a long time to conduct which limits the number they can carry out.
- Not reliable as not standardised.
What are the 2 self report techniques?
Questionnaires
Interviews
What are the 2 types of questions and what are they?
Open questions: Can further explain the reason
Closed questions: Yes/ no response
What’s the Likert scale?
Respondents indicate their agreement with a statement using a 5-point scale.
What’s a fixed-choice option?
This includes a list of possible options and respondents indicate those that apply to them.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of closed questions?
+ Easier to analyse and display graphically.
- Can have a limited range of answers, leading to not selecting accurate answers.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of open questions?
+ Can provide unexpected answers, allowing for a deep insight.
- Difficult to summarise as there’s a range of responses.
What’s a correlation?
Refers to the measurement of a relationship between two or more co- variables.
What’s a positive correlation?
As one variable increases, the other increases.
What’s a negative correlation?
As one variable decreases, the other decreases.
What’s a zero correlation?
No relationship exists between two variables.
What type of data does correlational analysis depend upon?
Quantitative.
What type of correlation is it above 0.5?
Strong
What type of correlation is it below 0.5?
Weak
What are the strengths of correlations?
- Correlations are very useful as a preliminary research technique, allowing researchers to identify a link that can be further investigated through more controlled research.
- Can be used to research topics that are sensitive/ otherwise would be unethical, as no deliberate manipulation of variables is required.
What are the weaknesses of correlations?
- Correlations only identify a link; they do not identify which variable causes which. There might be a third variable present which is influencing one of the co-variables, which is not considered.
What are the differences between correlations and experiments?
- The most fundamental difference between experiments and correlations is that experiments assess the effect of one variable, (I.V.) on another variable which is measured (D.V.).
- This necessitates that data is discrete or separate and the effect of this on something else is being measured.
- In contrast, correlations do not use discrete separate conditions, instead, they assess how much of a relationship exists between two co-occurring variables which are related.
What is content analysis?
A research technique that enables the indirect study of behaviour by examining communications that people produce.
What is the purpose of content analysis?
- A method that analyses qualitative data.
- In its most common form, it’s a technique that allows the researcher to take quantitative data.
- Is usually carried out on secondary data.
- Coding is the initial stage.
- The information must be organised into meaningful units.
What is the process of content analysis?
- Research questions
- First, we decide what categories to use.
- Then we can count up the number in each category.
- Next, we study the source and place the characters in it into categories we decided.
What are advantages of content analysis?
- Ethical issues are minimised – much secondary data for analysis is available to the public.
- Flexible – can produce quantitative or qualitative data.
- With clear categories, we can test reliability using other researchers (inter-rater reliability).
What are the disadvantages of content analysis?
- Studying out of context: People are studied in directly as part of content analysis outside of contacts within which may attribute opinions attitudes to the speaker.
- Researcher biased – may suffer from lack of objectivity.
What is a case study?
- A detailed investigation of a single instance.
- Usually just one person but can be a family/institution/group.
- Data is collected in detail.
- Longitudinal.
- Mostly qualitative data but can produce quantitative data.
- Often use triangulation.
What are examples of case studies?
- HM- Memory
- Teenage gambling Addict (Mark Griffith 1993)
- Freud (Little Hans) Oedipus complex
- Phineas gage (1848)
What are the advantages of case studies?
- Gather lots of detailed information which other research methods can miss. This helps develop new theories
- Have high ecological validity
- Can provide information about unique cases or behaviours.
- Sometimes is the only available way to analyse in such detail
What are the disadvantages of case studies?
-Lacks generalisability as the sample is too small to be representative
-Difficult to replicate as they are usually based on a unique situation
- Can be time-consuming and expensive
- Low reliability as the results from one case study is unlikely to be repeated when studying another person or group
- Difficult/impossible to replicate
- Methods can be subjective which can affect findings. (e.g the interviewer may have certain expectations which could influence the interpretation of the results)
