research methods Flashcards
What are experiments AO1
- one variable is manipulated and its effect is measured
- determine cause and effect
- DV and IV manipulated
- field and lab experiments eg Steyvers and Hemmer or assessing reading ability in a classroom
field experiments strengths and weaknesses
- ecological validity
- if covert, less demand characteristics
- extraneous variables reduce reliability
- consent if covert
lab experiments strengths and weaknesses
- more reliable
- ensures causality - validity
- lack ecological validity
- often volunteer sample - demand characteristics
independent groups design strengths and weaknesses
- less likely to develop practise or fatigue effects if only doing one condition
- recruiting twice as many people - individual differences between groups
repeated measures design strength and weakness
- individual differences are reduced
- more likely to guess the aim and so show demand characteristics
matched pair design strength and weakness
- allow the groups to be compared fairly on relevant factors - reliable
- may not be possible to perfectly match ppts on all relevant factors
what are order effects and how can they be avoided
- performance of one condition is influenced by completing the previous condition - practise or fatigue effects
- avoided by counterbalancing, randomisation or leaving a time gap
what are extraneous variables and name 2 types
factors that may end up having an undesirable effect on the variable being measured, eg participant and situational variables
what are confounding variables
when EVs are not controlled and therefore have an effect on the DV , reducing the internal validity of the results
what are ppt variables and give an example
where ppts themselves affect the study results, for example if a ppt has a photographic memory and skews the results of a memory test
what are situational variables and give an example
environmental variables that may affect the results of the study for example the noise in the room while in a memory test
what is objectivity
the need to be impartial or judgement free regarding the analysis of results of a study, avoiding personal opinion.
what is subjectivity
the need to base a judgement on personal opinions, feelings or experience
what is reliability
the consistency of findings from research determines the reliability of the results
case studies AO1
- carried out on unique cases eg HM who was unable to make new long-term memories due to brain surgery to reduce his epilepsy
- aim is to see how brain damage affects cognitive function eg memory or perception
- used when unable to use experiments
- data is gathered from lots of sources and is then triangulated
case studies AO3
- hard to generalise
- lots of different methods make it reliable
- provides a full picture - valid
- researcher bias - get to know person
ethics dodge bc brain funny person cant give full consent all the time
2 strengths and weaknesses of using the mean
- sensitive and powerful measure as all scores used
- extremities are included - representative
- extremities may skew the results
- may not be an actual score eg 0.5 of a word cant be recalled
2 strengths and weaknesses of using the median
- not affected by extreme scores
- easy to work out
- not useful in a small group of numbers - inaccurate representation
- large sample of numbers will take a long time to work out
2 strengths and weaknesses of using the mode
- easy to calculate
- can be used on non-numerical data
- more than 2 modes makes it meaningless
- only takes into account common scores - unrepresentative
a strength and weakness of using standard deviation
- uses all scores to accurately measure dispersion, showing normal and skewed distributions
- hard to calculate manually
MODE IS ON THE LEFT, MODE IS ON THE LEFT, MODE IS ON THE LEFT, THAT’S A….
positive skew
difference between ordinal, interval and ratio data
- ordinal data can be ordered, the gap between values has no value
- interval data gaps have meaning, 0 has value eg temperature 0 degrees
- ratio data gaps have meaning, 0 has no value eg 0 seconds is nothing
if its a repeated measures design, the stat test will be ….
the wilcoxon
- experiment, repeated measures, at least ordinal data
if its an independent group design, the stat test will be …
chi square if nominal data or mann whitney if ordinal data, spearmans rho if its a corrolation
corrolation AO1
- looks for a relationship between two variables
- data gathered via self-report measures
- use the same ppt for two measures eg aggression levels and TV consumption
- two variables are of equal importance
- positive/ negative correlation
- coefficients show strength - +1 perfect pos correlation, -1 perfect neg corrolation
corrolations AO3
- can do unethical ones eg smoking/ lung cancer
- easy to see if there’s a relationship via scattergraph
- cant imply causation
- could be an extraneous variable instead
- self-report data
What’s the difference between a type 1 and 2 error?
type 1 = too lenient
Type 2 = too harsh
CAT scans AO1
- x-rays take b/w images of the brain
- person lies on a bed that moves through the gantry
- images can be compiled to form 3d image
PET scans AO1
- functional images of the brain in colour
- radio-active glucose tracer injected into the blood
- tracer will be most visible in areas that use lots of glucose for the continuous performance task
FMRI scans AO1
- focuses on blood flow
- see which areas are more active - functional image
- 3D image
CAT scans AO3
- shows structural changes, showing structural anomalies eg an engorged amygdala or a tumour
- only black and white images - may be difficult to spot subtle abnormalities or functional changes
PET scans AO3
- shows functional changes unlike CAT scans
- invasive and task validity can be poor
FMRI scans AO3
- non-invasive unlike PET scans
- controlled setting therefore brain function may not show accurate daily brain functioning eg if amygdala triggers fight/flight.
Adoption/ Twin study AO1
Ludeke et al:
- testing the traditional moral values triad
- Minnesota twin reared apart register 66 MZ, 53 DZ mostly white middle class
- took part in 5 tests eg conservatism and religious fundamentalism scales, corrections made for age, sex and IQ
- found only conservatism link between DZ, all measures MZ
- RWA, rel fund. and conservatism all one trait
- genetics influenced 44% variance in ppts.
Explain what 3 of the tests in Ludeke et al were and what they measured:
- right wing authoritarianism - how authoritarian you are
- conservatism - wilson Patterson scale to measure ideas on abortion, capitalism and segregation
- religious fundamentalism- 12 true false questions about Christian beliefs
- traditionalism - stuff from the multi-dimensional personality questionnaire
- intelligence - verbal and performance intelligence
Adoption study AO3
- all from minesota and white
- same sets of questions - reliable
- questionnaires not equal to practical beliefs eg abortion
- PFH because all ppts knew they had a twin
observations AO1
- when behaviour is watched and recorded eg via tally chart or video
- naturalistic/ structured
- ppt/ non-ppt
- overt/covert
- event sampling or time sampling- note every time a behaviour happens/ deciding a length of tie eg 10 minutes and note how many times the behaviour takes place
Observations AO3
- naturalistic and covert methods preserve ecological validity and reduce demand characteristics
- overt is better for ethics as can give informed consent and no need for deception
- time sampling may not be valid because may miss behaviour if not shown in a specific time period eg child may stab teacher after 5 minutes observation
- do not tell us about cause and effect, can only describe what behaviour occurs
content analysis AO1
- looks at the presence of certain words or themes in media
- categories agreed on beforehand
- clear definitions are given to each category eg what constitutes verbal or physical aggression
- tally of prevalence of words/ themes
- quantitative data collected
Content analysis AO3
- not many ethical issues because sources are public domain
- can be easily replicated as the source is available to the public
- subjective - what certain words mean
- interrater reliability if two researchers cannot agree on a definition
Name 3 requirements from the animals procedures act:
- endangered animals cannot be used unless the secretary of state
- should avoid using animals where possible and limit pain
- animals cannot be used in multiple studies if the new study is more painful than the last
- animals should be humanely killed at the end if they will suffer adverse effects because of the study
practical issues of using animals for/ against
- biologically similar to humans physiologically
- better controlled than with humans so more reliable
- shorter gestation period so can study generational effects
- generalisability is bad
- cost of buying approved animals can be quite high
- danger - some animals may bite or scratch researchers, dangerous
- controls are not seen in a natural scenario so less valid outside of a lab
ethical issues of using animals for/ against
- can carry out unethical experiments eg shocking rats
- very strict home office guidelines so well protected
- animals caused some distress - may affect behaviour
- may cause permanent damage considering the knowledge gained might not be justifiable
BPS ethics on animal rights in experiments
- should use alternatives where possible
- an appropriate species should be used
- ## caging should be appropriate eg social animals should have company, should have enough space
name 3 aspects of the HCPC guidelines that clinical practitioners should follow
- promote and protect the interest of clients
- only working within your limits of knowledge and skill
- respect confidentiality
- keep records of your work
describe primary data in clinical psychology
- colected by a researcher for use in a current study
-eg Rosenhan - need to plan how they are going to gather data
- need to plan how they will record it
describe secondary data in clinical psychology
- data has been collected by another researcher - “second hand”
- often used to review previous studies eg Carlsson
- can use government statistics
AO3 of primary data in clinical psychology
- authentic as comes from ppts themselves so can check for validity or follow up if necessary
- primary data is up to date, whereas older research may be irrelevant
- takes more time and cost than using other peoples research
- may be hard to find a big enough sample
AO3 of secondary data in clinical psychology
- increased diversity in sample
- can be gathered more quickly than primary data
- may use older classification systems so irrelevant data
- cannot ensure validity and reliability which will affect conclusions drawn
longitudinal studies AO1
- extended period of time
- measures developmental or time-based changes
- collects data in a lot of different ways - Beck’s depression inventory or GAF scale,
- uses the same measures at different points in the study
- collects qualitative data as well as quantitative
- eg how many or what symptoms present when
strengths and weaknesses of longitudinal studies
- no issue with individual differences because ppt variables are controlled
- effectively shows the effect of time on a disorder or treatment
- more likely ppts will drop out or die in a longit. study so validity reduces
- data may be irrelevant by the time the study is published
- ethics - RTW reduced, bias may skew results in longer studies
cross-sectional studies AO1
- snapshot of behaviour
- large group of ppts - good cross section of the TP
- completing a questionnaire or an interview but with loads of different age ranges
Cross sectional AO3
- quicker than longitudinal therefore more cost effective
- findings can be acted on a lot quicker because conclusions can be reached quicker
- individual differences likely to significantly impact research findings cohort effect - where your culture dictates your beliefs eg old people wont want to bother the doctor
- aetiological validity is poor because cannot establish a cause of the disorder since no historical data is collected
cross-cultural designs
- take samples from different cultural groups to see how culture may impact beliefs/behaviour
- whether SZ is experienced the same in all cultural groups or whether it is different
cross-cultural design AO3
- allows for an understanding of how culture affects diagnosis and what is just down to genetics and what is not
- allows us to see if the ICD/DSM are accurate globally, or just in western culture.
- unlikely to know the cultures in enough depth to understand whether it is a culture-bound syndrome or not - may overlook important cultural differences
- translation can be an issue to try and get both literal meaning and cultural meaning to be perfectly equivalent
meta-analysis AO1
- looks at secondary data from lots of studies
- used when research findings are inconsistent
- researchers look for a diverse sample of studies
- may consider a specific time period eg last 10 years
- often used to examine the effectiveness of a treatment
Meta-analysis AO3
- able to use a massive sample cheaply and quickly rather than having to compile it yourself
- no ethical concerns because using secondary data rather than doing it first-hand- may have sometimes been a hindrance eg sensitive topics
- may be undisclosed reliability or validity issues
- may be time bound eg from 20 years ago - could be a cohort effect
Case studies AO1 CLINICAL psychology
- idiographic approach - focusing on the detail of a topic and on individuals
- often longitudinal in nature
- ## can use primary and secondary data and may test the intra-rater reliability of the diagnosis
case studies AO3
- can provide predictive validity of a diagnosis due to being longitudinal
- rich data used increases validity
- able to triangulate data - reliable
- ethics - may feel like they cannot withdraw after a long time
- generalisability is bad because its only one person or a small group
- study’s results may be irrelevant in applicability because of how long it takes to carry out case studies.
example of case study in clinical psychology:
Bradshaw et al with Carol - 26 year old with SZ
- went through CBT over the course of 3 years
- Lots of long walks and talked about stuff they had in common
- saw an improvement psychosocial functioning and was never rehospitalised.
interviews in clinical
- structured
-semi-structured - unstructured
- SCID - standardised diagnostic interview
Interviews AO3 clinical
- valid - ppts own words
- can be recorded - reliable
- subjectivity - semi and unstructured
- interviewer bias - ppts may not feel comfortable etc validity
example of a use of interviews in clinical psychology
Brown et al:
- aim - do stressful life events cause depression?
- 395 women from Islington
- initial interview then a follow up
found those with support less likely to become depressed
The differences between grounded theory and thematic analysis:
- grounded theory is a methodology, TA is just a way of analysing data
- grounded theory has a standardised procedure, TA is largely flexible with a few key points
- grounded theory develops a theory or model, TA just analyses data
- Grounded theory is a lot more difficult than TA, which is beginner-friendly
key terms in grounded theory
- developped by glaser and strauss
- memoing- adding comments to the data
- theoretical sampling - refines categories
integration - putting it into a theory/model
strengths and weaknesses of grounded theory
- good for explaining phenomena without a pre-existing theory, provides a good way to come up with new theories
- systematic approach with a specific procedure to follow
- takes a long time and is complex
- can increase the chance of researcher bias as needs to be interpreted.
Purpose of the peer review process
Ensure all studies published are valid and unbiased and stops irrelevant or opinionated articles being published
name 3 things peer review takes into account
- who funded the research
- if the study has been replicated
- if the sample is appropriate
- if the study design is appropriate
feedback is then given to the author
strengths and weaknesses of peer review
- reviewers have in-depth knowledge of the subject
- using blind/ double blind procedure validity ^^ because the author cant bias the feedback
- long, slow process
- reviewers may be more critical if they disagree with the research.
what is the structure of a psychology research paper?
- abstract
- introduction and literature review
- methodology
- results
- discussion
- references
how do you calculate a spearmans rho
