Research Methods Flashcards
What are the 4 types of experimental methods
Laboratory
Field
Natural
Quasi
Give a brief explanation of the laboratory experimental method
Carried out in extremely controlled environments, where conditions are highly controlled.
What is a pro of the lab experimental method
High control over extraneous and confounding variables. IV and DV are strongly controlled. High internal validity and therefore reliability
What is a con of the lab experimental method
Low ecological validity as everything is extremely controlled. Low generalisability. Demand characteristics.
Give a brief explanation of the field experimental method
IV is naturally manipulated, done in a public setting where there are unwilling volunteers
Give a pro of the field experimental method
High ecological validity as none of the variables are maniupalted to the experimenter’s liking
Give a con of the field experimental method
Low reliabilty, as variables aren’t controlled and extraneous variables are more likely to pop up. Also questionable ethics
Give an explanation of the natural experimental method
The IV changes without the experimenter’s intervention, researcher just records the effects on the DV. No random allocation. Often takes advamntage of real world events, such as romanian orphans
Give a pro of natural experimental method
High validity, allows for more unethical studies to take place as the event has already hapenned
Give a con of natural experimental method
Naturally occuring event may not happen often
Give a brief explentaion of quasi experimetnal method
IV already exists cannot be manipulated - e.g. gender.
Give a pro of quasi experimental method
Take place in lab so can have high validity
Give a con of quasi experimental method
No control over environment and therefore extraneous variables
What are extraneous variables
A variable which is not being measured or manipulated which can affect the study, e.g. temperature of the room when testing concentration may affect it, but also may not be intended to
Click to see a table that summarises experimental methods
Comparison of Experimental Methods
ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY
EXTRANEOUS VARIABLES
REPLICABILITY
LABORATORY
Low
Controlled
High
FIELD
High
Not controlled
Low
NATURAL
High
Not controlled
Low
QUASI
Low/High
Controlled/Not controlled
High/Low
What are the 4 parts of Observational Techniques
Covert (overt)
Participant (Non-participant)
Naturalistic (Controlled)
Structured (Unstructures)
Explain Covert observations
Known as ‘undisclosed’, where the participants are unaware they are being observed. They may be informed they have been studied after the experiment
Give a pro of covert observations
No investigator effects as participant unaware they are being studied. For example, often particpants will attempt to guess the aim of the study, in covert observations they can’t do this.
Give a con of covert observations
Ethical issues as participant hasn’t consented to be studied.
Explain an Overt Observation
‘Open’, participants are aware they are being studied
Give a pro of overt observations
More ethical than the covert method
Give a con of overt observations
Investigator effects are likely to occur, an example is a particpant might give bias towards a side of the experiment they want to be seen as, e.g. seeing if people will give a homeless person some money
Explain participant observations
When the experimenter also takes part in the study. Can be covert or overt.
Give a pro of particpant observation.
Researcher can obtain in-depth data as they are in close proximity the the particpants
Give a con of particpant observation
Presence of the investigator can cause investagator effects, influencing the other participant’s behaviour
Explain non-particpant observation
When the person who is conducting the experiment doesn’t take part in the experiment
Give a pro of non-particpant observation
Investigator effects less likely to occur due to the lack of presence of an investiagot
Give a con of non-participant observation
Because of a lack of proximity to the particpants, the result of the experiment may be less reliable.
Explain naturlistic observations
An observation carried out in an unaltered, unmanipulated setting where the observer does not intefere.
Give a pro of naturlistic observations
High ecological validity as there is little to no control over extraneous variables
Give a con of naturalistic observations
Issues with reliablity, as the little control over variables means extraneous variables can affect the outcome of the experiment
Give an explanation of controlled observations
Take place under strict conditions, in a laboratory setting where extraneous variables can be controlled to prevent interference with the results
Give a pro of controlled observations
High reliabilty as extraneous variables are controlled
Give a con of controlled observatiosn
Low ecological validity as extraneous variables aren’t controlled, which isn’t always accurate to real life
Give an explanations of structured observations
In structured observations, the researcher uses coded ‘schedules’ according to a previously agreed formula to document the behaviour and organise data into behavioural categories. A behavioural category is when psychologists must decide which specific behaviours should be examined, e.g. when particpants look away from test they are taking
Give a pro of structured observations
Easier to compare behaviours between groups
Give a con of structured observations
Investigator may miss behaviours that aren’t part of the behavioural categories chosen
Explain unstructured observation
When the experimenter documents anything they deem to be useful or important, or recording every instance of behaviour
Give a pro of unstructured observation
As data is recorded in great detail, the results are often reliable and contain a lot of useful information
Give a con of unstructured observation
Prone to observer bias due to the lack of categories.
What are the two main types of self-report techniques
Questionnares, Interviews
Give a brief description of questionnares
Where particpants give opinion on pre-determined questions that can be open or closed
Give a brief description of Open Question Questionnaires and a pro and con
Particpants may answer how they wish to a question
Pro - provides detialed data
Con - particpantss may incorrectly answer a question or answer in a biased way
Give a brief description of Closed Question Questionnaires and a pro and con
Participant can only answer pre-determined answers (e.g a checklist). Quantative data
Pro - Easy to display and collect data
Con - Limitation when it comes to data provided
Give a brief description of interviews
Three types, unstructured and structured, semi-structured. Face to face.
Give a brief description of structured interviews with a pro and con
Questions are chosen in advance and done with a schedule.
Pro - Qunatative data so easier to graph
Con - Investigator effects may play a role
Give a brief description of unstrcutrued interviews with a pro and con
More like a conversation with no pre-determine dquestion.
Pro - produces rich qualatative data
Con - More time consuming and costly
Give a brief description of semi-structured interviews with a pro and con
Mainly consist of pre-determined questions but the interviewer may ask more if they feel they should
Pro - Increases validity
Con - Analysis of data is hard as qualatiative data produced
What are the 3 types of correlation techniques (+ give a description of each)
Positive - As one variable increases so does the other
Negative - As one variable decreases so does the other
No correlation - No relationship between two variables
Give a definition of the IV
Independenet Variable, the variable that the researcher manipulates and has a direct effect on the dependent variable
Give a defintion of the DV
Dependent variable, the variables that the research measures. The variable that is affected by changes in the independent variable
What are the two types of hypotheses
Directional and non-directional
Give an explanation of a directional hypotheses
A hypotheses that attempts to predict the outcome of an experiment (sometimes called one-tailed).
Give an explanation of a non-directional hypotheses
A hypotheses that doesn’t guess the outcome of an experiment (sometimes called a two-tailed hypotheses).
What are the five types of sampling
Random, Systematic, Stratified, Oppurtunity, Volunteer
Give an explanation of random sampling
Every member of the public has an equal chance of being selected
Give a pro and con of random sampling
Pro - Free from researcher bias
Con - Difficult and time-consuming
Give an explanation of Systematic sampling
A pre-determined system is used to determine who will be choses (e.g. every 5th person)
Give a pro and con of systematic sampling
Pro - No researcher bias
Con - Not reprsentative of the wider community
Give an explanation of Stratified sampling
Subgroups are identified within a populations. participants are obtained from each stratum in proportion with their occurence in the populations (e.g. if a class had 18 male and 2 females and reseracher wanted 10 particpants, 9 boys and 1 female would be selected)
Give a pro and a con of stratified sampling
Pro - More representative, therefore generalisable
Con - Diffucult and time consuming
Give a brief explanation of opportunity sampling
This consists of selecting anyone who is available or willing to take part in the study at that time
Give a pro and con of opportunity sampling
Pro - easy and convenient
Con - There is an issue of bias as people will be selected from a specific area
Give a brief explanation of Volunteer sampling
Consists of participants self-selecting to take part in a study, either via a survey or advert or stuff like that
Give a pro and con of Volunteer sampling
Pro - Quicker and easier
Con - Bias as not everyone will be able to sign up to it
What is a pilot study
A pilot study is a smaller, less expensive version of a study done to test an experiment before carrying out the full one. This checks for problems and also tests the hypotheses slightly
What are the three types of experimental design
Repeated measures, Independent Groups, Matched pairs
Give an explanation of the repeated measures experimental design
This is where participants take place in each condition of the experiment.
Give a pro and con of the repeated measures experimental design
Pro - fewer participants needed, also data can be compared more reliably
Con - Order effects may occur, often in the form of fatigue or boredom.
Give an explanation of the independent groups experimental design
Where each participant only takes part in one condition by random allocation. This ensures there no researcher bias from picking participants for a condition,
Give a pro and con of the independent groups experimental design
Pro - Avoids order effects and demand characteristics
Con - More participants needed, also participant variables likely to get in way (age, sex etc.)
Give an explanation of the matched pairs experimental design
Pairs of participants are matched from the sample in terms of key variables such as age or IQ. After they are matched, it is then treated like independent measures. One member will take part in one condition, and the other will take part in the other condition.
Give a pro and con of the matched pairs experimental design
Pro - reduces participant varibles and order effects
Con - Individual differences may still affect the study, more participants required, time-consuming
What are the two types of extraneous variables
Situational
Particpant
Explain situational variables
Variables connected with the research situation, e.g temperature, amount of light. Controlled through standardisation.
Explain participant variables
Variables connected with the research participants. For example age, intelligence, sex. They are controlled through the experimental desing
What are the 4 methods of removing extraneous variables
Random Allocation
Counterbalancing
Randomisation
Standardisation
Explain random allocation
Randomly allocating participants to their groups, This will decrease the possibility that participant variables in the form of individual differences will affect the results
Explain Counterbalancing
To combat the problem of order effects with repeated measures design, researchers can counterbalance the order of the conditions. The sample is split in half with one half completing the conditions in reverse order, e.g. studying in a loud room before a quiet room
Explain randomisation
Where the trials are presented in a random order to avoid any bias that the order of the trials present.
Explain standardisation
When all the situtional variables are kept the same between trials so that we can be certain the IV is what is affecting the DV
What is a confounding variable
A variable which affects the outcome of the experiment
What are the two types of confounding variables
Demand characteristics, investigator effects
What are demand characteristics
When participants try to guess the aim of the research and display unnatural behaviour.
What are investigator effects
Where a researcher acts in a specific way to support their prediction.
What is a single-blind experiment
Only the researcher knows the true aim of the experiment, used to combat demand characteristics
What is a double-blind experiment
Neither the participants or researcher know the true aim of the experiment, only the person who originally designed it. Used to combat investigator effects
What are the Six points of the code of ethics
Deception
Right to withdraw
Informed Consent
Privacy and Confidentiality
Protection from harm
Give an overview of deception in terms of ethical guidelines
When information is deliberatly withheld from participants. This prevents participants from giving fully informed consent
How do we deal with deception in terms of ethics
At the end of the experiment, participants should be fully debriefed and told the the aim of the experiment. They should then be given the right to withdraw their data
Give an overview of the right to withdraw in terms of ethics
Particpants should be allowed to withdraw from their experiment whenever they ask. If they are not able to withdraw, they are at potential risk of being harmed
How do we deal with the right to withdraw if broken
At the end of the experiment, participants should be fully debriefed and told the the aim of the experiment. They should then be given the right to withdraw their data
Give an overview of informed consent in terms of ethics
When someone consents to particpate in research, they must be fully informed about the aims of the research. Lack of consent may put the particpant at harm
What are the four ways to deal with consent if it is broken
Presumptive Consent
Prior General Consent
Retrospective Consent
Children as Participants
Explain presumptive Consent
Takes a random sample of the population and tells them about the research, including any deception used. If they agree to take part, the consent is generalised
Explain prior general consent
Prior general consent involves asking participants to give their permission to take part in a number of different studies, including one that will involve deception. By consenting, participants are effectively consenting to be deceived.
Explain retrospective Consent
After an experiment takes place, particpants can look back on the experiment and give consent to their data being used if they choose to
Explain how Consent is gained if children are used as particpants
Children under the age of 16 are unable to give consent, so it is up to the parents
Explain privacy in terms of ethics
Privacy is the right of individuals to decide how or if they want their data to be shared.
How to you deal with privacy in terms of ethics
Particpants should be give fully informed consent, and have the right to withdraw
Explain Confidentiality in terms of ethics
Where a participant’s private information is protected.
What do you do if confidentiality is broken
Provide participants with a fake identity to assure their anonymity and protect their identity
Explain protection from harm in terms of ethics
Psychologists have the responsibilty to protect their participants from physical or mental harm. Participants shoudl leave in the same state as they entered.
