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Research Methods Flashcards

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1
Q

What are self-report techniques?

A

Any method in which a person is asked to state their own feelings opinions behaviours or experiences related to a given topic.

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2
Q

What is a questionnaire?

A

A set of written questions used to access a persons’ thoughts or experiences.

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3
Q

Give a strength of a questionnaire.

A

Any one from; cost effective lots of data quickly completed without research present (easy)

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4
Q

Give a weakness of a questionnaire.

A

Any one from; response bias misunderstanding questions Demand characteristics/social desirability

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5
Q

What are open questions?

A

No fixed answer can have many different kinds of response.

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6
Q

What are closed questions?

A

Fixed answer required choice of answers is determined by the question setter.

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7
Q

What are the benefits of closed questions?

A

Quick and easy to answer data is easier to analyse

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8
Q

What are the drawbacks of closed questions?

A

No detail/depth can’t get the meaning behind an answer

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9
Q

What are the benefits of open questions?

A

More detailed information more depth in answers

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10
Q

What are the drawbacks of open questions?

A

Harder to analyse people occasionally miss them out as they can’t be bothered to answer them

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11
Q

What is an interview?

A

A live encounter (face to face or over the phone) where one person asks a set of questions to assess an interviewees thoughts/experiences.

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12
Q

What are the three types of interview?

A

Structured semi structured or unstructured.

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13
Q

What is a structured interview?

A

Made up of pre-determined questions asked in a fixed order (a face to face questionnaire)

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14
Q

What is an unstructured interview?

A

Works like a conversation no set questions a topic is discussed but interaction is free flowing.

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15
Q

What is a semi-structured interview?

A

List of questions worked out in advance but if interviewers wish they can ask follow up questions where they feel it is appropriate.

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16
Q

What are the strengths of an unstructured interview?

A

More detailed answers as people elaborate more more flexible to gain more insight

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17
Q

What are the drawbacks of an unstructured interview?

A

Not easy to replicate not easy to analyse increase risk of experimenter effects

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18
Q

Why is ambiguity a problem in questionnaires and interviews?

A

It means questions can be interpreted in various ways meaning different things to different people.

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19
Q

Why are loaded questions a problem in questionnaires and interviews?

A

These questions contain emotive language which is likely to produce an emotional reaction in the respondent.

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20
Q

What is an aim?

A

A general statement that the research intends to investigate.

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21
Q

What is an hypothesis?

A

A detailed statement which is clear precise and operationalized stating the relationship between the variables being tested.

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22
Q

What is a directional hypothesis?

A

One-tailed – the difference or relationship between the two conditions is stated.

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23
Q

What is the non-directional hypothesis?

A

Two-tailed – simply states that there could be a relationship or difference but does not state what this will be.

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24
Q

What is the null hypothesis?

A

Every experiment has one it says there will be no relationship between the two variables.

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25
Q

What is a meta-analysis?

A

Data from a large number of studies that used the same research question and method are combined (secondary data)

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26
Q

Define quantitative data.

A

Data in the form of numbers and frequencies can be counted.

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27
Q

Define qualitative data.

A

Data in the form of words that describes meanings and experiences.

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28
Q

Explain what primary data is.

A

Information obtained first hand by the researcher for the purpose of the current study.

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29
Q

Explain what secondary data is.

A

Information that has previously been collected not necessarily for the purpose of the current study.

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30
Q

Why are ethical guidelines important?

A

They ensure the protection of participants researchers and institutions.

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31
Q

What are the 4 key ethical guidelines published by the BPS (British Psychological Society)?

A

Informed consent avoid deception right to withdraw protection from harm

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32
Q

Outline what informed consent is?

A

Making sure participants fully understand what they are letting themselves in for and agree to take part in a study. Must come from parents if participants are under 16.

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33
Q

What is the ethical issue of deception?

A

Information is withheld from participants – they have been misled about the purpose of the study and what will happen during it.

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34
Q

What is the right to withdraw?

A

Participants should be told at the start of the research that they have this right and no attempts should be made to encourage them to remain.

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35
Q

Which ethical issue must be addressed by a debrief if it has been breached for the purpose of the research?

A

Deception

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36
Q

What is a debrief?

A

Researchers should discuss the aims of the research with the participants making sure that they understand how they’ve contributed.

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37
Q

What is an independent variable?

A

The aspect of an experimental situation which is changed by the researcher or changes naturally.

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38
Q

What is a dependent variable?

A

The variable that is measured by the researcher any change should be a result of the change in the IV.

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39
Q

What is an extraneous variable?

A

Variables other than the IV that could have an effect on the DV if not controlled.

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40
Q

What is a confounding variable?

A

A variable that hasn’t been controlled and changes systematically with your IV and DV meaning it could be an alternative explanation for your results. (Not all extraneous variables are confounding variables.)

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41
Q

What does operationalization mean?

A

Devising a clear way of measuring/changing a variable.

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42
Q

What are the features of a lab experiment?

A

Takes place in a controlled environment where the research changes the IV and records the effect on the DV whilst controlling all extraneous variables. The participants should be randomly allocated to a condition.

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43
Q

State the 4 advantages of a lab experiment.

A

Can establish cause and effect Few extraneous variables Easy to replicate High internal validity

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44
Q

State the main disadvantages of a lab experiment.

A

Lacks ecological validity (often artificial materials/situations). Likely to see demand characteristics. Experimenter effects likely to occur

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45
Q

What is a field experiment?

A

An experiment that takes place in a natural setting where the research manipulates the IV and records the effect on the DV.

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46
Q

What are the advantages of a field experiment?

A

Increased ecological & external validity Less likely to see demand characteristics Less likely to get experimenter effects

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47
Q

What are the disadvantages of a field experiment?

A

Less control of extraneous variables Issues linked to informed consent Needs a skilled researcher

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48
Q

What is a natural experiment?

A

The change in the IV is not caused by the researcher it would have happened without them present but they take the opportunity to record the effect on the DV.

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49
Q

State the main advantages of a natural experiment.

A

No demand characteristics No researcher effects Few ethical issues

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50
Q

Identify the main issues with natural experiments.

A

Lack of control of extraneous variables No random allocation – confounding participant variables? Hard to replicate

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51
Q

Define ‘Quasi Experiment’.

A

The IV has not been determined or changed by anyone it simply exists e.g. old vs young

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52
Q

What is a control condition?

A

The IV isn’t changed for these participants it provides a baseline measure which can be compared with the experimental condition results.

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53
Q

What is an experimental condition?

A

The condition in which the IV is changed for the participants.

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54
Q

What do psychologists mean by random allocation?

A

People are chosen randomly for different conditions of an experiment e.g. names from a hat.

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55
Q

When psychologists talk about ecological validity they are referring to…

A

How well methods can be applied to real life.

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56
Q

When psychologists talk about external validity they are referring to…

A

How well the results of a study can be applied to real life.

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57
Q

What are demand characteristics?

A

When participants alter their behaviour because they believe they know the purpose of the investigation.

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58
Q

What are experimenter effects?

A

Where the language or behaviour of the experimenter (unconsciously) affects the behaviour/responses/results of the participant.

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59
Q

What is the difference between experimental methods and experimental designs?

A

Experimental methods are the type of experiment you do e.g. lab/field/quasi/natural whereas experimental designs are how you carry the experiment out e.g. independent measures repeated measures matched pairs

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60
Q

What do psychologists do in an independent measures design?

A

Have participants only complete one condition.

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61
Q

What do psychologists do in a repeated measures design?

A

Have participants complete both the experimental AND control condition.

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62
Q

What do psychologists do in a matched pairs design?

A

Before the experiment match participants based on key characteristics for the investigation one participant then completes the control condition and the other the experimental condition.

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63
Q

State the benefits of using an independent measures design.

A

Reduces chance demand characteristics Prevents order effects

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64
Q

State the drawbacks of using an independent measures design.

A

Increased issues with participant variables (individual differences) Requires a lot of participants

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65
Q

State the benefits of using a repeated measures design.

A

No individual differences Requires fewer participants

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66
Q

State the drawbacks of using a repeated measures design.

A

Increases chance of demand characteristics Order effects can occur

67
Q

State the benefits of using a matched pairs design.

A

Reduces chance of demand characteristics Prevents order effects Reduces issues linked to participant variables (individual differences)

68
Q

Explain why counterbalancing is used.

A

To control order effects in a repeated measures design.

69
Q

Explain how counterbalancing is done.

A

One half of the participants complete condition A and then condition B the other half complete condition B and then condition A.

70
Q

What are order effects?

A

A confounding variable linked to the order that participants complete different conditions of an experiment e.g. boredom or fatigue. (repeated measures design only)

71
Q

What is meant by a naturalistic observation?

A

Observation takes place in a setting where the behaviour would normally occur no manipulation of variables.

72
Q

What is meant by a controlled observation?

A

The observer has taken some control over the variables to see how people interact/behave in the particular scenario (can be in a lab or outside).

73
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a naturalistic observation?

A

high external validity - hard to replicate - risk of extraneous variables

74
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a controlled observation?

A

+easy to replicate + reduced extraneous variables - lower external validity

75
Q

What is meant by a participant observation?

A

The researcher is involved in/with the experiment as a member of the group (either overtly or covertly)

76
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of participant observations?

A

+ increased insight to the group (+ if covert less likely to experience demand characteristics) - loss of objectivity

77
Q

Define what is meant by a covert observation.

A

The researcher status is not made clear to the group the researcher doesn’t get consent.

78
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a covert observation?

A

+ less likely to experience demand characteristics - ethical issues

79
Q

Define what is meant by an overt observation.

A

The researcher is open about their intentions and gets consent from the participants who know they are being observed.

80
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of an overt observation.

A

+ ethically acceptable - likely to see demand characteristics

81
Q

Define what is meant by structured and unstructured observations.

A

Unstructured – everything is recorded Structured – only specifics are recorded

82
Q

When doing a structured observation researchers develop behavioural categories to use – what must these be?

A

Observable and measurable (clearly defined/operationalized)

83
Q

Name the 3 types of sampling used in observations.

A

Event sampling time sampling continuous sampling.

84
Q

What is event sampling?

A

Counting how many times a particular behaviour occurs.

85
Q

What is time sampling?

A

Recording behaviour within a pre-established time frame.

86
Q

What is continuous sampling?

A

Recording behaviours throughout the entire period of the observation.

87
Q

How do you check inter-observer reliability? (3 marks)

A

1) Two researchers observe the same behaviour at the same time and record results 2) Compare results looking for similarity 3) Use Spearman’s rho looking for a correlation of >0.8 to consider it reliable.

88
Q

How do you check test-retest reliability? (3 marks)

A

1) Re-administer the same test again at a later date 2) Compare the results looking for similarity 3) Use Spearman’s rho looking for a correlation of >0.8 to consider it reliable

89
Q

What is content analysis?

A

When written (or pictorial) information (articles/transcripts of interviews/media) is examined looking for occurrence of particular pre-identified items. Data is turned from qualitative into quantitative.

90
Q

What is thematic analysis?

A

When written information (articles/transcripts of interviews) is repeatedly examined looking for emerging patterns and themes and sub-themes. Data remains in qualitative form.

91
Q

What is the difference between data generated by content and thematic analysis.

A

Content = quantitative Thematic = qualitative

92
Q

The target population is…

A

The entire group the researcher is interested in and wishes to be able to draw conclusions about.

93
Q

The sample is…

A

The people involved in the study drawn from the target population.

94
Q

Name the 5 different sampling techniques.

A

Opportunity Random Volunteer Systematic Stratified

95
Q

What is an opportunity sample?

A

Selecting people most easily available at the time

96
Q

What is a random sample?

A

Every member of a target population has an equal chance of being selected sample produced using a random technique e.g. names out of a hat.

97
Q

What is a volunteer sample?

A

Participants are invited to take part and people choose to join or not.

98
Q

What is a systematic sample?

A

Selecting every nth participant from a list of the whole population.

99
Q

What is a stratified sample?

A

Subcultures of a population are identified and then participants are selected in proportion to their frequency in the original population.

100
Q

What do psychologists mean by bias-sampling?

A

When certain groups are over or under represented within a sample – limits generalizability if sample is not representative.

101
Q

What do psychologists mean by the term ‘generalisation’?

A

The extent to which findings and conclusions can be drawn from a particular experiment and applied more broadly to the whole population (linked to population validity).

102
Q

What is peer review?

A

The assessment of work by others who are specialists in the same field.

103
Q

What are the 3 main purposes of peer review?

A

1) To ensure information being published is correct and accurate (validates the quality of the research) 2) To suggest amendments/improvements before publication 3) To allocate funding properly and appropriately

104
Q

How is psychological research published?

A

Initially in journals these can then be translated into textbook information or discussed at conferences.

105
Q

What is the problem of publication bias in relation to psychological research?

A

Only positive or attention grabbing results are published skewing our view on the concept being researched.

106
Q

What is a case study?

A

A research method that involved detailed study of a single individual institution or event.

107
Q

What is a correlation?

A

An association between two co-variables

108
Q

Define a positive correlation.

A

As one variable increases so does the other.

109
Q

Give an example correlation co-efficient of a weak positive correlation.

A

0.5

110
Q

Give an example correlation co-efficient of a strong positive correlation.

A

0.8

111
Q

Define a negative correlation.

A

As one variable increases the other decreases.

112
Q

Give an example correlation co-efficient of a weak negative correlation.

A

-0.5

113
Q

Give an example correlation co-efficient of a strong negative correlation.

A

-0.8

114
Q

What are the three measures of central tendency?

A

Mean Median Mode

115
Q

What are measures of dispersion? Name the two you are expected to know.

A

Measures of spread or variation in a set of results. Range and Standard deviation

116
Q

What are descriptive statistics?

A

Use of graphs tables and summary statistics (central tendency and dispersion) to analyse sets of data.

117
Q

What are inferential statistics?

A

Tests used to find out if results are strong enough to reject the null hypothesis – if they are significant rather than due to chance.

118
Q

What is a pilot study? Why are they done?

A

A small scale trial conducted at the start of an experiment to check for any flaws e.g. does the method work do the questions make sense

119
Q

Define the mean.

A

Arithmetic average. Add up all the values and divide by the number of values.

120
Q

Define the median.

A

Central value when data is ordered from lowest to highest.

121
Q

Define the mode.

A

Most frequently occurring value.

122
Q

Evaluate the use of the mean.

A

+ most sensitive as includes all values so more representative - easily distorted by extreme values

123
Q

Evaluate the use of the median.

A

+ extreme scores don’t distort the value + easy to calculate - not very sensitive as not all values are included

124
Q

Evaluate the use of the mode.

A

+ easy to calculate + only appropriate measure for categoric data - crude measure not representative

125
Q

Define ‘range’ in psychology

A

A basic measure of dispersion of scores. Worked out by minusing the lowest value from the highest value and adding one as a correction for rounding.

126
Q

What does the standard deviation tell us?

A

How far scores deviate from the mean. The larger the standard deviation the more spread out the data is.

127
Q

Name the 4 types of graph you need to know how to draw and interpret.

A

Bar chart Scattergraph Histogram Line graph

128
Q

Name the 3 key characteristics required on any graph.

A

Title mentioning both variables Labelled X and Y axis Accurately plotted data

129
Q

When do we use bar charts?

A

When the data is divided into categories.

130
Q

When do we use scattergraph?

A

Show associations between co-variables

131
Q

When do we use histograms?

A

When data is continuous but divided into (possibly uneven) bands.

132
Q

When do we use line graphs?

A

When data is continuous but represented by single plottable points.

133
Q

What goes on the X axis of a graph?

A

The IV

134
Q

What goes on the Y axis of a graph?

A

The DV

135
Q

Describe a normal distribution.

A

Symmetrical (bell shaped) spread of data with the mean median and mode all in the centre.

136
Q

Describe what is meant by a skewed distribution.

A

When the spread of data is not symmetrical but instead clusters towards one end of the graph. The mode is located at the highest point in a different position from the median and from the mean.

137
Q

Describe a positively skewed distribution.

A

Most of the data is centred on the left hand side of the graph with the long ‘tail’ on the positive side of the graph.

138
Q

Describe a negatively skewed distribution.

A

Most of the data is centred on the right hand side of the graph with the long ‘tail’ on the negative side of the graph.

139
Q

Name the statistical test you need to be able to do in full.

A

The sign test

140
Q

When do you use the sign test?

A

Looking for a Difference Used a repeated measures Design Data is nominal

141
Q

What is the level of probability used most in Psychology?

A

0.05 (5%)

142
Q

Why do we use the 5% level of significance?

A

Compromise between the risk of type 1 and type 2 error.

143
Q

Define type 1 error.

A

Rejection of the null hypothesis when it should have been accepted (also known as a “false positive” finding it significant when it wasn’t).

144
Q

Define type 2 error.

A

Failure to reject the null hypothesis when it should have been rejected (also known as a “false negative” finding it not significant when it was).

145
Q

What are the 3 main different types of data?

A

Nominal ordinal interval

146
Q

What is nominal data? Give an example

A

Named distinct categories e.g. male and female

147
Q

What is ordinal data? Give an example

A

The order of the data matters but the actual value of the figure isn’t measureable (doesn’t have a unit) e.g. scores out of 10

148
Q

What is interval data? Give an example

A

Measured along a scale (has units) where the distance between one value and the next is equal and standardised e.g. age in years

149
Q

In statistical tests what is the calculated value?

A

The number produced by doing a statistical test. It is compared to the critical value to see whether results are significant.

150
Q

In statistical tests what is the critical value and how do you find it?

A

The value that helps you determine if a result is significant. Given in a table. You need to know 1) significance level (usually 0.05) 2) number of participants or degrees of freedom 3) one or two tailed hypothesis

151
Q

What 5 elements must you include when explaining if a result was significant or not?

A

Whether the calculated value is greater or less than the critical value The number of participants or degrees of freedom used The significance level used One tailed or two tailed Significant or not

152
Q

what statistical test is needed? In an investigation into gender and conformity women were tested twice in an Asch-style line-judging task. In one condition the confederates were 6 women and in the second condition the confederates were 6 men. The number of times that the women conformed in each case was compared.

A

Wilcoxon

153
Q

What statistical test is needed? An observation is designed to test whether men or women are more likely to go through traffic signals when the signal is showing red.

A

Chi-Squared

154
Q

What statistical test is needed? Sixth-form students were asked to rate themselves as either sociable or not sociable at the start and the end of their two-year courses.

A

Sign Test or Chi-Squared

155
Q

What statistical test is needed? An investigation comparing attractiveness ratings of a sports car between a group of drivers and a group of non-drivers.

A

Mann–Whitney

156
Q

What statistical test is needed? The alternative hypothesis suggests that there is a difference in scores on a GCSE-style maths test between 18-year-olds who have continued to study Maths post-GCSE and those who have not.

A

Unrelated t-test

157
Q

What statistical test is needed? Students want to investigate the correlation between happiness scores and how many friends people have on Facebook.

A

Spearman

158
Q

What statistical test is needed? An investigation where a correlation between participants’ ages and scores on a memory test is being tested.

A

Pearson

159
Q

What statistical test is needed? A researcher wants to investigate whether reaction times increase after a person is given a dose of caffeine equivalent to three cups of coffee. The participant’s base reaction times are compared with those 30 minutes after the caffeine intake.

A

Related t test

160
Q

I am used to test for differences between sets of scores.
When the data is ordinal.
When the design is unrelated.

A

Mann–Whitney

161
Q

I am used as a test of correlation.
Where data is nominal.

A

Chi-Squared

162
Q

I am a test for a difference between two sets of scores.
I am used where data is interval.
I am used where the data is unrelated.

A

Unrelated t-test

163
Q

I am a test for correlation.
When data is ordinal.

A

Spearman

Psychology (11 decks)

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