Research methods Flashcards
What is an experiment?
A research method in which the researcher tries to control all variables other than the independent variable and the dependent variable; this allows the researcher to identify a cause-and-effect relationship between the IV and the DV.
What is a hypothesis?
A testable statement about the relationship between two variables: The independent variable and the dependent variable.
What is the independent variable?
The factor which will be varied or changed in an experiment to look for an effect on the other variable.
What is the dependent variable?
It is the outcome or effect we are measuring within the study.
What is a null hypothesis?
A hypothesis that exists and states that no variables affect any other variables.
How do you write a null hypothesis?
There is not going to be a significant difference in the “dependent variable” between “condition a” and “condition B” of the “independent variable”.
What is an alternative hypothesis?
The hypothesis the researcher tests by conducting a study and collecting data, which attempts to show the null hypothesis is not supported.
How do you write an alternative hypothesis?
It is predicted that there will be a significant difference in the “dependent variable” between the two conditions of the “independent variable”.
What are the different experimental methods?
- Laboratory experiment.
- Field experiment.
- Natural experiment.
What is a laboratory experiment?
- There is a high level of control of extraneous variables.
- There is an IV which is manipulated by the researcher and causes a change in the DV.
- They take place in a controlled environment, often a laboratory
What are some advantages of a laboratory experiment?
- Easy to replicate, because it is possible to recreate the same environment and the same procedures. So we can check the reliability of the results
- Researcher has control over the variables, so we are able to conclude that the IV is the cause of the DV
What are some disadvantages of a laboratory experiment?
- The setting is artificial. They often lack ecological validity, as the behaviour studied does not represent real life conditions. The results cannot be generalised to the natural environment of participants
- Participants may display demand characteristics, which means that they understand the aim of the study and act accordingly
What is a field experiment?
- This is conducted in a real life setting – for example, a school, hospital or subway.
- Takes place where the behaviour would normally occur.
- The experimenter still manipulates the IV to see the effect on the DV.
What are some advantages of a field experiment?
- Behaviour is more natural than laboratory experiment, as it takes place in the natural environment, so we have higher ecological validity.
- The participants do not know they are being studied, so they act naturally
What are some disadvantages of a laboratory experiment?
- Deception – participants do not always know they are taking part in research.
- Extraneous variables cannot be controlled in the natural environment, so we cannot be sure that the IV is the cause of the DV
What is a natural experiment?
- This is where the independent variable changes naturally (on its own). It is not manipulated by the researcher.
- For example, the effects of stress on families due to the recent recession. An experimenter cannot create this situation, it has occurred naturally and so they can study the effects of the IV.
What are some advantages of a natural experiment?
- Allows researchers to study variables that could not be manipulated (eg, the effect of gender or age on behaviour).
- There is some control over extraneous variables, so it is possible to see how the IV affects the DV.
What are some disadvantages of a natural experiment?
- The environment can be artificial and so there might be low ecological validity.
- Participants might be aware that they are being studied, so their behaviour will not be natural
What is experimental design?
How the participants are used in the conditions of an experiment.
What are the different types of experimental design?
- Independent groups.
- Repeated measures.
- Matched pairs.
What are independent groups?
Where two or more separate groups of participants are used in an experiment; each member of the pair takes part in a different condition.
What are some advantages of independent groups?
- There are no order effects because people only take part in one condition.
- Often, the same material can be used for the task in both conditions.
- Participants cannot work out the aim of the study because they only take part in one condition.
What are some disadvantages of independent groups?
- There are different people(participant variables) and the two conditions so that may be why the results are different.
- You need more people for the study. To get 10 in each group you need 20 people.
What are repeated measures?
When only one group of participants is used in an experiment; this group takes part in both conditions.
What are some advantages of repeated measures?
- The people in both conditions are the same, so there are no participant variables.
- You only need 10 people to get 20 results because each person produces two scores.
What are some disadvantages of repeated measures?
- There are order effects as people have to do two tasks.
- You may need to tasks (you cannot use the same list twice).
- Participants may work out the aim of the study because they take part in both conditions.
What are matched pairs?
Where people with similar qualities are grouped into pairs; each member of the pair takes part in a different condition. Their scores are counted as one person.
What are some advantages of matched pairs?
- Participant variables are reduced.
- There are no order effects.
- Often the same material can be used for the task in both conditions.
What are some disadvantages of matched pairs?
- Matching is difficult, time-consuming and not always successful.
- Some participant variables are still present.
What are order effects?
When a participants performance in the second condition of an experiment is affected because they have already done the first condition. They may do better because of practice or worse because of tiredness. This may happen in a repeated measures design.
What are participant variables?
The differences between the people who take part in the study. These may affect the results of an experiment that uses an independent groups design.
What are standardised procedures?
A set order of carrying out a study that is applied to all participants when necessary.
What are extraneous variables?
A variable that is not the IV but might affect the DV if it is not controlled.
How do you control extraneous variables?
- Instructions to participants.
- Randomisation.
What are instructions?
The written (or verbal) information given to participants during an experiment.
How do instructions affect how a participant behaves?
The information that is said or written for participants might affect the way they participate in the study and therefore their scores or performances - this could be an extraneous variable.
How should we write instructions?
- Briefing.
- Standardised instructions.
- Debriefing.
What should we include in the briefing?
- Encourage a person to agree to participate.
- Contains ethical information about consent, anonymity, the right to withdraw and so on.
What should we include in the standardised instructions?
These are clear instructions about exactly what the participant will have to do in the experiment.
What should we include in the debreifing?
- This explains the study in detail so that each participant is absolutely sure of the aim of the study.
- Ethical issues are also addressed again, especially the opportunity for the participant to withdraw their data if they feel unhappy about their performance.
What is randomisation?
Using chance to provide an order for a procedure.
How can the experimenter use randomisation?
- Each word has an equal chance of being selected first for the list and the experimenter left the final order of the words to chance.
- The researcher has to be sure that all participants are presented with the words in that same order.
How do you allocate participants to certain conditions?
- Random allocation.
- Counterbalancing.
What is random allocation?
When the researchers divide the participants and allocate them to certain groups using a random method.
How can the experimenter use independent groups with random allocation?
If 20 people are available for the study the experimenter can put 10 pieces of paper with ‘A’ on them and 10 into a bag with ‘B’. Each participant takes a piece of paper from the bag and that determines the condition they take part in.
How can the experimenter use independent groups with matched pairs?
Putting the letters for a pair in a bag (A and a) and getting one participant to select the letter. This is then repeated for every pair - the same goes for condition B.
How can the experimenter use independent groups with repeated measures?
They cant - they use counterbalancing.
How can the experimenter use counterbalancing with repeated measures?
Half of the participants complete condition 1 then condition two; the other half complete condition too then condition one. This will not completely get rid of order effects but it will share the effects equally between the two conditions.
What is the target population?
The large group of people that the researcher wishes to study.
What is a sample?
The small group of people who represent the target population and who are studied
What is a representative sample?
When the sample of participants is made up of people who have the same characteristics and abilities as the target population.
What are the sampling methods?
- Random sampling.
- Opportunity sampling.
- Systematic sampling.
- Stratified sampling.
What is random sampling?
Every member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected. You number papers and put them into a box, then you pull out papers and the person that corresponds to that number will participate.
What are the advantages of random sampling?
- Eliminates bias.
- Likely to be representative of the target population.
What are the disadvantages of random sampling?
- Time-consuming if there is a large target population.
What is opportunity sampling?
People who are members of the target population and are available and willing to take part in research. You ask people who are easily available to participate in your study.
What are the advantages of opportunity sampling?
- Convenient.
- Saves time and effort.
What are the disadvantages of opportunity sampling?
- It is not likely to be representative of the target population.
- There is a bias.
What is systematic sampling?
A specific system to pick sample members. Every (nth) member of the target population is selected for the sample.
What are some advantages of systematic sampling?
Simple procedure with bias.
What are some disadvantages of systematic sampling?
Sample may not be representative.
What is stratified sampling?
The different subgroups of the target population are identified, then people are selected randomly from these subgroups in proportion to their numbers in the target population.
What are some advantages of stratified sampling?
Very representative of the target population.
What are some disadvantages of stratified sampling?
- Very time-consuming.
- Impractical if the target population is large
What is a survey?
A method used for collecting information from a large number of people by asking them questions, either by using a questionnaire or in an interview.
What is a questionnaire?
A set of standard questions about a topic that is given to all the participants in the survey.
What are closed questions?
A question where the possible responses are fixed, often as ‘yes’ or ‘no’ options.
What are advantages of closed questions?
It is easy to collate or put together - you can easily work out the percentage of people who responded a certain answer and the bar chart can display the response.
What are disadvantages of closed questions?
- Little detail in the answers given.
- No explanation so the researcher doesn’t know why a certain answer was given.
- Some people go for safe answers like ‘sometimes’ and ‘don’t know’ as they rather not put a definite answer and it seems like the easy way out.
What are open questions?
Questions with no fixed answers, allowing the respondent to go into more depth.
What are advantages of open questions?
- Provide lots of detail.
- Feel less frustrated when they have to pick an answer that may not fit exactly what they want to say.
What are disadvantages of open questions?
- Very difficult to collate or analyse.
- If the researcher wants to group the data together - that means that will be a loss of information.
How do you write questions for a questionnaire?
Make sure that they are unambiguous and clear.
What are advantages of questionnaires?
- A great deal of data can be collated quickly.
- Closed and open questions can be used (closed are easy to score and open contain lots of detail).
- Ethical - people are fully aware that they are filling in the questionnaire and they know what the questions are asking.
What are disadvantages of questionnaires?
- There is no way of checking if the answers given are actually true so the results could be misleading for the researcher.
- When closed questions are used, the researcher does not know why a particular answer was chosen.
What are interviews?
- A method in which a researcher collects data by asking questions directly.
- They involve questionnaires and the researcher can record answers at the time of the interview.
What are the two types of interview?
- Structured interview.
- Unstructured interview.
What is a structured interview?
An interview in which all the questions are pre-set, given in a fixed order, and every interviewee is ask the same questions.
What are the advantages of a structured interview?
- Open questions can be questions that begin with who, what, where, when, why and how.
- These force a participant to explain their answers beyond simply saying yes or no.
What are the disadvantages of a structured interview?
- All participants are asked the same pre-set questions in the same order.
- The researcher is unable to ask additional questions outside of this which can be frustrating for the interviewer, who wants to ask another question and for the interviewee, who cannot explain the answer they have given.
What is an unstructured interview?
An interview in which only the first question is set and all other questions are determined by the answers of the interviewee.
What are the advantages of an unstructured interview?
- In unstructured interviews, participants are free to discuss anything freely.
- The interviewer may devise new questions as the interview progresses or on the previous answers given, to explore further.
What are the disadvantages of an unstructured interview?
- With unstructured interviews, each participant is likely to be asked different sets of questions within the interview.
- The questions asked in unstructured interviews may be a mix of open and closed questions.
What are the advantages of interviews as a research method?
- The data that we obtain from participants is detailed concerning what he/she believes of feels.
- It has ecological validity because it resembles a real life conversation.
- Provides information about the reasons of someone’s behaviour, which could not be provided in any other way.
What are the disadvantages of interviews as a research method?
- It is difficult to collect and analyse the information obtained, as everyone has different answers.
- We cannot be sure if the person is true about the answers he/she gives.
What is a case study?
- An in-depth investigation of an individual, a small group, or an organisation.
- They are carried out by professionals or psychologists who are in work environments.
- The case study is written up as a description of the individual or group.
What are advantages of a case study?
- Provide detailed information about individuals rather than collecting just to score on a test from a person.
- Record behaviour over time, so changes in behaviour can be seen.
- It can show us that a theory is not correct and will encourage researchers to change the theory and make it more accurate.
What are the disadvantages of a case study?
- Data that is collected could be very subjective, as it relies on the individual to remember events and these memories might not be reliable - the interpretations made by the psychologist could also be wrong.
- The information collected from a case study cannot be applied to anyone else because it is unique.
- There are ethical issues as people who are being studied could suffer from psychological problems. Meaning that they could be vulnerable.
What are the ethical issues concerning case studies?
- Confidentiality.
- Right to withdraw.
- Protection from harm.
What is an observation study?
A method of collecting information about behaviour by watching and recording peoples actions.
What do researchers want to find out with observation studies?
- They want to observe ‘normal’ behaviour and to have as little interference as possible on their part.
- The experimenter usually decides to watch behaviour as people produce it.
How do observation studies happen?
- People are observed in their usual environments and the researcher doesn’t interfere with the location at all.
- However, they sometimes make something happen so that the natural responses of people can be recorded.
How do you carry out an observation study in a laboratory?
It just means that the place where the observation is being carried out has been organised by the researcher to make it easy for the observation to be conducted.
- People are brought into a special room where they can be seen and recorded.
- However it might lack some ecological validity as the people who are being observed would know that the study is taking place.
What are categories of behaviour?
The separate actions that are recorded as examples of the target behaviour.
Why are categories of behaviour used?
- in order to make sure that an accurate record of behaviour can be made .
- They are used to make it clear exactly how to record the actions that have been seen.
How do you draw a categories of behaviour table?
What are the advantages of an observational method?
- It is high in ecological validity and its use is very suitable for social behaviours as it allows researchers to gauge peoples true responses. If participants were asked about their behaviour prior, they may give socially desirable responses which may not be what they would really do and observational studies allow us to see true behaviour without this bias.
- Unlike laboratory studies that test participants under contrived circumstances (e.g. memorising lists of words to test memory), observational studies and their setup are more natural providing more ecologically valid results.
What are the disadvantages of an observational method?
- Although researchers see and record behaviour in an observational study, they do not know why the behaviour happened. This then requires the researcher to make a judgement on its cause which may be riddled with bias or may simply be incorrect.
- Participants or subjects may become aware of being observed and thus change their behaviour leading to researchers recording incorrect responses.
- Observational studies also raise ethical issues particularly around informed consent as participants are usually not aware of being observed or part of a study (for this reason they have to be conducted in public areas).
What is inter-observer reliability?
How closely the record sheets of two or more people match (when the records do match, they are considered to be accurate; if they do not match they are considered to be inaccurate).
How do researchers establish high inter-observer reliability?
- The researcher designs a record sheet with suitable behaviour categories for the observation they wish to conduct.
- Two observers each have a copy of the same record sheet and watch the same behaviour/location at the same time for the same period of time, recording what they see on their own individual record sheet.
- At the end of the observation period the observers compare their record sheets.
What happens if the record sheets of the two observers are not similar?
One of the sheets have to be discarded - this is because it would not be possible to work out which observer’s record is accurate.
What is correlation?
- A technique used by researchers to establish the strength of a relationship between two variables.
- It is a statistical technique that is used to analyse and display the possible association or relationship between two variables.
What can be used to represent correlation?
A scatter diagram.
How do you draw a scatter diagram?
Where the lines intersect, put a dot or cross on the diagram. This means that each point or cross on the diagram represents a pair of measurements.
What do you have to remember when drawing a scatter diagram?
To give the graph a title.
What is positive correlation?
A relationship between two variables in which, as the value of one variable increases, the value of the other variable also increases.
What is negative correlation?
A relationship between two variables in which, as the value of one variable increases, the value of the other variable decreases.
What does no correlation mean?
There is no relationship between two variables.
What does correlation allow us to do?
Make a prediction based on the type of correlation that we found. When we have identified a particular kind of relationship between two variables, we only need to measure one of the variables to predict, or “guess”, the likely measurement of the second variable.
What are some advantages of correlation?
- Due to the fact that it allows a researcher to see if two variables are connected in some way; once a relationship has been found, the researcher can use a different method such as an experiment to try and find the cause of these results.
- It can be used when it would be impossible or unethical to carry out an experiment. this knowledge can influence behaviour and further research
What are some disadvantages of correlation?
- It does not indicate which of the two variables measured caused the relationship to occur - this means that other variables are the cause of the patterns seen on a scatter diagram sometimes.
- In order for a pattern to be observed there needs to be a large amount of data for each variable so that the possible pattern can be seen - so it can be quite time-consuming. Correlations based on small populations are not very reliable.
What is informed consent?
Participants must be informed of the true aims and nature of research before giving consent.
How do you deal with ethical issues of informed consent?
- Participants are asked to formally indicate their agreement to take part based on information concerning the nature and purpose of the study and how the role fits in.
- Researchers can offer the right to withdraw any stage of the study.
What is protection of participants?
Participants should be protected from physical and mental harm and distress.
How do you deal with ethical issues of protection of participants?
- Researchers should avoid putting participants in situations where the risks are higher than they would expect from everyday life and stop the study immediately if this presents itself.
What is the right to withdraw?
Participants should be informed if they’re right to withdraw their participation and data at any time the study (even at the end) without penalty.
How do you deal with ethical issues of the right to withdraw?
- Participants should be informed at the beginning of the study that they have the right to withdraw any point.
What is confidentiality?
Data collected in the study should remain confidential and Anonymous to protect participants from possible consequences that may result from their data, such a stigmatisation.
How do you deal with the ethical issues of confidentiality?
- Researchers should not record any names or personal details about the participants using numbers or fake names instead
What is deception?
Some experiments required deception about the true aims of research otherwise participant participants might alter their behaviour once they know the aim of the study and the studies findings become unreliable
How do you deal with the ethical issues of deception?
- The need for deception and research needs to be approved by an Ethics Committee which weighs up the potential benefits of the research, against the costs to participants.
- Participants should be fully debriefed after the study and should be explained why deception had to be used. They should also be given the opportunity to request that their data is withdrawn if they wish.
What is debriefing?
After the termination of a study; the researcher should explain the aim of the study and make sure that the participants leave the study without undue stress.
How do you deal with the ethical issues of debriefing?
Findings of the research should be made available to participants as soon as possible. I need deception that was used must be revealed and Justified. Participants should be informed that their results could be destroyed or withdrawn.
What is quantitative data?
Data in numerical form, such as scores or time taken to do a task.
What is a quantitative method?
Any method which provides numerical data.
What are some advantages of quantitative data?
Easy to display as percentages or averages.
What are some disadvantages of quantitative data?
There will not usually be an explanation for why a particular score was achieved.
What is qualitative data?
Data in descriptive (non-numerical) form, such as verbal or written answers to questions or observed behaviour.
What is a qualitative method?
Any method which provides descriptive (non-numerical) data.
What are some advantages of qualitative data?
It is rich in detail and there might be an explanation for why the behaviour occurred.
What are some disadvantages of qualitative data?
Hard to collate or put together lots of individual responses, so it can be difficult to summarise.
What is primary data?
Data collected firsthand from the source (participants), by the researcher.
What is secondary data?
Data that is already published and just used, rather than gathered, by the researcher.
What are the three types of averages?
- Mean
- Median
- Mode
What is the mean?
A statistic calculated by adding all the scores in a set of values and dividing the total by the number values in the set.
What is the median?
The middle value in a set of values when the values have been arranged in ascending order.
What is the mode?
The most frequently occurring value in a set of values.
What is the range?
The difference between the lowest and highest value in a set of values.
What is a bar chart?
A type of graph that is used to display data from different categories.
What goes on the x-axis?
Independent variable.
What goes on the y-axis?
Dependent variable.
What is a frequency table?
A way of displaying data that shows how often something occurs.
What is a histogram?
A type of graph that is used to display continuous data.
How do you draw a histogram?
Continuous data goes on the x-axis and the frequency goes on the y-axis. There are no spaces between the bars as the data is continuous.
What is normal distribution?
An arrangement of data in which most values group in the middle of the range, mean, median and mode and the rest taper of symmetrically towards each end.
What is reliability?
Describes the consistency of a study or some measuring device such as a test or scale used in a study.
What does it mean if a study is reliable?
When it is replicated or redone in a very similar way, the same results will be found
What is validity?
The extent to which a study or measuring device actually does what it claims to be doing.
