Research Methods Flashcards
Within-subjects design
A within-subjects design is an experimental design in which participants complete every
experimental condition.
Between-subjects design
A between-subjects design is an experimental design in which individuals are divided into
different groups and complete only one experimental condition.
Mixed Design
A mixed design refers to an experimental design which combines elements of within-subjects and between-subjects designs.
Strengths of Within-subjects design
- Results of the experiment is more likely to be due to manipulation of IV and not individual participant differences.
-Less people needed - Good for real-world settings
Limitations of Within-subjects design
produces order effects
participant dropping our has greater impact as experimenter loses 2 data points instead of one
Strengths of Between-subjects design
less time-consuming as participants complete different conditions separately and don’t need to be repeated
no order effects
Limitations of Between-subjects design
Requires more participants than within design
Participant differences affect results instead of IV
Strengths of Mixed Design
allows experimenters to compare results both across experimental conditions and across participants/groups over time
allows multiple experimental conditions to be compared to a baseline control group.
Limitations of Mixed Design
can be more costly and time consuming to plan, conduct and then analyse results
Demanding for researchers and assistants to be across multiple methods.
Aim
Aim is a statement outlining the purpose of the investigation.
It should be written as a succinct and straightforward sentence that clearly helps to narrow the parameters of the investigation.
Direction, population, IV, DV
Eg, The aim of this investigation is to explore the relationship between partial sleep deprivation and low mood.
non-experimental - correlational study
researchers observe and measure the relationship between 2 or more variables without active control or manipulation.
Fieldwork
Field studies are naturalistic investigations in which data is obtained while people go about their lives outside the laboratory or clinic to determine correlation
(direct qualitative and/or quantitative observations and sampling, participant observation, qualitative interviews, questionnaires)
pros:
capturing real-world behaviors and enhancing the relevance of findings (not affected by lab environment)
cons:
less control over extraneous variables and may sacrifice repeatability
Case Study
is an in-depth investigation of an individual, group, or particular phenomenon (activity, behaviour, event, or problem) that contains a real or hypothetical situation and includes the complexities that would be encountered in the real world.
Hypothesis
Independant + dependant variable + population + prediction of direction of results (more likely/decrease)
Controlled Experiments
type of investigation which measures the causal relationship between one or more independent variables and a dependent variable, whilst controlling for all other variables.
CHANGE TO SPECIFIC EXPERIMENT
- systematic manipulation of the IV and DV
- ( ) allocation was used to assign participants to either the experimental or control groups
- a control group was utilised to provide a baseline for comparison.
- there was presumably control of all other variables wherever possible
Advantages of controlled experiments
*allow researchers to infer causal relationships between, and draw conclusions about, specific variables.
* They provide researchers with a high level of control over conditions and variables.
* They follow a strictly controlled procedure so it can be repeated to check results.
Disadvantages of controlled experiments
often conducted in a laboratory or highly controlled setting, the setting may not be reflective of real life. This may affect participants’ responses.
can be time-consuming and expensive to manipulate and measure certain variables.
Confounding or extraneous variables can still occur.
Convenience sampling
refers to any sampling technique that involves selecting readily available members of the population, rather than using a random or systematic approach.
Random Sampling
refers to any sampling technique that uses a procedure to ensure every member of the population has the same chance of being selected.
Stratified sampling
any sampling technique that involves selecting people from the population in a way that ensures that its strata (subgroups) are proportionally represented in the sample
Advantage of Convenience Sampling
The most time-effective and can be cost-effective.
Disadvantage of Convenience Sampling
The most likely to produce an unrepresentative sample, thereby making it harder for researchers to generalise results to the population.
advantage of Random Sampling
The sample generated can be more representative than convenience sampling.
* It reduces experimenter bias in selecting participants.
* It can make a fairly representative sample if the sample is large.
Disadvantage of Random Sampling
- It may be time-consuming
to ensure every member of a population has an equal chance of being selected for the sample. - It may not create an entirely representative sample when the sample is small.
advantage of Stratified Sampling
- The most likely to produce a representative sample.
Disadvantage of Stratified Sampling
- It can be time-consuming and expensive.
- It can be demanding on the researcher to select the most appropriate strata to account for.
Participant-related variables
refer to characteristics of a study’s participants that may affect the results.
This includes characteristics like participants’ age, intelligence, and socioeconomic status.
subsequently impact the results of the study instead of independent variable.
Order effects
refers to the tendency for the order in which participants complete experimental conditions to have an effect on their behaviour. occur in within subjects design
Placebo + Placebo effect
Placebo is an inactive substance or treatment
The placebo effect
refers to when participants respond to an inactive substance or treatment as a result of their expectations or beliefs of how they believe it should make them feel or act.
Experimenter effects
also known as experimenter bias, refers to when the expectations of the researcher affect the results of an experiment.
situational variables
refer to any environmental factor that may affect the dependent variable. Temperature, lighting, weather, and time of day are all examples of situational variables.
Non standardised procedures
when directions and procedures differ across participants or experimental conditions.
This ensures the results are more likely to be due to the independent variable and not some variation in the testing environment
Demand characteristics
refer to cues in an experiment that may signal to a participant the intention of the study and influence their behaviour.
can be extraneous variables as participants may be more likely to conform to the study’s hypothesis and meet the study’s ‘demands’.
Counterbalancing
a method to reduce order effects that involves ordering experimental conditions in a certain way.
Sample size
a large sample size increases the sample’s representativeness of the population,
which means that the sample is more likely to have a similar level of diversity as it does in the population.
if a study has a large sample, the findings from that study are more likely to be unbiased, compared to a small sample which may lack diversity, and therefore be biased.
Sample size
a large sample size increases the sample’s representativeness of the population,
which means that the sample is more likely to have a similar level of diversity as it does in the population.
if a study has a large sample, the findings from that study are more likely to be unbiased, compared to a small sample which may lack diversity, and therefore be biased.
Single blind procedures
procedure in which participants are unaware of the experimental group or condition they have been allocated to. This helps reduce participants’ expectations, placebo effects demand characteristics
Sample size
a large sample size increases the sample’s representativeness of the population,
which means that the sample is more likely to have a similar level of diversity as it does in the population.
if a study has a large sample, the findings from that study are more likely to be unbiased, compared to a small sample which may lack diversity, and therefore be biased.
Single blind procedures
procedure in which participants are unaware of the experimental group or condition they have been allocated to. This helps reduce participants’ expectations, placebo effects demand characteristics
Sample size
a large sample size increases the sample’s representativeness of the population,
which means that the sample is more likely to have a similar level of diversity as it does in the population.
if a study has a large sample, the findings from that study are more likely to be unbiased, compared to a small sample which may lack diversity, and therefore be biased.
Double blind procedures
is a procedure in which both participants and the experimenter do not know which conditions or groups participants are allocated to.
helps to prevent the extraneous variables of experimenter and participant expectations.
Primary data
refers to data collected first-hand by a researcher.
It may be collected in a variety of ways, such as through experimentation, observation, or survey.
Secondary Data
secondary data refers to data sourced from others’ prior research, not collected directly by the current researcher
Quantitative data + Qualitative data
Quantitative data
data that is expressed numerically
Qualitative data
data that is expressed non-numerically
Objective data
factual data that is observed and measured independently of personal opinion. Objective data is collected using measurement tools that ensure the same results are obtained by different researchers.
Subjective data
subjective data is data that is informed by personal opinion, perception, or interpretation.
Often, subjective data comes from participants’ own qualitative descriptions and self-reports.
Subjective data can be valuable because it provides rich, qualitative descriptions of personal experience
Accuracy
refers to how close a measurement is to the true value of the quantity being measured.
True value refers to the value, or range of values, that would be found if the quantity could be measured perfectly.
Precision
refers to how closely a set of measurement values agree with each other.
Systematic errors
are errors in data that differ from the true value by a consistent amount.
*repeating measurements will not improve them
Instead, researchers should be aware of the systematic error occurring and account for it, or if it is their error, become more practised with the measurement tool.
The presence of systematic errors means the accuracy of measurement is affected.
Random errors
errors in data that are unsystematic and occur due to chance.
The presence of random errors means the precision of measurement is affected (VCAA).
Random errors may be reduced by
Random errors may be reduced by:
* repeating and conducting more measurements
* calibrating measurement tools correctly
* refining measurement procedures
* controlling any other extraneous variables
* increasing the sample size of participants
Uncertainty in data
Uncertainty refers to the lack of exact knowledge relating to something being measured due to potential sources of variation in knowledge.
Repeatability
the extent to which successive measurements or studies produce the same results when carried out under identical conditions within a short period of time
Reproducibility
the extent to which successive measurements or studies produce the same results when repeated under different conditions
Validity
refers to the extent to which psychological tools and investigations truly support
their findings or conclusions.
Internal validity
the extent to which an investigation truly measures or investigates what it claims to. If internal validity is lacking, then the results of an investigation may not be true and a conclusion cannot be drawn.
Improve internal validity
the adequacy of measurement tools and procedures.
* the adequacy of the experimental design. Did it minimise extraneous variables?
* the adequacy of sampling and allocation procedures. Was the sample and its allocation representative and unbiased?
* whether the independent variable truly affected the dependent variable. Were there confounding or extraneous variables?
External validity
only considered when internal validity is present. External validity is the extent to which the results of an investigation can be applied to similar individuals in different settings
Improve external validity
can be improved by:
* using sampling procedures that create a more representative sample
* having broad inclusion criteria; i.e. having a diverse range of people in the sample, again so it is more representative of people in the real world.
* using a larger sample size, which makes it more likely to be representative of the population.
Ethical concepts
refer to the broad, moral guiding principles that people should consider when conducting research, practising psychology, or when analysing a psychological issue or debate
Ethical concept beneficence
refers to the commitment to maximising benefits and minimising the risks and harms involved in taking a particular position or course of action
Ethical concept integrity
is the commitment to searching for knowledge and understanding, and the honest reporting of all sources of results, in ways that permit scrutiny and contribute to public knowledge
Ethical concept Justice
moral obligation to ensure that there is fair consideration of competing claims
Ethical concept Non maleficience
is the principle of avoiding causing harm. However, as if there is an inevitable degree of harm, the concept of non-maleficence implies that the harm resulting from any position or course of action should not be disproportionate to the benefits from any position or course of action
Ethical concept respect
Respect is the consideration of the extent to which living things have an intrinsic value; giving due regard to the welfare, liberty and autonomy, beliefs, perceptions, cultural heritage of both the individual and the collective.
Ethical guideline
the procedures and principles used to ensure that participants are safe and respected
guideline confidentiality
Confidentiality refers to the privacy, protection and security of a participant’s personal information in terms of personal details and the anonymity
of individual results, including the removal of identifying elements
Informed Consent procedures guideline
Informed consent procedures are processes that ensure participants understand the nature and purpose of the experiment, including potential risks (both physical and psychological), before agreeing to participate in the study
Use of deception guideline
refers to the act of intentionally misleading participants about the true nature of a study or procedure.
Debriefing
is a procedure that ensures that, at
the end of the experiment, the participant leaves understanding the experimental aim, results and conclusions. Debriefing must be conducted at the end of every study.
Voluntary participation
is a principle that ensures there is no coercion or pressure put on the participant to partake in an experiment, and they freely choose to be involved
Withdrawal rights
refer to the right of participants to be able to discontinue their involvement in an experiment at any time during, or after the conclusion of, an experiment without penalty.
