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Psychology unit-3 > Research methods > Flashcards

Research methods Flashcards

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1
Q

Scientific

A

Controlled approach to planning, conducting and reporting research
Involves systematically following a set of procedure which begins with deciding upon a particular topic to investigate and through reporting the findings in a manner that allows the research to be reproduced

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1
Q

Scientifc

A

Purpose
Research
Hypothesis
Experiment
Analysis
Conclusion

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2
Q

Non-scientific

A

Generally refers to ideas that use the language and idea of psychology and claim that the ideas are based on science but however the claims have not been found as a result of research following the careful steps of scientific method

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3
Q

Sample

A

Participants are collectively referred to as a sample group of participants who represent the characteristics of a larger population of research interest

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4
Q

Population

A

Larger group of population interest from which a sample is drawn

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5
Q

Why there may be differences between sample and population data

A

The sample may not be representative of the population

Samples are only estimations of the population and are not expected to produce identical results even when they are representative

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6
Q

Random sampling

A

sample in which every member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected

High population validity because it is a representative sample of the entire target population

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7
Q

Convenience sampling

A

A sample that consists of those people who are available to the researcher

High chance that the sample will be biased leading to low population validity

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8
Q

Stratified sampling

A

Breaking a population strata or groups based on characteristics

Samples chooses using this technique represent the wider population therefore high population validity

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9
Q

What is the role of the experimenter

A

To submit a research plan to an ethics committee for approval starting any research

Ensure the rights and welfare of participants are protected by the following code of ethics

Treat participants with respect and dignity at all times

Use data only for reasons agreed upon on consent form

To publish any results so other researchers are kept up to date and to reduce overlap of research in the field

Be responsible for maximising potential benefits of the research ( beneficiance)

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10
Q

According to the APS code of ethics researchers must :

A

Abide the NHMRC’S statement on ethical conduct in human research

Accurately report the data they have gathered

Make the data on which their conclusions are based available to other competent professionals

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11
Q

Participants rights: privacy

A

Refers to the participants right to protection from unwanted intrusion by government or other people

The protection of privacy relates to the type of personal information that is collected and stored and who has access to that information

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12
Q

Participants rights: anonymity

A

Refers to the protection of the person’s identity when providing information for research

When data is collected particularly in surveys participants do not need to provide their name or any other identifying information

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13
Q

Participants rights :confidentiality

A

Refers to the participants right to privacy in terms of access, storage and disposal of information related to the research

A participant’s involvement in and results from an experiment cannot be disclosed to anyone unless written consent has been obtained

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14
Q

Participants right; voluntary participation

A

A participant must decide to participate in an experiment of their own free will.
Participants must not experience any pressure to participate (i.e. coercion or bribery) or any negative consequences (i.e. threats) if they decide not to participate in the experiment

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15
Q

Participants rights: withdrawal rights

A

A participant is entitled to withdraw from a study at any time, or have their results withdrawn, without experiencing any pressure or negative consequences.
A researcher cannot withhold a participant’s withdrawal rights, even if their withdrawal is detrimental to the research

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16
Q

Informed consent procedures

A

Before a study commences, a researcher must follow certain procedures when recruiting participants.
Where appropriate the researcher must fully inform the participants of the true nature and purpose of the experiment, and obtain their written consent to participate (or if under 18 yrs or legally unable to give consent, their parent or guardian).
Researchers must outline any reasonable foreseeable risks to the participant and inform participants of their rights, including their right to withdraw.
Where possible, participants must also be informed about the research procedures employed in the study.

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17
Q

Deception

A

Refers to withholding information from the participant about a study’s true purpose, before the experiment begins.
Deception is used in cases where giving a participant information about an experiment beforehand might influence their behaviours during the study and thus affect the accuracy of results.
It must always be considered whether there is an alternative to the use of deception.
If there is not, researchers must deceive participants as little as possible, and offer debriefing after the study

18
Q

Experimental research

A

Looks at a cause and effect relationship through the impact the independent variable has on the dependent variable.

19
Q

Operational hypothesis

A

A statement that:
A testable prediction about the direction of interaction between variables.
The population from which the sample is drawn.
The independent variable.
The dependent variable.
Example: It is hypothesised that adolescents who exercise more than three hours a week, will have score lower on anxiety tests, than those who don’t.

20
Q

Repeated measures : experimental designs

A

Repeated Measures
The same participants are used in both conditions (experimental and control); they experience every level of IV.

Advantages
Participant variables are eliminated.
Uses fewer participants.
Disadvantages
Order effects can occur eg- fatigue, learning or boredom.
Experimenters should use counterbalancing – split the sample into two groups, one group experiences the control condition and then the experimental condition, and vice versa.

21
Q

Experimental design : independent groups

A

Independent Groups
Participants are randomly allocated to either one or other of the conditions (control or experimental)

Advantages
No order effects.

Disadvantages
Least effective design for controlling participant variables
More participants required

22
Q

Experimental design : matched pairs

A

Matched Pairs
Participants are matched as closely as possible with another participant and then the pairs are randomly allocated to either one or the other conditions.
Advantages
No order effects
Good attempt at controlling participant variables.

Disadvantages
Difficult to match participants exactly
More participants required.

23
Q

longitudinal design

A

Researchers study and gather data from the same cohort of participants over a period of time to track development changes.
Advantages:
Allows researchers track development over time.
Controls for cohort differences/differences between different groups of people that might affect the study
Disadvantages:
Sample size may diminish due to participants dropping out as a result of life circumstances or death.
They are time consuming, as researchers must persevere with gathering data over many years, even decades, before comprehensive information about lifespan changes can be accumulated

24
Q

Cross sectional

A

Researchers study and collect data from different cohorts of participants at the same time, to look at age differences / development changes.
Advantages
is time efficient as you do not have to wait for the children to age
is more cost efficient as you do not have to keep testing children at different points in time
less likely to lose participants from the study through losing contact with them over time or because they choose to withdraw from the study.
Disadvantages
Results might be affected by cohort effects (the impact of experiences and circumstances on groups of people born at different periods of time) due to generational differences.
Unable to directly trace development over time.

25
Q

Experimenter and participant effects

A

Experimenter Effects
Ways that the experimenter can accidentally influence the participant through their appearance or behaviour.

Participant Effects
Also known as demand characteristics; participants form an interpretation of the experiment’s purpose and unconsciously change their behaviour to fit that interpretation.

26
Q

Use of placebo

A

Placebo: a fake treatment which is used as a control condition in experiments to counter the placebo effect.
The placebo effect may occur when a participant’s response (the dependent variable) is influenced not by the independent variable, but rather by the expectancy of how they should behave.
A placebo is therefore used as a controlled variable to limit the difference between certain expectations being experienced by members of the experimental group that are not experienced by the control group.

27
Q

Use of placebos

A

Single Blind Studies
The participants do not know whether they’re in the experimental or control group
Controls for participant effects.
The experimenter however does know.

28
Q

Double blind studies : use of placebos

A

Double Blind Studies
The participants AND the experimenter do not know whose in the experimental or control group
Controls for participant and experimenter effects.

29
Q

Validity

A

The extent to which an assessment tool measures what it’s meant to measure.

Internal validity -Whether the effects observed in a study are due to the manipulation of the independent variable and not some other factor.
External validity -The extent to which the results of a study can be generalised.

30
Q

Types of validity

A

Construct Validity (Internal)
Are the assessments tools measuring the concept they intend to measure?
Example: When trying to measure General Intelligence, an IQ test has construct validity.
Population Validity (External)
Can the results be applied to the wider population?
Example: If you were trying to measure the average IQ of Year 11’s in Perth and had a large sample of Year 11s from different schools, you would have populationvalidity.

31
Q

Reliability

A

The extent to which an assessment tool produces consistent results.

Internal Reliability -Whether

or not a test is consistent within itself

External Reliability - Whether or not the measure is stable over time or between people

32
Q

Types of reliability

A

Internal Consistency (Internal)
People’s responses should be consistent throughout all questions in the test
If a Year 11 was doing an IQ test, they should get similar results on the questions within the test that measured working memory.
Inter-rater (External)
Will the assessment tool yield the same results, when used by a different experimenter.
If a Year 11 student got the same score when they did an IQ test with two different administrators, you would have inter-rater reliability.

33
Q

Sources of error

A

Will vary depending on the study (READ THE SCENARIO CAREFULLY), but can include:
Not having a control group
Not collecting baseline data
Different data collection methods for control and experimental groups
Inconsistent instructions to participants
Unrepresentative sample
Problems with how the sample has been allocated into control and experimental groups
Not controlling for participant and/or experimenter effects – ie. Not using placebos

34
Q

Non-experimental research

A

Will vary depending on the study (READ THE SCENARIO CAREFULLY), but can include:
Not having a control group
Not collecting baseline data
Different data collection methods for control and experimental groups
Inconsistent instructions to participants
Unrepresentative sample
Problems with how the sample has been allocated into control and experimental groups
Not controlling for participant and/or experimenter effects – ie. Not using placebos

35
Q

Non-experimental research

A

Correlational studies: a study designed to measure the degree of relationship, or correlation, between two existing traits, behaviours or events.
Strength: Allows the researcher to investigate naturally occurring variables that maybe unethical or impractical to test experimentally
Limitation: Does not show a cause and effect relationship.
Archival research: in this method, written recording (i.e. public and private documents), statistical archives, and physical traces of human beings, instead of their actual behaviours, are systematically studied.
Strength: May be cheaper as some data may be publicly available.
Limitation: Data may be outdated and researchers need to be careful to follow consent procedures and not violate privacy.

36
Q

Non- experimental research - case study and surveys

A

Case studies: An in-depth descriptive study of the behaviour of an individual using a variety of data collection techniques such as observation, interviews and psychological testing.
Strength: Information derived provides a considerable in-depth study allowing a full description of the person’s behaviour.
Limitation: results cannot be generalised to the entire population.
Surveys: a data-collection method whereby participants are asked to respond to a set of questions.
Strength: Convenient as the can be conducted face to face or online and provide quick answers about people’s attitudes.
Limitation: Takes time to prepare survey questions that are both reliable and valid, plus may have a low response rate.

37
Q

Probability

A

In order to be statistically significantly, your p value needs to be < 0.05
The probability that your result was caused by chance is less than 5%
Therefore there is a more than 95% probability that your result is caused by the variables

38
Q

Subjective vs objective

A

Subjectivityis used to refer to the condition of being a subject; the quality of a subject’s perspective, experiences, feelings, beliefs, and desires. Subjective information is one person’s opinion.

Objectivityis the idea that scientists, in attempting to uncover truths about the natural world, must aspire to eliminate personal biases, prior commitments, emotional involvement.

39
Q

Quantitative subjective

A
  • likely scales and check lists

Strengths - can be statistically analysed and are useful for measuring attitudes

Limitations - results are more open to interpretation compared to objective measures and do not explain the reacsoning behind the participants response

40
Q

Checklists

A

Participants are given a list of characteristics (ie. behaviours, thoughts, emotions etc) and identify the ones that apply to them.
This may take a yes/no format.
Strength: a large amount of data can be collected quickly and can be statistically analysed.
Limitation: Doesn’t provide any more detail about the characteristic or the reasoning behind the response.

41
Q

Rating scales

A

A closed-ended response format in which individuals provide numerical responses to a set of statements or questions.
A Likert scale is a five point scale which is used to allow the individual to express how much they agree or disagree with a particular statement.
Strengths – Can understand strength and/or direction of response on a continuum.
Limitations – doesn’t provide the reasoning for the response, interpretations of what ‘strongly agree’ etc means may vary amongst participants, depending on what’s been measured participants may lie due to social desirability bias.

42
Q

Qualitative

A

Data that describes the changes in the quality of behaviour - It could include accounts of personal attitudes or experiences, or descriptions of feelings.

Some methods for qualitative data collection include:
Open-ended interviews: interviews in which individuals are asked to comment freely andwithout limitation on their attitude towards a particularissue.
Indirect questioning: a method in which individuals are asked to write down adjectives thatbest describe their attitude to a person, object orexperience.
Observations

Strengths: Provides rich, detailed data which explains why participants may hold certain attitudes.
Limitations: Unable to be statistically analysed and is open to personal, observer or researcher biases which may impact validity.

Psychology unit-3 (8 decks)

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