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research methods Flashcards

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1
Q

what is a independent variable?

A

variable that is manipulated and controlled to see if it has an effect on the DV
conditions (control and experimental)

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2
Q

what is a dependent variable?

A

variable that measures the manipulation of the IV.
This is numerical (eg: number of hours slept, number of aggressive behaviours shown)

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3
Q

what is a control variable?

A

something that stays the same in the experiment (something you control)

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4
Q

what is an extraneous variable?

A

a variable which isn’t the IV but can effect the DV through lack of control

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5
Q

types of extraneous vaiables?

A

individual differences - (age, gender, culture)
situational variables- (where, when)

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6
Q

what is a cofounding variable?

A

if an extraneous variable affects the DV it becomes a cofounding variable

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7
Q

what is a laboratory experiment?

A

a experiment where the IV is directly manipulated in a highly controlled/ artificial environment

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8
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a laboratory experiment?

A

strength: very objective (not open to opinion) due to controls over extraneous variables. easier to test cause and effect
weakness: low in ecological validity due to being in an artificial/ controlled environment. more chances of demand characteristics.

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9
Q

what is a field experiment?

A

an experiment where the IV is directly manipulated in a natural environment with some element of control

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10
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a field experiment?

A

strength: high in ecological validity due to being in a natural environment
weakness: less control of extraneous variables- harder to establish cause and effect ethical issue of consent as ppts are in a natural environment

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11
Q

what is a quasi experiment?

A

an experiment where the IV is not manipulated because it is pre determined/ natural (eg; age, gender), in a natural or artificial environment

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12
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a quasi experiment?

A

strength: more ethical as nothing is being manipulated by the researcher
weakness: more time consuming and difficult to carry out for researcher matching up ppts they are comparing if IV already exists

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13
Q

what is a naturalistic observation?

A

where ppts are observed in their natural environment/ real life society

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14
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a naturalistic observation?

A

strength: high in ecological validity due to being in ppts natural environment
weakness: hard to establish cause and effect due to lack of control over extraneous variables

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15
Q

what is a controlled observation?

A

where ppts are observed not in a real life setting

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16
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a controlled observation?

A

strength: more control so less chance of extraneous variables- easier to establish cause and effect
weakness: lacks ecological validity as ppts are in a controlled setting so may not produce natural behaviours

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17
Q

what is a participant observation?

A

where the researcher takes part with the ppts and also observes their behaviour

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18
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a participant observation?

A

strength: researcher gains experience from ppts POV
weakness; difficult for researcher to record data without being discovered, easier to miss behaviours

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19
Q

what is a non participant observation?

A

where the researcher observes ppts from afar.

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20
Q

what is the strengths and weakness of a non participant observation?

A

s- less likely to miss data
w-doesn’t gain experience from the ppts pov

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21
Q

what is a structured observation?

A

the researcher has pre determined behaviour codes

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22
Q

strengths and weaknesses of structured observations?

A

s- easier to record ad establish inter rater reliability
w-observer bias, reductionist

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23
Q

what is an unstructured observation?

A

researcher records everything observed

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24
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a unstructured observation?

A

s- high validity, applicable to a wider range f contexts
w- harder to record and establish cause and effect

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25
Q

what is an overt observation?

A

where the ptts know they are being observed

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26
Q

evaluate overt observations?

A

s- reduces ethical issues such as consent, deception
w-lowers validity
chance of demand characteristics

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27
Q

What is a covert observation?

A

ppts don’t know they’re being observed

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28
Q

evaluate covert observations?

A

s- less chance of demand characteristics, increases validity
w-less ethical as ppts don’t give consent

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29
Q

what is event sampling?

A

every occurrence of behaviour as specified on a pre determined checklist is observed and recorded within a specific period of time

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30
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of event sampling?

A

s-quantative easier to record
w- reductionist, reduces validity

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31
Q

what is time sampling?

A

behaviour as specified on a pre determined list is recorded at specific intervals

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32
Q

what are the strenghts and weaknesses of time sampling?

A

s-reliable
w-might miss behaviour

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33
Q

what does it mean to operationalise variables?

A

the process of turning abstract concepts into measurable variables and indicators is called operationalization

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34
Q

evaluate questionares

A

s- can access ppts thoughts and feeling, high in construct validity
quiciker
w- social desirability, ppts may misunderstand a question,

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35
Q

what is a structured interview?

A

have pre determined questions asked when ppts are face to face with a interviewer

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36
Q

evaluate structured interviews?

A

s- high in reliability as everyone gets asked the same questions in the same order#
w- can’t follow up on things of interest mentioned in ppts answer

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37
Q

what is a unstructured interview?

A

don’t have pre determined questions, questions are likely to be based upon the responses the ppt gives, more like a conversation

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38
Q

evaluate unstructured interviews?

A

s-more valid as they allow more in depth answers
w-low in reliability as not all ppts will get asked the same questions. hard to compare data across multiple ppts

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39
Q

what is a semi structured0 interview?

A

have a combination of pre determined questions given to every ppts, but the interviewer can ask additional questions if they find something of interest.

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40
Q

evaluate the interview method as a whole?

A

s-can assess thoughts and feelings
compared to questionaries, the ptts can check with the interviewer if a question is unclear.
w- social desirability as ptts may lie or exaggerate answers, relies on ptts being able to express their thoughts and feelings verbally which can be hard b for some to do

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41
Q

alternate hypothesis?

A

there will be a difference

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42
Q

null hypothesis?

A

no difference

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43
Q

one tailed hypothesis?

A

directional

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44
Q

two tailed hypothersis?

A

not directional

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45
Q

what is a research aim?

A

the purpose of the study- what the researcher wants to find out

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46
Q

what is a research question?

A

a specific inquiry which the research seeks to provide a response to

47
Q

what is a target population?

A

where the sample is took from, the group of people that the researcher wants to generalise the research to.​

48
Q

what is a sample?

A

The group of participants in a study are called the sample and these are selected from the target population and should represent that population​

49
Q

what is random sampling

A

Where all participants in the target population have an equal chance of being chosen.​

50
Q

what is opportunity sampling?

A

participants produced by selecting people who are most easily available at the time of the study.​

51
Q

what is self selecting sampling?

A

A sample of participants who volunteer to take part in an investigation.​

52
Q

what is snowball sampling?

A

Where an initial participant then recruits further participants for the study and so forth.​

53
Q

strength and weakness of snowball sampling?

A

s- Enables a researcher to locate groups of people that might be difficult to access, such as drug addicts etc as a friend can recommend someone they know to take part.​
w-The sample is less likely to be a good cross section from the population because it is friends of friends etc.

54
Q

strengths and weaknesses of random sampling?

A

s- Less likely to obtain a biased sample as all members of the target population have an equal chance of selection
w- time consuming because you need to obtain a full list of all the members of the target population, then identify the sample and then contact the people identified to gain consent.​

55
Q

strengths and weaknesses of opportunity sampling?

A

s-Easiest method as you just use the first participants you can find. This means it is less time consuming as it will take less time to locate your sample.​
w-likely to generate a biased sample because the sample is drawn from a small part of the target population and these people often tend to be very alike

56
Q

strengths and weaknesses of self selecting sampling?

A

s- Participants are less likely to drop out – Attrition effect​, no issue of ethics/consent
w-biased smaple

57
Q

What are the sections of a psychological report?

A

abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, refrences, appendices

58
Q

how do you write a reference?

A

surname first then initials
year in brackets
title of book/journal
publisher
location
edition
page no

59
Q

what are the 3 levels of data?

A

nominal, ordinal, interval

60
Q

what is nominal data?

A

mode
categorical data that is totals of two or more named categories that is unrelated. creates a frequency of totals.

61
Q

what is interval data?

A

mean
scores on a linear scale where the difference between points are equal

62
Q

what is ordinal data?

A

median
data where it involves points on a scale. data can be ranked in order from smallest to biggest

63
Q

strengths and weaknesses of nominal data?

A

+quick
+easy to generate from closed questions
+increases reliability
-ppts are unable to express degrees of response

64
Q

strengths and weaknesses of ordinal data?

A

+more detail than nominal data
+indicates values on a linear scale
-gaps between value aren’t equal, so can’t be used to access central tendency

65
Q

strengths and weaknesses of interval data?

A

+more reliable
+more comprisable as points are equal
+scientific measures are used
-the scale may not demonstrate a specific variable

66
Q

what is the level of significance?

A

A level of significance of p=0.05 means that there is a 95% probability that the results found in the study are the result of a true relationship/difference between groups being compared. 5% is extraneous variable or that the results have arisen by chance

67
Q

what comes under the the ethic responsibility?

A

debriefing, protection from harm

68
Q

what comes under the the ethic integrity?

A

deception, appropriate relationships

69
Q

what comes under the the ethic respect?

A

right to withdraw, informed consent, confidentiality

70
Q

what comes under the the ethic competence?

A

professionalism

71
Q

what is variance?

A

spread of scores around the mean

72
Q

what is standard deviation?

A

average amount a number differs from the mean

73
Q

what is validity?

A

has the research measured the behaviour what it set out to test

74
Q

what is internal validity?

A

is it a good way of measuring behaviour or could there have been other factors affecting the results

75
Q

how is internal validity increased?

A

having a high controlled procedure and trying to reduce demand characteristics eg covert observations, no self report, natural observations

76
Q

how is internal validity decreased?

A

demand characteristics being present in methods such as overt observations, observer bias in non participant observations, social desirability in self report methods

77
Q

what is face validity?

A

does something look like it will measure what it is supposed to measure. eg will and an IQ test really measure intelligence

78
Q

what is construct validity?

A

do the measures relate to the characteristics of what is being assessed

79
Q

what is concurrent validity?

A

when a test correlates well with a measure that has previously been validated. so you would compare results with an alternative measure

80
Q

what is criterion validity?

A

the extent to which a measure can predict the performance or behaviour of the measured thing

81
Q

what is external validity?

A

whether the research is generalisable to wider populations or situations

82
Q

what is ecological validity?

A

refers to whether the study reflect those of real life situations. can the results be generalised to what would happen in real life.

83
Q

what is population validity?

A

whether the sample is representative of the wider target population of the research

84
Q

what is reliability?

A

refers to the idea of consistency and replication

85
Q

what is internal reliability?

A

whether the procedure of a study is standardised so each participant experiences the same thing

86
Q

how is internal reliability increased?

A

research methods that have high levels of control such as lab experiments

87
Q

how is internal reliability decreased?

A

research methods that are hard to replicate such as case studies and unstructured interviews

88
Q

when should you use a chi squared test?

A

looking for a difference
nominal data
independent measures design

89
Q

what is a strength and weakness of a matched pairs design ?

A

strength-individual differences are accounted for
weakness- time consuming

90
Q

when should you use a spearman’s rho stats test?

A

when it is a correlation
data is ordinal or interval

91
Q

when would you use a mann whitney U test?

A

when it is looking at a difference
has ordinal or interval data
has an independent measures design

92
Q

strengths and weaknesses of the experimental method?

A

+test cause and effect, more objective
-demand characteristics

93
Q

strengths and weaknesses of correlations?

A

+can predict behaviour
-can’t test cause and effect, more subjective

94
Q

strengths and weaknesses of the self report method?

A

s- ppts can be asked about their feelings and thoughts than simply observing behaviour alone.
Scenarios can be asked about hypothetically
w-only useful if participants are willing to disclose thoughts to the experimenter.
- social desirability bias

95
Q

what is a repeated measures design?

A

where ppts take part in both conditions

96
Q

what is an independent measures design?

A

where ppts only take part in one condition

97
Q

what is a matched pairs design?

A

where ppts are matched by characteristics then assigned to conditions

98
Q

evaluate repeated measures?

A

s- less chance of individual differences
w- more chance of order effects such as fatigue, practice effects, demand characteristics

99
Q

evaluate independent measures?

A

s-less chance of order effects
w-more chance of individual differences affecting results

100
Q

evaluate matched pairs design?

A

s- individual differences are controlled for, no order effects
w- time consuming to match up ppts

101
Q

what is a likert scale?

A

how far ppts agree or dissagree, typically odd-numbered to allow for a neutral answer between opposite responses

102
Q

what is a semantic differential scale?

A

uses opposing adjectives such as hot(5) cold(1) on a scale

103
Q

what is a closed question?

A

has a predetermined response

104
Q

what is an opened question?

A

doesn’t have a predetermined response

105
Q

what is quantitative data?

A

data that can be measured numerically

106
Q

what is qualititative data

A

data that can be measures non numerically, eg with words pictures ect

107
Q

secondary data?

A

information that has been collected, processed, and published by someone else

108
Q

primary data?

A

data collected firsthand by the researcher

109
Q

evaluate quan data

A

s-easy to analyse and spot trends
w-lacks detail and construct validity as there is no degrees of response

110
Q

evaluate qual data

A

s- high detail, high in construct validity
w-not easy to analyze

111
Q

what is a type 1 error

A

false positive
incorrectly REJECT the null hypothersis when it is true
can occur when p value is to lenient eg p<0.1

112
Q

what is a type 2 error

A

false negative
incorrectly ACCEPT the null hypothersis when it isn’t true
can occur when p value is to strict eg p<0.01

113
Q
A

Psychology (15 decks)

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