Research Methods Flashcards
(174 cards)
1
Q
What is an experiment?
A
The manipulation of the IV to measure the effect on the DV
2
Q
What is a variable?
A
The thing that changes in the investigation
3
Q
What is the independent variable
A
The thing that is manipulated
4
Q
What is the dependant variable
A
The thing that is measured
5
Q
Control?
A
Without manipulation
6
Q
Experimental?
A
With manipulation
7
Q
What is a hypothesis?
A
A prediction made before the investigation
8
Q
What is a directional hypothesis?
A
A prediction that states the difference between two conditions, whilst predicting the direction of the results
9
Q
What is a correlation hypothesis?
A
A prediction that states a relationship
10
Q
What is a non-directional hypothesis?
A
A prediction used when there is no previous research or when there is a lot of contradictory research
11
Q
What is a non-directional correlation?
A
A prediction that states there is going to be a relationship
12
Q
What is a null hypothesis?
A
A prediction that states nothing will be found. Every investigation must have one
13
Q
What are research methods?
A
Strategies, processes or techniques used in the collection of data or evidence to uncover new information
14
Q
What should research methods aim to be?
A
Objective and repeatable
15
Q
What is a research aim?
A
It is a statement, made before the experiment, of what researchers intend to discover
16
Q
What does operationalise mean?
A
Ensuring variables are in a form they can be easily tested and specifically defined e.g. confidence levels = confidence scale
17
Q
What are extraneous variables?
A
•May have an affect on the DV if not controlled
•Their effect is random
18
Q
What are confounding variables?
A
•Varies systematically with the DV
•Fixed system
19
Q
What are demand characteristics?
A
Any cue from the researchers / situation that reveals the intention of the study
20
Q
What are investigator effects?
A
•The effect of the investigator’s behaviour on the DV e.g. The selection of participants
21
Q
What is randomisation?
A
The use of chance to control for the effects of bias e.g. being randomly allocated to a different condition
22
Q
What is standardisation?
A
Using exactly the same formalised procedures and instructions for all participants. This helps control variables
23
Q
What are blind procedures?
A
Participants don’t know what conditions they are taking part in. This reduces demand characteristics
24
Q
What must psychologists do when carrying out an experiment?
A
They must decide how they are going to distribute their participants effectively
25
What is an independent group design?
When different participants are used in each condition of the experiment
26
What is a repeated measures design?
When the same participants take part in both conditions
27
What is counterbalancing?
Arranging the order of conditions or treatments in a way that reduces the influence of other factors e.g. Testing different participants in different orders
28
What is a matched pairs design?
Pairs of participants are matched in terms of variables, such as age
29
What are the four types of experimental methods?
Laboratory
field
natural
quasi
30
What is a lab experiment?
-An experiment that takes place in a controlled environment
-The researcher manipulates the IV
31
What is a field experiment?
An experiment that takes place in a natural setting
The researcher that cannot manipulate the IV
32
What is a quasi experiment?
An experiment that takes place in a controlled environment, but where the IV has not been determined by anyone
A variable that simply "exists"
33
What is a natural experiment?
An experiment that takes place in a natural environment
The change in IV is not manipulated by the researcher, but would've changed without their presence
34
What is ecological validity
Can the thing that is being measured be applied to real-life situations
35
What is population?
Refers to the group of individuals that a particular researcher may be interested in studying
36
What is target population?
Refers to a particular subset of the overall population from which the sample will be taken
37
What is a sample?
Refers to the group of people who take part in a research investigation
38
What does representative mean?
Do the individuals in the sample contain the same characteristics as the target population from which the sample was taken
39
What is random sampling?
The sample is generated using a lottery method e.g. random number generator
40
What is systemic sampling?
When every nth number of a population is selected from a sampling frame
41
What is stratified sampling?
The composition of the sample reflects the proportions of people in certain sub groups (strata)
42
What is opportunity sampling?
Selecting anyone who happens to be willing or available to take part
43
What is volunteer sampling?
An ad is produced and individuals self select themselves to take part
44
What are the strengths and limitations of random sampling?
-There isn’t bias towards certain groups
-Certain groups may be over represented
-Time consuming
-Participants may refuse
45
What are the strengths and limitations of systemic sampling?
-Free from researcher bias
-Usually fairly represented
-Time consuming
-Some groups may be over represented
-Participants may refuse
46
What are the strengths and limitations of stratified sampling?
-Free from researcher bias
-Most representative sample
-Complete representation is impossible
-Time consuming
-Participants may refuse to
47
What are the strengths and limitations of opportunity sampling?
-More time efficient
-It saves money
-It can be unrepresentative
-Researcher bias
48
What are the strengths and limitations of volunteer sampling?
Strength:
-More time efficient
Limitation:
-Volunteer bias- unrepresentative, certain people like to volunteer
49
What are ethical issues?
Issues that arise when there is a conflict between the rights of the participants and the researcher's goals
50
What are the 5 types of ethical issues?
Informed consent, right to withdraw, confidentiality, deception, protection from harm
51
Explain informed consent
Participants have the right to be given detailed info concerning the nature and purpose of the research and their role in it
52
Explain the right to withdraw
Participants should be able to withdraw and refuse permission to use the data they have produced during or after the experiment
53
Explain confidentiality
A participants right to have their personal info protected and right to remain anonymous
54
Explain protection from harm
Participants should not experience negative physical or psychological effects
55
Explain deception
Deliberately misleading or withholding info
56
What is a cost-benefit analysis?
When the ethics committee weigh up the costs and benefits of research proposals to decide whether the research should go ahead
57
How do you obtain consent?
A consent letter detailing all relevant info
58
What are the 3 ways of getting consent when it is impractical to get informed consent?
Presumptive, prior general, retrospective
59
What is presumptive consent?
Rather than getting consent form participants, a similar group are asked if the study is acceptable and if they agree, participants consent is "presumed"
60
What is prior general consent?
Participants consent to take part in a number of different studies, including one that involves deception
61
What is retrospective consent?
Participants are asked for their consent after having taken part in the study
62
What should the full debrief at the end of the study detail?
The aims of the investigation and any details that they were not supplied with during the studies
63
Why should participants be told what their data will be used for?
-They may have not been told already
-They may have been unaware that they were in a study
64
What is the right to withhold data?
The participants right to keep the data they have produced in the study away from the researcher
65
When is the right to withdraw particularly important?
After the study
66
Why should participants be reassured that their behaviour was typical or normal?
To address any concerns they may have
67
What are 2 ways researchers can deal with confidentiality ?
- Record no record personal details
- Refer to participants by numbers or initials
68
What is the BPS? And what do they do?
The British Psychological Society.
Their code instructs psychologists in the UK about what behaviour is acceptable and unacceptable when dealing with patients
69
What is internal validity?
Is the researcher measuring what was intended in the study? Or are there other variables that are impacting the research?
70
What is external validity?
Can the findings be generalised? Or is the environment too unnatural?
71
What is objectivity?
Are the researchers being opinion free? Or could they be influenced by the people they are observing?
72
What are observations?
-Non experimental methods , meaning they cannot establish a cause and effect
-There is no independent variable
73
What do observations allow?
-Psychologists can see what people do without having to ask them
-Interactions between variables can be studied in a more natural way
74
What are the 6 observations?
Naturalistic, controlled, covert, overt, participant, non-participant
75
What is a naturalistic observation?
Watching and recording behaviour in a setting which they would normally occur
76
What is a controlled observation?
Watching and recording behaviour in a controlled environment
77
What are covert observations?
Participants behaviour is recorded without their knowledge
78
What are overt observations?
Participants behaviour is recorded with their knowledge
79
What are participant observations?
A researcher becomes a member of the group they are observing
80
What are non-participant in observations?
A researcher remains outside of the group they are observing
81
What are the 2 type of observational design?
Unstructured and structured
82
What is an unstructured observation? And when is it appropriate?
-When the researcher writes down everything that they see
-When the observation is on a small scale and involves few participants
83
What type of data do unstructured observations produce? And what are positives and negatives of this?
-Qualitative
-A negative- it is more difficult to analyse
-A positive- it is more rich and has more in depth data
84
What are unstructured observations prone to?
Bias. Because they may only record behaviours that “catch their eye” and those may not be the most important or useful
85
What are structured observations? And when is it appropriate?
-It’s used when there are too many participants for the researcher to record everything
86
What type of data do structured observations produce? And what are positives and negatives of this?
-Numerical/quantitative
-Positive- they are more straightforward to analyse
-The information recieved is less detailed
87
What is observers bias?
When the observers' expectations impact what they see or hear. This reduces the validity of the observations
88
What type of observational design is more likely to have observer bias? And why?
Unstructured. Because the observer is more likely to record the behaviour they want to
89
What is a target behaviour? And what must they be?
The behaviour that is the main focus of the observation. They must be clearly defined before an observation
90
What are behavioural categories?
A list of pre-determined behaviour and sampling methods to help researchers quantify their observations
91
How do behavioural categories impact data collection?
They make it more structured and objective
92
Why is it important that behavioural categories are clear and unambiguous?
So that they do not require further interpretation by the researcher as this will be different for each person
93
What is a “dustbin category”?
Where different behaviours are deposited because they do not have their own behavioural category
94
Why should behavioural categories not overlap?
If they do, you don’t know which category the behaviour belongs to
95
What happens if behavioural categories are not clearly defined?
The two or more observers might interpret it differently, making the observation unreliable
96
What are inferences?
Conclusions made on the basis of evidence
97
What are the 3 sampling methods?
Continuous recording, event and time
98
What is continuous recording? And when is it appropriate?
When all target behaviours are recorded. When there are no complex behaviours on display
99
What is event sampling? And when is it appropriate?
-When a target behaviour or event is established, and the researcher records this event every time it occurs
-When behaviour or event happens frequently
100
What is time sampling? And when is it appropriate?
-When an individual or group is observed, and the researchers record their behaviour in a fixed time frame
-When there are lots of people to observe?
101
What is the main issue with time sampling?
Important behaviours may be missed if they do not occur at the set time interval
102
What is inter observer reliability?
The extent to which there is agreement between two or more observers involved in the observation of behaviour
103
What is a self report technique?
Any method in which a person is asked to state or explain their own feelings, opinions, behaviours and/or experiences related to a given topic
104
What are the two types of self report measures?
Questionnaires and interviews
105
What is a questionnaire?
A set of printed or written questions with a choice of answers
106
What are the two types of questions?
Open and closed questions
107
Explain what an open question is and what type of data it produces
-Open questions are questions for which there is no fixed response and respondents can answer in any way they wish
-Qualitative data
108
Explain what a closed question is and what type of data it produces
-Closed questions are questions for which there is a fixed choice of responses determined by the question setter
-Quantitative data
109
What are the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative data?
-Strength- More detailed information
-Weakness- Hard to analyse the data
110
What are the strengths and weaknesses of quantitative data?
-Strength- Easier to analyse the data
-Weakness- The data is not detailed enough
111
What are the three main types of scales associated with closed questions?
-Fixed choice question
-Likert scale
-Rating scale
112
# 5 points
What are the common errors in question design?
-Overuse of jargon
-Emotive language
-Leading questions
-Double-barrelled questions
-Double negatives
113
What is meant by jargon?
Technical terms that are only familiar to those within a specialised field or area
114
What are leading questions?
A question that guides the respondent to a particular answer
115
What are double-barrelled questions?
When there are two questions in one
116
What are double negatives?
-A statement containing two negative elements
-E.g. I am not unhappy
117
What is response bias?
When respondents reply in a similar way
118
What form of response bias is associated to questionnaires?
Acquiescence bias
119
What is acquiescence bias?
This is the tendency to agree with items on a questionnaire regardless of the content of the question
120
What type of demand characteristic is associated with questionnaires?
Social desirability bias
121
What is social desirability bias?
When the answer of respondents is influenced by their desire to portray themselves in a certain way
122
# 3 points
Evaluate the strengths of questionnaires
-Cost effective as they can gather large amounts of data quickly as they can be distributed to large amounts of people quickly
-It can be completed without the presence of a researcher
-The data produced is usually simple to analyse
123
# 2 points
Evaluate the limitations of questionnaires
-The responses given may not always be truthful because of social desirability bias
-They often produce response bias as respondents may complete the questionnaire too quickly and fail to read the question properly
124
Define the term interview
A live encounter face to face or over the phone where the interviewer asks a set of questions to assess an interviewee's thoughts and/or experiences.
125
What are the three types of interview?
Structured, unstructured, and semi-structured
126
What is a structured interview?
An interview where the questions are decided in advance
127
# 2 points
What is an unstructured interview?
-An interview that starts out with some general aims and some possible questions and lets the interviewee's answers guide the subsequent questions
128
What is a semi-structured interview?
An interview that combines some pre-determined questions and some questions developed in response to answers given
129
What is an interview schedule?
A set of pre-set questions for the interviewer to use
130
Define the term interviewer bias?
Bias that occurs as a result of the interviewer
131
What is a group interview?
An interview when more than one participant is interviewed at one time
132
Evaluate the strengths of a structured interview
-High reliability as it is easy to replicate due to the questions being standardised for everyone
-Low interviewer bias as all the interviewees are asked the same questions
-The data is easy to analyse as the results are easily quantifiable (expressed as a number)
133
Evaluate the limitations of a structured interview
-Mixed validity because the interviewer cannot delve deeper into the interviewee's thoughts and feelings but can measure what they have intended to measure
-There is high social desirability bias. This is because there is no rapport established between the interviewer and interviewee, so the interviewee is more comfortable with lying
134
What is mundane realism?
Whether or not the experiment mirrors everyday life
135
What is temporal validity?
Whether or not studies are applicable to different time periods
136
What is face validity?
This is when a measure is scrutinised to determine whether it appears to measure what is supposed to measure
137
What is concurrent validity?
This is the extent to which a psychological measure relates to an existing similar measure that we know to be valid
138
How can something be checked using concurrent validity? What score shows there is concurrent validity?
-Comparing a new test to an existing test to see if they produce similar results
-Correlation coefficient. For there to be high concurrent validity, the value needs to be over 0.8
139
What is reliability?
How consistently a method measures something. It relates to our ability to repeat a study and obtain the same results
140
What are the two methods used to assess internal validity?
The split half method and inter-observer reliability
141
What is the split half method?
When half the questions are compared with the other half of the questions to check for a similar level of difficulty
142
What is inter observer reliability?
The extent to which there is agreement between two or more observers involved in the observation of behaviour
143
What are the two methods used to assess external validity?
The test-retest method and replication
144
What is the test-retest method?
If the same questionnaire/interview is conducted more than once, then the same results should be obtained
145
What is replication?
An experiment should obtain the same results ,when repeated, if the same standardised procedures are used
146
# 3 points
How do you assess reliability, using the test-retest method?
1) Participants do the same test a second time, with the researcher involved
2)The two tests are correlated, comparing the scores
3)The correlation is then checked. Significant correlation indicates a reliable test. Researchers generally accept +0.8 as a reasonable degree of reliability
147
# 3 points
How do you assess reliability, using inter-observer reliability?
1)Two observers use the same behavioural categories, which are agreed upon before the observation
2)The 2 observers make independent observations/tallies over a set period of time
3)They then check for agreement between observers. The two observers' tally chart would be compared to check for agreement
148
What is a case study?
A logitudinal, in depth investigation, description and analysis of a single individual, group, investigation or event
149
What do case studies involve?And why?
Case studies often the analysis of unusual individuals or events and collecting additional data from family and friends. This is because they provide insights into areas that psychologists could not study through manipulation because it would be unethical to do so
150
What type of data is collected in a case study?
Qualitative data
151
When would quantative data be collected in a case study?
If the person or people complete experimental or psychological testing to assess what they are and are not capable of
152
What is content analysis?
When behaviour is indirectly studied by examining the communications that people produce e.g. spoken interaction, written forms or media
153
What is coding?
The stage of content analysis in which the communication to be is analysed by identifying each instance of the chosen categories
154
What is thematic analysis?
Identifying implicit or explicit ideas within the data. The data is then organised according to these themes
155
# 3 points
Evaluate the strengths of content analysis
-It can get around many of the ethical issues normally associated with psychological research
-Its a flexible research method
-It produces data that is high in ecological validity
156
# 2 points
Evaluate the limitation of content analysis
-It tells us what rather than why
-It is at risk of observer bias
157
What are the 4 different types of data
Qualitative, quantitative, primary and secondary
158
What is qualitative research?
A written description of thoughts, feelings and opinions
159
What are the pros of qualitative research?
-Detailed information
-Allows participants to more fully record their thoughts
160
# 2 points
What are the cons of qualitative research?
-Harder to analyse
-Subjective
161
What is quantitative data?
Data that can be counted, usually given as numbers
162
What are the pros of quantitative data?
-Simple to analyse
163
# 2 points
What are the cons of quantitative data?
-Less detail
-More objective
164
What is primary data?
Information obtained first hand by the researcher
165
What are the pros of primary data?
-The data is authentic
166
# 2 points
What are the cons of primary data?
-Time consuming
-Takes up resources
167
What is secondary data?
Data that has been collected by someone other than the person who is conducting the research
168
# 3 points
What are the pros of secondary research?
-Inexpensive
-Easily accessible
-Requires minimal effort
169
What are the cons of secondary research?
-Information may be inaccurate, outdated or incomplete
170
What is a meta-analysis?
The statistical combination of the results of multiple studies addressing a similar research question
171
# 2 points
Explain a meta-analysis
-Researchers may discuss the findings/conclusions. This is known as qualitative analysis
-Researchers may use a quantitative approach and statistically analyse the combined data. This involves calculating an effect size
172
What is qualitative analysis?
Researchers discussing the findings/conclusions of a study
173
What is the effect size?
An overall statistical measure of the difference or relationship between variables across a number of studies
174
# 2 points
Evaluate the pros of meta-analysis
-It allows us to view data with much more confidence as the research has already been published, so its validity is known
-The data can be generalised to larger populations as it involves using a number of pieces of research. This increases the same sizes
