Research Methods Flashcards
Define reliability.
measure of whether results of exprmnt stay same & r consistent, when the exprnmnt is rptd
Define validity.
study measured what it intndd -> measure
What is the independent variable?
thing you are changing
What is the dependent variable?
thing you are measuring
What are hypothesis not the same as?
aims
Define operationalisation.
being specific about how you will manipulate your IV & measure your DV
Define hypothesis.
prediction can be of difference or relationship btwn variables
What are the 2 main types of hypothesis?
- experimental
- null
What is an experimental hypothesis?
actual prdctn
What is a null hypothesis?
statement saying nothing will happen/no correlation
What are the 2 types of experimental hypothesis?
- 1 directional
- non directional
What does one directional mean in hypothesis?
direction of results= prdctd
What does non-directional mean in hypothesis?
change or difference prdctd but drctn is not specified
Define strata.
layer of something
Define population.
large group of people u r interested in
Define target population.
specific group that researchers are interested in studying
Define random sampling.
every member of the target pop. has an = chance in being selected
Define opportunity sampling.
asking whoever is there at the time
Define volunteer sampling.
people put themselves forward to participate in research
Define systematic sampling.
uses a predetermined system
->select participants from target pop.
Define stratified sampling.
composition of sample reflects composition of target pop.
once divided, pptps = chosen randomly
How can you obtain a random sample?
picking no.s out of hat (lottery)
How can you obtain a stratified sample?
- decide on strata
- work out proportions of each strata in target pop.
- work out proportions of each strata need to be in each category
- select randomly within each stratum
What is experimental design?
how ptpts r allocated -> diff. conditions in exprmnt
What are the 3 types of experimental design?
- independent measures
- repeated measures
- matched pairs
What happens in independent measures?
each ptpt only tested in 1 condition
split into 2 or more groups
What happens in repeated measures?
each ptpt tested in all conditions
split into 2 or more conditions
What happens in matched pairs?
2 sep groups, but matched into pairs based on certain qualities
one of each pair takes part in condition A & other in condition B
When do order effects occur?
repeated group design - prtcpnts take part in all cndtns
What are the 2 types of order effects? What are they?
- practice effects - after 1st cndtn prtcpnt might be well practiced to complete 2nd
- tiredness - might be tired after 1st cndtn which may affect their performance in 2nd cndtn
Define order effects.
occurs when participants’ responses in the various conditions of an experiment are affected by the order of conditions that they did them in
What are the 2 solution to order effects? What are they?
- counterbalancing - ½ of ptpts participate in condition A before condition B & vice versa
- randomisation - Ptps are assigned to condition A or B first by tossing a coin or picking out a name at random from a hat
What is a strength of independent measures design?
no order effects
What are the 4 types of experiment?
- lab
- field
- natural
- quasi
Define lab experiment.
an experiment conducted in a tightly controlled environment, where IV is manipulated as the researcher observes the effect of this on the DV
Define field experiment.
an experiment carried out in a natural environment, the IV is still manipulated but it is done in an environment which is typical to the behaviour being studied
Define natural experiment.
also carried out in a natural environment however the IV is not directly manipulated, instead the IV is naturally occurring.
Define quasi experiment.
carried out in lab conditions but the IV isn’t manipulated by researcher
Define extraneous variable.
any other variable that might affect the IV
Define confounding variable.
an EV that does affect the IV
Define internal validity.
certainty that the IV is affecting the DV
Define demand characteristics.
where the participants changes their behaviour according to suit the research situation (unnatural)
What are 2 strengths of lab experiments?
- highly controlled - can accurately assess the effects of IV
- highly replicable - can be repeated so reliability of results can be checked
What is 1 weakness of lab experiments?
- lacks ecological validity - cannot be easily generalised to real life situations
What is 1 strength of field experiments?
- high validity - have a degree of control but held in natural environment
What is 1 weakness of field experiments?
- less control - than experiments so EVs = more likely to distort findings
What is 1 strength of natural experiments?
- high ecological validity = IV is not being manipulated, so findings can be generalisable
What are 2 limitations of natural experiments?
- lack of control - over envrnmnt & EVs so cannot accurately assess effects of IV
- not replicable - lack of control = pprocedure cannot be repeated
What is 1 strength of a quasi experiment?
- replicable - carried out in controlled conditions so control ovr EVs
What is 1 limitation of a quasi experiment?
- lack of control - ovr prtcpnts if prtcpnts cannot be randomly allocated to conditiosn
Where are demand characteristics more likely to occur?
lab experiment
Where are demand characteristics less likely to occur?
natural experiment
What is the acronym used to remember ethical guidelines? What does it stand for?
Can - Confidentiality & privacy
Do - Deception
Can’t - Consent (informed)
Do - Debrief
With - right to Withdraw
Participants - Protection of participants
How can you overcome the ethical issue of informed consent?
- ptcpnts should sign a consent form
- parental consent for U16s
- retrospective consent
How can you overcome the ethical issue of deception?
- debrief ptcpnts @ end of exprmnt
How do you overcome the ethical issue of protection from harm?
- reassure prtcpnts that their bhvr = normal
- offer counselling if needed
How do you overcome the ethical issue of confidentiality and privacy?
- maintain anonymity
- don’t share data w other researchers
What 6 things need to be outlined on a consent form?
- purpose of study
- events happening in study
- length of time rqurd to complete study
- what happens to their data
- informing prtcpnts of right to withdraw
- informing prtcpnts of dbrf after
Define standardisation.
process in which procedures are kept the same
What are pilot studies?
small scale ‘trial’ run of an investigation before real one
What is the aim of a pilot study?
check procedure, materials etc. to identify & modify any potential problems in order to save time & money
How do you reduce demand characteristics in psychological research?
single blind procedures
What can double blind procedures reduce in psychological research?
reduces bias
What are single blind procedures?
prtcpnt is not aware of how IV is being manipulated
What are double blind procedures?
both prtcpnt & exprmntr are unaware of how IV is being manipulated
Why are control groups important?
provide a comparison to real experiment
Define observational studies.
watching & recording ppl’s behaviour
Give 2 reasons why psychologists use observations.
- study natural behaviour in natural envrnmnt
- can study behaviours which would be unethical to manipulate
What are the 6 types of observation?
naturalistic or controlled, covert or overt & participant or non-participant
What is a naturalistic observation?
takes place in a natural envrnmnt
What is a controlled observation?
takes place where some variable r manipulated & contrlld
dtrmn behaviours observed
What is an overt observation?
observer is not undercover & prtcpnts know they r being obsrvd
What is a covert observation?
observer is undercover & prtcpnts do not know they rbeing obsrvd
What is a participant observation?
observer acts as part of the grp being watched
What is a non-participant observation?
obsrvr does not become part of the grp being obsrvd
What does qualitative data involve?
words/literacy
What does quantitative data involve?
number/literacy
Define behaviour categories.
where target behaviour divided into categories using coding systems
What is a strength of participant observations?
- (potential) high external validity (because of close insight into people’s lives)
What is a weakness of participant observations?
- risk of observer losing objectivity
What is a strength of non-participant observations?
- less chance of observer losing objectivity
What is are 2 weaknesses of non-participant observations?
- observer bias
- could lose valuable insight of observation (too far removed)
What are 2 strengths of overt observations?
- more practical than covert
- more ethically acceptable (ppl know they are being watched)
What is a weakness of overt observations?
- more likely to have demand characteristics
What is a strength of covert observations?
- few demand characteristics (internal validity increased)
What are 3 weaknesses of covert observations?
- observer bias
- practical problems
- ethical problems (prtcpnts are unaware of being obsrvd)
What are 2 strengths of controlled observations?
- replicable
- less extraneous variables
What is a weakness of controlled observations?
- low external validity (cannot be applied to real life)
What are 2 strengths of naturalistic observations?
- high external validity
- practical method
What are 3 weaknesses of naturalistic observations?
- more extraneous variables
- lack of reproducibility
- observer bias
What are the 4 things you need to bear in mind when designing an observation?
- structured or unstructured?
- type of sampling
- use of inter observer reliability
- how are you going to record data
What is a unstructured observation? Why might you use this? Why might you not use this?
- research records everything you can see
- produces rich, detailed data & in small scale observation
- harder to analyse & easy to miss behaviours
What is a structured observation? Why might you use this? Why might you not use this?
- uses behavioural categories to record data & be more systematic
- if it is a busy situation & alot of data is expected
- observer bias
What are the 2 types of sampling in observations? What does each one involve?
- event - records of different behaviours that occur
- time - counting a specific target behaviour in a set time frame eg. every 30secs
When does inter observer reliability occur?
when individual observers are trained to code data in the same way
Why must observers be trained before an observation for inter observer reliability?
so that observers know what they are looking for
What is another way of improving reliability of an observation?
record a video of observation, so you can watch it back
What are the 2 types of data you could record in observations?
- qualitative
- quantitative
What is an example of qualitative data recording?
videos/photographs
What is an example of quantitaive data recording?
criteria checklist
Why is it important to use behaviour categories?
should enable the recording of the specific behaviour made by 2 observers to be consistent, so observation is carried out reliably
Define social desirability bias.
where someone doesn’t accurately self report to appear more ‘desirable’
Why is the social desirability bias a disadvantage?
makes self reporting less valid
What are 2 examples of self report techniques?
- questionnaires
- interviews
What are 3 advantages of questionnaires?
- can be distributed to large number of people
- respondents may be more willing to share personal info
- may be less social desirability
What are 3 limitations of questionnaires?
- social desirability remains an issue
- questionnaires are only filled by people who can read & write, limits the sample
- ‘Eager sample’ means questionnaires are only filled out by people who want to fill them out or have time, sample = biased
What are the 3 guiding principles of writing a questionnaire?
- High clarity
- No bias
- Easy to analyse
