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Psychology AQA A - Level 👥 > research methods > Flashcards

research methods Flashcards

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1
Q

what is an aim ?

A

a general statement of the purpose of a study

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2
Q

what is a hypothesis?

A

a precise statement which clearly states the relationship of the variables being investigated

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3
Q

what are the types of hypotheses?

A

null, directional or non - directional

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4
Q

when would you write a directional/ non-directional hypothesis?

A

directional - previous research suggests a particular outcome
non- directional - no previous research/ contradictory

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5
Q

what is the experimental method?

A

manipulating the IV to have an effect on the DV

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6
Q

what is the IV?

A

the independent variable - it is manipulated by the researcher.
two different conditions of it (experimental and control) are tested

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7
Q

what is the DV ?

A

the dependent variable
it is measured by the researcher

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8
Q

describe operationalisation of variables

A

clearly defining the variables in terms of how they are being measured

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9
Q

what is an extraneous variable?

A

any variable other than the IV that will affect the DV if not controlled.
eg. participant variables, situational variables, demand characteristics, investigator effects

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10
Q

state the four extraneous variables

A
  1. participant variables,
  2. situational variables,
  3. demand characteristics,
  4. investigator effects
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11
Q

what is a confounding variable?

A

any variable other than the IV that will affect the DV if not controlled.
the difference to extraneous variables is that confounding variables change systematically within the IV.
with confounding variables it’s difficult to claim cause and effect

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12
Q

describe demand characteristics

A

any cue the researcher or research situation give that could make the participant think they can guess the aim of an experiment.

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13
Q

what are the effects of demand characteristics?

A

participants may change their behaviour to either behave how they think the researcher wants (please-U) or intentionally underperform to sabotage the study (screw- U)

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14
Q

what are investigator effects?

A

any unwanted influence from the researcher’s behaviour on the DV measured

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15
Q

investigator effects can influence what 3 factors?

A
  1. design of the study
  2. selection of participants
  3. interaction with participants
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16
Q

how can you control for extraneous variables ?

A
  1. randomisation
  2. standardisation
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17
Q

describe randomisation

A

the use of chance methods to reduce the effects of bias from investigator effects

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18
Q

how can randomisation be used?

A

a computer generator can randomly decide the order of conditions, design of materials, selection of participants etc.

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19
Q

describe standardisation

A

using the same formalised instructions and procedures for all participants

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20
Q

what type of experiments are there?

A
  1. lab
  2. field
  3. natural
    4.quasi
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21
Q

describe lab experiments

A

an experiment that takes places in a highly controlled laboratory environment

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22
Q

advantages of lab experiments

A

high degree of control
results are easily replicable

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23
Q

disadvantages of lab experiments

A

low ecological validity (artificial conditions)
experimenter bias

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24
Q

describe field experiments

A

an experiment that takes place in a natural environment but the IV is still controlled by the researcher

25
Q

advantages of field experiments

A

naturalistic - higher ecological validity
controlled IV

26
Q

disadvantages of field experiments

A

ethical considerations -invasion of privacy and unlikely to have informed consent
lack of control over extraneous variables - unlikely to be replicable

27
Q

describe natural experiments

A

an experiment where the researcher studies a naturally occurring IV ( the event would have happened whether the researcher was there or not) and records the effect on a decided upon DV

28
Q

advantages of natural experiments

A

provides opportunities for research that otherwise would have been impossible due to ethical or practical reasons
high external validity - real world events

29
Q

disadvantages of natural experiments

A

naturally occurring events may be rare so hard to replicate or generalise findings
very hard to randomly allocate participants so extraneous and confounding variables become a problem

30
Q

describe quasi experiments

A

an experiment whereby the IV naturally exists and is not brought about by the researcher eg. gender

31
Q

advantages of quasi experiments

A

highly controlled conditions - replicable and high internal validity

32
Q

disadvantages of quasi experiments

A

cannot randomly allocate participants to conditions so there are likely to be confounding variables. harder to claim cause and effect

33
Q

target population

A

the total population a study is intended to research and to watch generalisations from samples are to be made

34
Q

sample

A

a subset of individuals from a larger population that will be studied

35
Q

what are the types of sampling?

A

random, opportunity, volunteer, stratified, systematic

36
Q

describe random sampling

A

all members of the population have an equal chance of being selected. this method uses a random number generator or lottery method

37
Q

random sampling pros and cons

A

pros - no researcher bias
cons - time consuming and volunteer bias ( participants selected may refuse to take part)

38
Q

describe opportunity sampling

A

participants happen to be available when the study is being carried out so are recruited conveniently

39
Q

opportunity sampling pros and cons

A

pros - easy, time saving and not costly method of recruitment
cons - not representative of the whole population so lacks generalisability and there may be researcher bias

40
Q

describe volunteer sampling

A

participants self-select, perhaps in response to an advert or when asked to

41
Q

volunteer sampling pros and cons

A

pros - easy and not time consuming to find participants. the volunteers are also willing so more likely to cooperate with the study
cons - volunteer bias - may attract a particular profile of person affecting generalisability. also motivations like money could be driving the pps to take part so they may not take the study seriously

42
Q

describe systematic sampling

A

every nth member of the population is selected to take part in a study

43
Q

systematic sampling pros and cons

A

pros - usually representative and avoids researcher bias
cons - not truly unbiased unless you used a random number generator and then start the systematic sample

44
Q

describe stratified sampling

A

the composition of the sample reflects the varying proportions of people in various subgroups (strata) in the wider population
once the number of pps have been decided from each strata they must be selected through ransom methods

45
Q

stratified sampling pros and cons

A

pros - generalisation possible due to representative data, no researcher bias
cons - time consuming, complete representation not possible

45
Q

name the 3 experimental designs

A
  1. independent groups
  2. repeated measures
  3. matched pairs
46
Q

describe the independent groups design

A

the participants only perform one condition of the IV

47
Q

what are the strengths and limitations of using independent groups design?

A

strengths - no order effects, participants less likely to guess the aim (demand characteristics eliminated)
limitations - more participants needed, no control of participant variables (extraneous variables)

48
Q

how to solve the limitations of independent measures design

A

random allocation to conditions helps to control for participant variables but does not completely remove them

49
Q

describe a repeated measures design

A

the same participants take part in all conditions of the IV

50
Q

what are the strengths and limitations of repeated measures?

A

strengths - eliminates participant variables and fewer participants needed so not as time consuming
limitations - order effects eg. fatigue/boredom, practice

51
Q

how to control for the limitations of repeated measures?

A

counterbalancing - abba - half the participants do the conditions in one order and the other half do them in the opposite order

52
Q

describe matched pairs design

A

pairs of participants are first matched on a variable that has been found to affect the DV. one member of the pair does each condition.

53
Q

what are the strengths and limitations of matched pairs ?

A

strengths - no order effects, demand characteristics are less of a problem.
limitations - time consuming and expensive to match participants, a large pool of potential participants is needed, it can be hard to know what variable to match participants on.

54
Q

what is a pilot study?

A

a small scale version of the investigation before the real thing is carried out to investigate potential problems and get participant feedback to modify any procedures. saves time and money in the long run

55
Q

what is a control condition?

A

sets a baseline for results from the experimental group to be compared to (the researcher has not modified the IV in this condition). it allows the researcher to conclude that the effect to the DV from the experimental condition was due to the change in the IV

56
Q

what is a single blind procedure?

A

the researcher does not tell the participant whether they are being given a test treatment or a control treatment. this avoids demand characteristics

57
Q

what is a double blind procedure?

A

neither the researcher or the participant is aware whether they are completing the experimental or control condition. prevents bias, demand characteristics and the placebo effect. it can also reduce investigator effects

58
Q
A

Psychology AQA A - Level 👥 (15 decks)

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