research methods Flashcards
experimental method
involves the manipulation of an independent variable to measure the effect on the dependent variable. experiments may be laboratory, field, natural or quasi
aim
a general statement of what the researcher intends to investigate; the purpose of the study
hypothesis
a clear, precise, testable statement that states the relationship between the variables to be investigated. stated at the outset of every study
directional hypothesis
states the direction of the difference or relationship
non-directional hypothesis
does not state the direction
variables
any “thing” that can vary or change within an investigation. variables are generally used in experiments to determine if changes in one thing result in changes to another
independent variable (IV)
some aspect of the experimental situation that is manipulated by the researcher or changes naturally- so the effect on the DV can be measured
dependent variable (DV)
the variable that is measured by the researcher. any effect on the DV should always be caused by a change in the IV
operationalisation
clearly defining variables in terms of how they can be measured
extraneous variable (EV)
any variable other than the independent variable (IV) that my have an effect on the dependent variable (DV) if its not controlled. EVs are essentially nuisance variables that do not vary systematically with the IV
confounding variables
any variable, other than the IV that may have affected the DV so we cannot be sure of the true source of changes to the DV. Confounding variables vary systematically with the IV.
Demand characteristics
any cue from the researcher or from the research situation that may be interpreted by participants as revealing the purpose of the investigation. this may lead to a participant changing their behaviour within the research situation
investigator effects
any effect of the investigators behaviour (conscious or unconscious) on the research outcome (the DV) this may include everything from the design of the study to the selection of, and interaction with participants during the research process
randomisation
the use of chance in order to control for the effects of bias when designing materials and deciding the order of conditions
standardisation
using exactly the same formalised procedures and instructions for all participants in a research study
experimental design
the different ways in which the testing of participants can be organised in relation to the experimental conditions
independent groups design
participants are allocated to different groups where each group represents one experimental condition
repeated measures
all participants take part in all conditions of an experiment
matched pairs design
pairs of participants are first matched on some variables that may effect the DV. then one member from each pair is assigned to condition A and the other to condition B
random allocation
an attempt to control for participant variables in an independent groups design which ensures that each participant has the same chance of being in one condition as any other
counterbalancing
an attempt to control for the effects of order in a repeated measures design: half the participants experience the conditions in one order, and the other half in the opposite order.
laboratory (lab) experiment
an experiment that takes place in a controlled environment within which the researcher manipulates the IV and records the effect on the DV, whilst maintaining strict control of extraneous variables
field experiments
an experiment that takes place in a natural setting within which the researcher manipulates the IV and records the effect on the DV
natural experiment
an experiment where the change in the IV is not brought about by the researcher but would have happened even if the researcher had not been there. The researcher records the effect on the DV
quasi experiment
a study that is almost an experiment but lacks key ingredients. the IV has not been determined by anyone (the researcher or any other person) the “variables” simply exist such as being old or young. strictly speaking this is not an experiment
population
a group of people who are the focus of the researchers interest, from which a smaller sample is drawn
sample
a group of people who take part in a research investigation. the sample is drawn from a (target) population and is presumed to be representative of that population, i.e. it stands “fairly” for the population being studied
sample techniques
the method used to select people from the population
bias
in the context of sampling, when certain groups may be over or under represented within the sample selected. for instance, there may be too many younger people, or too many people of one ethnic origin in a sample. this limits the extent to which generalisations can be made to the target population
generalisation
the extent to which findings and conclusions from a particular investigation can be broadly applied to the population. this made possible if the sample of participants is representative of the population
ethical issues
these arise when a conflict exists between the rights of participation in research studies and the goals of research to produce authentic, valid and worthwhile data
BPS code of ethics
a quasi legal document produced by the British Psychological Society (BPS) that instructs psychologists in the UK about what behaviour is and is not acceptable when dealing with participants. it is build around four major principles: respect, competence, responsibility and integrity
pilot study
a small scale version of an investigation that takes place before the real investigation is conducted. the aim is to check that procedures, materials, measuring scales, etc. work to allow the researcher to make changes or modifications if necessary
naturalistic observation
watching and recording behaviour in the setting within which it would normally occur
controlled observation
watching and recording behaviour within a structured environment, i.e. one where some variables are managed
covert observation
participants behaviour is watched and recorded without their knowledge or consent
overt observation
participants behaviour is watched and recorded with their knowledge and consent
participant observation
the researcher becomes a member of the group whose behaviour they are watching and recording
non participant observation
the researcher remains outside of the group whose behaviour they are watching and recording
behavioural categories
when a target behaviour is broken up into components that are observable and measurable
event sampling
a target behaviour or event is first established then the researcher records this event every time it occurs
time sampling
a target individual or group is first established then the researcher records their behaviour in a fixed time frame
self report technique
any method in which a person is asked to sate or explain their own findings, opinions behaviours and/or experiences related to a given topic
questionnaire
a set of written questions (sometimes referred to as “items”) used to access a persons thoughts thoughts and/or experiences
interview
a “live” encounter (face-to-face or on the phone) where one person (the interviewer) asks a set of questions to access an interviewees thoughts and/or experiences. the questions may be pre set (as in a structured interview) or may develop as the interview goes along (unstructured interview)
open questions
questions for which there is no fixed choice of response and respondents can answer in any way they wish.
closed questions
questions for which there is no fixed choice of responses determined by the question setter
correlation
a mathematical technique in which a researcher investigates an association between two variables, called co variables
co variables
the variables investigated within a correlation, for example height and weight. they are not referred to as the independent and dependent variables variables because a correlation investigates the association between the variables because correlation investigates the association between the variables rather than trying to show a cause and effect relationship
positive correlation
as one co variable increases so does the other. for example, the number of people in a room and noise are positively correlated
negative correlation
as one co variable increases the other decreases. for example, the following two co variables: number of people in a room and amount of personal space are negatively correlated
zero correlation
when there is no relationship between the co variables. for example, the association between the number of people in a room in manchester and the total daily rainfall in peru
qualitative data
data that is expressed in words and non- numerical (although qualitative data may be converted to numbers for the purposes of analysis)
quantitative data
data that can be counted, usually given as numbers
primary data
information that has been obtained first hand by the researcher for the purposes of a research project. in psychology, such data is often gathered directly from participants as part of an experiment, self report or observation
secondary data
information that has already been collected by someone else and so pre dates the current research project. in psychology, such data might include the work of other psychologists or governmental statistics
meta analysis
research about research, refers to the process of combining results from a number of studies on a particular topic to provide an overall view. this may involve a qualitative review of conclusions and/or a quantitative analysis of the results producing an effective size
descriptive statistics
the use of graphs, tables and summary statistics to identify trends and analyse sets of data
measures of central tendency
the general term for any measure of the average value in a set of data
mean
the arithmetic average calculated by adding up all the values in a set of data and dividing the number of values there are
median
the central value in a set of data when values are arranged from lowest to highest
mode
the most frequently occurring value in a set of data
measures of dispersion
the general term for any measure of the spread or the spread or variation in a set of scores
range
a simple calculation of the dispersion in a set of scores which is worked out by subtracting the lowest score from the highest score and adding 1 as a mathematical correction
standard deviation
a sophisticated measure of dispersion in a set of scores. it tells us how much scored deviate from the mean by calculating the difference between the mean and each score. all the differences are added up and divided by the number of scores. this gives the variance. the standard deviation is the square root of the variance
scattergram
a type of graph that represents the strength and direction of a relationship between co variables in a correlational analysis
bar chart
a type of graph in which the frequency of each variable is represented by the height of the bars
normal distribution
a symmetrical spread of frequency data that forms a bell shaped pattern. the mean, median and mode are all located at the highest peak
skewed distribution
a spread of frequency data that is not symmetrical, where the data clusters to one end
positive skew
a type of distribution in which the long tail is on the positive (right) side of the peak and most of the distribution is concentrated on the left
negative skew
a type of distribution in which the long tail is on the negative (left) side of the peak and most of the distribution is concentrated on the right
statistical testing
provides a way of determining whether hypothesis should be accepted or rejected. in psychology, they tell us whether differences or relationships between variables are statistically significant or have occurred by chance
sign test
a statistical test used to analyse the difference in scored between related items (e.g. the same participant tested twice)
peer review
the assessment of scientific work by others who are specialists in the same field to ensure that any research intended for publication is of high quality
economy
the state of a country or region in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services
