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Research Methods Flashcards

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1
Q

what are the two different types of hypothesis and explain them

A
  • null hypothesis: have no difference or correlation
  • alternative hypothesis: show a difference or correlation
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2
Q

what are the two different types of alternative hypothesis and explain them

A

-directional: a relationship/direction is shown (better/worse)
- non-directional: states there is a correlation or direction but doesn’t specify

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3
Q

what is an independent variable

A

something the researcher changes or manipulates to observe effects . It is generally the cause of effect

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4
Q

what is a dependant variable

A

something that is measured to see if there is any change. Generally described as the outcome/effect. The IV is a cause that has an effect on the DV

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5
Q

what does the term operationalisation mean

A

when the researcher clearly defines the variables in terms of how they are being measured. (more specific)

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6
Q

what is an extraneous variable

A

a variable that can effect the dependant variable unless it’s controlled. These are factors that can affect the results of the experiment

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7
Q

what is a cofounding variable

A

a variable that has an effect on the DV. Unlike the extraneous variable, confounding variables do change systematically with the IV.

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8
Q

what are demand characteristics

A
  • cues from the procedure that suggest what the research is about, therefore ppts change behaviour accordingly
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9
Q

what is the investigator effects

A
  • any unwanted influence of the investigator on the research outcome e.g bias to some ppts, or only picking extraverts
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10
Q

what does the term standardisation mean

A
  • a way of controlling extraneous variables by keeping them the same across both conditions
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11
Q

define the term randomisation

A
  • use of chance wherever possible to reduce the researcher’s influence on the design of the investigation
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12
Q

what is a repeated measures design

A
  • the same ppts take part in each condition
  • they take part in ALL conditions
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13
Q

what is an independent measures design

A
  • ppts are randomly allocated into different conditions and only participate in that condition
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14
Q

what is matched pairs design

A
  • ppts are paired together based on characteristics/variables relevant to the experiment and then each pair is allocated to one of the conditions. (each partner does a different condition)
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15
Q

what are the strengths of a repeated measures design

A
  • differences can’t be due to individual differences as the same ppts take part in both conditions
  • less time is spent recruiting ppts (time efficient)
  • researchers are saving money as less ppts are needed
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16
Q

what are the limitations of a repeated measures design

A
  • ppts may perform worse on 2nd condition due to boredom (order effect)
  • ppts may do better in 2nd condition due to practise effects
  • demand characteristics - guess aim and change behaviour accordingly
    to reduce weaknesses: task may need to be changed between conditions to reduce extraneous variables
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17
Q

what are the strengths of an independent group design

A
  • only participate in 1 condition so there will be no order effect or practise effects
  • tasks won’t need to be changed, allows control between both conditions
    -ppts are less likely to guess the aim, eliminating demand characteristics
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18
Q

what are the limitations of an independent group design

A
  • differences could be due to individual differences
  • more ppts need to be recruited, time and cost ineffective
  • to reduce weakness: random allocation can help reduce ppts variables
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19
Q

what are the strengths of matched pair design

A
  • no order effects or practise effects
  • tasks won’t need to be changed
  • ppts variables are accounted for as ppts are matched
  • ppts are less likely to guess the aim of study, eliminating demand characteristics
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20
Q

what are the limitations of matched pairs design

A
  • matching ppts can be time consuming and expensive, need to identify key variables and measure them
  • can be difficult to know which variables ppts should be matched on
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21
Q

define a laboratory experiment

A

where the researcher directly manipulates/changes the IV and controls all other variables in a highly controlled environment. Ppts are aware they are taking part in this experiment

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22
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a lab experiment

A

strengths:
- highly controlled over confounding variables
-highly replicable, standardised procedure
weaknesses:
- demand characteristics, ppts aware they are taking part in study
- low ecological validity- tasks aren’t reflective of everyday

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23
Q

define a field experiment

A
  • carried out in natural environment- real life setting, researcher directly manipulates IV
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24
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a field experiment

A

strengths:
- less chance of demand characteristics
- higher ecological validity
weaknesses:
-difficult to replicate
-no control over extraneous or confounding variables
- not ethical, lack of consent and deception

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25
Q

define a natural experiment

A
  • researcher doesn’t influence or manipulate study as it is naturally occurring, they just observe and compares data
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26
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a natural experiment

A

strengths:
- more ethical
- high external validity, dealing with real life issues
weaknesses:
-individual differences
- not easy to replicate
- doesn’t control extraneous and confounding variables

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27
Q

define a quasi experiment

A
  • where the IV is naturally occurring as it is pre-existing within individuals but focuses on this difference in individuals to see the effects on the dependant variable. e.g age, gender or disabilities
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28
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a quasi experiment

A

strengths:
- high control, replicable
- individual differences, allows comparison between types of people
weaknesses:
- ppts aren’t randomly allocated as IV is pre-existing. Ppts variables could have caused change in the DV
-demand characteristics

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29
Q

what is a target population

A

entire set of people psychologists are interested in

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30
Q

what is a sample

A

a group of individuals selected from a larger target population

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31
Q

what is generalisability

A

applying findings to a wider population

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32
Q

when do we consider a sample as biased

A

when the sample isn’t representative of the whole population e.g same sex

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33
Q

define random sampling

A

when all members of the population have the same equal chances of being the one that is selected

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34
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of random sampling

A

strengths:
- unbiased, randomly selected, no experimenter effects
weaknesses:
- time consuming

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35
Q

define systematic sampling

A

participants are selected using a set ‘pattern’ (sampling frame)

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36
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a lab experiment

A

strengths:
-highly controlled, extraneous and confounding variables
- highly replicable
weaknesses:
- demand characteristics
-lacks ecological validity, doesn’t reflect every day tasks

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37
Q

define a field experiment

A

researcher directly manipulates the IV in a natural environment

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38
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a field experiment

A

strengths:
-less chance of demand characteristics
-higher external validity
weaknesses:
- difficult to replicate
- no control over extraneous or confounding variables
- ethical issues, lack of consent and deception

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39
Q

define a natural experiment

A
  • the researcher doesn’t directly manipulate the IV as it is naturally occurring.
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40
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a natural experiment

A

strengths:
-more ethical, nothing is being changed or manipulated
- high external validity, dealing with real life issues
weaknesses:
- individual differences, no random allocation
-not easy to replicate
- no control over extraneous and confounding variables

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41
Q

define a quasi experiment

A

-where the IV is naturally occurring as it is pre-existing within individuals but focuses on this difference in individuals to see the effects on the DV. e.g age, gender or disability

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42
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a quasi experiment

A

strengths:
-high control over variables so replication is possible
-individual differences, allows comparisons to be made
weaknesses:
- demand characteristics
- ppts not randomly allocated

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43
Q

what is a target population

A

the entire set of people psychologists are interested in

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44
Q

what is a sample

A

a group of individuals selected from a larger target population

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45
Q

what is generalisability

A

applying findings to a wider population

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46
Q

when do we consider a sample as biased

A

when the sample isn’t representative of the whole population e.g same sex

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47
Q

define random sampling

A

all members of population have the same equal chance of being the one that is selected

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48
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of random sampling

A

strengths:
-unbiased, randomly selected
weaknesses:
- time consuming

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49
Q

define systematic sampling

A

ppts are selected using a set ‘pattern’ (sampling frame)

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50
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of systematic sampling

A

strengths:
- avoids researcher bias
weaknesses:
- time consuming

51
Q

define stratified sampling

A

population is divided into subgroups or ‘strata’ based on certain characteristics. Ppts are obtained from each subgroup in equal proportions

equation= group amount/target pop total x desired sample size

52
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of stratified sampling

A

strengths:
- representative method
weaknesses:
-stratification is not perfect, doesn’t reflect all different people

53
Q

define opportunity sampling

A

individuals who are the most available and willing at the time the study is being carried out

54
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of opportunity sampling

A

strengths:
-time and cost effective
weaknesses:
-unrepresentative/biased, drawn from specific area not representative to population
- demand characteristics

55
Q

define volunteer sampling

A

individuals will select themselves to take part in a study

56
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of volunteer sampling

A

strengths:
-informal consent
- quick and easy
weaknesses:
-bias, some people more likely to volunteer than others, keen/motivated individuals gathered

57
Q

what are the 5 ethical issues

A
  1. lack of informed consent
  2. deception
  3. right to withdraw
  4. psychological harm
  5. confidentiality and privacy
58
Q

explain lack of informed consent and a way to solve it

A
  • informed consent involves whether the ppt agrees to take part, but may reveal aims of the study
  • to solve, ask ppts to sign a consent form where appropriate
59
Q

explain deception and a way to deal with it

A
  • deception is deliberately withholding or misleading information so consent is not informed
  • to deal, at end of study ppts should be given a debrief where they are told the true aims of the study and what their data will be used for
60
Q

explain the right to withdraw and a way to deal with it

A
  • refers to ability for ppts to stop participating in study for any reason
  • to deal, once made aware of study, a debriefing process of the right to withdraw the data that has been gathered
61
Q

explain psychological harm and a way to deal with it

A
  • when psychological research causes ppts distress, discomfort and embarrassment
  • to deal, ppts should always have the right to withdraw, and should be reassured their behaviour was normal/typical
    -researcher should provide counselling
62
Q

explain confidentiality and privacy and a way to deal with it

A
  • refers to the right to control information about ourselves and have personal data protected
  • to deal, data gathered should remain anonymous
63
Q

what are the 6 observational techniques

A
  1. naturalistic observations
  2. controlled observations
  3. covert observations
  4. overt observations
  5. participant observation
  6. non-participant observation
64
Q

what are observational techniques

A

a way of seeing or listening to what people do without having to ask them.

65
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of observational techniques

A

strengths:
-capture what people do, give insight on spontaneous behaviour
weakness:
-risk of observer bias

66
Q

what is a naturalistic observation

A

observation takes place where target behaviour would normally occur

67
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a naturalistic observation

A

strengths:
-high external validity, more generalisable to every day life
weakness:
- low control over variables

68
Q

what is a controlled observation

A

observing behaviour in a structured environment e.g lab setting

69
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a controlled observation

A

strengths:
-control over EVs and CVs
- can be replicated, standardised procedure
weakness:
-low external validity
-demand characteristics

70
Q

what is a covert observation

A

when ppts are unaware that their behaviour is being studied

71
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a covert observation

A

strengths:
-demand characteristics reduced
-high internal validity, natural behaviour recorded
weaknesses:
-ethical issues, no informed consent

72
Q

what is an overt observation

A

ppts are aware that their behaviour is being watched and recorded

73
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of an overt observation

A

strengths:
-ethically acceptable, consent is given
weaknesses:
-demand characteristics, reduces validity

74
Q

what is a participant observation

A

the researcher who is observing joins and becomes part of the group that is being observed

75
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a participant observation

A

strengths:
-more insightful
weaknesses:
-may lose objectivity, may identify too strongly with participants

76
Q

what is a non participant observation

A

the researcher observes from a distance so is not part of the group being observed

77
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a non participant observation

A

strengths:
-more objective, less likely to identify with ppts
weakness:
-loss of insight
-open to observer bias

78
Q

what are the two observational designs

A
  1. structured
  2. unstructured
79
Q

what is a structured design

A

researchers quantify their observation using a pre-determined list of behaviours (behavioural categories) and sampling methods

80
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a structured design

A

strengths:
-easier, more systematic
-less risk of observer bias
-quantitative data is easier to analyse
weaknesses:
- not much depth of detail
- difficult to achieve high inter observer reliability

81
Q

what is an unstructured design

A

consists of continuous recording where the researcher records everything they see

82
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of an unstructured design

A

strengths:
-more richness and depth of detail
weaknesses:
-qualitive data is more difficult to analyse
- greater risk of observer bias

83
Q

what are behavioural categories

A

-the target behaviour to be observed should be broken up into a set of observable categories. Requires operationalisation.
-this ensures the target behaviour is clearly defined, the observation is more objective and increases the simplicity

84
Q

what are the two types of sampling methods

A
  1. event sampling
  2. time sampling
85
Q

what is event sampling

A

involves recording the number of times particular behaviour within the behavioural categories occurs whilst observing

86
Q

what is time sampling

A

observations are made at regular intervals e.g once every 15 secs

87
Q

what is inter observer reliability

A

when more than one observer agrees

88
Q

what is a questionnaire

A

made up of a pre-set list of written questions or items which a participant responds

89
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of questionnaires

A

strengths:
- can be distributed to lots of people
- straightforward to analyse
weaknesses:
- responses may not always be truthful
- response bias

90
Q

what is an interview

A

face-to-face or online interaction between an interviewer and interviewee

91
Q

what are the two types of interviews and explain them

A
  1. structured interview- made up of a pre-determined set of questions that are asked in a fixed order
  2. unstructured interview- informal interviews, free-flowing and not set questions
92
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a structured interview

A

strengths:
-easy to replicate
weaknesses:
- interviews cannot elaborate

93
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of an unstructured interview

A

strengths:
- greater flexibility
weakness:
- increased risk of interviewer bias

94
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of closed questions

A

strengths:
- easier to analyse
- patterns can be drawn
weaknesses:
- responses are restricted

95
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of open questions

A

strengths:
- responses aren’t restricted
weaknesses:
-difficult to analyse and time consuming

96
Q

what is a positive correlation

A

as one variable increases the other variable increases

97
Q

what is a negative correlation

A

as one variable increases the other variable decreases

98
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of correlations

A

strengths:
- can highlight relationships
- can show direction and strength of relationships
weaknesses:
- doesn’t show cause and effect
- intervening variables, leading to false conclusions

99
Q

what is the difference between qualitative and quantitative data

A

qualitative- expressed in words and in depth
quantitative- numerical data

100
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative data

A

strengths:
- richness in detail
weaknesses:
- difficult to analyse and time consuming
-subjective

101
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of quantitative data

A

strengths:
- easier to analyse
- objective
weakness:
- narrower in meaning
- lacks construct validity

102
Q

A01
Explain what is meant by reliability

A
  • a measure of ‘consistency’
  • if a result can be repeated then its described as reliable
  • reliability of methods : replicability
  • reliability of findings: consistency
103
Q

A01
What are the ways of assessing reliability

A
  • giving ppts ‘same test’ or ‘questionnaire’ to same person/group of people on different occasions
  • if test is reliable then results obtained should be the same or very similar
  • there must be sufficient time between test and retest so ppts can’t just recall their answers
  • if correlation is 0.8 or above then we can assume good reliability of the questionnaire/tool
104
Q

A01
How do you improve reliability of questionnaires

A
  • use test retest method
  • compare both sets of data, if correlation is above 0.8 then indicates high reliability
  • questionnaire that has low test retest reliability requires some questions to be removed or re written
  • e.g if some questions are ambiguous they may be interpreted differently
  • potentially replace some ‘open ended’ qs
105
Q

A01
How can we ensure an observation maintains reliability

A
  • conduct observations in teams of at least two, researcher can check for inter-observer reliability
  • conduct small scale ‘pilot study’ and administer appropriate ‘behavioural categories’
  • behavioural categories: researcher will break down target behaviour into smaller sub categories
  • should be clear, not overlapping, not ambiguous or vague or require interpretation
  • researcher can record data using a tally chart using agreed behavioural categories
106
Q

A01
Explain what is meant by validity

A
  • whether a psychological test produces a result that is ‘legitimate’ and whether the researcher has actually measured what they intended to measure
  • also refers to the extent which findings can be generalised beyond the research setting (external validity)

Examples:
- Milgram’s shock experiment lacks external validity as some ppts guessed the shocks weren’t real (Blass and Schmitz found 1/3 of ppts guessed the shocks weren’t real)
- artificial/ controlled nature of environment

  • Asch’s line experiment lacks ecological validity due to artificial environment
107
Q

A01
Explain the steps of a content analysis

A

1) data needs to be in a transcript/ written data
2) coding and quantitative data, where researchers analyse transcripts and categorise this information into meaningful units. May involve counting number of times a particular word/phrase appears in a text (e.g keeping a tally chart)
3) thematic analysis and qualitative data: through coding researchers can identify certain themes, a theme refers to any idea that is recurrent. Once satisfied with the themes they may collect a new set of data to test validity of the themes and categories
4) assessing reliability: analyse data, tally chart using established themes, correlational analysis of 2 sets of data, +0.8 good inter-rater reliability

108
Q

A03
What are strengths of a content analysis

A

1) ‘gets around’ many of the ethical issues normally associated with psychological research e.g materials such as TV, film, newspaper may already exist within the public domain, there are no issues with obtaining permission

2) it is flexible as it can produce both quantitative and qualitative data depending on the research aims

109
Q

A03
What are the weaknesses of content analysis

A

1) interpretative bias: the researcher may ignore some things but pay extra attention to others
- researcher may misinterpret, researcher may attribute opinions and motivations to the speaker or writer that were not intended originally, therefore lack of objectivity

110
Q

A01
What are the different sections of a scientific report in order

A

1) Abstract
2) Introduction
3) Method
4) Results
5) Discussion
6) Referencing

111
Q

A01
Explain what is included in an Abstract

A
  • first section in report/journal article
  • a short summary including the major elements of investigation e.g aim, hypothesis, method/procedure, results, conclusion
112
Q

A01
What is included in the introduction of a scientific report

A
  • literature review of general areas of investigation
  • details, theories, concepts and studies that are related to current study
  • review should follow a logical progression, beginning broadly and gradually more specific
  • aims and hypothesis is presented
113
Q

A01
What is included in the method of a scientific report

A
  • sufficient detail so researchers can replicate
  • experimental design
  • sample
  • apparatus
  • procedure
  • ethics
114
Q

A01
What is included in the results section of a scientific report

A
  • summarise key findings of investigation
  • descriptive statistics: tables, graphs, charts, measures of central tendency
  • inferential statistics: statistical test, calculated and critical values, level of significance
115
Q

A01
What is included in the discussion section of a scientific report

A
  • summarise findings in written form
  • limitations of investigation: method, sample, issues?
  • how these limitations might be addressed in a future study
  • wider implications of research: real word applications and conclusions
116
Q

A01
What is meant by referencing in a scientific report

A
  • full details of any source material that the researcher drew upon or cited in the report
  • journal and title of book are in italics
  • surname, initial of first name, year, title and age
  • if a book then place of publication is included and name of publisher
117
Q

A01
What is the importance of referencing

A
  • enables reader to track down the sources used
  • to give credit to other researchers/acknowledges their ideas
  • can avoid plagiarism
118
Q

A01
What is meant by empirical methods

A
  • refers to how information is gathered
  • methods that allow for direct testing are empirical (e.g direct observation or experimental research/ lab based)
  • produce factual information/data
  • some methods in psych are more scientific than others meaning there is ‘internal disagreement’ meaning it’s scientific status is questioned
119
Q

A01
What is meant by a paradigm

A
  • shared set of ideas/assumptions
120
Q

A01
What does Kuhn argue about psychology being a science

A
  • most scientific disciplines have one predominant paradigm that the vast majority of scientists subscribe to
  • psychology lacks a universally accepted paradigm and is best seen as a ‘pre-science’ due to the multiple paradigms
  • therefore psychology not seen as a science as there are multiple paradigms
121
Q

A01
What is meant by falsifiability

A
  • where hypothesis can be tested and proved false
122
Q

A01
What is the importance of falsifiability

A
  • it makes a theory scientific
  • this is why we have a null hypothesis
123
Q

A01
What approaches are unfalsifiable

A
  • psychodynamic and humanistic approaches are based on abstract concepts which are difficult to empirically test, therefore not falsifiable (non-scientific)
124
Q

A01
What is the importance of replicability when referring to scientific

A
  • if a theory is to be trusted the findings must be shown to be repeatable across a number of different contexts
  • controlled observations (empirical methods) allow for replication due to control of extraneous variables and use of standardised procedures

Psychology (9 decks)

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