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Research Methods Flashcards

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1
Q

Types of hypothesis

A
  • null
  • alternative
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2
Q

Null hypothesis

A
  • IV will not affect the DV
  • no relationship between observed variables
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3
Q

Alternative hypothesis

A

IV will affect DV

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4
Q

Types of variable

A
  • independent
  • dependent
  • extraneous
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5
Q

Independent variable

A

What the researcher changes/manipulates to test its effect on the DV

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6
Q

Dependent variable

A

The outcome/effect that is being measured in a study

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7
Q

Extraneous variable

A

Unwanted variable that can affect the DV

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8
Q

Target population

A

Group of people that researcher wants to generalise findings to

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9
Q

Sample

A

Small portion of Ps from target population being studied

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10
Q

Types of Sampling

A
  • random
  • opportunity
  • systematic
  • stratified
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11
Q

Random sampling

A
  • selection of participants is random
  • e.g- names out of a hat or numbered and selected by computer
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12
Q

Random sampling STRENGTH

A
  • unbiased results
  • all target population have equal chance of being picked
  • sample is more representative of target population, more validity
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13
Q

Random sampling WEAKNESS

A
  • takes much time and effort
  • have to obtain list of all members of target population and number them, then may not want to take part
  • effort may not be with it
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14
Q

Opportunity sampling

A

Asking those who are most easily available

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15
Q

Opportunity sampling STRENGTH

A
  • quick and easy
  • choose people who are nearby and available
  • less time consuming
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16
Q

Opportunity sampling WEAKNESS

A
  • greater chance of being biased
  • sample drawn from narrow part of target population, may only have 1 certain type of person - may be participant variables
  • reduces generalisability/reliability of results
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17
Q

Systematic sampling

A

Selecting every ‘nth’ member of the target population as a participant

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18
Q

Systematic sampling STRENGTH

A
  • avoids researcher bias
  • researcher has no say over who’s - selected
  • more representative
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19
Q

Systematic sampling WEAKNESS

A
  • need bigger sample size
  • e.g- if you require 100 Ps for study and picked every 10 Ps, 1000 Ps would be needed
  • may be time consuming method
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20
Q

Stratified sampling

A
  • sub-groups within target population identified
  • Ps chosen from each sub-group in proportion to their occurrence in target population
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21
Q

Stratified sampling STRENGTH

A
  • most representative sampling method
  • all subgroups represented in proportion to target population
  • findings should have high reliability/validity to make generalisations to target population
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22
Q

Stratified sampling WEAKNESS

A
  • time consuming method
  • have to identify sub-groups, select necessary Ps and attempt to get them proportionate
  • difficult/impractical method to use
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23
Q

Experimental designs

A
  • independent groups
  • repeated measures
  • matched pairs
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24
Q

Independent groups

A
  • Ps divided into (usually 2) subgroups
  • groups take part in different experimental condition
  • used for comparison
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25
Q

Independent groups STRENGTH

A
  • no practice effects
  • Ps only do 1 condition so won’t benefit from practice, less likely to display demand characteristics as it will be harder for them to figure out aim of study
  • results will be more representative of how members of target population usually behave
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26
Q

Independent groups WEAKNESS

A
  • may be participant variables
  • each group may contain more of a type of person than another, as each group only does 1 condition of IV, this may affect results
  • results may be less representative, can’t be generalised to all of target population
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27
Q

Repeated measures

A

All Ps do all conditions of the experiment

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28
Q

Repeated measures STRENGTH

A
  • requires less effort when gathering Ps
  • don’t have to split Ps into groups of pairs based on certain characteristics
  • set-up of experiment will be less time-consuming
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29
Q

Repeated measures WEAKNESS

A
  • higher risk of practice effects
  • as Ps do all conditions of experiment, they may improve with practice or display demand characteristics if they figure out aim of study, potentially avoided with counterbalancing
  • researcher may view improvement as result of IV rather than demand characteristics
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30
Q

Matched pairs

A
  • Ps paired on relevant variables to study (eg: ethnicity, disabilities, gender)
  • one P goes into each group
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31
Q

Matched pairs STRENGTH

A
  • reduced participant variables
  • Ps taking part matched on variable relevant to experiment
  • results will have more validity, more representitive of target population
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32
Q

Matched pairs WEAKNESS

A
  • difficult to match people of personality variables
    -can generally only match people on fixed traits (sex,race,age), personality factors may be relevant to experiment
  • may produce results that aren’t a result of IV
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33
Q

Types of experiment

A
  • lab
  • field
  • natural
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34
Q

Lab experiment

A
  • takes place in a controlled environment
  • researcher manipulates IV
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35
Q

Lab experiment STRENGTH

A
  • limits role of EVs
  • researchers have full control of environment, also easier to replicate and reliability checked
  • can establish cause and effect relationship, can trust results
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36
Q

Lab experiment WEAKNESS

A
  • artificial environment
  • results gathered in controlled lab setting may not reflect real-world situations, Ps may behave unnaturally
  • lack ecological validity
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37
Q

Field experiment

A
  • takes place in natural/everyday setting,
  • experimenter manipulates IV
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38
Q

Field experiment STRENGTH

A
  • more realistic environment
  • thought to make responses and behaviours of Ps more realistic as not always aware they are being observed
  • high internal validity as behaviours of Ps can be generalised to wider population
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39
Q

Field experiment WEAKNESS

A
  • difficult to replicate
  • environment of experiment may be difficult to recreate, Ps may be members of public with personality factors influencing the results which are unaccounted for
  • replication and reliability issues
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40
Q

Natural experiment

A
  • takes place in natural/everyday environment
  • IV occurs naturally
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41
Q

Natural experiment STRENGTH

A
  • Ps often produce no demand characteristics
  • Ps unaware of experiment so won’t be able to work out aim of study and behave falsely
  • results most likely indicative of behaviour that can be generalised to wider population
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42
Q

Natural experiment WEAKNESS

A
  • ethical issues
  • consent - Ps often not aware they are being studied so can’t give informed consent, may not wish to take part and be monitored, may sometimes be okay if Ps debriefed after
  • not always ethically right to natural experiments
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43
Q

Interview

A
  • researcher being in direct contact with P
  • face to face or phone/video call
  • researcher records responses of P
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44
Q

Types of interviews

A
  • structured
  • semi-structured
  • unstructured
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45
Q

Structured interviews

A
  • interviewer reads prepared questions only
  • follow up questions prepared before
46
Q

Structured interviews STRENGTH

A
  • can be easily replicated
  • questions all preset so can simply be said by another researcher
  • can easily check results for reliability and consistency is drawn conclusions
47
Q

Structured interviews WEAKNESS

A
  • often lack qualitative data
  • usually have mostly closed questions so give little insight into thoughts/feelings, maybe less relevant follow-up questions
  • less useful and detailed results
48
Q

Semi-structured interviews

A
  • some questions prepared before
  • follow up questions come from answers
49
Q

Unstructured interviews

A
  • Interviewer has general aim
  • few/no questions prepared before
  • new questions based on previous answers
50
Q

Unstructured interviews STRENGTH

A
  • allow Ps to explain responses
  • researcher asks new questions based on previous answers so can be asked to expand/explain
  • results more accurate/valuable than from structured
51
Q

Unstructured interviews WEAKNESS

A
  • require more skilled interviewers
  • need to articulate themselves better and quickly think of good questions, not like structured where questions can simply be read out
  • less opportunities to be carried out
52
Q

Questionnaire

A
  • researcher designs set of questions for Ps to answer
  • Ps taking part called ‘respondents’
53
Q

Types of questionnaire questions

A
  • open
  • closed
54
Q

Open questions

A
  • Ps can answer how they want
  • produce qualitative data
55
Q

Closed questions

A
  • fixed range of possible answers
  • produce quantitative data
56
Q

Questionnaires STRENGTH

A
  • much data can be gathered quickly
  • can be sent out to many people physically/electronically to acquire many Ps responses
  • more data means results can be generalised to wider population
57
Q

Questionnaires WEAKNESS

A
  • Ps may misunderstand questions so answer them incorrectly
  • unlike in interview with researcher, Ps can’t clarify meaning of question so may respond in a way not representative of their views
  • results may be less reliable/valid
58
Q

Case studies

A
  • in depth investigation into individual/group/event
  • usually involve unusual situations
  • can be used in everyday experiences
  • produce mostly qualitative data
  • usually longitudinal
59
Q

Case studies STRENGTH

A
  • info collected over long period of time
  • usually longitudinal so gradual changes and much data can be recorded over time
  • can provide in depth and accurate results
60
Q

Case studies WEAKNESS

A
  • target single/few individuals
  • situation/factors influencing outcomes unlikely to be relatable to others
  • results less representative of wider population, can’t be generalised
61
Q

Observation

A

Researcher watches/listens to Ps engaging in behaviour being studied and records behaviour

62
Q

Types of observations

A
  • naturalistic
  • controlled
  • covert
  • overt
  • participant
  • non-participant
63
Q

Naturalistic observations

A
  • recorded in a place where it would naturally occur
  • nothing controlled or changed
64
Q

Controlled observations

A

Part of environment controlled by researcher

65
Q

Covert observations

A

Ps not aware they are being observed/recorded

66
Q

Overt observations

A

Ps told in advance they will be observed/recorded

67
Q

Participant observations

A

Researcher becomes part of group they are studying

68
Q

Non-participant observations

A

Researcher remains separate from group they are studying

69
Q

Observations STRENGTH

A
  • true to how Ps actually act
  • what people say is often different to what they really do, if Ps asked about behaviour, they may give socially desirable responses, observations allow true behaviour to be recorded
  • high ecological validity, representative of real-world behaviour
70
Q

Observations WEAKNESS

A
  • ethical issues
  • consent - Ps often not aware of observation so can’t give informed consent, informing before may lead to altered behaviour as they are aware they are being observed
  • not informing Ps raises ethical issues of privacy + lack of consent
71
Q

Categories of behaviour

A
  • behavioural categories created to make it clear what behaviours are being recorded
  • number of times behaviour is observed is recorded
72
Q

Inter-observer reliability

A
  • 2 independent observers with same categories of behaviour
  • compare data for consistency
  • should produce same results
  • discuss differences
73
Q

Correlation

A

A relationship between 2 variables

74
Q

Types of correlation

A
  • positive
  • negative
  • zero
75
Q

Positive correlation

A
  • cause and effect relationship between 2 variables
  • as 1 variable increases/decreases, so does the other
76
Q

Negative correlation

A
  • cause and effect relationship between 2 variables
  • as 1 variable increases/decreases, the other does the opposite
77
Q

Zero correlation

A

No relationship between variables

78
Q

Correlations STRENGTH

A
  • good starting point for research
  • if two variables are related, gives researchers ideas for future investigations to find true cause of correlation
  • more scientifically useful
79
Q

Correlations WEAKNESS

A
  • doesn’t provide all detail
  • only tells us if 2 variables are related, doesn’t tell which variable caused relationship or if there is 3rd unknown variable influencing the other 2
  • usually require further experimentation to establish all details
80
Q

Standardised procedures

A

Set of sequences that apply to all Ps when necessary to ensure the experiment is unbiased

81
Q

Types of instructions to participants

A
  • briefing
  • debriefing
82
Q

Briefing

A

Ps being encouraged to participate with a log of what is discussed to gain consent

83
Q

Debriefing

A
  • Ps being given detailed explanation of aims of a study at end
  • ethical issues raised and Ps can withdraw their data/contributions
84
Q

Purpose of randomisation

A

To make sure there are no biases in a procedure

85
Q

Methods of reducing researcher bias

A
  • random allocation
  • counterbalancing
86
Q

Random allocation

A
  • when using independent groups design, Ps are randomly selected for the condition of the IV they do
  • e.g- names chosen out of a hat
87
Q

Counterbalancing

A
  • used to deal with order effects in repeated measures
  • sample divided in half, half completes conditions in one order, half the other
88
Q

Ethical Issues

A
  • concerns about what is morally right/wrong when using participants in research
  • when there is conflict between needs of research and rights of Ps
89
Q

Ethical considerations

A
  • consent
  • confidentiality
  • deception
  • privacy
  • protection from harm
90
Q

Consent

A
  • must be informed - given info and purpose of study
  • Ps given right to withdraw consent and leave
91
Q

Confidentiality

A
  • personal data protected and respected
  • researcher must guarantee anonymity and with hold Ps’ names
92
Q

Deception

A
  • Ps not lied to about aims of study without justification
  • mild deception justifiable, major deception if benefits outweigh ethical cost
  • Ps must be debriefed and given true aims at end of study
93
Q

Privacy

A
  • Ps have right to control info about themselves
  • researcher mustn’t observe Ps without informed consent unless in public space
94
Q

Protection from harm

A
  • Ps physical and psychological safety protected, including stress + embarrassment
  • Ps reminded they can leave any time
95
Q

Quantitative data

A

Data in numerical form

96
Q

Quantitative data STRENGTH

A
  • easy to analyse
  • can be converted to averages/graphs/charts to check for patterns/correlations
  • can be easily compared, more useful
97
Q

Quantitative data WEAKNESS

A
  • lacks depth and detail
  • obtain little info about thoughts/feelings
  • doesn’t reflect real-world complexity
98
Q

Qualitative data

A

Data is descriptive/non-numerical form

99
Q

Qualitative data STRENGTH

A
  • more depth/detail
  • gain insight into thoughts + feelings, can better understand attitudes/beliefs
  • more psychologically useful
100
Q

Qualitative data WEAKNESS

A
  • difficult to check for reliability
  • information from Ps mostly subjective
  • results may be biased, can’t be generalised
101
Q

Primary data

A

collected firsthand by researcher

102
Q

Primary data STRENGTH

A
  • suits aims of research
  • authentic, comes first hand from Ps so can be trusted
  • data more useful
103
Q

Primary data WEAKNESS

A
  • takes time and effort to collect
  • must design and carry out study
  • slows down process, increases expense
104
Q

Secondary data

A
  • comes from other sources/studies
  • already published
  • collected by other researcher with different aim
105
Q

Secondary data STRENGTH

A
  • convenient to use
  • results already collected + checked
  • reduces expense + effort
106
Q

Secondary data WEAKNESS

A
  • may not fit what researcher wants
  • from different study with different aim, may have been poorly designed
  • may reduce validity
107
Q

Validity

A

Whether results reflect real world behaviour

108
Q

Reliability

A
  • consistency
  • if you can repeat measurement and get same results, measurement is reliable
109
Q

Bar chart

A
  • displays data in categories
  • spaces between bars
110
Q

Histogram

A
  • displays continuous data
  • no spaces between bars
111
Q

Characteristic of normal distribution

A

Mean, median and mode all close together

112
Q
A

Psychology (8 decks)

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