Research Methods

Question 1

What is psychology?

Answer 1

• It’s the study of the mind
• The discipline concerned with behaviour and mental processes and how they are affected by an organism’s physical state, mental state, and external behaviour.

Question 2

Name 2 different research methods:

Answer 2

Experimental: Determines cause and effect relationships.

Descriptive: Observes and records data, but doesn’t establish causation.

Question 3

What are the effects of experimental design?

Answer 3

• Manipulates variables to see their effects
• Uses random assignment to ensure fairness

Question 4

Limitations of Experiments:

Answer 4

-Participants may not represent larger populations.

-Participants may present themselves unnaturally.

Question 5

What are some descriptive methods?

Answer 5

• Naturalistic observation
• Case Studies
• Surveys

Question 6

Correlational Studies:

Answer 6

-Measure relationships between variables but cannot establish causation

-Correlation coefficient indicates strength and direction of the relationship

Question 7

Experimental Analyses:

Answer 7

-Interpret data using descriptive statistics like mean and standard deviation.

-Inferential statistics determine statistical significance.

Question 8

Ethical considerations in experimentation:

Answer 8

• Balancing risks and benefits.
• Protecting participants from harm and ensuring informed consent.
• Providing debriefing, especially in studies involving deception.