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Research Methods Flashcards

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1
Q

What are extraneous variables

A

Factors that aren’t independent variables but can alter the results of the dependant variable

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2
Q

What is a field experiment

A

Unaware participants, implemented independant variable in natural enviroment

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3
Q

What is a labatory experiment

A

Experiment has full control over variables- operationalised, standardised procedures, dependant measured

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4
Q

What are natural experiments

A

The independent variables have already occurred as a result of the natural world without any researcher influence. The researcher simply records the change in the dependant variable between event. (Romanian orphanage)

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5
Q

What are quasi experiments

A

Quasi experiments are lab or natural experiments where participants cannot be randomly assigned between different levels of IV as the IV is based on existing differences (such as gender, income, education)

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6
Q

What is a strength of a labatory experiment

A

Highly standardised and controlled, meaning results are more valid and can be generalised to the real world (real world applications).
T5he results are also more reliable and replicable due to the high control of variables

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7
Q

What is a weakness of labatory experiments

A

Can develop demand characteristics where the participants act in a way they think researcher will deem desirable to the experiment.
Time consuming and expensive due to the fact a trained experiment or is needed

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8
Q

What is a strength of field experiments

A

Less chance of demand characteristics due to unaware participants, and has high external validity and real world application because the research is conducted in a natural environment

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9
Q

What is a weakness of field experiments

A

They can lack standardisation making results potentially less reliable as they could be impacted by extraneous variables due to the lack of control. Less ethical aswell potentially as the participants are unaware (combated by retroactive consent)

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10
Q

What is a strength of the natural experiments

A

It offers a unique opportunity to research events that would otherwise not be able to study due to ethical or practical reasons= high real world application + high ecological validity

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11
Q

What is a strength of quasi expeiremtsn

A

The only experiment type that can compare pre existing differences in individuals

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12
Q

What is a weakness of the quasi and natural experiments

A

May not be able to control all variables- decreased internal validity
Only can be used when demographic events naturally occur
Participants may in some cases be aware that they are being studied which increases the possibility of demand characteristics

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13
Q

What is the difference in participants observations and non participant observations

A

Participant is when the researcher is a part of the group they’re studying whereas non participant is when they’re separate from the group they’re studying

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14
Q

What are covert observations

A

Observations where participants are unaware that they’re being studied

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15
Q

What are overt observations

A

Observations where participants are aware that they’re being studied

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16
Q

What is a simple definition of what observations are

A

Study natural behaviours in a natural setting that is more realistic (and would otherwise be unethical)

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17
Q

What are behavioural catergories/checklists

A

Where behaviours are coded into group systems so they’re more identifiable rather than having an overall behaviour
Eg: hesitant, peer pressure, nervous

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18
Q

What’s some advantages and disadvantages of covert observations

A

More natural where behaviour is unchanged= low chance of demand characteristics

However less able to quantify into data

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19
Q

What are some advantages and disadvantages of overt observations

A

Data is found quicker with more efficiency, less time consuming

People are aware they’re being studied= demand characteristics

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20
Q

What are some advantages and disadvantages of participant observations

A

Observer can see all characteristics and behaviours at a closer viewpoint

Results may vary as the participants may be less likely to open up, and provide truthful answers due to peer pressure form researcher presence

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21
Q

What are some advantages and disadvantages of non participant observations

A

Doesn’t interact with the natural environment, increases validity of results

Can’t obtain reliable data as easily as researcher could use inference to conclude what the participant is doing if information is unclear- possibly subjective and bias

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22
Q

What is event sampling

A

Continuous sampling lasting the whole experiment (gingerbread man and students)

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23
Q

What is time sampling

A

Counting behaviour is a set time frame- eg recording behaviours over a 30 second time zone with a 2 minute interval

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24
Q

What are some advantages and disadvantages of time sampling

A

Decreases the possibility of missing any behaviours due to se time frame making researchers more focused on the aims of the research

However only offers a small sample of the whole observation and could miss significant behaviours

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25
Q

What are some advantages and disadvantages of event sampling

A

Less chance of missing behaviour as you’re continuously monitoring behaviour displayed without any set periods

You can miss some important behaviours as you could be more focused on recording the most noticeable behaviour pattterns

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26
Q

Why are interviews better than questionnaires

A

Elaborate qualitative data compared to simplistic quantitative numbers which increases validity as people can clarify answers

Higher accountability for answers from participant responses

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27
Q

What are questionaries better than interviews

A

Less time consuming and you’re able to gather nominal quantitative data that can be easily represented and generalised to wider population

You can gather a larger sample as question areas are quicker and can be digitially spread to reach more people

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28
Q

What are some things that you need to consider when writing a good questionnaire

A

Clarity= no double negatives, nor double barrels
Bias= no misleading questions to make answers more attractive/ desirable
Analysis= open or closed questions
Pilot studies= test questionnaire on a small sample size group of people

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29
Q

What is a likely rating scale

A

When you have a question such as strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree…
Shouldn’t be an uneven number as your most likely to get a neutral response so they must be uneven to make sure participants make a choice

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30
Q

What are some strengths and weaknesses of a structured interview

A

Can be repeated due to their standardised and highly controlled nature
Answers are easier to predict and analyse

Social desirability by giving less elaborate responses

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31
Q

What’s are some strengths and weaknesses of unstructured interviews

A

More detailed qualitative elaborate data that gives researchers a greater insight into the aims of their study

Is expensive due to the need of having to have an experience and trained experimenter.
Can lack objectivity and highly bias as they’re is no structure to the answers- possibility for leading questions

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32
Q

What can we define correlation is

A

Correlation measures the relationship between two variables by looking at the cause and effect relationship

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33
Q

What is a positive correlation

A

Means both variables (lines on a scatter graph) move in the same directions where anything above 0= a positive correlation
For example v= +0.2 is a weak correlation, v= +0.9 is a strong correlation

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34
Q

What is negative correlation

A

Negative correlation is when the variable are moving in different directions
Anything below 0 would be considered a negative correlation
Where v= -0.2 is a weak negative correlation, and v= -0.9 is a strong negative correlation

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35
Q

What is no correlation

A

No relationship between the two variables and often close to 0= 0.02,0.09

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36
Q

What are the three possible explanations for correlation

A

Causality= when one variable affects the other
Chance= variables just happen to be related
Third factor= interfering variable

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37
Q

What is a null hypothesis

A

When the prediction predicts that nothing will happen, no correlation/ no difference

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38
Q

What are some positives and negatives of a case study

A

Rich detailed qualitative data thats high in ecological validity
Avoids any practical or ethical issues

Case studies are especially subject specific, meaning that they’re often not reflective of the larger population= low, pop validity and lacks generalisability.

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39
Q

What is a directional/One Direction hypothesis?

A

Predicts, which one of the two conditions will result in the biggest dependent variable change, so results fall in One Direction

Here is an example of how it should be written :
There will be significantly more/less (insert DV here) in the (first conditional IV here) compared to the (insert second condition of IV).

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40
Q

What is a nondirectional, two tailed hypothesis?

A

When the IV is not predicted, the researcher predicts that IV will affect the DV, but don’t know how. This could be written as= there will be a significant difference in…

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41
Q

What are experimental designs

A

When research organises participant testing in relation to experiment condition

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42
Q

What are independent measures experimental designs?

A

When you recruit participants, and divide them into two groups
One group does experimental tasks with one IV condition and the other does the same with a different IV condition= measure the DV and compare

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43
Q

What is repeated measures experimental designs?

A

One group isn’t divided and does two tasks with two different conditions, then you compare the results

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44
Q

What is match pairs experimental designs?

A

They recruit a group of participants and find out their key characteristics and then recruit another group that matches one participant. They treat the experiment as an independent measure and then compare results.

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45
Q

What are some advantages and disadvantages of using an independent group design?

A

It avoids any effects, such as boredom or fatigue, as the group does a task only once

More participants are needed for the overall groups .

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46
Q

What are some advantages and disadvantages of using repeated group designs?

A

Few people are needed as one group does both tasks

Maybe order effects like boredom and tiredness - however you could counter argument this by saying you would use counterbalancing- which is where one group does task A then B as the other does task B then A

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47
Q

What are some advantages and disadvantages of using match pairs designs?

A

Reduced participants extraneous variables because each participant has a pair and their behaviour should be similar

Very time-consuming, as you need to identify direct willing pairs, and some may even be impossible to match

48
Q

What does BPS stand for and what does it aim to do?

A

The British psychological society is a representative of psychologist that promotes ethical practices in psychology

49
Q

What is stratified sampling

A

Getting the sample to reflect the target population by splitting participants into sub groups (strata). They identify the port options of each different strata and randomly select participants for these groups

50
Q

What is systematic sampling

A

Every nth member of the target population is selected eg: every third house on the street or every 5th student on the register

51
Q

What is voluenteer sampling

A

Self selecting individuals who have chosen to be in the study- as the name suggests

52
Q

What is opportunity sampling

A

Selector people that are available in your chosen enviroment at the time which saves time but can often be small, unrepresentative or bias samples

53
Q

What are some advantages and disadvantages of systematic sampling

A

It avoids researcher bias and is fairly representative of the target population

Not strictly random as each person doesn’t stand an equal chance of being selected for the research

54
Q

What is some advantages and disadvantages of stratified sampling

A

Highly representative sample so generalisation of findings is more possible aswell as avoiding researcher bias

The identified strata might not represent all the ways people are different- race, gender, upbringing.

55
Q

What are some advantages and disadvantages of volunteer sampling

A

Quick and easier type of sampling

It only has people who are interested in psychological research, demand characteristics and is then unrepresentative of the target population. So less generalisable.

56
Q

What are some advantages and disadvantages of opportunity sampling

A

Quick and the most common type of sampling

Very unrepresentative and bias as only people interested in psychological research are willing to partake

57
Q

What is a pilots studies

A

Smaller scale trial tests to show the effectiveness of the study and any possible further improvements that need to be made- they can also be useful in outlining potential issues before committing to a long term investigation.

58
Q

What are peer reviews

A

When another person judges the scientific quality of the research and shouldn’t publish ant fraudulent work or poor scientific practices

59
Q

What is the process of a peer review

A

Scientist writes about research and sends it to a journal editor
An expert in that field is selected by journal editor
They will read an unpublished paper and look for mistakes
Then they will decide if ant further improvements need too be made if it can be published
Usually small changes are made

60
Q

Why are peer reviews so essential to the scientific process

A

Decrease the chance of mis information to the reader which can influence them in a harmful way such as believing an untrue theory

61
Q

evaluating of the peers review process

A

Finding an expert=
Sometimes its not always possible to find a direct expert in that field that is willing or available to do the power review- leading to more inexperience reviewers to pass up on bad research do to the fact they can’t understand it
- means you have to be rigorous in the process of choosing an expert

Publication bias=
Journals tend to learn towards a more positive outcome, proving their initial ideas or hypothesis. This leads to a potential boost in the status of said journal. Therefore sometimes publicitors can be just as bad as newspaper editors in seeking an eye catching story

62
Q

What did Daniel kahneman say about the economics of psychology

A

He was interested in looking at how people made decisions- and his research has lead to a new area of research called behavioural encomics which influences the way people think about thinking

63
Q

What is the availability heuristic

A

A type of cognitive bias- allows us to make quick and sometimes incorrect judgements. It relies on info that comes to mind quickly or is most avaliable to us

64
Q

What are some examples of the availability heuristics

A

When we remember all the people who have won the lottery being represented in the media but not the millions that did not.

Or when gambling machines have lots of noise and fanfare when a player wins but silence when not- gambler more likely to remember the wins over the losses.

65
Q

Who did research into the availability of heuristic research

A

Researchers read out male and female names to participants- some famous some not. Participants were asked to estimate whether there were more male or female names on the list.
One group heard 19 famous females and 20 non famous males
The second group heard 19 famous males and 20 non famous females
They found 80% participants judgements to be incorrect as they only remembered famous peoples names.

66
Q

What is an aim of a study

A

The overal purpose of what wants to I be achieved or proved by the researcher

67
Q

What is operationalising variables

A

When you specifically write the IV and DVsd of an investigation

68
Q

What is the scientific method

A

Paradigms
replicability
objectivity
falsification
empirical methods
Theory construction

69
Q

What is objectivity of the scientific method

A

Objectivity is when researchers exclude any personal opinions or biases to discolour their data whilst keeping a critical distance. Objective methods in psychology are usually those where there is high control eg. Lab experiments.

70
Q

What is the empirical method in the features of science

A

Emphasise the importance of data collection based on direct experiences. Theory cannot claim to be scientific until it has been empirically tested and verified via. Experiment or observation

71
Q

What is replicability in terms of the features of science

A

Replicability is repeating research over a period of time to determine the validity of its findings. Aswell as this looking at replicability over different contexts allows us to determine the researches generalisability.

72
Q

What is falsifiability in terms of the features of science

A

Karl popper asserted this theory of falsification, suggesting scientific theories should hold themselves up for hypothesis testing and the possibility of being proven false.

73
Q

What did Karl poppers call science that couldn’t be falsified

A

Pseudoscience

74
Q

What is a theory construction

A

Gathering evidence to make a set of general laws or principles to explain behaviours based on empirical observations.

75
Q

What is paradigms?

A

Thomas khun suggested that a set of clear assumptions or methods (paradigms) are needed to determine if research is scientific or not.
Khun said that psychology is best seen as a prescience as opposed to to a natural science such as biology or physics as it lacks these universally accepted paradigms

76
Q

What are the two features of the scientific process

A

Induction and deduction

77
Q

What is induction

A

Carrying out research and then coming up with the theory (theory comes last)

78
Q

What is deduction

A

Coming up with a theory then conducting the research to test it out (theory comes first)

79
Q

What is the process of induction

A

-observation
-hypothesis
-test hypothesis
-draw conclusion
-propose theory

80
Q

What is the process of deduction

A

-observation
-propose theory
-test hypothesis
-draw conclusion

81
Q

What are the processes of reporting psychological investigations

A

Abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion and referencing

82
Q

What is abstract on a scientific report

A

Summary of the research in about 150 words, telling reader of aim, hypothesis, methods and results

83
Q

What is an intro in a scientific report

A

Literary overview of relevant past research that has influenced research- funnel effect effect where broader themes are covered first before being narrowed down.

84
Q

What are the aims and hypothesis in a scientific report

A

Aim= purpose of the research
Hypothesis= one tailed or two tailed/ directional or non directional

85
Q

What is the method of scientific method

A

How the research is carrried out, should be detailed enough that someone can replicate it

Include=
Design, sample size, equipment, procedure and ethics

86
Q

What are the results and discussion of the scientific report

A

Results=
Key findings in relation to the hypothesis
Statistical data, critical values, level of significance

Discussion=
Looking at the comparison between any past research and researchers own results, any limitations should be discussed, implications of research in the real world

87
Q

What should be in the appendices of a scientific report

A

Consent form
Debrief form
Questionaries
Diagrams
Raw data
Statistical calculations

88
Q

What is inter observer reliability

A

The extent to which two observers are in agreement over the observed behaviours in an observation

89
Q

What is concurrent validity

A

Determining the validity of your research by comparing existing questionaries to one you’re interested in

90
Q

What is temporal validity

A

The extent of which results can be generalised over time periods

91
Q

What is face validity

A

The extent of which a set of research set out to test what they claim to be

92
Q

What is internal reliability

A

Looking at how reliable research is inside the study

93
Q

How can we assess the internal reliability of a study

A

Testing a persons consistency on two halves of a questionnaire, if the questions are actually assessing the same thing across the whole questionnaire, answers should have high correlation

94
Q

What is external reliability

A

How consistent the findings are if to be repeated over different conditions

95
Q

How do we assess external reliability

A

Inter observer reliability

Test- retest method= when a person is given a questionnaire/ interview on one occasion the again after a reasonable time interval

96
Q

How do we improve the reliability of a lab experiment.

A

Control over extraneous variables- standardised instructions- replicated

97
Q

How do we improve interviews reliability

A

Having a pilot study with a trained researcher

98
Q

How to improve observation reliability

A

Having a trained inter observer

99
Q

How to assess the internal valditity of a study

A

-Concurrent validity
-face validity

100
Q

How to assess the external valdity of research

A

Population valdity= generalisability
External validity= situations outside study
Temporal validity= theory over time

101
Q

What is content analysis

A

Analysing the content of something

102
Q

What is the process of content analysis

A
  • Data is collected
  • researcher reads through data
  • researcher identifies coding units
  • data is analysed using those coding units as a basis (behavioural categories)
  • a tally is made based on the number of times that a coding unit appears
103
Q

What are coding units similar too to help you understand what they are

A

Behavioural checklists, what the content is showing

104
Q

What are some strengths of a content analysis

A

High ecological validity
No chance of demand characteristics
Can be assessed with inter observer reliability

105
Q

What is a weakness of content analysis

A

Observer bias= objectivity and validity may be reduced if observer interperpates content differently

Cultural bias- some cultures might catergorise a behaviours with one theme whilst others may categorise it differently

106
Q

What is a thematic analysis

A

Is presenting patterns or themes within qualitative data

107
Q

What is the process of thematic analysis

A

Developing codes to label data (themes) the same process as content analysis
Analyse the themes to develop an overall meaning and pattern
Inductively= read and re-read the content with themes emerging without the researcher imposing any expectations
Deductively= specifies themes they’re looking for before analysis.

108
Q

What are the three level of measurement

A

Nominal, ordinal, interval

109
Q

What is nominal data

A

Data in separated catergories or groups

110
Q

What is ordinal dats

A

Data in an order of some way

111
Q

What is interval data

A

Data measured using units of equal intervals or increments

112
Q

What do descriptive statistics do

A

Give us a summary and description of our data

113
Q

What is standard deviations

A

The distance between each individual data increment

114
Q

What should you always include in a observation design study

A

Setting for the observation
Type of observation with justification and strengths of your choice
Operationalised behavioural categories
Use of time or event sampling with justification
Data recording- visually
Ethical issues for the observation

115
Q

What should you do for each paragraph of a design a study question

A

Explain
How?
Justification
Evaluate

psychology (8 decks)

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