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Psychology A Level AQA > Research Methods > Flashcards

Research Methods Flashcards

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1
Q

What is an aim

A

A statement of a study’s purpose

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2
Q

3 types of hypothesis

A

One tailed/directional, two tailed/non-directional and null

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3
Q

Directional Hypothesis

A

States the difference between conditions

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4
Q

Non directional hypothesis

A

States there will be a difference but doesnt say what the difference will be

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5
Q

Null hypothesis

A

There will be NO significant difference between the conditions

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6
Q

Independent Variable

A

The variable we’re changing/ manipulating

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7
Q

Dependent Variable

A

The variable we’re measuring

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8
Q

Control

A

The extent to which any variable is held constant or regulated by a researcher.

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9
Q

Random allocation

A

Everyone has an equal chance of doing either condition

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10
Q

Counterbalancing

A

Half the participants participate in condition A before condition B and vice versa. (overcomes order effects)

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11
Q

Randomisation

A

Materials are presented in a random order

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12
Q

Standardisation

A

Everything should be as similar as possible for all participants

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13
Q

Extraneous variables

A

Variables other than the IV that could influence your results

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14
Q

Confounding variables

A

Variables other than the IV which has influenced your results

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15
Q

Ethical guidelines

A

Standards of behaviour, promoting fairness, protecting rights, and minimising harm.

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16
Q

Informed consent

A

Knowing aims and giving your permission to take part in the study

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17
Q

Deception

A

Deliberately misleading or withholding information

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18
Q

Right to withdraw

A

Being able to leave when desired

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19
Q

Confidentiiality

A

Details should be kept private

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20
Q

Protection from harm

A

No more harm than daily life

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21
Q

Independent Groups

A

There are 2 separate groups of participants. One takes park in Condition A and the other in B

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22
Q

Independent Groups A+W

A

Fewer demand characteristics
No order effects

But more participants needed
Individual differences

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23
Q

Repeated Measures

A

One group that takes part in both conditions

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24
Q

Repeated Measures A+W

A

No individual differences as the same person does both conditions

Demand characteristics
Order effects

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25
Q

Matched Pairs

A

Two groups and they are matched into pairs for certain qualities such as age or intelligence. One does Condition A and the other B

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26
Q

Matched Pairs A+W

A

No order effects
Controls for individuals differences

Difficult to match people perfectly
Costly and time consuming

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27
Q

Field Experiment

A

Take place outside of the lab but still manipulates IV

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28
Q

Field Experiment A+W

A

Less Artificial
Avoids participant effects producing more natural behaviour

Less easy to control extraneous variables
Ethical Issues (pps unlikely to know they are being studied)

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29
Q

Laboratory Experiment

A

Controlled artificial environment where IV is manipulated

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30
Q

Laboratory Experiment A+W

A

Controlled environment
Minimises extraneous variables

Artificial environment
Pps may behave differently due to environment

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31
Q

What is meant by the term ‘double blind’?

A

Neither the participants or the researchers are aware of the aims of the investigation

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32
Q

What is meant by the term ‘single blind’?

A

Participants aren’t aware of the condition they are in

Attempts to control for the confounding effects of demand characteristics

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33
Q

Natural Experiment

A

Natural Environment. IV manipulated taking advantage of a naturally occuring event

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34
Q

Natural Experiment A+W

A

High ecological validity
Few ethical issues

Many extraneous variables
Naturally occuring events are infrequent limiting research opportunity

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35
Q

Quasi Experiment

A

The IV is a naturally existing characteristic between people and hasn’t been changed by anyone or anything

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36
Q

Quasi Experiment A+W

A

Done in labs so high in control
‘Real’ problems can be studied

Pps can’t be randomly allocated to conditions so there may be confounding variables. Meaning we can’t say cause and effects

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37
Q

What are behavioural categories?

A

Categories defined by the researcher to observe during the experiment

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38
Q

Event Sampling

A

Counting the number of times a certain behaviour occurs

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39
Q

Time Sampling

A

Recording behaviours in a given time frame

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40
Q

Controlled Observation

A

When the researcher has some measure of control over the environment

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41
Q

Controlled Observation S+W

A

Control over extraneous variables
Easy to replicate

Can’t be applied to real life setting
May be subjective towards what the researcher wants to see

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42
Q

Naturalistic Observation

A

Studying behaviour in a natural setting where everything has been left as it is normally

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43
Q

Naturalistic Observation S+W

A

High ecological validity
Natural Environment- generalised to everyday life

Replication is difficult
Uncontrolled extraneous variables

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44
Q

Covert Observation

A

The participants aren’t aware that they are being observed

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45
Q

Covert Observation S+W

A

No demand characteristics

Ethical Issues

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46
Q

Overt Observation

A

The participants are aware that they are being observed

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47
Q

Overt Observation S+W

A

Less ethical issues

Might be demand characteristics as they know they are being watched

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48
Q

Participant Observation

A

The observer acts a part of the group being watched

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49
Q

Participant Observation S+W

A

Experience situation and increases validity

Lose objectivity
Difficulty in recording observations

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50
Q

Non-participant Observation

A

The experimenter does not become part of the group being observed

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51
Q

Non-participant Observation S+W

A

More ethical, more objective

Less insight
Not experiencing the same things

52
Q

Structured Observation

A

The researcher determines precisely what behaviours are to be observed and uses a standardised checklist to record the frequency with which they are observed within a specific time frame

53
Q

Structured Observation S+W

A

Easy to gather relevant data because you know what you are looking for

Interesting behaviours could go unrecorded because they weren’t pre-defined as important

54
Q

Unstructured Observation

A

The observer recalls all relevant behaviours but has no system

55
Q

Unstructured Observation S+W

A

Interesting behaviours don’t go unnoticed

Difficult to gather relevant data because you don’t know what you are looking for

56
Q

What is inter-rater reliability?

A

The test should give consistent results regardless of who administers it

This can be assessed by correlating the scores each researcher provides and compare. There should be an 80% agreement

57
Q

How can inter-rater reliability be improved?

A

Offer a chance to discuss difficult issues or problems and monitor the quality of the data collection over time

58
Q

Structured Interview

A

When the questions are decided in advance

59
Q

Structured Interview S+W

A

Can be easily repeated (standardised questions)
Requires less skill than unstructured

Can be interviewer bias
Data collection will be restricted

60
Q

Unstructured interview

A

When the interviewees answers to questions guide subsequent questions

61
Q

Unstructured Interview S+W

A

Detailed and in depth information obtained
Insight into feeling and thoughts

Affected by interviewer bias
Hard to analyse answers

62
Q

Semi-Structured Interview

A

Combination of structured and unstructured

63
Q

Qualitative data

A

In-depth Information in a written form - words, texts, ideas

64
Q

Quantative Data

A

Information that can be reduced to number and quantities

65
Q

Reliability

A

Overall consistency of a measure

66
Q

Internal Reliability

A

The extent to which a test is consistent within itself

67
Q

Split-Half Method

Methods ensuring reliability

A

Compare an individual’s performance on two halves of a test

68
Q

Internal Validity

A

The study measures or examines what it claimed to measure or examine

68
Q

Test-retest method

Methods ensuring reliability

A

A person repeats a test a month or so after doing the test the first time

69
Q

External Validity

A

The extent the results of the study can be generalised to others

69
Q

Concurrent Validity

A

Results from a new test can be compared to a previously well-established test

70
Q

Predictive Validity

A

If diagnosis leads to successful treatment then the diagnosis is seen as valid

71
Q

Temporal Validity

A

Assesses to what degree research findings remain over time

72
Q

Content Validity

A

Involves asking experts in the field to check the content of the study

73
Q

Ecological Validity

A

Generalisable to real life settings- generalising findings from one setting to other settings

74
Q

Population Validity

A

Whether you can reasonably generalise the findings from your sample to a larger group of people

75
Q

Bar Chart and why its different to a histogram

A

Used to present discrete data that are placed into categories

Columns do not touch and have equal width and spacing

76
Q

Histogram

A

Used to represent data on a continuous scale

77
Q

What is correlation analysis?

A

When two or more variables are measured in order to see if there is a relationship

(positive, negative or no correlation)

78
Q

Correlation coefficient

A

Number between 1 and -1 telling us how strong the correlation is

79
Q

Types of Correlation

A

Positive - both variables increase
Negative - One increases the other decreases
No correlation- no relationship

80
Q

Positive and Negative Skew

A

Positive -more scores on the lower end of the data set

Negative - more scores on the higher end of the data set

81
Q

What is an experimental group?

A

The participants are the experiment who the researcher is testing

82
Q

What is a control group?

A

The other condition where participants are taking part in the experiment, but no manipulation is used

83
Q

What are demand characteristics?

A

Participants may have determined the aims of the study (may act deliberately to please the researcher

84
Q

How can demand characteristics be controlled?

A

Counterbalancing / randomisation

85
Q

Name 2 self report methods

A

Questionnaires and Interviews

86
Q

Interview

A

Used to gather qualitative data

87
Q

Advantages and disadvantages of Interviews

A

Can get rich and detailed data

Time consuming and impractical

88
Q

What are investigator effects?

A

Anything the researcher does which can effect how the participant behaves

89
Q

What is researcher bias and how can it be avoided?

A

Researchers expectations can influence how they design their study.

Research assistant conducts the research using standardised procedures

90
Q

What is content analysis?

A

Research analysing secondary data and data you’ve collected

91
Q

Content analysis S+W

A

Inexpensive
Ethics - participants not directly involved

Subjectivity
Data analysis is time consuming

92
Q

What is thematic analysis?

A

Making summaries of data and identifying key themes and categories

93
Q

Mean

How its calculated and S+W

A

Adding up all the numbers and divide by the number of data items

Represents all the data

Effected by extreme values

94
Q

Median

How its calculated and S+W

A

Middle value in an ordered list

Not affected by extreme values

Exact values not represented

95
Q

Mode

How its calculated and S+W

A

Most common data item

Not affected by extreme values

Sometimes there are too many modes

96
Q

Range

How its calculated and S+W

A

Difference between top and bottom values

Easy to calculate

Affected by extreme values

97
Q

Standard Deviation

How its calculated and S+W

A

Measure of the average distance between each data item above and below the mean

Precise measure of dispersion

Affected by extreme values

98
Q

Quantitative Data

A

Numbers

99
Q

Primary Data

A

Data collected first hand by the researcher

100
Q

Secondary Data

A

Data collected from another source

101
Q

Pilot Study

A

A small scale investigation that takes place before the real investigation is conducted

102
Q

Questionnaires

A

Set of questions used to assess a person’s thoughts and experiences

103
Q

Questionnaires S+W

A

Produces quantitative data
Easily repeatable

Answers maybe chosen that don’t represent real thoughts
Poor/vague questions lead to incorrect results

104
Q

Case study Definition + S+W

A

Intense description of a single individual case

Rich data, unique cases studied in detail

Can’t be generalised

105
Q

What is a sample?

A

The people the researcher actively use in the research

106
Q

Random Sampling

A

Each person has an equal chance of being selected. Chosen by a computer random generator

107
Q

Random Sampling S+W

A

Fair
More likely to be representative

Can be biased if the sample is too small

108
Q

Volunteer

Sampling method

A

People who are interested apply to be in the research

109
Q

Volunteer S+W

Sampling method

A

Convenient and ethical

Sample is biased because the participants are likely to be more motivated (volunteer bias)

110
Q

Opportunity

Sampling Method

A

The participants available at the time to take part in the research

111
Q

Opportunity S+W

Sampling Method

A

Easy and quick method because you just use the first participants you find

Biased as the sample is drawn from a small part of the target population

112
Q

Stratified

Sampling method

A

Selective people from every portion of your populations - in the same proportions

113
Q

Stratified S+W

Sampling method

A

More representative

Time consuming as all participants need to be assessed and categorised

114
Q

Systematic Sampling

A

Selecting every nth name from a list

115
Q

Systematic Sampling S+W

A

Avoids bias as there is no control over who is being selected

Not necessarily representative if the pattern used for the sample coincides with a pattern in the population

116
Q

Nominal

Levels of measurement

A

Data represented in the form of categories

117
Q

Ordinal

Levels of measurement

A

Data which is ordered in some way

118
Q

Interval / Ratio

Levels of measurement

A

Based on numerical scales that include units of equal precisely defined size

119
Q

Role of Peer Review

A

This involves all aspects of psychological research being checked by a small group of experts in a particular field

120
Q

Main Aims of Peer Review

A

To allocate research funding
To validate the quality and relevance of research

121
Q

Implications for the economy

A

Attachment research would suggest both parents are equally capable of providing the necessary emotional support for development

122
Q

What part of the research report should include the psychologists hypothesis

A

The introduction

123
Q

What are the 5 ethical guidelines?

A

Informed consent
Deception
Right to withdraw
Confidentiality
Protection from harm

Psychology A Level AQA (7 decks)

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