Research Methods Flashcards
What is an aim?
A general statement made by the researcher explaining what they wish to study
What is a hypothesis?
Pre made assumption of what the investigation will show, showing the relationship between the variables
What are the two types of hypothesis?
Non-directional and directional
What is a directional hypothesis?
States the differences between the variables
What is a non directional hypothesis?
Does not state the differences between the variables, no clear divide
What is a dependant variable
The variables measured by the researcher and can be affected by the independent variable
What is the independent variable?
Manipulated by the researcher
What is operationalisation?
Clearly defining the variables in terms of how they can be measured
What are extraneous variables?
Variables which affect the results if not controlled.
Do not work systematically with the IV
What are confounding variables?
Variables which work alongside the IV, therefore mean that the effect on the DV cannot be determined wether it’s the IV or confounding variables
What are demand variables?
Any cue from the research that may cause the ppt to change behaviour
What is randomisation?
Use of chance methods to control for the effects of bias when designing materials and deciding the order of experimental conditions
What is standardisation?
Using exactly the same formalised procedures and instructions for all ppts in a research study
What are advantages and disadvantages of random sampling?
Unbiased and control over cv’s and ev’s.
Time consuming and may not work
What are the advantages and disadvantages of systematic sampling?
Objective method but highly time consuming and those chosen may refuse
What are the advantages and disadvantages of stratified sampling?
Representative but cannot account for all subgroups
What is stratified sampling?
Sample which reflects the proportion of people in different population strata
What are the advantages and disadvantages of an opportunity sample?
Convenient however unrepresentative
What are the advantages and disadvantages of volunteer sampling?
Easy and participants are engaged however there is volunteer bias and respond to cues
What is a laboratory experiment? include strengths and weaknesses
Highly controlled experiment where the independent variable is manipulated to observe the effect of the dependent variable
+ High levels of control allow cause and effect to be established and it can be replicated to establish reliability
- Artificial conditions means its difficult t generalise to other conditions therefore lacking ecological validity
What is a field experiment? Include strengths and weaknesses
Experiment conducted in a natural environment with some control
+ improved ecological validity due to natural environment and there’s a potential for generalisation. Reduction in demand characteristics
- Less control over extraneous variables. More time consuming as you need to wait for certain environmental conditions to occur
What is a natural environment? include strengths and weaknesses
Independent variable occurs naturally and the allocation of the participants is not controlled by the experimenter
+ reduction in demand characteristics as participants are unaware they are taking part in the experiment
- many inevitable extraneous variables due to lack of control. Replication is impossible due to the rarity of the situation
What is a quasi experiment? include strengths and weaknesses
Independent variable is based on an existing difference between people. It isn’t manipulated, just exists e.g. gender differences
+ Carefully planned therefore replication is possible. Useful to make comparisons between types of people
- random allocation of participants isn’t possible meaning cofounding variables may be present. Laboratory settings means there is a potential for demand characteristics
What is internal validity?
the extent to which the changes in the dependent variable are caused by the manipulation of the IV as opposed to cofounding variables
What is external validity?
The extent to which the findings can be generalised beyond the investigation
What is ecological validity?
Refers to whether the findings can be generalised from a study to another setting particularly real life situations
What is temporal validity?
The extent to which findings from a study can be generalised to other historical times or era’s
What is population validity?
The extent to which the findings of a study can be generalised to other groups of people or cultures
What are the two types of self-report techniques?
Interviews and questionnaires
What is a questionnaire?
pre-set list of written questions to which a participant responds
One strength of a questionnaire is that it can be distributed to lots of people…
Researchers can gather large amounts of data quickly and researcher does not need to be present when completed
Another strength of a questionnaire is that it is straightforward to analyse…
If closed fixed questions are asked, statistical data can easily be converted to graphs and charts for comparison
One limitation of questionnaires is that responses may not always be truthful…
Respondents tend to present themselves in a positive light
Another limitation of questionnaires is response bias…
Respondents may favour a particular response this means they will all tend to reply in a similar way
What is an interview and its two types?
An interview is a face-to-face or online interaction between an interviewer and interviewee
Structured interviews is a list of pre-determined questions asked in a fixed order
Unstructured interview is no set questions, there is a general topic to be discussed but the interaction is free flowing and space for elaboration
A strength of a structured interview is it is easy to replicate…
Due to its standardised format which also reduces differences between interviewers
One limitation of structured interviews is that you cannot elaborate…
interviewers cannot deviate away from the set topic or explain their questions which may limit the richness of data collected
One strength of unstructured interviews is that there is greater flexibility…
Points can be followed as they arise it’s more likely to gain an insight into the interviewee’s worldwide view and collect unexpected information
One limitation of unstructured interviews is that there is increased risk of interviewer bias…
Closer dialogue between interviewer and interviewee means more opportunity for unconscious cues
What are closed questions?
Respondents have limited choices
One strength of closed questions is that they are easier to analyse…
Can produce graphs and charts for comparison making it easier to draw conclusions
One limitation of closed questions is that responses are restricted…
Forced into an answer that may not represent true feelings which may in turn reduce the validity of the findings
What are open questions?
respondents provide own answers expressed in words and tend to be personal
One strength of open questions is that answers are not restricted…
likely to have more external validity than statistics
One limitation of open questions is that they are difficult to analyse…
May be forced to reduce answers to statistics
