Research Methods Flashcards
What is an aim?
A general statement that explains the purpose of the investigation
What is a hypothesis?
A testable statement or prediction about the variables in a study
What is a directional hypothesis?
This type of hypothesis states the direction of difference that the researcher expects to find based on previous research
“Participants who (IV) will recall more/less than participants who (IV)”
What is a non-directional hypothesis?
This type of hypothesis does not state the direction of difference that the researcher expects to find
“There will be a difference in (DV) between the Participants who (IV) compared to the participants who (IV)”
What is a null hypothesis?
This type of hypothesis states there will be no difference between the IV’s effect on the DV
“There will be no difference in (DV) between the Participants who (IV) compared to the participants who (IV)”
What is an independent variable?
The variable the researcher manipulates, which is assumed to have a direct effect on the DV
What is a dependent variable?
The variable the researcher measures
What is a confounding variable?
Any variable other than the IV that HAS HAD an effect on the DV because it was not controlled prior to the study
What is operationalisation?
The term used to describe how a variable is clearly and precisely defined
What is an extraneous variable?
Any variable other than the IV that MIGHT effect the DV if it is not controlled - the researcher identifies and controls these prior to the study
What are demand characteristics?
The participants try to guess the aim of the study and alter their behaviour to try and support or go against what they believe the researcher is trying to find out
What are investigator effects?
Where a researcher acts in a way to support their prediction
What is randomisation?
A method for minimizing extraneous/confounding variables - an objective method to select tasks or participants
What is standardisation?
A method for minimizing extraneous/confounding variables - the information given, environment and experience of participants is the same for all
What is a field experiment?
An experiment that is carried out in natural conditions, in which the researcher manipulates the IV to measure DV
What is a laboratory experiment?
An experiment conducted under controlled conditions in which the researcher manipulates the IV to measure DV
What is a natural experiment?
An experiment that is carried out in natural conditions, in which the researcher cannot manipulate the IV, but will still measure naturally occurring IV on DV
What is a quasi experiment?
An experiment where the IV is a naturally occurring difference between people that already exists (age, gender), so the effect of this on DV is examined
What is ecological validity?
A type of external validity that refers to the extent to which the findings can be generalized to a real life setting
What is mundane realism?
The extent to which the task and procedures are similar to the way events would work in the real world
What is bias?
To influence, typically in an unfair direction
What is generalisation?
The application of the results from a study to a wider target population (based on the idea that the findings from the original sample will be the same for everyone within target population)
What is an experimental design?
The way in which participants are allocated to experimental groups
What is a repeated measures design?
The same participants take part in the each condition of the experiment
What is an independent groups design?
Different participants are used in each condition of the experiment
What is a matched pairs design?
Pairs of participants are matched in terms of key variables (age or IQ) and then one is places in experimental group and the other in the control group
What is counterbalancing?
Used to deal with repeated measures design - Participant sample is divided in half with one completing the conditions in one order while the other completes them in reverse
What is random allocation?
Giving all participants a number and placing them in a hat, drawing out the first half to complete one condition and the rest complete the other
What is sampling?
Selecting participants from the target group/population
What is opportunity sampling?
Participants from the target group/population who are willing and able to take part are selected by researcher
What is volunteer sampling?
Participants self-select themselves to become participants because they volunteer when asked or respond to an advert
What is systematic sampling?
Use of a predetermined system to select participants from a target group - Every nth person
What is random sampling?
Identifying everyone within a target population and then selecting the number of participants needed from it
What is stratified sampling?
Researcher divides the target group into sections, each representing a key group that should be present in the final sample, it would be proportionate to target population
What is a pilot study?
A small-scale initial run through of an investigation that takes place before the real investigation is carried out
What is a single-blind procedure?
Details of the study are kept from the participants but the researcher knows the aim
What is a double-blind procedure?
Details are kept from both the participants and research assistant
What is informed consent?
Making participants aware of the aims of the research, the procedures and what their data will be used for with the right to withdraw if they wish
How do you deal with informed consent?
Participants should be given a consent letter giving sufficient information to allow them to decide if they wish to participate
What is deception?
Researcher should avoid deliberately misleading or withholding information from participants at all stages of the investigation
How do you deal with deception?
Participants should be made aware of the full aim of the investigation within a debrief along with the right to withdraw their data and offered counselling if experienced stress
What is protection from harm?
Participants should not be placed at more risk than they would expect in their daily lives - psychological and physical
How do you deal with protection from harm?
Participants offered the right to withdraw from the study at any time and withdraw their data at the end
What is privacy?
Participants have the right to control information about themselves
What is confidentiality?
If the researcher knows information about the participants then it is the participants right to expect the data to remain secure/undisclosed - personal information like names
How do you deal with privacy/confidentiality?
Avoid recording personal details to maintain anonymity
What is a controlled observation?
Watching and recording behaviour in a controlled, structured environment, where some extraneous variables can be managed
What is a naturalistic observation?
Watching and recording behaviour in the setting in which it would usually occur. There are no controls over extraneous variables
What is a participant observation?
The observer becomes part of the group of people they are studying
What is a non-participant observation?
The observer stays separate from the group they are studying so it can be recorded in an objective manner
What is a covert observation?
The observer watches and records the behaviour of participants without their consent - they’re unaware theyre being observered
What is an overt observation?
The observer watches and records the behaviour of participants with their consent
What is a structured observation?
Using behavioural categories to record behaviour
What is a behavioral category?
Operationalising target behaviours so that they can be observed and measured
What is an unstructured observation?
Using behavioural categories to record behaviour and just records all the behaviour seen
What is time sampling?
A sampling method where the behaviour is recorded at pre-established time frame/intervals
What is event sampling?
A sampling method in which all the target behaviour is recorded
What is content analysis?
A type of indirect observation that involves studying the communications people have produced (books, diaries, transcripts) to convert the qualitative data into quantitative data
What is a coding unit?
Category used to represent a particular type of information the researcher is looking for in the written material
What is thematic analysis?
Qualitative analysis of communication looking for reoccurring themes within descriptive data
What is a correlation?
A mathematical technique where researchers investigate the strength and direction of an association between two co-variables
What is a correlational hypothesis?
There will be a positive/negative correlational relationship between X and Y
What are co-variables?
The variables investigated within a correlation
What is a positive correlation?
As one co-variable increases so does the other
What is a negative correlation
As one covariable decreases, so does the other
What is zero correlation?
An outcome where there is no relationship found between the two covariables
What is an intervening variable?
An untested variable that might be the reason for the relationship found between the two covariables
What is a correlation co-efficient?
The numerical value calculated which tells researchers the strength and direction of the relationship between the two covariables
What is a self-report technique?
Any method where participants state or explain their own feelings, opinions or behaviours in relation to a given topic
What is a questionnaire?
A set of written questions or items used to assess a person’s thoughts, opinions, feelings or behaviours
What are open questions?
A question which does not have a fixed set of responses to choose from - usually giving qualitative data
What are closed questions?
A question which does have a fixed set of responses to choose from - usually giving quantitative data
What is an interview?
A live encounter during which participants are asked a number of questions
What is a structured interview?
A pre-determined set of questions are asked in a fixed order
What is an unstructured interview?
The researcher has no set questions - only a general topic to discuss in a free flowing manner
What is a semi-structured interview?
The researcher starts with some preset questions but is free to ask follow up questions based on responses given
What is social desirability bias?
The possibility that participants may lie and might not give truthful responses in order to present themselves in a positive light and avoid negative judgement from the researcher - questionnaires and interviews
What is a case study?
An in-depth investigation, description and analysis of a single individual, small group, institution or event usually over a long time and the development of an in depth case history
What is reliability?
A measure of consistency - if the results will be the same on two or more separate occasions
What is test-retest reliability?
A way of assessing reliability - The same person is assessed using the same measure on two separate occasions
What is inter-rate/observer reliability?
This measures the extent to which there is an agreement between two or more observers/researchers
What is validity?
The extent to which the findings are true/genuine - if the measure is measuring what is intended
What is internal validity?
Whether the findings are the result of IV manipulation rather than the cause of some other variable
What is face validity?
A form of internal validity which is whether a measure appears what it is intending to measure
What is concurrent validity?
A way of assessing the internal validity by comparing the results from the new measure with those gathered using an established measure for the same behaviour
What is external validity?
Whether the findings are a true representation of that behaviour in a real life setting and the wider population
What is temporal validity?
A form of external validity which is whether the findings from the study will remain true over time
What is quantitative data?
Numerical data
What is qualitative data?
Descriptive data
What is primary data?
Data collected first hand
What is secondary data?
Use of data that has already been collected by someone else
What is meta-analysis?
A process where a number of studies relating to a topic are reviewed in order to reach an overall conclusion
What is nominal data?
Data represented in categories
What is ordinal data?
Data that has been ordered
What is interval data?
Data that is based on a numerical scale where each unit has an equal distance between them
What is the mean?
The average from adding up the data and dividing by the number of scores
What is the median?
Middle value in a set of data once it has been placed in order
What is the mode?
Most frequently occurring score in a data set
What is the range?
The spread of scores in a data set - distance between the highest and lowest value
What is standard deviation?
Shows how far scores are from the mean, the greater the SD, the greater the spread of scores
What is a normal distribution?
A symmetrical spread of frequency data that forms a bell-shaped pattern - the mean, median and mode are all at the same midpoint of the curve
What is a positively skewed distribution?
A type of frequency distribution where most people score to the left of the graph
What is a negatively skewed distribution?
A type of frequency distribution where most people score to the right of the graph
What is a scattergram?
A graph used in correlational analysis which plots the relationship between two covariables
What is a barchart?
A type of graph used to display data in discrete categories
What is a histogram?
A graph used to display continuous data
What is significance level?
The point at which a researcher can claim to have found a large enough difference or strong enough correlation to claim that an effect has been found
What is the usual level of significance?
p<0.05
What is a calculated value?
The value the researcher calculates when they do the statistical test
What is a critical value?
The value that is given in the table which is the cut off point for significance at a particular level of significance
What is a one tailed test?
When the hypothesis is directional
What is a two tailed test?
When the hypothesis is non-directional
What is a type 1 error?
The experimental hypothesis has been accepted and the null hypothesis has been rejected, when it should have been reversed
What is a type 2 error?
The experimental hypothesis has been rejected and the null hypothesis has been accepted, when it should have been reversed
What is the Rule of R?
The calculated value must be equal to or greater than the critical value for significance at the level identified
What is a parametric test?
A statistical test that only uses interval level data
What is a non-parametric test?
A statistical test that is used on ordinal and interval level data
What is the empirical method?
A method where the researcher uses an experiment or direct observation to gather data
What is objectivity?
Unbiased
What is replicability?
Where the procedures are carefully reported so that other researchers can repeat it
What is falsifiability?
The ability to test a theory in order to find out if it can be proved wrong
What is theory construction?
The process of developing a theory about the proposed cause of behaviour
What is a paradigm?
A unified framework of basic assumptions, ways of thinking and methods of study that are shared by members of a group or discipline
What is a paradigm shift?
A change in the unified framework - from one set of shared beliefs to another
What is the abstract?
First section of a journal article - a short summary containing all the major elements (aims, hypotheses, method, results and discussion)
What is the introduction?
A literature review - provides details of area of research
What is the method?
Details to replicate the study including design, sample, materials, procedure and ethical issues
What is the results?
Summary of key findings
What is the discussion?
A verbal summary of the results and how these relate to the theory and evidence (in intro) and addresses the limitations of the study and how to overcome these alongside wider implications
What are the references?
Full details of any source material mentioned in the report
How do you correctly reference?
Author, date, article title, journal name, volume, page numbers
What is a peer review?
The assessment of scientific work by others who are specialists in the same field to ensure that any research intended for publication is of high quality
What is the process of a peer review?
Involves all aspects of the written investigation being scrutinized by a small group of experts in the field
What are the aims of peer review?
To allocate research funding, to validate the quality and relevance of research, to suggest amendments or improvements, prevent opposition to mainstream theories
What is an economy?
The state of a country or region in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services
