Research Methods Flashcards
Outline Respect as an ethical requirement
Treating participants or animals in a humane, fair and unprejudiced way
Describe Confidentiality as an ethical requirement
The participants’ identity must be kept anonymous and data must be recorded as unidentifiable using pseudonyms
Describe Deception as an ethical requirement
Participants are misled or wrongly informed about the aims of the research. This includes: deliberate misleading (lying) and failure to disclose (omission) of full information about the study.
Describe Informed Consent as an ethical requirement
Permission must be obtained for participants to consent in the research study.
An adult (18+) can provide consent or parents/legal guardians of minors can also provide consent to allow their children to participate in a study
Describe the Right to Withdraw as an ethical guideline
Participants should be able to leave a study at any time if they feel uncomfortable.
They should also be allowed to withdraw their data and must be told at the start of the study that they have the right to withdraw.
Describe Debriefing as an ethical requirement
After the research is over, the researcher will explain the purpose, procedure and findings to the participant to minimise the impact of harm and distress.
Define ‘aim’
A statement of a study’s purpose
What is an independent variable?
A variable directly manipulated by the researcher (cause).
What is a dependent variable?
The variable which will be affected by the change in the IV (effect).
Define operationalised
Describing the process by which the variable is measured (units, scale or definitions).
What is a null hypothesis?
The hypothesis you assume to be true in your study. A prediction that there will be no relationship or no significant difference between the IV and DV
What is an alternative hypothesis?
The hypothesis which is accepted if the data proves the null hypothesis to be rejected. A prediction that there will be a relationship or a significant difference between the IV and DV.
What is a directional hypothesis?
A hypothesis which predicts the direction of the difference or relationship between the variables
What is a non-directional hypothesis?
A hypothesis which does not state the direction of the outcome for the variables being studied
What are confounding variables?
Variables which are not the IV and are shown to be influencing the DV
What are questionnaires?
A type of self-report data which is useful for surveying attitudes, beliefs and behaviours that can provide both quantitative and qualitative data
What are Closed Questions?
The participants are limited in their responses, for example ticking a box or choosing an option. Quantitative data which is easier to analyse is obtained however responses are in lesser depth and detail.
What are Open Questions?
The participants are invited to respond in any way, in their own words producing detailed qualitative data which is difficult to analyse.
What is a Structured Interview?
The interviewer has a pre-written set of questions which they do not deviate from; all participants are asked the same questions in the same order
What is an Unstructured Interview?
The interviewer may have a few general questions in mind but there are no set questions; there is instead flexibility to pick up on issues in the participant’s comments and for them to expand on their responses
What is a semi-structured interview?
The interview is between the two types described. It has a set of pre-determined questions but the respondent is free to expand on their responses. The interviewee is free to ask follow up questions as and when deemed necessary.
Strengths of questionnaires
+ Shows what people think/feel
+ Easily repeated
+ Respondents feel anonymous
Weakness of questionnaires
- Social desirability bias
- Possible biased sample
Strengths of open questions
+ Rich detail of response
+ Unexpected results
Weaknesses of open questions
- Harder to draw conclusions
- Interpretation is subjective
Strengths of using closed questions
+ Easy to analyse (quantitative)
+ Answers are more objective
Weaknesses of using closed questions
- Pps cannot express feelings
- Oversimplifies reality
Strengths of using a ranked scale
+ Objective
+ Produces quantitative data
Weaknesses of using a ranked scale
- Social desirability bias
Describe random sampling
Strengths of random sampling
Weaknesses of random sampling
Describe systematic sampling
Strengths of systematic sampling
Weaknesses of systematic sampling
Describe stratified sampling
Strengths of stratified sampling
Weaknesses of stratified sampling
Describe opportunity sampling
Strengths of opportunity sampling
Weaknesses of opportunity sampling
Describe volunteer sampling
Strengths of volunteer sampling
Weaknesses of volunteer sampling
What are the 4 features of science
- Empiricism
- Objectivity
- Replicability
- Falsification
Describe Empiricism
Information gained through direct observation or experiment
Describe Objectivity
Observations and experiments should be unaffected by bias
Describe Replicability
Research should be repeated and similar results should be obtained, which adds to the reliability of the study
Describe Falsification
The theory is a collection of principles that explain observations and facts, which can be falsifiable
What are the levels of measurement?
- Nominal
- Ordinal
- Interval
- Ratio
Describe nominal data
Data is in separate categories (frequencies)
Describe ordinal data
Data is ordered in some way (Interval and Ratio can be converted into ordinal)
Describe interval data
Units of equal measurements are used (e.g. minutes, kilograms)
Describe ratio data
The data has a true zero
What is an extraneous variable?
Any variable other than the IV which can affect the DV if it is not controlled
What is a participant variable?
An extraneous variable which is dispositional and personal to the participant, which can affect the study’s accuracy
What is a situational variable?
An extraneous variable present in the environment of the study which affects participant performance
What is a confounding variable?
An extraneous variable that affects the results of the study so that the effect of the IV is not truly seen
Describe repeated measures design
The same participants take part in each condition of the independent variable
Strengths of repeated measures design
+ No individual differences
+ Fewer participants (economical benefit)
Weaknesses of repeated measures design
- Order effects (practice effects or fatigue effects)
- Increased chance of demand characteristics
Describe independent groups design
There are different participants in each condition of the study.
Strengths of independent groups design
+ No order effects
+ Decreased chance of demand characteristics
Weaknesses of independent groups design
- Individual differences
Describe matched pairs design
Using different participants for each condition of the experiment but allocating each participant to a condition based on a relevant participant variable.
Strengths of matched pairs design
+ Reduced order effects
+ Differences between groups are minimised
Weaknesses of matched pairs design
- Expensive and time consuming
- Exact matches are rarely possible
Describe order effects
Pp’s may become tired, bored, or become well-practiced when they do both conditions of the experiment. This can affect their behaviour and therefore impact the findings of the study, decreasing the validity.
Describe individual differences
Different groups having different participants means that they could differ dispositionally or physically (e.g. being extroverted/introverted, or an age gap between pps). The disparity between pps means that they findings of the study could be impacted, and the validity decreases.
Describe demand characteristics
Pps may guess the aim of the study and change their behaviour accordingly. This makes the findings less valid because it doesn’t reflect natural behaviour.
Describe counterbalancing
Ensures that each condition in a repeated measures design is tested first or second in equal amounts.
Describe randomisation
The order in which participants do the conditions is randomised.
Weaknesses of open questions
- Harder to draw conclusions
- Interpretation is subjective
What are case studies?
An in-depth analysis of one person or a small group (idiographic)
Describe naturalistic observations
An observation conducted in an everyday environment where the behaviour being studied is normally seen.
Strengths of naturalistic observations
High ecological validity – results can be applied to everyday life
Weaknesses of naturalistic observations
Low reliability and low internal validity
– the lack of control over the research situation makes replication of the investigation difficult.
- Uncontrolled extraneous variables.
Described structured observations
An observation carried out in a laboratory or a controlled environment
Strengths of structured observations
High internal validity and reliability – extraneous variables are less of a factor so replication is easier
Weaknesses of structured observations
Low ecological validity – findings cannot be as readily applied to real-life settings
Describe covert observations
The participants are not aware that they are being observed as part of an investigation
Strengths of covert observations
High internal validity – less chance of demand characteristics/observer effects
Weaknesses of covert observations
Ethical issues – no consent or right to withdraw
Describe overt observations
Participants are aware they are being observed as part of an investigation
Strengths of covert observations
More ethical because participants have given consent and the right to withdraw
Weaknesses of covert observations
Low internal validity; participants are likely to behave differently from normal if they know they’re being watched.
Describe participant observations
An observer is involved in the group that they are observing.
Strengths of participant observations
Increased internal validity because the researchers can experience the situation from the pps point of view, giving more realistic results
Weaknesses of participant observations
- Lowered task validity because the researchers disrupt the natural interactions as they are now intruding
- Lowered internal validity as the researchers may identify too strongly with those they’re studying and lose objectivity
Describe non-participant observations
The observer watches and records people without actively being involved
Strengths of non-participant observations
Higher internal validity - Researcher can be more objective when standing back from the group
Less observer bias and disruption of the dynamics
Weaknesses of non-participant observations
Researcher may miss special insights into behaviour that can only be gained from the ‘inside’
Describe Time-Sampling
Encoding behaviours in a given time frame. For example, noting what a target individual is doing every 30 seconds.
Strengths of time-sampling
Effective in reducing number of observations that have to be made
Weaknesses of time sampling
Instances when behaviour is sampled might be unrepresentative of the observation as a whole
Describe event sampling
Counting the number of times a certain behaviour (event) occurs in individuals
Strengths of event sampling
Useful when target behaviour or event happens infrequently and could be missed if time sampling is used
Weaknesses of event sampling
If the specified event is too complex, observer may overlook important details
What are the different levels of measurement?
Nominal
Ordinal
Interval
Ratio
Describe Nominal data
- Named categories
- No true mathematical value
- Categorised by labelling them
- No order
Describe ordinal data
- Ordered data
- No true mathematical value
- Understand relationships between questions
- Likert-type questions
Describe interval data
- True mathematical values
- No true zero
- Test scores, temperature in degrees Celcius
Describe ratio level data
- True mathematical values
- Relationship between data is known
- There is a true zero
- Height, weight, age, temperature in Kelvin
Define the mean
The average number from a set of data. Add all the data together and divide by the number of individual pieces of data.
Describe the mode
The number that occurs most frequently.
Describe the median
The middle number after the numbers have been ranked. If there is an even number, add the two middle values and divide by 2.
