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Research methods Flashcards

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1
Q

what is the experimental method?

A

Involves the manipulation of an independent variable (IV) to measure the effect on the dependent variable (DV). May be any type.

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2
Q

what is an aim?

A

A general statement of what the researcher intends to investigate, the purpose of the study.

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3
Q

what is an operationalised, directional and non-directional hypothesis?

A

A clear, precise testable statement that stated the relationship between the variables being tested.
Op: the IV and DV are manipulated
D: It points to a specific outcome because of previous research
ND: It doesn’t point to a particular outcome because of a lack of previous research

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4
Q

what are the IV and DV?

A

IV: aspect of the experimental situation that is manipulated (or naturally changes) so the effect on the DV can be measured
DV: variable being measured by the researcher

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5
Q

what are the 4 types of experiment?

A

Laboratory: setting is set up and controlled by the researcher
Field: setting is natural but the IV is manipulated
Natural: researcher has no control over IV or DV. The IV is naturally occuring
Quasi: IV cannot be manipulated. It is an existing difference between people

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6
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a Lab experiment?

A

+ high internal validity because of high control over confounding and extraneous variables
+ replication is more possible than in other studies
- lacks generalisability
- lacks external validity
may not represent real world experiences (mundane reality)
- participants are more likely to be reacting to demand characteristics

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7
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a Field experiment?

A

+ Higher Mundane realism (then lab experiment)
+ higher external validity
- difficult to replicate
- harder to establish consent and confidentiality
- less control over extraneous variables (EV)

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8
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a natural experiment?

A

+ allows research that would otherwise be unethical
+high external validity because of its realism
- doesn’t happen often or at convenient times
- may be hard to establish correlation between IV and DV
- hard to use random sampling so may be affected by demand characteristics

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9
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of a Quasi experiment?

A

+ replicable as they are carried out under controlled conditions
- may have confounding variables
- difficult to establish correlation between IV and DV

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10
Q

What are the three types of experimental designs?

A

Independent groups: 2 seperate groups experience different conditions
repeated measures: all participants experience both conditions
Matched pairs: participants are paired together based on a variable relevant to the experiment then are split off into different conditions

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11
Q

what is random allocation?

A

attempt to control for participant variables. participants have equal chance of being put in either condition

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12
Q

what is counterbalancing?

A

having participants experience both conditions in a different order (AB BA)

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13
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of independent group design?

A

+ participants are less likely to guess the aim of the study as it’s not repeated
+ not affected by order effects (when the order they do the conditions in affects how they perform)
- participants in each group are different so the DV could be a result of demand characteristics not the IV (this could be solved through random allocation)
- less economical as double the amount of participants are needed to produce the same amount of data

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14
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of repeated measures?

A

+ Participant variables are controlled
+ fewer participants are needed (more economical)
- order effects may occur (solved through counterbalancing)
- participants are more likely to figure out the aim of the study and react to demand characteristics

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15
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of matched pairs?

A

+ demand characteristics are less of an issue
- participants cannot be matched exactly so demand characteristics may still be an issue
- less economical as matching the pairs may take time and money if another test is needed

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16
Q

what are the research issues?

A

extraneous variables: any variables other than the IV that may affect the DV if not controlled.
solved with standardisation: using the same formalised procedures and instructions for all participants
confounding variables: change systematically with the IV so it’s harder to tell if there is a correlation between IV and DV
Demand characteristics: participants may work out the aim and react to how they think the researcher wants them too or in a way that sabotages the study.
investigator effects: the investigator may be bias in how they ask questions, allocate in groups, interpret data ect.
solutions randomisation: randomly assigning participants to groups so the investigator has no say in it at all to be bias.

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17
Q

what is a population?

A

a group of people who are the target of the research

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18
Q

what are the 5 types of sampling?

A

Random: members of a target population have an equal chance of being selected
Systematic: every Nth person in a target population
Stratified: sample reflects the proportion of subgroups within the larger population
Opportunity: selecting anyone willing and able
Volunteer: participants select themselves to be part of the sample

19
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of random sample?

A

+ potentially unbiased (confounding/ extraneous variables should be spread out evenly between the groups)
- time consuming
- may still be unrepresentative
- participants may refuse so you end up with more of a volunteer sample

20
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of systematic sampling?

A

+ no researcher bias
-time consuming
- may still be unrepresentative
- participants may refuse so you end up with more of a volunteer sample

21
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of stratified sampling?

A

+accurately represents the target population (in theory)
- can’t identify all differences so may not be truly representative

22
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of opportunity sampling?

A

+ less costly in time and money
- there may be bias in where the participants are picked from and who the researcher chooses to approach

23
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of volunteer sample?

A

+ less researcher input (for bias)
+ less costly in time and money
+ participants may be more engaged as they chose to be there
- volunteer bias (certain profiles of people are more likely to volunteer than others)

24
Q

what are the 6 types of observational techniques?

A

Naturalistic: takes place in the setting the behaviour usually occurs
Controlled: takes place in a curated setting
covert: participants are unaware they’re being observed
Overt: participants are aware they’re being observes
Participant: someone involved is researching/ observing
Non- participant: researcher/ observer remains separate from those they’re researching

25
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of naturalistic observation?

A

+ high ext validity
+ high generalisability
- replication is difficult
- may be confounding/ ext variables

26
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of controlled observation?

A

+ replicable
+ confounding/ ext variables controlled
- less generalisable
- low ext validity

27
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of covert observation?

A

+ removes issue of demand characteristics
+ increases validity
- ethical concerns (concent, privacy)

28
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of overt observation?

A

+ more ethical
- lower int validity
- participants may react to demand characteristics

29
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of participant observation?

A

+ greater insight
+ higher ext validity
- researcher may become bias

30
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of non-participant observation?

A

+ researcher can maintain objectivity more easily
- less insight

31
Q

what are the 7 issues of observational design?

A
  • Inter-rater/ observer reliability
  • observer bias
  • behavioral categories
  • structured observation
  • unstructured observation
  • event sampling
  • time sampling
32
Q

what is Inter-rater/ observer reliability?

A

-how far observers are in agreement
observers should observe in at least pairs to avoid bias or missing details
they should:
> familiarise themselves with behavioral categories being used
> observe the same behaviours at the same time
> compare data and discuss differences in interpretations
analyse data from the study correlating each pair of observations made

33
Q

what is observer bias?

A

single observers may miss details, only note those inline with their hypothesis/ opinion or interpret behaviours in a way that conforms there hypothesis/ opinion

34
Q

what are behavioural categories?

A

what a researcher sees is broken down into behavioural categories to produce a structured record. these categories should include all possible behaviours (as far as possible and relevant) before the research begins

35
Q

what is a structured observation?

A

when target behaviours are simplified

36
Q

what is an unstructured observation?

A

when a researcher writes everything they see

37
Q

what is event sampling?

A

counting the number of times a behaviour occurs in a target individual or group

38
Q

what is time sampling?

A

noting the behaviour of a target individual or group in regular time intervals

39
Q

what are the strengths and weaknesses of issues of observational design?

A

+ structured observations make recording data easier and more systematic making it easier to analyse
+unstructured observations have greater depth of detail
+event sampling is effective when a behaviour occurs to frequently for time sampling
+time sampling reduces the number of observations having to be made

  • qualitative data from unstructured observation may be harder to record and analyse
  • unstructured observations have greater risk of observer bias
    -time sampling may be unrepresentative of the observation as a whole
    -behavioural categories could be ambiguous if not done well
  • event sampling of too complex behaviours could lead to the observer overlooking important behaviours
40
Q

what are the two types of self-report techniques?

A

questionnaires: involves a list of written questions used to assess a participants thoughts and feelings

Interviews:
structured: made up of predetermined questions in a fixed order. Like a face to face questionnaire
semi-structured: some questions are predetermined but the interviewer can ask follow up questions
unstructured: there are no set questions. interviewee is encouraged to expand their answers

41
Q

evaluate self-report techniques

A

questionnaires:
+ cost effective
+ can be distributed to more people so can be more generalisable
+ Provides easy to analyse data
- participants may lie (social desirability bias)
- may be a response bias
- questions may be misread or misunderstood

interview
- participants may still lie
+ building up a rapport with participants may reduce this
Structured
+ easy to replicate
- limits richness of data
unstructured
+ more flexibility and richness of detail
- susceptible to interviewer bias
semi-structured

42
Q

what are the types of data?

A

quantitative: measured and expressed numerically
qualitative: expressed in words
Primary: gathered first hand from the participant e.g. interview, experiment
secondary: gathered from research done by others e.g. an article, website, book

43
Q

strengths and weaknesses of qualitative and quantitative data

A

qualitative:
+more richness in detail
+ allows participants the chance to fully express their thoughts/ feelings/ opinions
+ greater external validity
+ more meaningful insight
- difficult to analyse
- difficult to statistically summarize so hard to find correlations
- liable to investigator bias

quantitative
+ easy to analyse
+ easy to find correlations
+ less liable to investigator bias
- less richness in detail
- participants cant express thoughts and feelings
- less external validity

44
Q

evaluate primary and secondary data

A

primary
+ the data will be specific for what it is needed for
+ data is authentic
- can be more difficult and time consuming to produce
secondary
+ easier to gain information
- may not be quite what the researcher needs
- may not be up to date or accurate

Psychology (16 decks)

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