Research methods Flashcards
what is the experimental method?
Involves the manipulation of an independent variable (IV) to measure the effect on the dependent variable (DV). May be any type.
what is an aim?
A general statement of what the researcher intends to investigate, the purpose of the study.
what is an operationalised, directional and non-directional hypothesis?
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
what are the IV and DV?
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
what are the 4 types of experiment?
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
what are the strengths and weaknesses of a Lab experiment?
+ 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
what are the strengths and weaknesses of a Field experiment?
+ Higher Mundane realism (then lab experiment)
+ higher external validity
- difficult to replicate
- harder to establish consent and confidentiality
- less control over extraneous variables (EV)
what are the strengths and weaknesses of a natural experiment?
+ 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
what are the strengths and weaknesses of a Quasi experiment?
+ replicable as they are carried out under controlled conditions
- may have confounding variables
- difficult to establish correlation between IV and DV
What are the three types of experimental designs?
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
what is random allocation?
attempt to control for participant variables. participants have equal chance of being put in either condition
what is counterbalancing?
having participants experience both conditions in a different order (AB BA)
what are the strengths and weaknesses of independent group design?
+ 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
what are the strengths and weaknesses of repeated measures?
+ 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
what are the strengths and weaknesses of matched pairs?
+ 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
what are the research issues?
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.
what is a population?
a group of people who are the target of the research
what are the 5 types of sampling?
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
what are the strengths and weaknesses of random sample?
+ 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
what are the strengths and weaknesses of systematic sampling?
+ no researcher bias
-time consuming
- may still be unrepresentative
- participants may refuse so you end up with more of a volunteer sample
what are the strengths and weaknesses of stratified sampling?
+accurately represents the target population (in theory)
- can’t identify all differences so may not be truly representative
what are the strengths and weaknesses of opportunity sampling?
+ less costly in time and money
- there may be bias in where the participants are picked from and who the researcher chooses to approach
what are the strengths and weaknesses of volunteer sample?
+ 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)
what are the 6 types of observational techniques?
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
what are the strengths and weaknesses of naturalistic observation?
+ high ext validity
+ high generalisability
- replication is difficult
- may be confounding/ ext variables
what are the strengths and weaknesses of controlled observation?
+ replicable
+ confounding/ ext variables controlled
- less generalisable
- low ext validity
what are the strengths and weaknesses of covert observation?
+ removes issue of demand characteristics
+ increases validity
- ethical concerns (concent, privacy)
what are the strengths and weaknesses of overt observation?
+ more ethical
- lower int validity
- participants may react to demand characteristics
what are the strengths and weaknesses of participant observation?
+ greater insight
+ higher ext validity
- researcher may become bias
what are the strengths and weaknesses of non-participant observation?
+ researcher can maintain objectivity more easily
- less insight
what are the 7 issues of observational design?
- Inter-rater/ observer reliability
- observer bias
- behavioral categories
- structured observation
- unstructured observation
- event sampling
- time sampling
what is Inter-rater/ observer reliability?
-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
what is observer bias?
single observers may miss details, only note those inline with their hypothesis/ opinion or interpret behaviours in a way that conforms there hypothesis/ opinion
what are behavioural categories?
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
what is a structured observation?
when target behaviours are simplified
what is an unstructured observation?
when a researcher writes everything they see
what is event sampling?
counting the number of times a behaviour occurs in a target individual or group
what is time sampling?
noting the behaviour of a target individual or group in regular time intervals
what are the strengths and weaknesses of issues of observational design?
+ 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
what are the two types of self-report techniques?
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
evaluate self-report techniques
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
what are the types of data?
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
strengths and weaknesses of qualitative and quantitative data
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
evaluate primary and secondary data
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
