Research Methods Flashcards
Experiment and its types
It is an investigation looking for a casual relationship in which IV is manipulated and DV is changed by that. The types are lab, field and natural.
Explain Lab, Field and Natural experiment
Laboratory experiments: A research method in which there is an IV, DV, and strict controls. This looks for a causal relationship.
Field experiments: This is conducted in a normal environment for the participant with regard to the behavior they are performing. The researcher has control over a few variables, but it difficult to control all variables.
Natural experiments: An investigation looking for a causal relationship in which the IV cannot be directly manipulated by the experimenter. The experimenter cannot manipulate the levels of the IV.
Strengths and Weaknesses of:
LAB
Strengths:
1. High levels of standardization hence it can be replicated easily reliable
2. High levels of control, with confidence that the IV is directly affecting the DV
Weaknesses:
1. Lacks ecological validity
2. Participants may show demand characteristics
FIELD
Strengths:
1. Realistic setting leads to high ecological validity
2. Limited demand characteristics so behavior is more natural and valid
Weaknesses
1. Situational variables are difficult to control so you don’t know if the IV is affecting the DV
2. Issues in breaking ethics since the participants do not know that they’re taking part in a study
NATURAL
Strengths
1. High ecological validity because the IV is naturally occurring
2. Valid representation of a someones behavior- Weaknesses:
1. Difficult to know whether the IV caused an effect on the DV ?
2. Difficult to replicate to test for reliability as the event is naturally occurring
What are conditions, elaborate
An experimental condition is one or more of the situations in an experiment which represent the different levels of the IV and are compared, either with one another or with the control condition.
A control condition is a situation in which the IV is absent. This is compared to the experimental condition(s).
Self report and types
Any test, measure, or survey that relies on an individual’s own report, main types are questionnaires and interviews.
Questionnaire and its types
Questionnaires are a research method that involves asking questions, mainly written, to gain information from the participants.
Open questions: questions which allow the participant to give detailed answers without any restrictions.
Closed questions: questions which allow the participant to respond using a few, stated responses without the opportunity to expand on their answers.
Interviews and its type
Interviews are a research method using verbal questions asked directly to the participants. There are three types of interviews:
Structured: an interview with questions in a xed order which may be scripted. Consistency might also be required in the interviewer’s posture, voice, etc., and hence these are highly standardized.
Semi-structured: an interview with a xed list of questions, however, the interviewer could add more questions if required to clarify or get details on any previous answers.
Unstructured: an interview in which most questions depend on the respondent’s answers. A list of topics may be provided that need to be covered for the interview.
Case Study
A detailed investigation of a single instance, usually a person, family or institute, that produced in-depth data specific to that instance.
Observation and its categories
- A research method that involves watching human or animal behaviour.An observer can be overt/covert or they can be participant/non-participant observers.
- Overt observers are when the participants know who the researcher is and that they are being observed. A covert observer could be present in the group of participants observing them but they do not know who it is.
- A participant observer is one who watches from the perspective of being part of the social setting of the participants. A non-participant observer does not become involved in the situation being studied.
- An observation can be structured/unstructured or naturalistic/controlled.
Hypothesis and its type
An aim tells you the purpose of the investigation. It is generally expressed in terms of what the study intends to show. It is written before the experiment is carried out and does not predict the outcomes.
A directional (one-tailed) hypothesis is a statement predicting the direction of a relationship between variables.
A non-directional (two-tailed) hypothesis is a statement predicting only that one variable will be related to the other, not the direction of the relationship.
A null hypothesis is a testable statement stating that any direction or correlation in the results is due to chance.
Variables
Independent variable (IV): the factor under investigation in an experiment which is manipulated to create two or more conditions and is expected to be responsible for changes in the DV.
Dependent variable (DV): the factor in an experiment which is measured and is expected to change under the inuence of the IV.
Operationalization is the definition of variables so that they can be accurately manipulated, measured or quantified and replicated.
Designs and its types
An independent measures design is an experimental design in which a dierent group of participants is used for each level of the IV. If the IV is naturally occurring the researcher must use.
A repeated measures design is an experimental design in which each participant performs in every level of the IV. It cannot be used if the IV is naturally occurring. It also uses counterbalancing (ABBA design).
A matched pairs design is an experimental design in which participants are arranged in pairs. Each pair is similar in ways that are important to the study and one member of each pair perform
Data
There are two types of data: qualitative and quantitative.
Qualitative data is descriptive in-depth data indicating the quality of a psychological characteristic.
Quantitative data is the numerical data about the quantity of a psychological measure.
