Research Methods Flashcards
Lab studies (+) and (-)
(+) reduces EVs
(+) has standardised procedures, easy to replicate
(-) DCs present, ppl don’t behave normally, reduces validity
(-) tasks are artificial, lacks mundane realism
Field Study (+) and (-)’s
(+) reflect more real life, less DCs
(-) cannot control the EVs
(-) can’t get informed consent, ethical issues
Natural study (+) and (-)’s
(+) high in real life behaviour, ppl are behaving normally
(+) can research in areas that not ethically able to do
Repeated measures (+) and (-)’s
(+) removes ppt variables
(-) order effects (practice, boredom, fatigue)
how to overcome order effects in REPEATED MEASURES
with counterbalancing (RABBAM)
- half of the ppt should complete the conditions and the other half should complete the conditions in the opposite order
Independent group design (+) and (-)’s
(+) no order effects
(+) less DCs
(-) ppt variable
(-) need 2x ppt to complete the study
matched pairs (+) and (-)’s
(+) less ppt variable and no order effects
(-) takes long time to organise matching people on factors
matched pair study
pairs do 1 condition - allocated to a group based on a ppt variable that can influence the results, e.g. age or gender
repeated measures
all ppt recieve all levels of the IV
IGD
ppts only do one condition
Why do you need sampling methods
when doing a research we cant test everyone so we need to get a sample that represents our target population
random sampling how do
gather all the names from target pop and out it in a hat, then draw out a sample
random sampling (+) and (-)’s
(+) more representative or target population as all ppl have equal chance
(-) takes time to get all the names/a large list and not everyone will agree to it
Opportunity sample how
researcher asks ppl available at the time
Opportunity Sample (+) and (-)’s
(+) really easy to obtain sample; quick and simple
(-) not represenative of target population, harder to generalise
(-) researcher bias
systematic sampling how do
sample TP nth number and randomly select the start position
systematic sampling (+) and (-)’s
(+) reduces researcher bias
(-) takes time to set up and obtain list of TP
stratified sampling how do
ppt are selected from diffferent subgroups (stratas) in the TP in proportion to the stratas’s frequency in that population
stratified sampling (+) and (-)’s
(+) most representative of TP, researcher identifies important sub groups and makes sure theyre represented.
(-) decisions in which subgroup to use may be biased, reducing the representativeness
(-) very lengthy process and not all the ppl will agree to take part
who is BPS and what they do
british psychological society, they have rules researchers need to follow
DRIP-C
Deception - debrief at end
Right to withdraw - written in consent form
Informed consent - consent form
Psychological harm - debrief
Confidentiality - use pseudonyms
Interviews: structured
all questions same for everyone
Interviews: semi-structured
most questions set at the start but the interviewer can ask extra questions
interviews: unstructured
has starting question and the rest isn’t structured
interviews (+) and (-)’s
(+) ability to gather high level of quality of data
(-) expensive, gotta pay interviewer (but can ask for clarification (+))
(-) ppl may be embarassed talking about themself
Questionnaires (+) and (-)’s
(+) can be sent to thousands of people easy - gathering large amounts of data is cheap
(-) people may not answer them truthfully - social desirability bias
Types of observation studies
- naturalistic: observe ppl in natural environment
- controlled: observe ppl in an artificial setting
- covert: ppt arent aware theyre being observed
- overt : ppl are aware they are being observed in advance
naturalistic observation studies (+) and (-)’s
(+) less DCs
(-) subjective interpretation
(-) hard to control
controlled observation studies (+) and (-)’s
(+) high control
(+) establish cause and effect
(-) risk of DCs
Covert observation studies (+) and (-)’s
(+) less DCs
(-) ethical concerns, no consent
Overt observation studies (+) and (-)’s
(+) less ethical concerns
(-) increased risk of DCs
issues with observations
(+) may see behaviours people don’t report about
(-) observer bias
Correlation study (+) and (-)’s
(+) research in areas that its not ethical to do experimental research in, e.g. child abuse and rate of divorce
(-) doesnt show cause and effect, may be other variables that are the cause
(-) can reverse correlation, e.g. low serotonin is linked to depression
Case studies (+) and (-)’s
(+) can research areas you cant normally as they will be unethical
(-) only 1 person, have to gen with caution
(-) don’t know the behaviours of the person before the event
quantitative data (+) and (-)’s
(+) easy to analyse, say whether data gathered is significant or not via statistical analysis
(+) since numeric, no subjective interpretation
(-) reducing behaviour or thoughts to a number lacks detail
(-) lack validity, doesn’t reflect the real world
qualitative data (+) and (-)’s
(+) much more detailed as it gathers feelings
(+) seen as more valid
(-) hard to analyse and say whether a result is significant or not
(-) based on subjective interpretation
Primary data (+) and (-)’s
(+) can gather data that suits the research they ar edoing
(-) takes a lot of time to set up as you have to actually carry out long time consuming research when you could just use someone else’s data
Secondary data (+) and (-)’s
(+) much cheaper than primary as you don’t have to do a lot of time consuming research
(-) study you do may not exactly match the study done by another researcher, not good data
(-) data may be out of date
range what and (+) and (-)’s
measures dispersion: how spread out data is
(+) easy to calcuate value, to measure dispersion
(-) easily distorted by outliers
mean median and mode measure what
central tendency
mean (+) and (-)’s
(+) takes into account all values hence all values are influenced
(-) is influenced by outliers
Median (+) and (-)’s
(+) not affected by extrem scores as they dont influence middle values
(-) all values dont effect the mean so may not represent rue average
mode (+) and (-)’s
(+) very easy to calculate
(-) unrepresentative of the set
