Research Methods

Question 1

Lab studies (+) and (-)

Answer 1

(+) reduces EVs
(+) has standardised procedures, easy to replicate
(-) DCs present, ppl don’t behave normally, reduces validity
(-) tasks are artificial, lacks mundane realism

Question 2

Field Study (+) and (-)’s

Answer 2

(+) reflect more real life, less DCs
(-) cannot control the EVs
(-) can’t get informed consent, ethical issues

Question 3

Natural study (+) and (-)’s

Answer 3

(+) high in real life behaviour, ppl are behaving normally
(+) can research in areas that not ethically able to do

Question 4

Repeated measures (+) and (-)’s

Answer 4

(+) removes ppt variables
(-) order effects (practice, boredom, fatigue)

Question 5

how to overcome order effects in REPEATED MEASURES

Answer 5

with counterbalancing (RABBAM)
- half of the ppt should complete the conditions and the other half should complete the conditions in the opposite order

Question 6

Independent group design (+) and (-)’s

Answer 6

(+) no order effects
(+) less DCs
(-) ppt variable
(-) need 2x ppt to complete the study

Question 7

matched pairs (+) and (-)’s

Answer 7

(+) less ppt variable and no order effects
(-) takes long time to organise matching people on factors

Question 8

matched pair study

Answer 8

pairs do 1 condition - allocated to a group based on a ppt variable that can influence the results, e.g. age or gender

Question 9

repeated measures

Answer 9

all ppt recieve all levels of the IV

Question 10

IGD

Answer 10

ppts only do one condition

Question 11

Why do you need sampling methods

Answer 11

when doing a research we cant test everyone so we need to get a sample that represents our target population

Question 12

random sampling how do

Answer 12

gather all the names from target pop and out it in a hat, then draw out a sample

Question 13

random sampling (+) and (-)’s

Answer 13

(+) 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

Question 14

Opportunity sample how

Answer 14

researcher asks ppl available at the time

Question 15

Opportunity Sample (+) and (-)’s

Answer 15

(+) really easy to obtain sample; quick and simple
(-) not represenative of target population, harder to generalise
(-) researcher bias

Question 16

systematic sampling how do

Answer 16

sample TP nth number and randomly select the start position

Question 17

systematic sampling (+) and (-)’s

Answer 17

(+) reduces researcher bias
(-) takes time to set up and obtain list of TP

Question 18

stratified sampling how do

Answer 18

ppt are selected from diffferent subgroups (stratas) in the TP in proportion to the stratas’s frequency in that population

Question 19

stratified sampling (+) and (-)’s

Answer 19

(+) 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

Question 20

who is BPS and what they do

Answer 20

british psychological society, they have rules researchers need to follow

Question 21

DRIP-C

Answer 21

Deception - debrief at end
Right to withdraw - written in consent form
Informed consent - consent form
Psychological harm - debrief
Confidentiality - use pseudonyms

Question 22

Interviews: structured

Answer 22

all questions same for everyone

Question 23

Interviews: semi-structured

Answer 23

most questions set at the start but the interviewer can ask extra questions

Question 24

interviews: unstructured

Answer 24

has starting question and the rest isn’t structured

Question 25

interviews (+) and (-)’s

Answer 25

(+) 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

Question 26

Questionnaires (+) and (-)’s

Answer 26

(+) can be sent to thousands of people easy - gathering large amounts of data is cheap
(-) people may not answer them truthfully - social desirability bias

Question 27

Types of observation studies

Answer 27

• 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

Question 28

naturalistic observation studies (+) and (-)’s

Answer 28

(+) less DCs
(-) subjective interpretation
(-) hard to control

Question 29

controlled observation studies (+) and (-)’s

Answer 29

(+) high control
(+) establish cause and effect
(-) risk of DCs

Question 30

Covert observation studies (+) and (-)’s

Answer 30

(+) less DCs
(-) ethical concerns, no consent

Question 31

Overt observation studies (+) and (-)’s

Answer 31

(+) less ethical concerns
(-) increased risk of DCs

Question 32

issues with observations

Answer 32

(+) may see behaviours people don’t report about
(-) observer bias

Question 33

Correlation study (+) and (-)’s

Answer 33

(+) 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

Question 34

Case studies (+) and (-)’s

Answer 34

(+) 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

Question 35

quantitative data (+) and (-)’s

Answer 35

(+) 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

Question 36

qualitative data (+) and (-)’s

Answer 36

(+) 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

Question 37

Primary data (+) and (-)’s

Answer 37

(+) 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

Question 38

Secondary data (+) and (-)’s

Answer 38

(+) 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

Question 39

range what and (+) and (-)’s

Answer 39

measures dispersion: how spread out data is
(+) easy to calcuate value, to measure dispersion
(-) easily distorted by outliers

Question 40

mean median and mode measure what

Answer 40

central tendency

Question 41

mean (+) and (-)’s

Answer 41

(+) takes into account all values hence all values are influenced
(-) is influenced by outliers

Question 42

Median (+) and (-)’s

Answer 42

(+) not affected by extrem scores as they dont influence middle values
(-) all values dont effect the mean so may not represent rue average

Question 43

mode (+) and (-)’s

Answer 43

(+) very easy to calculate
(-) unrepresentative of the set