Research Methods Flashcards
What is an experimental method?
involves the manipulation of an independent variable to measure the effect on the dependent variable (lab, field, natural, or quasi)
What is an aim?
a general statement of what the researcher intends to investigate, the purpose of the study
What is a hypothesis?
a clear, precise, testable statement that states the relationship between the variables to be investigated (stated at the outset of a study)
What is a directional hypothesis?
states the direction of the difference or relationship
What is a non-directional hypothesis?
doesn’t state the direction of the difference or relationship
What are variables?
any ‘thing’ that can vary or change within an investigation (used to determine if changes in one thing result in changes in another)
What is operationalisation?
clearly defining variables in terms of how they can be measured
What is an extraneous variable?
any variable, other than the IV, that may affect the DV if not controlled.
nuisance variables that don’t vary systematically with the IV
What is a confounding variable?
an extraneous variable but the key feature is that a confounding variable varies systematically with the IV (so can’t tell if any change in DV is due to the IV or confounding variable
What is a demand characteristic?
any cue from the researcher or research situation that may be interpreted by ppts as revealing the purpose of an investigation
-may lead to a ppt changing their behaviour within the research situation
What are investigator effects?
any effects of the investigator’s behaviour (conscious or unconscious) on the research outcome (DV)
What is randomisation?
the use of chance methods to control for the effects of bias when designing materials and deciding the order of experimental conditions
What is standardisation?
using exactly the same formalised procedures and instructions for all ppts in a research study
What is experimental design?
the different ways ppts can be organised in relation to the experimental conditions
What is an independent group design?
ppts are allocated to different groups where each group represents one experimental condition
What are repeat measures?
all ppts take part in all conditions of the experiment
What is a matched pair design?
pairs of ppts are first matched on some variables that may affect the DV
each of the pair is assigned to each condition
What is random allocation?
an attempt to control for ppt variables in an independent groups design, which ensures that each ppt has the same chance of being in one condition as any other
What is counterbalancing?
an attempt to control for the effects of order in a repeated measures design:
half ppts experience the conditions in one order
the other half in the opposite order
What is a lab experiment?
an experiment that takes place under a controlled environment within which the researcher manipulates the IV and records the effect on the DV, whilst maintaining strict control of extraneous variables
What is a field experiment?
an experiment that takes place in a natural setting within which the researcher manipulates the IV and records the effect on the DV
What is a natural experiment?
an experiment where the change in the IV isn’t due to the researcher but would’ve happened even if they weren’t there
the researcher records the effect on a DV they’ve decided on
What is a quasi-experiment?
a study that’s almost an experiment, but lacks key ingredients
the IV hasn’t been determined by anyone - the ‘variables’ simply exist
(strictly speaking, not an experiment)
What is a population?
a group of people who are the focus of the researcher’s interest, from which a smaller sample is drawn
What is a sample?
a group of people from a target population who are used as a representation of the population
What is bias? (in sampling context)
when certain groups are over- or under-represented within the sample selected for (limits generalisations to the target population)
What is generalisation?
the extents to which findings and conclusions from a certain investigation can be broadly applied to the population (must be representative of target population)
What is a random sample?
all members of the target population have an equal chance of selection
- obtain a list of all members
- assign each name a number
- use a random number generator to select ppts
What is a systematic sample?
when every nth number of the target population is selected
- a sampling frame is produced (e.g.: list of names in alphabetical order)
- sampling system is nominated (i.e.: every 3rd person)
What is a stratified sample?
the composition of the sample reflects the proportion of people in certain subgroups within the target population or wider population
What is an opportunity sample?
select anyone who happens to be willing and available
What is a volunteer sample?
ppts select themselves to be part of the sample
What is a pilot study?
a small-scale version of an investigation before the real investigation is conducted
aims to check procedures, materials, measuring scales, etc. work to allow the researcher to make changes or modifications
What is a naturalistic observation?
watching and recording behaviour in the setting within which it would normally occur
What is a controlled observation?
watching and recording behaviour within a structured environment
What is a covert observation?
ppts’ behaviour is watched and recorded without their knowledge or consent
What is an overt observation?
ppts’ behaviour is watched and recorded with their knowledge and consent
What is participant observation?
the researcher becomes a member of the group whose behaviour he/she is watching and recording
What is a non-participant observation?
the researcher remains outside of the group whose behaviour he/she is watching and recording
What are behavioural categories?
when a target behaviour is broken up into components that are observable and measurable (operationalised)
What is event sampling?
a target behaviour or event is first established then the researcher records this event every time it occurs
What is time sampling?
a target individual or group is first established then the researcher records their behaviour in a fixed time frame (e.g.: every 60 seconds)
What is a questionnaire?
a set of written questions used to assess a person’s thoughts and/or experiences
What is an interview?
a ‘live’ encounter where one person (interviewer) asks a set of questions to assess an interviewee’s thought and/or experiences
the questions may be pre-set (structured) or may develop as the interview goes along (unstructured)
What is a correlation?
an association between two co-variables
What is a co-variable?
the variables investigated within an investigation
not referred to as IV or DV because correlation investigates the association between the variables, not showing a cause-and-effect relationship
What is qualitative data?
data expressed in words and non-numerical (can be converted to numbers for analysis)
What is quantitative data?
data that can be counted (usually numbers)
What is primary data?
information obtained first-hand by a researcher for the purpose of a research project
- often gathered directly from ppts as part of an experiment, self-report or observation
What is secondary data?
information already collected by someone else and so pre-dates the current research project
What is a meta-analysis?
the process of combining the findings from a number of studies on a particular topic
aim to produce an overall statistical conclusion based on a range of studies
What are descriptive statistics?
the use of graphs, tables and summary statistics to identify trends and analyse sets of data
What is a measure of central tendency?
the general term for any measure of the average value in a set of data
- mean
- median
- mode
What is a strength of using a mean?
includes all scores/values, making the data more representative as a whole
What is a weakness of using a mean?
it is easily distorted by extreme values
What are strengths of the median?
- extreme scores don’t affect
- easy to calculate
What is a weakness of the median?
less sensitive (than the mean), as actual values of lower and higher numbers are ignored and extreme values may be important
What are strengths of the mode?
- easy to calculate
- use for data in categories
What are weaknesses of the mode?
- crude measure (can be very different from mean and median, so can be unrepresentative of the data)
- can have multiple modes in the data
What is a strength of the range?
- easy to calculate (largest-smallest +1)
What are the weaknesses of the range?
- only takes only accounts for most extreme values, so may be unrepresentative of the whole data set
- doesn’t indicate how closely grouped the data is
What is a strength of standard deviation?
more precise (than range) as includes all values
What is the measure of dispersion?
based on the spread of scores to show how far scores vary and differ from one another
- range
- standard deviation
What are weaknesses of standard deviation?
- can be distorted by a single extreme value
- extreme values may not be revealed (unlike the range)
What is statistical testing?
a way of determining whether hypotheses should be accepted or rejected
-allows to find out whether differences or relationships between variables are significant or likely to have occurred by chance
What is peer review?
assessment of scientific work by others who are specialists in the same field, to ensure that any research intended for publication is of high quality
What is economy?
the state of a country or region in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services
What is a case study?
an in-depth investigation, description and analysis of a single individual, group, institution or event
What is content analysis?
a research tool used to determine the presence of certain words, themes, or concepts within some given qualitative data
What is coding?
the process of labeling and organizing your qualitative data to identify themes.
What is thematic analysis?
a method for identifying, analysing and reporting patterns (themes) within data.
-themes often emerge once the data has been coded.
What is reliability?
refers to how consistent a measuring device is (including psychological tests or observations which assess behaviour)
What is test-retest reliability?
a method of assessing the reliability of a questionnaire or psychological test by assessing the same person on two separate occasions
-this shows to what extent the test produces the same answers
What is inter-observer reliability?
the extent to which there is agreement between two or more observers involved in observations of a behaviour
measured by correlating the observations of two or more observers
What is validity?
the extent to which an observed effect is genuine
- does it measure what intended
- can it be generalised beyond the research setting?
What is face validity?
a basic form of validity in which a measure is scrutinised to determine if it appears to measure what was intended
(e.g.: does a test of anxiety look like it measures anxiety?)
What is concurrent validity?
the extent to which a psychological measure relates to an existing similar measure
What is ecological validity?
the extent to which findings from a research study can be generalised to other settings and situations
- a form of external validity
What is temporal validity?
the extent to which findings from a research study can be generalised to other historical times and eras
- a form of external validity
What is a statistical test?
used to determine a significant difference or correlation exists
What is the sign test?
a statistical test for a difference in scores between related items
What is a level of measurement?
quantitative data can be classified into types or levels of measurement
(i.e.: nominal, ordinal and interval)
What is nominal data?
data represented in the form of categories
- discrete data (data can only appear in one category)
What is interval data?
based on numerical scales
(e.g.: stopwatch, scales, thermometer, weighing scales)
What is ordinal data?
data ordered in some way (e.g.: a rating scale from 1-10)
- doesn’t have equal intervals between each unit
-lacks precision (as a subjective opinion)
What is a critical value?
when testing a hypothesis, the numerical boundary or cut-off point between acceptance and rejection of the null hypothesis
What is a type I error?
the incorrect rejection of a true null hypothesis (a false positive)
What is a type II error?
the failure to reject a false null hypothesis (a false negative)
What is objectivity?
all sources of personal bias are minimised so as not to distort or influence the research process
What is the empirical method?
scientific approaches that are based on the gatherings of evidence through direct observation and experience
What is replicability?
the extent to which scientific procedures and findings can be repeated by other researchers
What is falsifiability?
the principle that a theory can’t be considered scientific unless it admits the possibility of being proved untrue (false)
What is theory construction?
the process of developing an explanation for the causes of behaviour by systematically gathering evidence and then organising this into a coherent account (theory)
What is hypothesis testing?
a key feature of a theory is that is should produce statements (hypotheses) which can be tested
can only then be falsified
What is a paradigm?
a set of shared assumptions and agreed methods within a scientific discipline
What is the paradigm shift?
the result of a scientific revolution when there is a significant change in the dominant unifying theory within a scientific discipline
What is triangulation?
the use of a number of different sources as evidence.
How do you improve validity in experiments?
- using a control group (helps identify that DV due to IV).
- standardise procedures (minimise ppt reactivity, investigator effects).
- single/double-blind procedures (reduce demand characteristics).
How do you improve validity in observations?
- covert observations (keeps behaviour natural + authentic).
- keep behavioural categories simple and not too broad or overlapping.
How do you improve validity in questionnaires?
- incorporate a lie scale (to assess ppt consistency of response + control effects of social desirability bias).
- data remains anonymous (to reassure ppts).
How do you improve validity of qualitative research?
- triangulation (to prevent interpretation of data).
How do you improve reliability of questionnaires?
- test-retest method (ensure correlation exceeds +.80
- replace open questions with closed, fixed-choice questions.
How do you improve reliability of interviews?
- use same interviewer each time.
- train interviewer (to avoid leading or ambiguous questions).
- use structured interviews.
How do you improve reliability of observations?
- operationalise behavioural categories (ensure measurable + self-evident).
- checklist possible behaviours (shouldn’t overlap).
- train observers in using behavioural categories.
How do you improve reliability of experiments?
- standardise procedures.
