Research Methods Flashcards
Describe what an experiment is.
experiments attempt to establish a cause and effect between the IV (what is manipulated) and the DV (what is measured). When extraneous variables (what could affect the DV) are uncontrolled they become confounding variables.
EXAMPLES -
Asch: variable changes (IV) and conformity (DV)
Peterson and Peterson: Interval task (IV) and memory (DV)
Loftus and Palmer: Critical question (IV) and speed estimate (DV)
Describe a lab experiment
Where the IV is manipulated and the DV is measured under controlled conditions to prevent confounding variables. Usually participants are usually aware they they are taking part in a study.
Evaluate Lab experiments
(+) High control over EVs increase internal validity which means we can asses the effects of the IV on the DV more accurately.
COUNTERPOINT (-) higher control could mean that ecological validity is lower due to the artificiality of the research, which means that it is harder to generalise findings.
(+) High control over lab experiments means that procedures are generally more replicable, this means that experiments can be repeated and therefore the reliability of findings can be checked.
What is a field experiment?
This is where a researcher manipulates the IV and measures a DV in natural conditions. The ‘field’ is considered any location that is not a laboratory, therefore sometimes PPs are not aware that they are in a study.
Evaluate field experiments.
(+) Natural settings means the ecological validity of the research increases, therefore behaviour exhibited in the experiments is more likely to reflect how individuals would behave in real life.
(-) Because experiments are not conducted in a lab setting, this often means that there is low control over extraneous variables, this therefore lowers the internal validity of the study as we cannot be certain that it is the effect of the IV on the DV, instead extraneous variables may be confounding the results.
What is a natural experiment?
Researcher measure effect of IV on DV however they have no control over the IV and cannot change/manipulate it. For example a natural disaster.
Evaluate natural experiments.
(+) Studying real life issues and event means high levels of external validity, specifically ecological validity meaning they will have real world application.
(+) Naturally occurring IVs mean things that can be studied that would
otherwise be unethical to research.
COUNTERPOINT - However there are ethical issues that arise in these experiments as participants who are not aware they are taking part in a psychological experiments cannot give informed consent, meaning a full debrief afterwards is required.
(-) A naturally occurring event can be rare, this reduces the opportunities for research and limits how much findings can be applied to real life.
(-) Participants may not be able to be randomly allocated to experimental conditions if an independent groups design is used. For examples in the study of Romanian orphans, the IV was whether the kids were adopted early or late however there were lots of differences between these groups.
What is a covert observation?
where participants are not aware they are being observed.
What is an overt observation?
where participants are aware they are being observed.
evaluate covert observations.
(+) Investigator effects are unlikely as they are not aware they are being observed, meaning that participants’ behaviour will be genuine.
(-) Less ethical as participants are not aware they are taking part and cannot give fully informed consent.
What is a participant observation?
This is when the observer also takes part in the activity being observed
What us a non-participant observation?
This is when the observer does not take part in the activity being observed, instead they watch from a distance
Evaluate participant observations
(+) closer proximity to participants provides verstehen, a real and empathic insight into one’s subject. It also adds some of the advantages of interviews (especially group interviews) as the researcher can probe people for explanations or further information.
(-) people are likely to change their behaviour and so what is being observed might be very different from what would have occurred without the researcher being present
Evaluate non-participant observations
(-) Hawthorne Effect - people are likely to change their behaviour because they are aware that they are being observed, can be overcome with a covert observation
(+ )allows for a more objective view of what is occurring.
What is a controlled observation?
observation takes place in a lab-style setting
What is an uncontrolled observation?
observation takes place in an unaltered setting in which the observer does not interfere in any way.
Evaluate a controlled observation
(+) high control means replicability is possible as the researcher is in control of variables and therefore can repeat the method as they wish
(-) but it also means lower ecological validity as the researcher records behaviours in an artificial (manipulated) environment, with potential outside interference from the researcher.
Describe how observers can gather data from observations
Time Sampling: where an observer records behaviour at prescribed intervals
Event Sampling: where an observer records the number of times that the target behaviour occurs.
Evaluate the ways in which observers can gather data from observations
Time sampling methods allow for a better use of time since fewer observations are made. However, not every behaviour of relevance to
the investigation will be counted if it occurs in between the time frames allocated.
Event sampling means that every behaviour of interest to the researcher will be counted. However, some behaviours could be missed
if there is too much happening at the same time, resulting in some not being coded
Self report techniques - what is a questionnaire?
Written surveys that measure attitudes or opinions on something. They can be
made up of closed ( predetermined responses for respondents to choose from) and/or open ( no predetermined responses so respondents can offer as much detail as they want) questions.
Self report techniques - what is an interview
Questions that are verbally asked by an interviewer and answered to an interviewee. They generally use open questions and gather
qualitative data
Describe the different types of interviews
Structured: All interviewees are asked the same questions. There is no room for additional avenues to be explored. E.g. a formal job interview
Semi-Structured: There are some set questions prepared by the interviewer, but areas of interest can be followed up. E.g. a therapist session
Unstructured: The interviewer prepares one or two questions but the interview snowballs naturally. E.g. a radio interview
Evaluate questionnaires as a self report technique
(+) Closed questions are easy and quicker to analyse and can be analysed statistically. However, they do not generate in-depth
responses.
(-)Open questions generate in-depth data, but this is hard and timeconsuming to analyse.
(-) Gathering completed questionnaires can be time-consuming.
(-) Participants may want to appear socially desirable in responses.
(+)Better than interviews since they can be completed confidentially.
Evaluate interviews as a self report technique
(+) Qualitative data is gathered, so it is rich in detail and interviewees can offer elaboration in their answers, however, this makes it hard to
analyse.
(-) Participants may want to appear socially desirable in their responses.
(+) Better than questionnaires since interviewees can ask for questions to
be repeated or rephrased if they are stuck.
(+) Interviews can gather information about body language, whereas questionnaires cannot.
(-) Structured interviews are standardised (easily replicable), but other interviews will need to be conducted by a trained interviewe
What is meant by a correlation?
Aim to find a relationship between co-variables. The direction and strength of a correlation is indicated by a
correlation coefficient (between -1 and +1)
amd is displayed on a scatter graph.
Describe the types of correlations
Positive: Both co-variables travel in the same direction
Negative: Co-variables travel in the opposite direction
None: No relationship between the co-variables.
Evaluate the use of correlations
(+) Correlations provide valuable insight for future research if co variables are strongly related.
(+) Can be quick and economical to carry out, no need for controlled environment or control over variables as secondary data is used.
(+) Can be used when a lab experiment would be unethical. Secondary data can be used which alleviates the concern over informed consent.
(-) It is not possible to establish a cause and effect with correlations, can tell us the how and not the why variables are related.
(-) Correlations only identify linear relationships and not curvilinear.
What is content analysis?
Studying people indirectly. Qualitative data in a range of formats can be used, such as video or audio recordings or written responses.
Researchers must familiarise themselves with data before conducting any analysis so that they are confident in their coding system.
Outline the purpose and the method of a case study
Purpose: to provide a detailed analysis of an individual, establishment, or real-life event.
Method: A case study can use experimental or non-experimental methods to collect data and are often used where there is a rare behaviour being investigated.
what is coding?
The researcher develops categories for the data to be classified. These example categories help convert qualitative material into quantitative data.
Thematic analysis helps identify recurring themes in qualitative data and will produce further qualitative data, but this will be much more refined.
Content analysis requires codes to be identified before the data is reviewed, but thematic analysis involves themes emerging from the data
Evaluate the use of case studies
(-) By only studying one individual, an isolated event or a small group of people it is very difficult to generalise any findings to the wider
population.
(-) The researcher’s own subjectivity may pose a problem. A major limitation is that research bias and subjectivity can interfere with the
validity of the findings/conclusions.
(+) Case studies offer the opportunity to unveil rich, detailed information
about a situation.
(+) Case studies can be used in circumstances which would not be ethical to examine experimentally. For example, the case study of Genie (Rymer, 1993)
Evaluate content/thematic analysis
(-) Content analysis can produce subjective findings. E.g. Cultural differences may contribute to inconsistent interpretation of behaviour.
(+) Content analysis and Thematic analysis have high ecological validity. They base conclusions on observations of real behaviour and communications.
(+) Content Analysis is easier to assess reliability because other researchers can use the coding system to ensure findings are consistent
Describe what is meant by a target population, a sample and a sampling technique
Target population: the people a sample is supposed to represent
Sample: a group used in research that represents a target population
Sampling technique: a method used for gathering the sample
What is meant by systematic sampling
This is where a predetermined system is used to select participants, every nth person is chosen.
What is meant by systematic sampling
This is where a predetermined system is used to select participants, every nth person is chosen.
Evaluate systematic sampling
(+) It is not affected by researcher bias/choice of participants
(-) The sample may be unrepresentative if every Nth person has similar traits, such as being right-handed
Describe random sampling
Every person in the target population has a chance of being in the sample.
E.g. all names of the target population are entered into a computer system, and it generates a list of names who will become the sample.
Evaluate random sampling
(+) There is no bias in the selection of the sample
(-) People could say no to taking part so it could be time-consuming
(-) The sample generated could be unrepresentative (E.g. all male)
