research methods Flashcards
what is the investigator effect
researcher bias when a researcher somehow influences the outcome of research
what is social desirablility
occurs whena ppt changes their behaviour or answers in order to look good
what are demand characteristics
ppt changing their behaviour due to a subtle cue that makes them aware of what the experimenter wants that changes the outcome of the results
what are order effects and how can you control them
occur often when a ppt is asked to do a task more than once and creates fatigue or boredom
it can be counterbalanced which is when you change the order of the tasks purposefully like planning it ABBA or by randomisation when the tasks are decided randomly e.g flipping a coin
how can you have control over situational factors
standardisation by keeping everything the same for all ppt
what is reliability
how consistent results of the test/ procedure are
what is inter-rater reliablility
consistency of measurement between different observers and it must be at least 80% concordance rate
what is validity
when measurements and findings are accurate
what are the 5 types of validity
face validity- does it make common sense
predicative validity- predicting future performance
concurrent validity- compares 2 methods of testing too see if they are similiar
ecological validity- can they be generalised to real life situations
temporal validity- are the results still valid or are they outdated
what is a situational variable
outside influences on the experiment like weather and time of the day
what are the six ethical guidelines
informed consent- consent must be given and it must be informed
deception- should be avoided when possible or be revealed
protection from harm- primary responsibility is to protect ppts
confidentiality- answers are treated in confidence adn participants must be kept anonymous in publishing
debrief- telling ppts all of the info after the investigation
right to withdraw- ppts have the right to withdraw at any time and they should know it
what are the 4 implications of psychological research for the economy
memory research: researh showing the cognitive interview improves accuracy of EWT enables better use of police and resources
forensic psychology: effective treatments and costs of them
psychopathology reseach- helps people get back to work and be an effective part of society contributing to the economy
attatchment research- the idea of monotropy causing women to quit their jobs and stay at home
what are the types of hypothesis
one tailed and two tailed
one tailed- predicts direction change is expected to occur
two-tailed predicts there will be change but doesnt imply any direction
what do correlations show and evaluate how useful they are
show us the relationship between 2 variables
+ quick and easy
+ useful starting point for reseacrh
- dont tell us the cause of changes
- validity is vunerable is method of measurement is floored
what is ordinal data
data put into an order
what is interval data
gaps or intervals between a particular feature of the data
what is nominal data
data put into categories
what is primary data and evaluate it
data collected directly by the researcher
+ accurate
- time consuming
what is secondary data and evaluate it
data that already exists and is then analysed by the researcher
+ easier
- less accurate
what is a type 1 error
a false positive
when you reject the null hypothesis when you shouldn’t
what is a type 2 error
false negative
when you accept the null hypothesis when you shouldn’t
what is the mean and evaluate it
finding the average of all the data
+ sensitive
+ includes all data
+ general impression given
- suceptimal to anomolies
- may not be representative
what is the median and evaluate it
the middle value of the data
+ ignores anomalies
+representative
+ focus on the middle value
- doesnt include all the data
- anomalies can be important for us to know about
what is the mode and evaluate it
the most common value in the data
+ easy to calculate
+ useful in nominal data
- less accurate
- simplistic
- multiple modes can distort data
- there may not be a mode
what is standard deviation
a measurement of dispersion and tells us how far on average each score is from the mean
what criterias does the gaussian curve have
- bell shaped
- doesnt touvh the x axis
- symmetrical
- mean, median adn mode all fall on the same point
what is a self report study and what are the two forms
asking participants q’s
1. questionaire
2. interview
evaluate questionaires
+ quick and easy
+ large scale of people can do it
- low validity
- social desirablility and demand characteristics
evaluate interviews
+ can build report
+ elaborate on q’s and be specific
- time consuming
- investigator effect
what are the four types of q’s
- open: allow ppts to elaborate and generate qualitive data
- closed: force ppt to choose an option and gives quantitative data
- contingent: depend on the answer on the preceding question
- likert scaling: assesing strength of an opinion
what is a peer review
the evalaution of work by someone of a similar competance to maintain standards
evaluate peer review
- reviewers are anonymous so they can be unfair in critisism wihtout consequences
- only publish stat. significant findings
+ maintains standards and quality
+ provides credibility
what is a ppt observation and evaluate
researcher is part of the action they are observing
+ more natural
+ less chance of missing things
- researcher bias
- difficult to take notes and see everything at the same time
what is a covert observation and evaluate
ppts are unaware they are being observed
+ reduces demand characteristics
- unethical
what is an overt observation and eval
ppts are aware they are being observed
+ ethical
- demand characteristics
what is an unstructured observation and evaluate
reseacher records all of the actions, both qualitative and quantitative data is produced and there are two observers seeking inter-rated reliability of 80% concordance
+ produces both tyes of data
+ records everything
- difficult to accurately record everything
- observers must be trained and get 80% concordance
what is a structured observation and evaluate
researcher decides a checklist in advance that they are lookign for and generates quantitative data
+ get quantitative data
+ easier to record ans standardize
- difficult to make consistent judgements of what qualifies as a certain behaviour
- researcher bias
- miss behaviours not list
what are the 5 types of observations
- structured
- unstructured
- overt
- covert
- participant
what is opportunity sampling and evaluate
involves selecting anyone who is available from the target pop.
+ quick and easy
- researcher bias
- not representative
what is random sampling and evaluate
all members of the target pop must stand an equal chance of being selected
+ free from researcher bias
+ everyone has an equal chance of being selected
- doesnt guarenteee representative sample
- might not consent anyway
- difficult to access target pop
what is systematic sampling and evaluate
ppts are selected from a list at fixed intervals
+ no researcher bias
- time consuming
- might not consent anyway
what is self selected sampling and evaluate
ppt volunteer or passers by who become involved in field studies
+ no consent issues
+ enagement is better
- demand characteristics
- similar personalities with ppt so not representative
what is stratified sampling and evaluate
target pop is divided into subsets and a random sample is selected from each
+ representative as possible
+ generalisation is more likely
- time consuming
-difficult to manipulate list
what is a snowball sample and evaluate
used fro target pop that isnt accesable like drug addicts and starts with one person in the hidden pop that passes the survey on to others in the hidden pop
+ representative
+ helps with hidden pop
+ minimal researcher bias
- difficult to find
-no control of responses back
-could potentially endanger ppts
what is the matched pairs design and evaluate
involves using different but similat ppts in each condition often twins
+ no issues with order effects
+ controls for individual differences
+ able to see personality difference effects as genes are the same
- harder to find
-more time consuming and expensive
explain independent measures design and evaluate
uses different ppts in each condition of the experiment
+ controls order effects
- doesnt control for individual differences
- more people needed so more costly
explain repeated measures design and evaluate
involves the same ppts in each condition
+ controls for individual differences
+ need fewer ppts so cheaper
- no control over order effects
what are the 3 design types
- repeated measures
- independent measures
- matched pairs
what are the four type of experiments and explain them
- lab: controlled environment and controlled variables
- field: natural environment and less control of variables
- natural: investigating the aftermath of something
- quasi: doesnt control the IV and uses natural differences like age
evaluate a lab experiment
+ complete control over variables
+ forces pace of research
+ reliable
+ quantitative data
+ able to use technical equipment
- loss of ecological validity
- demand characteristics
- sampling bias
- ethics
evaluate field experiments
+ more natural so higher ecological validity
+ decrease demand characteristics
- difficult to control variables
- cant control the pace of research
- somtimes difficult to replicate
- cant use technical equipment
evaluate Quasi experiments
+ reduce demand characteristics
+ lack of direct intervention so less researcher bias
- loss of control over variables
evaluate natural experiments
+ have all the data you need
- cant change variables and have no control
