Research Methods Flashcards
What is meant by empiricism?
The belief that knowledge is gained from experience, this leads to the ideas that evidence must inform theories
What are the two types of research?
Experimental - laboratory, field and natural
Non-experimental - correlations, observations, interviews, questionnaires and case studies
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 independent and the dependent variable
What is a null hypothesis?
Nothing will happen
What is a directional hypothesis?
One tailed
One specific group will do better than the other
What is a non-directional hypothesis?
Two tailed
Predicts that something will happen but the ‘direction’ of the effect is not stated
What is a variable?
Anything that can vary or change within an investigation
What is an independent variable?
A variable that is manipulated by the researcher, sop the effect on the DV can be measured
What is a dependent variable?
A variable that is measured by the researcher
What is meant by operationalisation?
Turning the IV and DV into measurable variables
What are extraneous variables?
Any variable, other than the IV, that may affect the DV if it is not controlled (does not vary systematically vary with the IV)
What are confounding variables?
A kind of EV that varies systematically with the IV, therefore we cannot tell if a change with the DV is caused by the IV and CV
What is a demand characteristic?
Any cue from the researcher or situation that may be interpreted by the participants and reveal the purpose of the investigation, this may cause participants to change their behaviour
What are investigator effects?
Any effect of the investigator’s behaviour on the research outcome
This can include the design of the study and selection of participants
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 participants in a research study
What are the two types of extraneous variables?
Situational
Participant
What is a situational variable?
Relating to the environment: time of day, temperature, lighting
What is a participant variable?
Intelligence, age, gender and personality
These are controlled through experimental design and random assigning
What is experimental design?
The different ways in which participants can be organised in relation to the experimental conditions
What is independent group design?
Participants are allocated to different groups where each group represents one experimental condition
What is repeated measures design?
All participants take part in all conditions of the experiment
What is matched pairs design?
Pairs of participants are matched on some variables that may affect the DV then one pair is assigned to condition A and the other to condition B
What is random allocation?
An attempt to control participant variables in an independent group design to ensure all participants have the same chance of being in each one
What is counterbalancing?
An attempt to control order effects in repeated measures design
Half do A then B and the other half do B then A
Strengths of independent groups design
Order effects are not a problem whereas they would be in repeated measures
Participants are more likely to guess the aims
Weaknesses of independent groups design
Participant variables may cause confounding variables, reducing validity of the findings - this can be reduced with random allocation
Less economical as double the number of participants needed
Strengths of repeated measures design
Participant variables are controlled creating higher validity and fewer participants needed
Weaknesses of repeated measures design
Order effects may create demand characteristic or cause fatigue - can be reduced using counterbalancing
Strengths of matched pairs design
Order effects and demand characteristics are less of a problem
Weaknesses of matched pairs design
Participants can never be matched exactly
Matching can be time consuming and expensive, particularly if a pre-test is required
What are pilot studies?
Small scale ‘trial runs’ that are used to assess the validity and feasibility of the research
What might we consider when conducting pilot studies?
Stimuli
Timing
Instructions
This allows refining before committing time and money to the project
What is single-blinding?
Making participants unaware if which group/condition they are in
This aims to reduce demand characteristic
What is a double-blind?
The person conducting the experiment (investigator) is not aware of which groups the participants are allocated to
This aims to recude investigator effects
What are the 4 main ethical issues (BPS)?
Respect - upholding the dignity of others
Competence - completing work to a high professional standard
Responsibility - to participants and the public
Integrity - transparency over bias and limitations and whistleblowing
What do participants need to be made aware of before giving consent?
Participation is voluntary
Purpose of the research
All foreseeable risks
Procedures
Benefits of the research to society/individual
Time it will take
Contact information
Right to confidentiality and right to withdraw
What is an independent advisor?
Usually made up of an ethics committee and approve things that may result in negative consequences
What are behavioural categories?
When a target behaviour is broken up into components that are observable and measurable (operationalisation)
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, say every 60 seconds
What is observer bias?
When an observer’s expectations or opinion influence the way in which they see, interpret or record behaviour
We get around this by using behavioural categories and calculating inter-observer reliability
What is inter-observer reliability?
It is calculated by correlating each pair of observations made and an overall figure is produced
Observers record data separately before sharing
What is an unstructured observation?
The researcher simply writes down everything they see
This is more appropriate for small scale observations
What is a structured observation?
When the researcher uses behavioural categories to record data
Evaluation of structured observations
Makes recording data easier and more systematic (numerical) - makes analysis easier
Allows researchers to to quantify their data
Important behaviours may be missed if not included in behavioural categories
Evaluation of unstructured observations
Most effective with small sample
Greater risk of observer bias, may only record behaviours that catch their eye
More depth of detail to analyse
Difficult to record it all
Produces qualitative data (more difficult to analyse)
Evaluation of behavioural categories
Can make data collection more structures and objective
Categories must be clear and unambiguous, also observable and measurable
All possible forms of behaviour must be included in the checklist
Categories must be exclusive with no overlap
Evaluation of event sampling
Useful when the target behaviour happens infrequently as it could be missed if time sampling was used
If the specified event is too complex the observer may overlook important details
Evaluation of time sampling
Effective at reducing the number of observations that need to be made
Instances when behaviour is sampled might be unrepresentative of the observation as a whole
What is a naturalistic observation?
Watching and recording behaviour in the setting within which it would naturally occur
What is a controlled observation?
Watching and recording behaviour within a structured environment (some variables are managed)
What is a covert observation?
Participants behaviour is watched and recorded without their knowledge
What is an overt observation?
Participants behaviour is watched and recorded with their knowledge
What is a participant observation?
The researcher becomes a member of the group whose behaviour they are recording
What is a non-participant observation?
The researcher remains outside the group whose behaviour they are recording
Observation evaluation
Capture what people actually do
Observer bias could occur (reduced with inter-observer reliability)
Cannot demonstrate causal relationships
Naturalistic observation evaluation
High external validity as findings can be generalised to everyday life
There is a lack of control over the research situation making replication difficult
May be uncontrolled CVs and EVs
Controlled observation evaluation
Findings cannot be applied to everyday life due to artificial setting
CVs and EVs will be less of an issue so replication easier
Overt observations evaluation
Participants do not know they are being recorded - reduces demand characteristics which increases internal validity as behaviour is more natural
Ethics - no consent
Overt observations evaluation
More ethically acceptable as consent is obtained
Knowledge they are being observed may cause demand characteristic
Participant observation evaluation
Researcher receives insight into lives of participants in reading external validity
Researcher may identify too strongly with participants and lose objectivity (adopting local lifestyle)
Non-participant observation evaluation
Allows researcher to maintain an objective psychological distance from their participants (will not adopt a local lifestyle)
May lose valuable insight that could be gained in participant observation
What is quantitative data?
Numerical data, easy to analyse and draw conclusions from but can be an oversimplification
What is qualitative data?
Non-numerical data, gives detail and insight but is harder to analyse, summarise and draw conclusions from
What are questionnaires?
A set of pre-written questions used to assess the dependent variable in a study
What are open questions?
Invite the responder ti provide their own answer - provide more insight and detail but participants who are nto articulate may struggle
What are closed questions?
Involve a set of pre-determined responses like yes/no - easier to analyse but are restrictive
What are likert scales?
Participants indicate their agreement with a statement, using a scale
What are rating scales?
Get participants to identify with a value representing strength of their feelings about a topic
What are fixed choice options?
These include a list of possible options which participants are required to tick
What is it important to consider whilst making a questionnaire?
Clarity and bias
Evaluation of questionnaires
Once designed are cheap and easy to distribute
Can only be completed by people who can read/write and have time to complete
If not done right can be meaningless
What is a structured interview?
A set of pre-determined questions asked in a pre-determined order
Evaluation of structured interview
Standardised so easily repeated
Easy to analyse
Requires trained interviewer as behaviour must be unbiased
What is an unstructured interview?
A set of ideas and goals are pre-determined along with a couple of questions but questions will be developed as the interview progresses (responsive)
Unstructured interview evaluation
More detail and insight
Harder to analyse
Requires highly trained interviewers (expensive)
What are semi-structured interviews?
There is a list of pre-determined questions but the interviewer is free to ask follow up questions
Evaluation of self-report
Social desirability bias and demand characteristics undermine the validity of self-report techniques
Might not remember how they feel/remember events accurately
Reliance on retrospective classification: lack of insight humans have into their own behaviour undermines the internal validity of self-report
We only get certain types of people willing to respond - unrepresentative, undermining external validity
What is primary data?
Original data collected by the researcher for the purpose of the investigation
Authentic but requires time and effort to produce
What is secondary data?
Data that has already been collected by someone else
Inexpensive and easily analysed but it might be inaccurate, incomplete or outdated
What is meta-analysis?
A researcher looks at the findings form many different studies and produces a statistic to represent the overall effect
Uses secondary data
Evaluation of meta-analysis?
Allows us to create a large, varied sample, results can be generalised to larger population (increases validity)
Conclusions may be biased as researcher may purposely exclude negative or non-significant findings
What are correlations?
They investigate the relationship between co-variables
There is no manipulation of variables therefore we cannot establish cause and effect between co-variables
What are experiments?
The researcher manipulates the IV in order to measure the effect on the DV (also called a test of difference)
Evaluation for correlations
Good for investigating possible relationship, may uncover a trend which warrants further investigation
Useful for furthering research and understanding
Less time consuming as secondary data can be used
As there is no manipulation of the IV we cannot establish a causal relationship
What are measures of central tendency?
Mean, median and mode
They are descriptive statistics and give us information about the most typical value in a data set
Measures of central tendency evaluation
Mean - takes whole data set into account however susceptible to skew
Median - unaffected by extreme values
Mode - has little use if there are multiple values with the same frequency
What are measures of dispersion?
Range and standard deviation
How to calculate the range
(Highest value - lowest value) + 1 = range
Susceptible to skew by extreme values
What is the standard deviation?
Used to show how data values deviate from the mean, calculated using all data values so representative
Low standard deviation = IV has more consistent effect
High standard deviation = IV had a less consistent effect
What is a laboratory experiment?
An experiment that takes place in a controlled environment within which the researcher manipulates the IV and records the effect on the DV whilst maintaining strict control of EVs
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 the change in the IV is not brought about by the researcher but would have happened even if the researcher had not been there, the researcher records the effect on a DV they have decided on
What is a quasi experiment?
A study that is almost an experiment but lacks key ingredients
The IV has not been determined by anyone as the variables just exist, such as age or gender
Technically this is not an experiment
Strengths of laboratory experiments
High control over CVs and EVs meaning any effect on the DV is because of the IV
Replication is more possible because of the high control and ensures that new EVs are not introduced when replicating
Weaknesses of laboratory experiments
Lack of generalisability as the lab environment does not reflect everyday life so participants may behave in an unusual way (low external validity)
Demand characteristics, participants are most likely to be aware they are being studied
The tasks may not be representative of everyday life (low mundane realism)
Low ecological validity
Strengths of field experiments
Higher mundane realism because the environment is more natural and therefore may produce more authentic behaviour (high external validity)
Weaknesses of field experiments
Loss of control of CVs and EVs meaning the effect between the IV and the DV may be more difficult to establish
May not have consent
Strengths of natural experiments
Allows opportunity for research into areas that otherwise may not be looked into (Rutter)
High external validity because they study real-world issues
Weaknesses of natural experiments
There are few opportunities for research as the event may not happen regularly
Participants may not be randomly allocated to experimental conditions meaning you cannot establish a causal relationship
Research may be conducted in a lab and lack realism increasing risk of demand characteristic
Strengths of quasi experiments
Are carries out under controlled conditions so share strengths with lab experiments
Weaknesses of quasi experiments
Cannot randomly allocate participants so there may be CVs
The IV is not deliberately changed by the researcher so we can’t establish a causal relationship
What is a population?
A group of people who are the focus of the researchers interest, from which a smaller sample is drawn
What is a sample?
A group of people who take part in research and are drawn from the target population and is presumed to be representative of the population
What are sampling techniques?
The method used to select people from the population
What is bias?
When certain groups are underrepresented or overrepresented within the sample, this limits the extent to which generalisations can be made to the target population
What is generalisation?
The extent to which findings can be broadly applied to a population
What is a random sample?
All members of the population have an equal chance of being chosen
You must obtain a list of the population, assign them a number and use the lottery method to select sample
What is a systematic sample?
Every nth number of the population is selected and a sampling frame is produced, then a sampling system is nominated
What is a stratified sample?
The composition of the sample reflects the proportions of people in the subgroups
The strata are identified, the representative proportions are worked out and the participants are selected using a random sample
What is opportunity sampling?
The researcher asks whoever is around at the time of the study
What is a volunteer sample?
The participants select themselves and volunteer to be part of the study
Evaluation of a random sample
Unbiased meaning that EVs and CVs are divided enhancing internal validity
Time consuming to conduct
May still have an unrepresentative sample
Selected participants may not want to take part so it turns into a volunteer sample
Evaluation of a systematic sample
Objective, once the system has been established the researcher has no influence over who is chosen
Time consuming
Participants may not want to take part, making it a volunteer sample
Evaluation of a stratified sample
Produces representative sample as it accurately represents the composition of the population, more generalisable
Strata may not be fully representative
Evaluation of an opportunity sample
Cheaper and more convenient
Sample may be unrepresentative so findings may not be generalisable
Researcher bias
Evaluation of a volunteer sample
Easy and less time consuming
Participants will be more engaged
Volunteer bias - may affect generalisability
What is statistical testing?
A way of determining whether hypotheses should be accepted or rejected
By using statistical testing we can find out whether relationships between variables are significant or have occurred by chance
What are the criteria for a sign test?
It is a test of difference, not association
We need to have used a repeated measures or matched pairs design
That data has to be nominal (organised into categories)
How to conduct a sign test?
+ is an improvemnt
- is a deterioration
The calculated value of S is the least frequently occurring sign
We then compare with the corresponding critical value from the table
What does the probability level mean?
The probability that the results occurred by chance
We generally use 5% (0.05)
What are the different parts of a psychological report?
Abstract
Introduction
Method
Results
Discussion
References
What is the abstract?
Although first, its written last
It is a short (approx. 200 words) summary of the whole paper including aims, procedure, results and conclusions
What is the introduction?
Literature review detailing theories or other relevant research, towards the end present aims and hypothesis
What is in the method?
We talk about design, sample, materials, procedure and ethics
What is in the results?
Summary of key findings featuring descriptive and inferential statistics
What is in the discussion?
Summary of results, discussion of how findings link to previous research (introduction), limitations, implications and recommendation
What are references?
Details of any sources used in the report
How do you reference a paper?
Surname. Initial. (Date published). Title of article. Name of journal. Volume number (issue number). Page numbers
How do you reference a book?
Surname. Initial. (Date published). Title of book. Place of publishing. Publishing company
What is a peer review?
Before a piece of research becomes part of a journal it must be subjected to peer review
It will be evaluated (thoroughly and harshly) by a team of ‘peers’ - researchers in the same field, some of whom will be considered experts
Why is peer review important?
To stop incorrect, faulty of fraudulent data and claims entering the public domain
To help funding to be allocated responsibly - government and charities pay for most research
University departments (who do most of the research) can be assessed and compared on the basis of peer review approval and feedback
Strengths of peer review
Anonymity
Peer review is often conducted like a single blind study, in order to help reviewers be honest
Weaknesses of peer review
Publication bias
Journal publishers tend to want to publish ‘headline grabbing’ findings
Some research gets buried
Some, particularly cutting-edge or complex research may be passed because reviewers don’t understand it which undermines the value and integrity of peer review
Time
Peer review can be time consuming
How can psychological research affect the economy?
Role for the father
Statutory paternity leave for fathers
More opportunities for modern families
Flexible working arrangements for both parents
Treatments for mental disorders
1/3 of work absences are due to mild or moderate mental health disorders
Access to medication and therapy means people can get back to work
