Research Methods

Question 1

What are the benefits of a laboratory experiment

Answer 1

-Establishes a cause and effect relationship between iv and dv
-High internal validity
-easily replicable

Question 2

What are the drawbacks of lab experiment

Answer 2

-Lack ecological validity can’t be applied to real life
-mundane realism not related to real life
-participants may alter behaviour due to demand characteristic

Question 3

What are the benefits of field experiments

Answer 3

-Higher ecological validity behaviour can be applied to real life
-likely to have mundane realism as will be more realistic task
-participants less likely to show demand characteristics

Question 4

What are the limitations of field study

Answer 4

-lack of control over extraneous variables that could influence DV
-low internal validity

Question 5

What are the benefits of natural experiment

Answer 5

-Allows research into areas that could not happen in controlled experiments due to either ethical or cost reasons
-High external validity
-No demand characteristics

Question 6

Limits of natural experiment

Answer 6

-extraneous variables can’t be controlled so can’t establish cause and effect relationship
-often rare events that can’t be replicated

Question 7

Benefits of quasi experiment

Answer 7

Only way to study factors that are pre-existing characteristics of participants

Question 8

Limits of quasi experiment

Answer 8

Confounding variables could be present

Question 9

Controlled observation pros and cons

Answer 9

Pros:
-controlling the environment reduces likelihood that extraneous variables are responsible for behaviour
-reliable as it’s using standardised procedures
Cons:
-artificial environment could affect behaviour

Question 10

Pros and cons of naturalistic observation

Answer 10

Pros:
-High realism participants show more naturalistic behaviour
-external validity behaviour is more generalisable
Cons:
-uncontrolled extraneous variables (lower internal validity)

Question 11

Overt observation pros and cons

Answer 11

Pros:
-Ethical as participants have informed consent
Cons:
-participants more likely to show demand characteristics

Question 12

Covert observation pros and cons

Answer 12

Pros:
-participants aren’t aware so they won’t show demand characteristics
Cons:
-argued that it’s unethical

Question 13

Participants observation pros and cons

Answer 13

Pros:
-researcher could build rapport and gain more knowledge
Cons:
-could lose objectivity and cod become biased

Question 14

Non participant observation

Answer 14

Pros:
- increased objectivity
Cons:
-can’t build rapport so behaviour could be less natural

Question 15

What are open and closed questions

Answer 15

Open question: participant can answer freely and gives qualitative data
Closed question: participant has fixed options like yes or no and gives quantitative data

Question 16

Pros and cons of questionnaires

Answer 16

Pros:
-cost effective and easy process
-easily analysable data
Cons:
-questionnaires often not taken seriously so results in acquiesce bias

Question 17

Pros and cons of interviews

Answer 17

Pros:
-can rephrase questions that aren’t understood
-can build rapport making it more likely participant takes it seriously
Cons:
-requires trained interviewer so more expensive process
-interviewer effects personal characteristics of interviewer can alter response of participant