Research Methods

Question 1

aim

Answer 1

what the researcher intends to investigate

Question 2

hypothesis

Answer 2

statement stating relationship between IV & DV

Question 3

state the 3 types of hypothesis

Answer 3

null, directional, non-directional

Question 4

null hypothesis

Answer 4

nothing will happen

Question 5

directional hypothesis

Answer 5

1 tailed, one specific group will do better than the other

Question 6

non-directional hypothesis

Answer 6

2 tailed, predicts something will happen but not ‘direction’ of the effect

Question 7

independent variable

Answer 7

manipulated by researcher so DV can be measured

Question 8

dependant variable

Answer 8

measured by researcher

Question 9

what do you have to do once you have made the aims and hypothesis

Answer 9

operationalise variable e.g. turn UV & DV into something we can measure

Question 10

name all research issues

Answer 10

extraneous variable, confounding variable, demand characteristics, investigator effects

Question 11

research issues - extraneous variable

Answer 11

variable affecting DV
additional/unwanted - should be identified + have steps taken to minimise effects
doesn’t vary systematically with IV

Question 12

research issues - confounding variable

Answer 12

varies systematically with IV so can’t tell is change in DV is due to IV or varaible

Question 13

research issues - investigator effects

Answer 13

effect of investigator’s behaviour on research outcome
e.g. leading questions
Coolican: include expectancy effects + unconscious bias - actions of researcher related to study design (selection of PPs, instructions)

Question 13

research issues - demand characteristics

Answer 13

cues from researchers / situation that may be interpreted as revealing purpose

act in way they think expected + over-perform (please-U effect)
underperform to deliberately sabotage (screw-U effect)

Question 14

research issues (combat) - randomisation

Answer 14

control investigator effects through use of chance methods to reduce researcher’s unconscious biases

Question 15

research issues (combat) - standardisation

Answer 15

using exactly the same formalised procedures / instructions for all PPs in a research study

Question 16

case studies

Answer 16

in-depth investigation, description, analysis of single individuals, group, institution, event

tend to take place over long time (longitudinal)

Question 17

content analysis

Answer 17

research technique enabling indirect study of behaviour by examining communication that people produce e.g. in texts, emails, TV, film

aim to summarise & describe communication in systematic way so overall can be drawn

Question 18

coding

Answer 18

stage of content analysis - categorise large sets of info into meaningful units

may involve counting up number of times particular word/phrase appears to produce quantitative data

Question 19

thematic analysis

Answer 19

inductive & qualitative approach to analysis that involves identifying implicit/explicit ideas within data

themes often emerge once data been coding

Question 20

evaluate case studies

Answer 20

+ rich, detailed insights may shed light on unusual + atypical forms of behaviour - preferred to more ‘superficial’ forms of data from experiment/questionnaire

+ contribute to understanding of ‘normal’ functioning e.g. HM significant as it demonstrated ‘normal’ memory processing

+ generate hypotheses for future study + 1 solitary contradictory instance may lead to revision of entire theory

• generalisation when dealing with small sample sizes
• information in final report based on subjective selection & interpretation
• personal accounts prone to inaccuracy & memory decay (low validity)

Question 21

evaluate content analysis

Answer 21

+ useful - gets around ethnical issues

+ most material already exists within public domain - no issues obtaining permission

+ high external validity

+ flexible - produce both qualitative & quantitative data

• people tend to be studied indirectly so communication they produce usually analysed outside context within which it occurred
• researcher may attribute opinions
• lack objectivity especially when more descriptive forms of thematic analysis employed

Question 22

assessing reliability

Answer 22

1. test retest: questionnaire, testing over time, correlation -0.8+
2. inter-observer reliability: multiple observers - overcome bias 0.8+ pilot study

Question 23

assessing reliability - test retest

Answer 23

method assessing reliability of questionnaire/psychological test by assessing person on 2 separate occasions

shows to what extent test produces same answers i.e. is reliable

Question 24

assessing reliability - inter-observer reliability

Answer 24

extent to which there is agreement between 2+ observers

measured by correlating observations of 2+ observers

(total number of agreements

Question 25

reliability

Answer 25

how consistent findings are - measuring device said to be reliable if it produces consistent results