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Research Methods Flashcards

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1
Q

What is an aim

A

An aim is a statement of what the researcher intends to find out/investigate in a study

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2
Q

Why do psychologists conduct experiments

A

To find out the effects of different variables on behaviour

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3
Q

What is a variable

A

Factor/characteristic/thing that can vary and which cause effects or changes

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4
Q

The IV is

A

Manipulated to cause an efffect

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5
Q

The DV is

A

What has been affected by the IV (it’s measured)

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6
Q

What is the operationalised format

A

Defining variables in a precise manner so they can be used in research.
IV is operationalised by saying how it’s changed
DV is operationalised by saying how it’s being measured

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7
Q

What is a hypothesis

A

A clear and precise prediction about the difference or relationship between the variables in the study

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8
Q

What is a directional hypothesis

A

Predicts the specific expected direction of the difference

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9
Q

What is a non directional hypothesis

A

Predicts there will be an effect but not what the difference will be

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10
Q

when is a directional hypothesis used

A

when there is previous research indicating that findings will go in a certain direction

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11
Q

when is a non directional hypothesis used

A

when passed research doesnt indicate a clear direction or when there is no passed research

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12
Q

what is validity

A

how true what you are claiming is

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13
Q

in designing an experiment what is validity

A

the extent to which a researcher is actually measuring and testing what they claim to be

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14
Q

what is the difference between experimental and non experimental methods

A

in experimental methods the researcher has some or all control of the variables, whereas in non experimental methods the researcher has no control over the variables. experimental methods are also interested in finding out the specific effect of variables on other variables.

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15
Q

what are the key features of an experiment being set in a laboratory

A

the experiment is completely under the control of the researcher to ensure that the only thing having an effect on the DV is the IV

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16
Q

what are the key features of an experiment being set in a field

A

this means it is set in the participants usual environment so is a good way to see natural behaviour, the researcher is also still in charge of the IV

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17
Q

what are the key features of and experiment being set in a natural environment

A

the IV is naturally occurring or pre-existing for example an earthquake

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18
Q

what are the key features of an experiment having a QUASI setting

A

its a type of natural experiment so the IV is also pre existing or naturally occurring and to do with the participant for example age,

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19
Q

what is an extraneous variable

A

unwanted factors in a study that, if not accounted for, could negatively affect the data collected

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20
Q

what is ecological validity

A

a type of external validity that refers to the extent to which the findings can be generalized to a real-life setting

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21
Q

what is mundane realism

A

the degree to which the materials and procedures involved in an experiment are similar to events that occur in the real world.

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22
Q

what are demand characteristics

A

when the participants try to make sense of the research and act accordingly to support the aim of the research.

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23
Q

what are the strengths of a laboratory experiment

A

high level of control over extraneous variables and higher reliability as they can be repeated to get continuous results

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24
Q

what are the limitations of a laboratory experiments

A

low mundane realism and ecological validity and more likely to have demand characteristics because participants could guess aims of experiment

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25
Q

what are the strengths of a field experiment

A

still has a degree of control and can manipulate the IV, high ecological validity and less demand characteristics as participants are normally unaware

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26
Q

what are the limitations of a field experiment

A

more extraneous variables so lower reliability, more likely to have ethical issues

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27
Q

what are the strengths of a natural experiment

A

high ecological validity, providing unique insight as unique situations are normally observed

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28
Q

what are the limitations of a natural experiment

A

lack of control of the extraneous variables so IV is observed rather than manipulated, its not able to be generalised

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29
Q

what are strengths of QUASI experiments

A

compare different groups of people, can be controlled or natural settings

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30
Q

what are the limitations of a QUASI experiment

A

might have a bias as you cant randomly allocate ppts as there characteristics are the IV and more likely to have extraneous variables

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31
Q

what is experimental design

A

how experimenters allocate their ppts

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32
Q

what are the 3 types of experimental design

A

independent measures, repeated measures and matched pairs

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33
Q

what does independent measures entail

A

different ppts in each condition, this is normally randomly allocated

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34
Q

how to go about random allocation

A

give each ppts a number and randomly generate that number to a condition in a random manner

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35
Q

what does repeated measures entail

A

the same ppts take part in both conditions

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36
Q

what can repeated measures cause

A

order effects

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37
Q

what are the order effects + explanation

A

practice effects- they will be better second time because of practice
fatigue effects- they will lose focus as they have done it already

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38
Q

what can reduce order effects + explanation

A

counter balancing- each condition tested first or second in equal amounts:
AB BA or ABBA

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39
Q

what does matched pairs entail

A

pairs of ppts matched based on key variables e.g. age, one member of each pair is then places in different conditions

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40
Q

What are strengths of independent measures

A

Avoids order effects
Avoids/reduces chances of guessing aims of study (demand characteristics) as people are only aware of one part of the study

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41
Q

What are the limitations of independent measures

A

Requires large numbers of ppts which could be time consuming
Cannot control individual differences of ppts which could become extraneous variables

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42
Q

What are strengths of repeated measures

A

-Controls for individual differences reducing ppts variables having an effect on the DV
- fewer participants needed

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43
Q

Limitations of of repeated measures

A

-strong chance of order effects
-participants may guess the purpose of experiment and behaviour could be affected (demand characteristics)

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44
Q

Advantages of matched pairs

A

-effects of individual differences can be reduced by matching ppts on these variables
- avoids order effects and demand characteristics

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45
Q

Limitations of of matched pairs

A

-Exact matches difficult/ impossible to achieve and match correct variables
- requires large number of participants

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46
Q

what is target population

A

population of people that the research is aimed at, you select you sample using sampling techniques

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47
Q

what is a sampling frame

A

list of potential participants from the target population

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48
Q

what is opportunity sampling

A

taking your sample from readily available people

49
Q

what is volunteer sampling

A

volunteers select themselves as its advertised for volunteers

50
Q

what is random sampling

A

each member of target population is identified and a random selection process is applied

51
Q

what is systematic sampling

A

ppts are selected bases on a predetermined system, you would select every nth person from a list of target population

52
Q

what is stratified sampling

A

ppts selected based on their frequency in the population

53
Q

explain stratified sampling step by step

A

1) build your sampling frame
2) identify relevant strata
3) calculate the proportion of each sub group in relation to target population (%)
4) work out same proportions for your total sample size
5) select ppts in those proportions using a random system

54
Q

what are advantages of opportunity sampling

A

-easiest sample to implement
-less time consuming

55
Q

limitations of opportunity sampling

A

-very likely to be biased by researchers choices of people
-unlikely to be representative affecting validity and findings being generalised

56
Q

advantages of volunteer sampling

A

-requires little work so very convenient
-can target curtain populations based on where you advertise

57
Q

disadvantages of opportunity sampling

A

-very likely to have volunteer bias as particular types of people volunteer for things
-unlikely to be fully representative

58
Q

advantages of random sampling

A

-unbiased method of selection a researcher doesn’t influence who is chosen

59
Q

limitations of random sampling

A

-could still be unrepresentative e.g. could only select women
-requires sampling frame which takes time and effort
-ppts could turn down taking part which is time consuming

60
Q

advantages of systematic sampling

A

-unbiased as ppts are selected using an objective method

61
Q

limitations of systematic sampling

A

-could still be unrepresentative e.g only select women
-requires sampling frame
-ppts could turn down taking part which is time consuming

62
Q

advantages of stratified sampling

A

-most representative
-unbiased as ppts are selected randomly

63
Q

limitations of stratified sampling

A

very difficult to achieve in practice as you need:
accurate sampling, time to calculate proportion, apply by random selection

64
Q

What is an ethical issue in psychology

A

Conflict between what the researcher needs to do in order to conduct useful research, and the rights of ppts

65
Q

What are ethical guidelines

A

Set of guidelines researchers have to follow to help them decide what is acceptable or not when they plan their research

66
Q

What are the expectations of the BPS

A

-Researchers must follow ethical guidelines outlined in code of conduct
-Must conduct cost benefit analysis
-Outline and present research proposals to an ethics committee

67
Q

What are the ethical issues

A

Lack of informed/valid consent
Deception
Lack of ppts right to withdraw
Risk of harm
Confidently/privacy

68
Q

Explain valid or informed consent from researchers pov

A

They are responsible for making ppts aware of what will actually happen
This can create demand characteristics

69
Q

Explain valid/informed concent from the ppts pov

A

Ppts have a right to know what they are consenting to
However outlining risks can be hard and unpredictable

70
Q

What should be included in a convent form

A

-Thanks for agreeing to take part
-Description of aims and task statement about how data will be kept
-Right to withdraw reminder
-Opportunity to ask questions
-Signature line

71
Q

Explain deception

A

Researchers sometimes need to deceive their ppts in order to reduce demand characteristics however this goes against valid consent

72
Q

Explain right to withdraw

A

Researchers are responsible for reminding ppts of this
Ppts have the right to withdraw at any point and should not feel pressured to stay

73
Q

Explain risk of harm

A

Most research may present some risk of harm and and is the researcher’s responsibility to plan appropriately however it’s not always possible to predict the harm
Harm can be physical or psychological
BPS guidelines state that ppts should not be subject to more harm than everyday life

74
Q

Explain confidentiality

A

Researchers should anonymise results e.g. use numbers or letters as ppts names
Confidentiality is a legal right so data can only be recorded if it’s kept confidential

75
Q

Explain privacy

A

BPS guidelines state that pubic behaviour can be observed without prior consent
Ppts have a right to privacy but it’s their responsibility to ensure they do not share information that they want to keep private

76
Q

what are 2 ways to deal with ethical issues

A

debrief and presumptive consent

77
Q

explain debriefing to deal with ethical issues

A

this should always occur after a study but especially if ppts have been deceived. It provides ppts full info about aims and purpose, checks on well being, gives chance to ask questions, and gives another chance to withdraw

78
Q

explain presumptive consent

A

this can be used when researchers must deceive their ppts. They would ask another group similar to the group of ppts if they would give consent after being told all the information, the researcher can use this to gain presumptive consent.

79
Q

What are the different types of observations?

A

Overt, covert participant, non-participant, structured, unstructured, controlled, naturalistic

80
Q

What do observations involve?

A

Watching and recording behaviour

81
Q

What is a controlled observation?

A

The observation is carried out in a controlled setting

82
Q

Explain a controlled observation

A

Takes place in a controlled environment, observer can control extenuate variables and set up a task to ensure they can observe the target behaviour

83
Q

What is a naturalistic observation?

A

The observation happens in participants natural environment

84
Q

Explain a naturalistic observation

A

The research is less slightly to be able to control extreme behaviours and they may not see the target behaviour during observation

85
Q

What is an unstructured observation?

A

When the researcher observes everything they see

86
Q

Explain a unstructured observation

A

The researcher records everything they say in anyway they please so it’s more likely to collect more qualitative data

87
Q

What is a structured observation?

A

The observer uses a system to observe specific behaviours

88
Q

Explain a structured observation

A

The research uses various systems to organise the recordings of The observations

89
Q

What are the two systems used in structured observations?

A

Coding systems and sampling procedures

90
Q

Explain behavioural categories/coding systems?

A

It operationalises behaviours into a set of components which must be objective and and be exclusive, so no overlapping between categories

91
Q

Explain event sampling

A

Each behavioural category is a separate event, during the total observation the researcher records in a table each time each behaviour occurs

92
Q

what are the features of science

A

objectivity and the empirical method
replicability
theory construction and hypothesis testing
falsifiability
paradigms

93
Q

explain objectivity

A

based on facts not opinions, so is true for everyone

94
Q

explain empirical methods

A

based on objectivity as empricism highlights the importance of data collection

95
Q

explain replicability

A

will use standard procedures and instructions in controlled environments, and determines its reliability

96
Q

what is a theory

A

set of general laws or principles that can be explained events or behaviour

97
Q

explain theory construction and hypothesis testing

A

occurs through testing hypotheses and gathering evidence to make a clear and precise prediction

98
Q

what did Karl Popper believe

A

scientific principles are not necessarily true but had just not been proven wrong

99
Q

what is falsifiability

A

putting scientific theories up for hypothesis testing to be proven false

100
Q

what are paradigms

A

a shared set of assumptions and methods that are universally agreed on

101
Q

why did Kuhn not classify psychology as a science

A

he believed it lacked a paradigm

102
Q

what is a paradigm shift

A

scientific revolution due to evidence

103
Q

what is time sampling

A

during the total observation time they record which behaviours occur at predetermined time intervals

104
Q

what is a problem with time sampling

A

observer bias

105
Q

what is observer bias and why is it a problem

A

when two observers may interpret different behaviours differently, which could lead to results becoming invalid

106
Q

what are the 3 ways to overcome observer bias and what they involve

A

operationalise terms/behaviours to define how we measure certain things, use double blind procedure where both the researcher and and ppts are unaware of hypothesis , pilot study is a small ‘practice’ study

107
Q

what is inter observer reliability

A

-Two or more observers observe the same thing separately, they compare and check for agreements, then plot a scatter graph and measure the correlation coefficient

108
Q

What are the strengths of observations

A

High external validity, Practical method, Fewer demand characteristics

109
Q

Why do observations have high external validity so

A

most occur in natural setting so results can be generalised to other settings

110
Q

Explain observations having practical method s

A

Can be used in situations where manipulation may be unethical

111
Q

Why do observations have fewer demand characteristics

A

With covert observations ppts are unaware of being observed so no demand characteristics

112
Q

What are limitations of observations

A

Cause and effect, Practical problems, Replication, Observer bias, Ethics

113
Q

Explain observation cause and effect

A

Little control over extraneous variables and therefore causality can’t be based on what was manipulated

114
Q

Why do observations have practical problems

A

Struggles with practical observations e.g. how many people to observe

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psychology (5 decks)

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