research methods Flashcards
what are the ethical principles
consent
confidentiality
right to withdraw
protection from harm
deception
debriefing
what are the 4 ethical guidelines
integrity
respect
responsibility
competence
what is consent
- ensuring that the participants give their permission to participate and are aware as to what they are consenting to
(respect)
what is deception ?
- making sure the participants aren’t being lied to, the truth isn’t withheld
- if some details can’t be shared during the study the participants get a full debrief afterwards
(integrity)
what is the right to withdraw ?
- participants have the right to stop taking part in the study at any time
- participants should feel comfortable withdrawing and shouldn’t feel pressured to stay
what is debriefing ?
- outlining the purpose of the research, is used to reassure participants
- if participants want them, contact details of the research team should be given
what is protection from harm ?
- participants should not be exposed to any danger/harm during the study
- for some studies approval may be needed by an ethics team
- assistance should be in on hand if support is needed
what is confidentiality ?
- keeping personal information, such as names private
- not sharing any personal data
what is integrity ?
- psychologists must demonstrate honesty, equal treatment and openness towards participants
why is responsibility important ?
- studies must be carried out professionally and safely
what is respect ?
- respecting the rights to privacy and how the participants are
feeling
what is competence ?
- having the correct knowledge and skills to be able to carry out a study
- making sure participants are suitable for a study
what are situational variables ?
when participants are affected by the environment they are in
what are participant variables ?
the results of the study are affected by participants individual characteristics
what are order effects ?
results of a study are improved by the repetition of a task rather than the independent variable
what are experimenter effects ?
participants complete an activity differently as they know someone is watching them
what is counterbalancing ?
a technique used to control order effects, which involves mixing up the order in which tasks are performed
what are independent measures ?
where totally different participants are used across the separate conditions of the experiment
what are repeated measures ?
where the same participants take part in all different conditions of the experiment
what are matched pairs ?
where participants who are different but have similar characteristics take part in separate conditions
what is the target population ?
the type of people experimenters want to participate and find out about
what is internal validity ?
if the experiment is well controlled and avoids extraneous variables
what is ecological validity ?
if the research takes place in a real world environment
what is predictive validity ?
if the study result can accurately predict how someone behaves
what are demand characteristics ?
when participants realise the aim of the experiment and start to behave differently
what is a null hypothesis ?
says that the independent variable won’t have any effect on the dependent variable
what is a 1 tailed hypothesis ?
it predicts exactly how the independent variable will affect the dependent variable
what is a 2 tailed hypothesis ?
predicts that the IV will affect the DV but not what that effect will be
what is objectivity ?
when the results are purely factual
what is reliability ?
getting the same findings after repeating the test again and again
what is a lab experiment ?
an experiment which takes place in a carefully controlled environment
contain an IV that is manipulated and a DV that is measured
Has a standardized process
what is a field experiment ?
an experiment which takes place in a natural environment
what is a control group ?
a group which acts as a baseline/comparison
what is randomisation ?
randomly assigning participants to a particular group
what is an experimental hypothesis ?
says the IV will have some kind of effect on the DV
what is an independent variable ?
variables which are changed or manipulated by the researcher
what is a dependent variable ?
the variable the researcher is measuring; the results
what is an extraneous variable ?
variables which affect the dependent variable/results of the study
variables which could ruin the validity of research
what does operationalising variables mean?
making variables measurable/testable
what is a sample ?
a smaller group of people out of the target population who participate
what is sampling technique ?
the way people are selected for the experiment
what is opportunity sampling ?
participants who are the most convenient to select
what is random sampling ?
where participants are randomly selected
what is volunteer sampling ?
where participants choose to take part
what is stratified sampling ?
participants are representative of the target population
Independent measures design - strengths
- Lower risk of demand characteristics
- No order effects such as boredom, fatigue, or practice effects
- Practically, less cost as same test can be used twice
Independent measures design - weaknesses
- Higher risk of participant variables
- More participants are needed
Repeated measures design - strengths
- No participant variables
- Fewer participants are needed
Repeated measures design - weaknesses
- Risk of demand characteristics
- Risk of order effects; boredom, fatigue and practice effects
- Two tests needed which may become an extraneous variable
In repeated measures design, what can carrying a task out repeatedly lead to -
- deterioration as pps get tired or bored
- improvement due to practice
In repeated measures design how can we deal with the risk of order effects
counterbalancing
Matched pairs design - strengths
- Participant variables are reduced
- No order effects
- Less risk of demand characteristics
Matched pairs design - weaknesses
- Participants can never be completely matched
- Time consuming and expensive
- More participants required
Lab experiment - strengths
- Most scientific method - manipulation of IV indicates cause and effect
- Increases control and accuracy
- Often standardised so easy to replicate
Lab experiments weaknesses
- Total control over every variable is not possible
- Artificial environment = may produce unnatural behaviour which lacks ecological validity
- Results may be more biased by sampling, demand characteristics, experimenter expectancy
- May be unethical, e.g deception
Field experiments - strengths
- Ecologically valid = behaviour occurs in its own natural environment
- Less bias from sampling and demand characteristics
Field experiments - weaknesses
- More bias from extraneous variables due to lack of control in these experiments
- More difficult to replicate
- More difficult to accurately record data
- Ethical issues, e.g deception
natural experiment
IV is changed by natural occurence, researcher just records effects of DV
Natural experiment - strengths
- Ecological validity = a natural change, not dictated by experimenter occurs
- Very little bias from sampling or demand characteristics
Natural experiment - weaknesses
- Hard to interfere cause and effect - due to little control over extraneous variables and no direct manipulation of IV
- Impossible to replicate exactly
- Ethics = deception, invasion of privacy
Lab experiment - evidence
Bandura -
- Manipulated IV of exposure to aggression to see if it affected imitation of aggression to children
- Children either saw an adult being aggressive to a bobo doll or an adult not being aggressive
- number of aggressive acts was noted
Field experiment - evidence
Feshback and Singer -
- Manipulated IV, exposure to aggression to see what effect it had on imitation of aggression by showing boys in a school either
- aggressive television
- non aggressive television
- conducted over 6 weeks, boys aggression was rated
Natural experiment - evidence
Joy et al -
- Investigated IV of exposure to aggression to see what effect it had on imitation of aggression in children by measuring aggression levels of children in a Canadian town:
- before television was introduced into town
- after television was introduced into town
