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
