Research methods Flashcards
What is an independent variable?
A variable a researcher manipulates (changes).
What is a dependent variable?
a variable a researcher measures
Define operationalisation.
it is when variables are clearly specified to make them precise. e.g. aggression is too vague to could be operationalised by counting the number of times a person punches another person.
Why is operationalisation important?
It ensures the research is objective, and also assesses the replicability of the findings.
What is an extraneous variable
It is any variable other than the IV that could affect the DV e.g. if participants had less sleep at night.
What is a confounding variable
A variable that varies with the IV and effect the DV. e.g. age
Why is it important to control extraneous variables
To prevent them from affecting the results. This would prevent the researcher from being able to establish cause and effect.
What is the purpose of counterbalancing
and what design is it used in
Used in repeated measure design to equally distribute the impact of order effects across conditions
What is the purpose of random allocation.
Ensure each participant has an equal chance of being placed into each condition. It also removes researcher bias.
What is the purpose of randomisation
Helps to reduce any predictable order in the presentation of stimuli. It therefore reduces the possibility that one condition will be easier than another
What is the purpose of standardisation
Ensure all participants have the same experience.
What is the procedure of counterbalancing
- Participants are grouped
- One group complete condition A first then condition B
- The other group complete condition B then condition A
What is the procedure of random allocation
- All participants names are written on a sperate piece of paper
- They are then placed in a hat and shuffled
- The researcher blindly picks out who will be assigned to the first condition
- The next name is then assigned to the second condition etc.
Discuss the procedure of randomisation
- All stimuli are printed on separate pieces of paper and placed into a hat
- The researcher then shuffles the hat and blindly picks out a stimuli one at a time
- The order it is pulled out is the order the stimuli’s are presented
Discuss the procedure of standardisation
Keeping same task, researcher, instructions etc.
What are the experimental designs
Independent groups design, Repeated measures design, Matched pairs design
Describe the procedure of a matched pairs design
Obtain a large enough sample, match participants on variables that could effect the DV, randomly allocate each member of a matched pair to a condition, place 2 names from a matched pair into a hat, the first name would go to condition A and the second name would go to condition B. Repeat this for all matched pairs
What experiments does the experimenter manipulate the IV
Lab and Field experiments
What experiments does the experimenter not manipulate the IV
Natural and Quasi experiment
What is an Aim
A statement about the purpose of the study i.e. what it it aiming to investigate
What is a hypothesis
A precise and testable prediction about the expected outcome of a study
What is the difference between a directional hypothesis and a non directional hypothesis
In a directional hypothesis there will be a difference or relationship and states the direction . In a non directional they know there will be a difference or relationship but doesn’t state the direction
When are directional hypothesis and no directional hypothesis used
Directional is used when there is previous research and non directional is used when there is no previous research
What are behavioural categories
they refer to specific/ operationalised behaviours that represent the general behaviour being observed.
What is event sampling
When behavioural categories are recorded every time they happen throughout the entire observational period
What is time sampling and what is the equation to find out the time sample
When behavioural categories are recorded at specific time intervals
Total observation time in minutes / number of observations made
What are all the types of observations
Naturalistic, controlled, overt, covert, participant and non-participant observations
What is a naturalistic observation
It is when the observer watches and records the behaviour of participants in a natural environment where it would usually occur
What is a controlled observation
It is when the observer watches and records the behaviour of participants in a highly controlled environment e.g. in an observation room
What is Overt observation
It is when the observer is clearly visible. This means that the people being observed are aware they are being observed
What is covert observation
It is when the observer is not clearly visible. This means that the people being observed are not aware of being observed.
What is participant observation
It is when the observer becomes a member of the group whose behaviour they are watching and recording
What is non participant observation
The observer watches and records the behaviour from a distance and therefore does not interact with the participants
What is the self report method
The self report technique involves participants responding to a series of questions. They do this to provide the researcher with details regarding their feelings thoughts or behaviour
What is the difference between a structured interview and a non structured interview
A structured interview is when the questions asked by the interview are predetermined and in order. A non structured interview is when the interviewer sets the topic but the questions are based off the participants responses
What is the difference between open and closed questions in a questionnaire
Closed questions refers to questions where participants are limited to chose from options provided by the researcher. On the other hand open questions refers to questions where participants are provided with the opportunity to respond freely
What 5 points make up a case study
- Study of one person or a small group
- carried out in the real world
- Longitudinal (carried out over a period of time)
- Conducted by a single researcher
- Uses a range of methods to collect data eg observations, interviews etc
Define reliability
Refers to the extent to which results are consistent
What does inter-observer reliability test
The extent to which multiple observers agree on their tallied recordings
How do researchers assess inter observer reliability
- Two observers watch the same people at the same time but tally their recordings independently
- The observers recordings are then correlated on a scattergram to identity if there is a positive correlation
- The strength of the correlation is then assessed by calculating a correlation coefficient
- A statistical test is used to assess whether the correlation is significant
What does test retest reliability test
The extent to which the results of a study are consistent when replicated
What does test retest reliability test
The extent to which the results of a study are consistent when replicated
What are the 4 types of validity
Ecological, Temporal, Face and concurrent
What does Ecological validity test
Whether the setting of the research is natural and so likely for ppt to behave naturally
What does temporal validity test
Whether the findings of previous research would reflect what researchers would find in todays society
What does face validity test
Checks whether the behaviour being investigated at first sight represents what’s being measured
What does concurrent validity test
A way of assessing the validity of a new test.
How would researchers check for face validity
The researcher would ask other researchers whether the specific behaviour is a good representation of what is being measured. If they say yes the research is considered to have face validity.
How would researchers check for concurrent validity.
The researcher instructs the participants to complete both the new test and already existing test that measures the same thing. Then the data from the new test would be correlated on a scattergram to see if there is a positive correlation. A correlation coefficient would also be calculated to identify whether the correlation is strong for eg 0.8. The researcher would then use a statistical test to assess whether the correlation is significant.
What is the difference between a population and a sample
A population is the people the researcher is intrested in investigating and a sample is a group of people drawn from the population who take part in the research.
What are the 5 sampling techniques
Stratified, systematic, random, opportunity and volunteer
How is stratified sampling carried out
- identify the strata
- Calculate the proportion of the strata
- Calculate how many people for each starts
- Randomly select people using the hat method
How is systematic sampling carried out
- Get every participants name in the population
- Put the names in a randomly ordered list
- Calc the nth term
- Work through the list selecting every nth number
How is random sampling carried out
- Write the names of the people in the population on a separate piece of paper
- Without looking pick them out the number needed for this study
How is opportunity sampling carried out?
- Researcher goes to a place they can find people in the population
- Researcher approaches people and asks them participate
- Those who agree are in the study
How is volunteer sampling carried out
- Researchers advertise their study with their contact details in a place their population are gonna see it
- Participants respond to the ad
- Those who volunteered take part
What is the role of the british psychological society’s code of ethics
Outlines ethical guidelines that researchers must follow when designing and conducting research
What are the ethical guidelines (6)
Informed consent, deception, Confidentiality, Debrief, right to withdrawl, protection from harm
What is a pilot study
When a researcher conducts a small scale investigation with a few participants before the full scale research takes place
What’s the purpose of conducting a pilot study
Pilot studies allow researchers to check procedures of their investigation and ask a few ppt about their experience. Helps them avoid wasting time and money
What is quantitative data
numerical data
What is qualitative data
descriptive data
What is primary data
data collected directly from the pptfor the purpose of the study
What is secondary data
data collected from a pre existing source that was not initially collected for the purpose of the current study
Is meta analysis primary data or secondary data. Explain what it is
It is a form of secondary data. Refers to when other researchers findings from a series of studies are collected and analysed for an overall result
What is nominal data
nominal data is categorical data
What is ordinal data
Data that is ranked in order on any
non-standardised scale
What is interval data
data which is measured along a pre existing standardised scale with equal intervals
What are the measures of central tendency
Mean mode and median
What are the measures of dispersion
Range and standard deviation
When is standard deviation used
used when examining how clustered the data is around the mean. the higher the sd the less clustered the data is around the mean
What are the 3 types of distribution
normal, positively skewed and negatively skewed
What is normal distribution
it is when the spread of the data is symmetrical.
mosf scores fall in the middle
the mean median and mode are the same or very similar
What is positively skewed distribution
The spread of data is not symmetrical and skews to the right
majority of the scores are at the lower end of the data set
mode > median > mean (mean is the highest)
What is negatively skewed distribution
The spread of data is not symmetrical and data skews to the left
The majority of the scores are at the higher end
Mean < median < mode (mean is the lowest figure )
When are tables used
used to display raw data, totals or descriptive statistics
When are scattergrams used
used for correlational research and shows the relationship betweeen two co variables . data must be continuous
When are bar charts used
used to make comparisons and are therefore appropriate for experimental research.
When are histograms used
used to examine the frequency of scores in a continuous data set
Outline the experimental method
involves a researcher manipulating the independent variable. there are a minimum of 2 conditions. they measure what effect this has on the dependent variable. if there is a difference the researcher can establish cause and effect
Outline the correlational method
investigates whether there is a relationship between two co-variables. These co-variables must be measurable on a continuous, numerical scale such as age and shoe size
Outline the observational method
an observation involves a researcher watching and recording the behaviour of participants. Recordings are made by forming behavioural categories and using event and time sampling to tally when a behaviour occcurs. Observations can be carried out in the moment and setting that the behaviour is displayed and/or can be video recorded for later analysis
Outline the self report method
self report techniques invoves participants respondding to series of questions. They do this to provide the researcher with details regarding their feelings, thoughts and/or behaviour.
