Research Methods Flashcards
What are the four types of hypothesis’?
Alternative, Null, Directional (one-tailed), Non directional (Two tailed)
What is an alternative hypothesis?
A precise testable statement about what is expected to happen
What is a null hypothesis?
Predicts there will be no effect
What is a directional hypothesis?
Predicts an effect whilst stating what the direction of it will be
e.g which group will do better
What is a non- directional hypothesis?
Predicts an effect but does not state what the direction of it will be
e.g there will be a difference/ there will be a relationship between.
What is an independent variable?
The variable that the researcher manipulates or naturally changes
What is a dependent variable?
The variable that is measured by the researcher to see if the IV had any effect on it
What is operationalisation?
Defining variables in terms of how they can be measured making it measurable
What are extraneous variables?
Any variable other than the IV which can have an effect on the DV if not controlled
What are confounding variables?
Vary systematically with the IV meaning that firm conclusions can’t be drawn about the possible cause and effect
What are the two types of extraneous variables?
Participant and situational
What is a participant variable?
Anything to do with the people used in the study which could effect the DV other than the IV
What are situational variables?
Features of the environment/ situation of the study in which could affect the DV other than the IV
What are examples of Participant variables?
Age
Nationality
Culture
Hobbies
Conditions
Personality
What are examples os situational variables?
Time of day
Lighting levels
Temperature levels
Noise levels
Distractions
What is standardisation/ standardised procedure?
Ensuring using the same formalised instructions and procedures for every practice.
What are demand characteristics?
Any cue from the research/ research situation which participants might perceive as revealing the true aims and purpose of the study.
Participants will then change their behaviour as a result of this.
What are investigator effects?
Any effect or actions form the researcher which could influence the DV and therefore results
What are the 6 ethical guidelines?
Right to withdraw
Deception
Protection from harm
Consent
Confidentiality
Debriefing
What is ‘right to withdraw’ ?
Participants can leave at any point during the study
What is ‘deception’?
Must be truthful about the study and also the true aims of it
What is ‘protection from harm’ ?
Physically and psychologically, each participant should be the same after as before the experiment
Participants should not be exposed to more physical or psychological harm then they would experience in everyday life
What is ‘consent’ ?
They must sign a ‘consent form’ to indicate them taking part, signed permission
What is ‘confidentiality’ ?
Data, results, names should be completely private, names should be kept private and anonymous
What is the difference between a consent form and a debrief form?
A consent form is before the study where it makes sure that participants are aware of the aims of the research and the procedure as well as their rights as a participant and makes it clear that their data is fully confidential
A debrief form is after the study and thanks the participants for their participation as well as explaining the true aims/ purpose of the study whilst also revealing any details they were not told and also telling them what their data will be used for,
What are the different types of experiments?
Laboratory experiments
Field experiments
Natural experiments
Quasi experiments
What is a lab experiment?
Take place under controlled conditions (an artificial environment)
The IV is directly changed by the researcher
What is a field experiment?
Take place in the participants ‘natural environment
The IV is not manipulated, it changes naturally
The IV is naturally occurring, the researcher makes use of it
What is a quasi experiment?
Take place in a laboratory or natural setting
The IV is not manipulated it simply exists and varies as it is a characteristic of the participants (e.g gender)
What are the strengths and weaknesses of a lab experiment?
Strengths;
Easy to replicate as standardised procedures in a controlled environment are used
Easy to determine the cause and effect as there is a lack of extraneous variables that could effect the IV
Weaknesses;
Lacks ecological validity, tasks can be unrealistic
High chance of demand characteristics, participants understand they are part of a study so they adjust behaviour to seem a certain way
What are strengths and weaknesses of a field experiment?
Strengths;
High ecological validity as it represents a real life situation and isn’t in an artificial environment, it’s the participants natural environment.
Less chance of demand characteristics as the participants are unaware of the investigation happening/ aims due to it not being in an actual lab
Weaknesses;
Harder to replicate as it takes place in a participants natural environment
Harder to determine the true cause and effect, isn’t in a controlled environment and unsure what truly influences participants reactions.
What are strengths and weaknesses of natural environments?
Strengths;
More ethical type of environment in comparison to others as the researcher is not manipulating the IV whatsoever
High ecological validity as it is a natural occurring situation, real life issues
Weaknesses;
Random allocation isn’t possible,IV occurred naturally and cannot be manipulated by researcher
Almost impossible to replicate as the situations are naturally occurring
What are strengths and weaknesses of quasi experiments?
Strengths;
Can be carried out under controlled conditions therefore easy to replicate and control extraneous variables
Weaknesses;
Random allocation isn’t possible as the IV purely exists, uncontrolled confounding variables can occur
What are the different experimental designs?
Independent groups
Repeated measures
Matched pairs
What is independent groups?
Using different participants for each condition. Participants are randomly allocated and take part in only one condition.
What are repeated measures?
Using the same participants for each condition.
Participants take part in more that one condition.
What is matched pairs?
Using similar but different participants for each conditions.
Participants are matched on a relevant variable to someone in the other condition and their data is ‘paired’
What are strengths and weaknesses of independent groups?
Strengths;
Less chance of order effects as no use of same participants meaning they wont be advantaged / disadvantages and only complete one condition
Less chance of demand characteristics as they only sit one condition, will not understand full aims of experiment
Weaknesses;
Participant variables could be present since different participants are being used their could be variables that could affect the DV that the researcher may not be able to control, not 100% sure if it’d the IV affecting the DV
What are strengths and weaknesses of repeated measures?
Strengths;
Less chance of participant variables as there is more similarity within each condition, the same participants are being used
Weaknesses;
Order effects are likely to occur as the same participants are being used for more than one condition they could be advantaged/ disadvantaged
Demand characteristics are likely to occur as participants will now understand that they are part of an experiment due to taking part in more than one condition, may change behaviour
What are strengths and weaknesses of matched pairs?
Strengths;
Less chance of order effects as the participants are similar not the same so they will not be disadvantaged/ advantaged
Less chance of participant variables, some participants being used for each condition meaning there is more similarity
Weaknesses;
Pairing participants together can be difficult and time consuming, researcher has to decide chosen characteristics/ variables and takes a lot of time and effort
What are order effects?
Any advantages / disadvantages participants have going into their 2nd condition, as a result of completing one before already
How could participant variables be dealt with in an independent group design?
Random allocation
Randomly assigning participants to conditions to try and evenly spread characteristics
How could order effects be dealt with in a repeated measures design?
Counter balancing
Half the group does condition 1 first, half the group does condition 2 first then flip. This minimises effects such as practice or fatigue
What is a population?
Total number of people in a given area
What is a target population?
The group of people that the researcher are interested in
What is a sample?
A group of people who take part in research/ a study
What are the different sampling methods?
Random sampling
Opportunity sampling
Volunteer sampling
Systematic sampling
Stratified sampling
What is random sampling?
All members of the target population have an equal chance of being selected
What are strengths and weaknesses of random sampling?
Strengths;
No bias in anyway shape or form
Weaknesses;
Time consuming technique
Long process
What is opportunity sampling?
Selecting participants who are most available/ convenient at the time of the study.
What are strengths and weaknesses of opportunity sampling?
Strengths;
Quick and easy method
Less costly
Weaknesses;
Researcher bias, they control who they select
Time consuming
What is volunteer sampling?
Participants self select themselves to take part in the study
What are strengths and weaknesses of volunteer sampling?
Strengths;
Easy, no as time consuming
Participants are more likely to cooperate since they chose to be a part
Weaknesses;
Volunteer bias
Participants may not take study seriously as their may be motivations such as money
What is systematic sampling?
Where every nth member of the target population is selected
What are strengths and weaknesses of systematic sampling?
Strengths;
No research bias and usually fairly representative
Weaknesses;
Cannot guarantee representative sample
What is stratified sampling?
Subgroups within target population are formed and participants are randomly selected from each strata
What are strengths and weaknesses of stratified sampling?
Strengths;
Unbiased selection/ higher chances of generalisation
Weaknesses;
Time consuming
Detailed knowledge of population might not be available
What is meta analysis?
Involves reviewing and combining the findings from studies on a particular topic to draw overalll firm conclusions
What are the advantages of meta analysis
Higher chances of generalisability
- results within a meta analysis are combined from a variety of studies which contain a variety of participants
- conclusions drawn will be based on a larger sample, increasing the generalisability of data
Higher chances of validity
- findings and overall conclusion are based from analysis several studies
- if several studies have achieved the same result this will increase validity of any conclusions drawn from meta analysis
What are disadvantages of meta analysis?
Potential research bias
- in meta analysis the researcher is able to choose what pre existing studies and data uses and review in the analysis
- researchers might only choose findings and studies which suit the purpose and aim of their investigation and therefore might support their predictions
Possible methodological issues
- studies combined in a meta analysis might vary in quality and usefullness
- some studies might have flawed methodology resulting in potential issues with the vadility of findings and data from these studies is then included in meta analysis
What are case studies?
An in depth investigation and analysis of a singe individual or small group of people
What is the strength of case studies?
They provide rich detailed insight into the person or group under investigation
- they are important form investigating aspects of human behaviour and experience that cannot be conducted due to practicals or ethics reasons
- can provide an accurate and exhaustive measure of what the study is hoping to measure
What are disadvantages of care studies?
Lack generalisability
- make use of one individual or a small group of people
- makes it very difficult to apply findings from case studies to other populations, cultures and nationalities
Can be difficult to replicate
- include a specific person/ group of people
-unusual/ unique situations
-can be extremely difficult/ almost impossible to replicate meaning that results cannot be ceviches for reliability or consistency
Can be subjective
- researchers involved might get so invested that they interpret/ perceive behaviour from the individuals in a certain way in order to support their investigation
- data from case studies might be vulnerable to researcher bias
- questions validity of results
What is a pilot study?
a small scale trial run of an investigation that takes place before the real investigation is conducted
the aim is to make sure that procedures, materials, measuring scales etc. all work whilst giving the researcher the opportunity to make any necessary changes and modifications
what would a researcher check for in a piloty study of an experiment?
time consumption
ethical issues
demand characteristics
do participants understand instructions
are tasks/ materials used appropriately
what would a researcher look for in a pilot study of a self-report?
leading questions
wording of questions are not complictaed
person is at ease during the interview
did participants answer truthfully?
what would researchers look for in a pilot study of an observation?
check behavioural coding systems before an observation
what is an observation?
watchign and recording participant behaviours
what is a controlled observation?
-takes place in a laboratory setting, the researcher can manipulate some aspects of the environment to fit the study
what is a naturalistic observation?
take place in a natural environment/ real-life setting
everything has been left as it normally is with no manipulation of environmental aspects
what are strengths and weaknesses of a controlled observation?
STRENGTHS
-high control of conditions/ extraneous variables (high internal validity)
WEAKNESSES
-low ecological validity as artificial environment used so cannot be applied to real life
what are strengths and weaknesses of a naturalistic observation?
STRENGTHS
-high ecological validity as it is a natural, real life setting
WEAKNESSES
-lack of internal validity as less control of variables due to natural environment
-higer chance of extraneous variables
what is an overt observation?
participants know that their behaviour is being watched and recorded by researchers and they are also aware of the purpose
what are strengths and weaknesses of an overt observation?
STRENGTHS
-more ethical than a covert observation as participants had consented
WEAKNESSES
-demand characteristics are possible as they are aware they are in the observation
what is a covert observation?
participants are not aware that they are being watched.
the observer might have a hidden viewpoint, be behind a two or one way mirror, use a secret camera or disgusie themselves as a member of the group
what are strengths and weaknesses of a covert observation?
STRENGTHS
-low chance of demand characteristics as participants are unaware theyre in the observation
WEAKNESSES
-less ethical compared to a overt observation as there is no informed consent since participants are unaware that theyre involved
what is a participant observation?
the researchers become a part of the group or situation being observed
what are strengths and weaknesses of a participant observation?
STRENGTHS
provides a deep insight into a topic of interest as theyre present when its happening
WEAKNESSES
more likely to be subjective/ researcher bias and investigator effects
what is a non-participant observation?
the researchers do not actively become involved in the behaviour being studied, they observe from a distance
what are strengths and weaknesses of a non-participant observation?
STRENGTHS
less likely to be subjective and no researcher bias as the researcher is not present (no investigator effects)
WEAKNESSES
less of an insight into the observation as theyre not present
what is a structured observation?
the researcher will quantify their observations by using a pre-determined list of behaviours known as behavioural categories
what are strengths and weaknesses of a structures observation?
STRENGTHS
provides quantitative data which is objective so a lack of research bias
can also draw graphs to show correlations
WEAKNESSES
lacks in depth rich detail into participants thoughts and feelings during observation
what is an unstructured observation?
the researcher might simply want to write down everything they see
what are strengths and weaknesses of an unstructured observation?
STRENGTHS
provides rich detail and insight
WEAKNESSES
provides qualitative data which is difficult to draw comparisons with
what is event sampling?
researcher counts the number of times a specific behaviour occurs/ is seen
what is time sampling?
researcher decides a time frame in advance when they will watch and record behaviour (in intervals)
what are strengths and weaknesses of event sampling?
STRENGTHS
helpful when atarget behaviour might happen infrequently as can search for that specific behaviour.
WEAKNESSES
might overlook/ miss important details as only focusing on a specific behaviour
what are strengths and weaknesses of time sampling?
STRENGTHS
quick and easy
WEAKNESSES
not a true reflection/ might miss certain behaviours as only looking in certain intervals
