Research Methods Flashcards
How can Operationalising be used to create reliable results
It means to be specific and clear when defining questions in questionnaires or interviews so they’re easier to measure , if questions aren’t vague it won’t be possible to repeat the research to get consistent results
Assessing the validity of self reports
Assessing the reliability of self reports
Face validity and concurrent validity
Test retest
How to carry out test retest
Question could be - how can the reliability of a self report measure be assessed
- All pptps sit questionnaire
- Time delay of 2 weeks
- Same pptps take part in same questionnaire
- Compare both sets of results displayed on a scatter gram, analyse using appropriate inferential test
0.8+ above = reliable
How can the validity of a self report be assessed using concurrent validity
- PPTPs take part in questionnaire
- Compare results on questionnaire already established for validity
- Compare and correlate results using appropriate inferential test . 0.8+ or higher = validity
What is face validity
Expert in area looks at measure
Eg questions to see if they appear to be measuring what they set out to measure
. If researcher says it does then it does have face validity
What’s temporal validity
refers to the extent to which the findings of a study or theory remain true over time.
Eg old studies will lack temporal validity
What’s primary data
- collected First hand data
- specific to aim of the study
Dis- time and effort to develop these resources eg questionnaires, costly compared to secondary data which can be easy to access
What’s a weakness of using a questionnaire to measure personality
Social desirability bias
What is included in a consent form
‘Dear pptps’
- it’s given before a study
-follows a set format , date and signed by pptp if they’re willing
- aim of study
-time and task
- ethics eg you can withdraw at any time, all data is protected and kept anonymous
-any questions
there are 2 ways of analysing qualitative data what are they?
content - convert qualitative data to quantitative, done by identifying codes that can be counted, enabling us to present the data in a graph
thematic - analysing qualitative data by identifying emergent themes and presenting the data in a qualitative format
how is content analysis worked out
read transcript (or whatever qualitative data is shown)
create coding categories to sort content into (provide an example of a relevant category) MUST!
re read sections of recording and tally every time each code appears
present quantitative data in table/graph
how is thematic analysis worked out
- create a transcript of qualitative data
- read and re read transcript
- identify emerging themes
- combine these themes into 3-4 overall themes
- present data into a qualitative format
Ao3 of thematic analysis
:) provides much greater detail than content analysis
:( Difficulty in Establishing Reliability – Different researchers may identify different themes, making replication challenging.
How can content analysis be assessed for its reliability
Test retest and inter rater reliability
How can content analysis be assessed for its reliability using inter rater reliability
Raters separately read thru qualitative data and create coding categories tog
Raters read exact same content but record occurrences of categories separately
They compare tallies from both Raters which r correlated using a stats test
0.8+ means high reliability
- What control would be used for independent groups design
- What control would be used for repeated measures design
- Random allocation
2.
What are Type 1 errors
What’s a type 2 error
U Wrongly accept the alternate hypothesis when really the results are due to chance or extraneous variables
U wrongly accept the null hypothesis when really the results are real / genuine, this is more likey with a lenient P value . Eg p=0.10 this type 2 is more likely with a stringent (strict) p value .
What’s the standard p value in pyschology
0.05
How can the reliability of an observation be assessed through inter observer reliability
- Independent Observations – Two or more observers should record the same behavior separately without discussing their findings.
- Compare Data – The data recorded by each observer should be compared for consistency.
- Statistical Test (Correlation Coefficient) – The level of agreement can be measured using Spearman’s rho or Pearson’s correlation coefficient. A correlation of 0.8 or higher indicates high inter-observer reliability.
What’s time sampling
Explain one weakness of time sampling.
Strength
Tally beh at set time intervals during the observation period , nothing else is recorded outside of this time eg 60 mins observing at 10 min intervals
Behaviours which occur infrequently may be missed. Therefore time sampling may not provide a representative record of the behaviour being observed.
• time sampling may be easier to manage as there are likely to be many social behaviours occurring throughout the set observation time
What are the six types of observation we can conduct in pysch
- Covert - pptps unaware they are being observed - no demand characteristics,ethical issues like lack of informed consent
- Overt- PPTPs are aware they’re being observed - prone to demand characteristics,no worry about ethical issues
- Pptp observation - researcher actively participates in the activity they are observing - provided with deeper insight to emotions and feelings etc , risks of loosing objectivity due to researcher involvement
What are the 6 types of observations
- Controlled observation- conducted in a controlled environment where variables can be manipulated - low ecological validity , but high control over extraneous variables giving it good internal validity
- Naturalistic observation - conducted in the pptps everyday environment without interference - high ecological validity everyday environment , low control over extraneous variables not conducted in lab setting
- Non pptp observation - Researcher observes without without being involved in the activity - more objective data as researcher observes from a difference, limited understanding of groups insight eg they’re emotions
What’s secondary data
secondary data has previously been collected by a third party, not specificac for the aim of the study, pre existing data
The students thought that having a dog on a lead was a useful measure of considerate behaviour because it had face validity. Explain what is meant by face validity in this context.
knowledge of the term face validity – where a behaviour appears at first sight to represent what is being measured
Application: Having a dog on a lead appears at first glance to be measuring considerate behaviour because if a dog is on a lead it is less able/likely to upset other people by coming close, frightening, chasing, biting, growling etc.