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
Theory of construction - feature of science
- Help us organise facts about observable behaviours
- Theories must generate testable hypothesis
Theories should be falsifiable and open to challenge,
Eg Froids theory
Is untestable therefore it’s unfalsiable therefore it’s unscientific
Deduction method of theory construction - fesuture of science
Observation leads to theory, this leads to hypothesis , then a study to test the hypothesis and u can then draw conclusions about ur Theory
Hypothesis testing - feature of science
Testing hypothesis involves making a prediction of the outcome , the outcome of study , by testing the hypothesis this allows us to establish a cause and affect relationship
If hypothesis isn’t supported the theory will be refined
Feature of science - empirical methods
Emphasises importance of data collection, based on sensory experience the only way we can know if something is true is by testing it directly (eg pavlov bc he measured the amount of the saliva released by dogs)
Feature of science - objectivity
If study is objective the findings are factual and unaffected by bias , conditions should be controlled
Replicability - feature of science
The extent to which findings (and experiments) can be reproduced by another researcher
High replicability improves validity
Replication also increases generalisability of findings
Feature of science - paradigm
Paradigm is a shared set of assumptions , psychology is made. Up of many paradigms
Paradigm shift - feature of science
The Scientific community changes from one set of assumptions to another (scientific revolution)
-may be due to new or contradictory evidence
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.
Why would an interview on a person be better than simply using an essay they wrote about themseld
• The interviewer could have asked follow-up questions to gain greater insight into some of the points raised in the essay
• The interview would produce more detail/depth of information than the participant would have been able to reveal within the essay
• Interview data would have provided a further measure of reliability/validity of the original essay content
• The interviewer may have gained rapport with the participant so they have felt comfortable revealing more personal/sensitive information face-to-face
What are types of validity in pysch
Face
Concurrent
Temporal
Ecological type of external validity (whether findings can be generalised to real life settings)
Internal validity
Benefits of repeated measure designs
• to remove the effects of individual differences in reaction times which would occur if an independent groups design was used
• to avoid the potential difficulties involved in matching participants
• to reduce the number of participants required for the experiment
What’s content analysis
Content analysis is a technique for analysing qualitative data of various kinds. Data can be placed into categories and counted (quantitative) or can be analysed in themes (qualitative).
What’s an extraneous variable
any variable that you’re not investigating that can potentially affect the outcomes of your research study
The psychologist used event sampling. Outline one strength of using event sampling in this study
Event sampling is less likely to miss behaviours in comparison to time sampling. This is particularly true for behaviours which occur infrequently
the psychologist discovered that their observation was not reliable, how could they modify the study to improve it?
Make sure beh categories r operationalised and specific enough to be categorised
Make sure beh don’t overlap
The psychologist writes a report of their investigation. Outline the features of the abstract in a scientific report
The psychologist writes a report of their investigation. Outline the features of the abstract in a scientific report.
The abstract is a brief summary of the study, it contains
a summary of the aims, methods, results and conclusions. It is the first section of a report.
Behavioural categories should be
Operationalised
Explain one way in which the researcher might deal with the deception in this study
at the end of the study students should be given a full debrief where they are made aware that the data was manipulated
once students had been informed that the data had been manipulated, they should be given the right to withdraw their data if they would like to.
What’s the nomothetic approach
Focuses on general laws of behavior that apply to large groups of people. Eg large scale studies ,findings can be generalised
A - scientific, controlled experiments and statistical analysis,
D- ignores individual differences , lacks depth and emotion
What’s idiographic approach
Focuses on individual experiences and unique cases., eg. Case studies , CANT be generalised
A - in depth understanding of emotion and beh
D - can’t gernalise findings, time consuming and expensive to conduct detailed personal studies
Explain why watching students covertly should reduce demand characteristics in this study.
the students are unaware they are being watched so they do not have an opportunity to change their behaviour in the study spaces
• this means what they are doing is their natural behaviour in the library
Why are open qs better than closed
open questions could lead to ideas for further investigation
Limitation of volunteer sampling
sample may be biased as the type of student who volunteers may have differing traits to the general population, for example they may be more extrovert.
What are some self report methods
- Questionnaire w open/closed qs
- Structured / unstructured interview
e) Explain one strength of collecting quantitative data in this study.
• would enable the researcher to easily analyse the data
• would enable the researcher to perform a statistical test
Limitation of a self report technique
Social desirability bias , ppt wants to present themselves in the best possible light, reducing internal validity of research
When would u conduct a sign test
Test of difference
Nominal and repeated
If a study was looking at associations or relationships it would be..
If it’s investigating if one group differs from another it would be
A test of correlation
A test of difference
Ordinal and interval are usually tests of difference
What’s ordinal vs interval data
Ordinal - data presented in rank order eg) ratings of attraction , not in intervals , no fixed units
Interval - data measured in fixed units with equal distance between points eg time , no true zero
In a sign test the lower the value of s
The more likely the difference is significant
What’s a disadv of volunteer sampling
Can lead to sample Bias because the ppl that come forward to participate may have specific traits making them different from the general population , eg healthier
Why’s a mean and appropriate measure of central tendency
representative of all the data collected as it is calculated using all the individual values.
What does counter balancing do
Reduces order affects like boredom
Allows order effects to be distributed evenly across both conditions
