Research Methods Flashcards
What are extrenuous variables?
The only thing that should affect the IV is the DV however in some experiments there are extrenuous variables. Any other variables that interfere should be controlled or removed, these are called extrenuous variables. There are participant variables: Age, gender, intelligence, personality etc and situational variables such as lighting, weather, time of day, noise etc
What are confounding variables?
These variables do change systematically with the IV. This could be unexpected events eg if the first 10 out of 20 participants saw something exciting before they went in and the last 10 participants did not so this event results in another IV. So when the first group are different we have to take both into account
What are demand characteristics?
Participants are not passive in experiments and will spend a large time trying to find out what the new situation they are in which means they will find clues to understand the experiment. This means that they will behave differentely to how they would normally as they are trying to please the experimenter or sabotage the experiment and their behaviour is no longer natural.
What are investigator effects?
This is where the experimenter may smile or make eye contact with some participants more than others which will make them behave differentely. We tend to give what we expect ie more energy. There can also be leading questions which lead a participant to a certain answer.
What is randomisation?
This can be used to minimise the effects of confounding and extrenuous variables. This is a chance method that can reduce the researchers unconscious bias. Examples are randomising the lists or changing the order the conditions are done in
What is standardisation?
All participants should be part of the same environment, information and experience which includes standardised instructions
What are independent groups?
This is when two seperate groups of participants experience two different conditions. They would experience one level of the IV only. There is usually and experimental condition and a control condition. The performance of the two groups would be compared
What are repeated measures?
This means that all participants would experience both conditions of the experiment ie each would experience condition A and then later would experience condition B and two mean scores would be compared
What are matched pairs?
Matched pairs are together on variables or variables relevent to the experience ie in a memory study the pairs may be matched based on IQ levels (first and second, third and fourth and so on) and then one from each pair will be allocated a condition as an attempt to control confounding variables.
Evaluate independent groups
An issue with the independent groups design is that there may be participant variables. If the experimenter finds a different in means for the groups in the DV, participant variables may have played into it. This acts as a confounding variable which reduces validity
They are less economical as each participant contributes to a single result so twice as many would be needed
Strengths: Order effects do not effect
Participants are less likely to guess the aims
Evaluate repeated measures
Issues: The order significantly effects the way that the experiment goes. This can be fixed using counterbalancing. This is where half the participants would take part in condition A and then B and the other half would do condition B first and condition A second. Order effects can also cause boredom and fatigue or they may have developed skills so they will be better or worse on the second condition depending on which confounding variable it is. It is also more likely that they will work out the aims of the study
Strengths: Participant variables are controlled so higher validity and fewer are needed
Evaluate matched pairs
Strengths: Participants only take part in one so order effects don’t exist
Issues: Participants can never be matched exactly
May be time consuming and expensive
What is a laboratory experiment?
They are conducted in highly controlled experiments (not always a lab)
Give the strengths of laboratory experiments
They have high control over confounding and extrenuous variables so change in the DV is ensured to be caused by manipulation of the IV. This results in high internal validity
Replication is possible because new variables cannot be introduced
Give the limitations of a laboratory experiment
They lack generalisability as it is an artificial setting and participants may behave in certain ways (low external validity)
They are aware they are being tested so there will be demand characteristics
It has low mundane realism
What is a field experiment
The IV is manipulated in a natural setting, researcher goes to the particpants usual setting
Give the strengths of a field experiment
They have a higher mundane realism due to the natural environment
Produce more valid and authentic behaviour (high external validity)
Give the limitations of a field experiment
There is a loss of control over CVs and EVs so cause and effect is more difficult to establish and is less precise
There are ethical issues as participants are unaware of the study and cannot consent and the rsearch is an invasion of privacy
What is a natural experiment?
The researcher measures the effect of the IV on the DV however they have no control and cannot change the IV ie before and after a natural disaster. The DV may also be naturally occurring or ay be devised by the experimenter and then measured in the field or lab
Give the strengths of a natural experiment
They provide oppurtunities for research that may not otherwise occur for practical or ethical reasons
High external validity as they study real world problems
Give the limitations of a natural experiment
May only happen very rarely so reduces oppurtunities for research, this limits generalisation
Participants may be randomly allocated to different conditions (only in independent groups design) researcher may be unsure whether or not the IV is directly affecting the DV
Such research may be conducted in a lab and therefire lacks realism and has demand characteristics
What is a Quasi experiment?
Quasi experiments have an IV that is based of existing differences between people such as age or gender so the IV is not manipulated and cannot be changed. The DV may be naturally ocurring or may be measured in a field or a lab
Give the strengths of a Quasi experiment
Often carried out under lab controlled conditions so therefore can be replicated
Give the limitations of a Quasi experiment
They occur naturally so they can’t randomly allocate participants so therefore there may be confounding variables
The IV is not manipuated so we cannot claim that it has caused any observed change
What is a population/sample?
The group of people who the experimenter is interested in which a smaller sample size is drawn from, this is known as a sample.Ideally the sample size is representative so generalisation becomes possible. It is hard to fnd completely unbias samples so there is often some bias
What is a random sample?
A sophisticated form of sampling in which all members from the target population have an equal chance to be selected. Obtain a list of all members, all names are given numbers and the actual sample is chosen by a lottery method.
Evaluate random sampling
Strengths: Potentially unbias, CVs and EVs should be equally split between the groups which enhances internal validity
Issues: Difficult and time consuming as a complete list is hard to obtain
You may still end up with a sample that is unrepresentitive (although less likely than other methods)
Selected participants may refuse to take part
What is a systematic sample?
When every nth member of the target population is selected. A sampling frame is produced in which a list is sorted into an order ie alphabetical order and a sampling system is nominated (may be randomly allocated to reduce bias)
Evaluate systematic sampling
Strengths: Objective as researcher has no further influence after the sample frame is selected
Issues: Time-consuming and in the end they may refuse to take part.
What is a stratified sample?
A stratified sample is a sophisticated form of sampling in which the composition of the sample represents the proportions of people in certain sub groups (strata) within the population. The researcher begins by finding different strata that make up the target population, then the proportions are worked out. Finally the participants that make up eachs stratum are radnomly selected. Example: If in Manchester, 40% support Man U, 40 % support Man City, 15% support Bolton and 5% support Leeds, a stratified sample of 20 people would be 8,8,3,1
Evaluate a stratified sample
Strengths: Produces a representative sample
Generalisation is possible
Issues: Not perfect
Representation of the larger target population is not possible
What is an opportunity sample?
The researchers select anyone from the population who is willingly ready and available. They ask whoever is there at the time
Evaluate an opportunity sample
Strengths: Convenient
Less costly in time and money
Issues: Sample is unrepresentative of target population as it is drawn from a certain area so findings cannot be genralised
Researcher has complete control so therfore may be bias
What is a volunteer sample?
This involves participants selecting themselves to be part of the sample. This may be done via an advert or poster or by asking
Evaluate a volunteer sample
Strengths: Easy as it requires little input from the researcher
Ends up with more engaged participants
Issues: Volunteer bias as they select themselves to be part of the sample so they may be a certain profile of person
What are ethical issues?
These arise when a conflict exists between the rights of the participants and the research goals, to produce valid, authentic and worthwhile data
What is the BPS code of conduct?
This contains the BPS code of ethics which includes a set of guidelines that researchers have to follow. They are based on four principles: Respect, Competence, Responsibility, Integrity. They use a cost-benefit approach to assess experiments
What is informed consent?
Particpants should know what they are getting into before it begins. They should be made aware of the aims of the research, the procedures and their rights (including the right to withdraw) and what their data will be used for and they should then make a judgement without feeling obliged. It may make the study pointless as the behaviour will not be natural
How to deal with informed consent?
Participants should be issued with a consent letter or form with all relevant information. For all under 16, a parental signature is required. There are four other ways
1) Presumptive consent-a similiar group to the actual group are found and then they give consent. This is then presumed for the true group
2) Prior-general consent-Participants are given the option to perform in multiple studies including one that will contain deception
3) Retrospective consent-They are asked during the debrief having already taken part however they may not have been aware of their participation
What is deception?
Deception means deliberately witholding or misleading information from participants at any stage of the investigation. This means they have not given informed consent. It can be justified if the deception does not cause any damage
What is protection from harm?
Participants should not be placed at anymore risk than they would be in their daily lives and should be protected from physical and psychological harm. This includes embarrassment, inadequete or stress. Participants are reminded of their right to withdraw
How to deal with deception and protection from harm?
At the end of the study the participants should be given a full debrief and should be made aware of the true aims of the experiment and details they were not provided with before. They should be told what their data is used for and the right to withold data. Participants may have natural concerns about their behaviour and should be reassured that it was normal. In extreme cases they should be given counselling
What is privacy and confidentiality?
Participants have the right to control information about themselves. This is privacy. If this is invaded then their confedentiality should be protected and their personal data should be protected.
How to deal with confidentiality?
Personal details should be protected. It is more usual to not take any personal details and be anonymous. Refer to participants by number or initials. Briefing and debriefing is a standard practice and data will not be shared with other researchers.
What is a pilot study?
A pilot study is a small scale version of an investigation that takes place before the real thing. The aims are to check the procedure, materials, measuring scales etc. They are able to make any changes needed before the experiment if needed. They can be used for all types of studies including experimental design, self-report and observational
What is a single-blind procedure?
As the participants will sometimes not be told the aims of the experiment and the conditions they will be placed under, a single-blind trial is able to make sure that no information that creates expectations is released until the end to control the confounding effects of demand characteristics
What is a double-blind procedure?
Neither the participants or the researcher is aware of which conditions they are in or the aims of the investigation. They are important in drug trials as the participant may be administered with a drug or the placebo. If they don’t know what the person is receiving then they can’t influence them
What are control groups and conditions?
In the drug trial example, the group who had the real drug were the experimental group and the group that as given the placebo was the control group. We use a control group to set up a baseline and it is used for comparison. If the change of the behaviour in h the experimental group is notable then it is definately caused by the IV
What is an observational technique?
This is where the psychologist does not ask the people what they believe and they allow them to study behaviour in a controlled and natural setting. This allows for more flexibility
Evaluate observations
Strengths: Capturing what people do which is unexpected behaviour and they do give a special insight into behaviour
Issues: Observer bias can occur as their interpretation may be affected by their expectations (can be reduced using more than one observer)
They cannot demonstrate causal relationships
What is a naturalistic observation?
They take place in the location where the behaviour would usually occur and all aspects of the environment are free to vary
What is a controlled observation?
There is some control over variables including manipulating variables and having control over confounding and extrenuous variables
Evaluate naturalistic observation
Strengths: High external validity
Findings can be generalised
Issues: Lack of variable control makes replication difficult
May be more CVs and EVs which make it hard to spot a pattern of behaviour
Evaluate controlled observations
Issues: Cannot be readily applied to everyday life
Strengths: Less CVs and EVs so replication is possible
What is a covert observation?
When participants are unaware that they are in the study and behaviour is observed in secret
What is an overt observation?
When participants know their behaviour is being observed and have given consent
Evaluate covert observation
Strengths: Less problem of demand characteristics
High internal validity
Issues: Ethical problems as people have the right to privacy
Evaluate overt observation
Strengths: Ethically acceptable if consent is given
Issues: May suffer from demand characteristics due to the knowledge of being observed
What is a participant observation?
The researcher actually joins the group they are orking with undercover ie in a workforce
What is a non-participant observation?
When the researcher remains seperate from the study and records behaviour in an objective manner
Evaluate participant observation
Strengths: can experience situation and have increased insight
High external validity
Issues: Researcher may become too immersed and will lose objectivity
Evaluate non-participants observation
Strengths: Researcher stays objective
Issues: May lose valuable insight into behaviour
Give different ways of recording data
One of the key way of recording data is simply wrting sown what you see. This is an unstructured observation and produces accounts that are rich in detail. Appropriate when methods are short and involve few participants
A structured observation occurs when their is too much too much going on for one reearcher so you simplify behaviour into categories
Evaluate structured experiments
Strengths: Produce quantitive data (numerical) which is easy to analyse and compare
Evaluate unstructured observation
Strengths: Produces data that is rich in detail
Issues: Produces qualitive data which is hard to analyse
May be a greater risk of observer bias
Researchers may only record behaviour that they catch or notice
What are behavioural catergories?
Target behaviours are defined and made observable and measurable ie afection may be broken down into hugging, smiling, holding hands etc so a category such as ‘being loving’ would not work as people may interpret this differentely
Evaluate behavioual categories
Strengths: Makes data more clear and structured
Issues: Have to be well-checked ie there should be no bin category and categories should be exclusive and not overlap
What are sampling methods and give different types?
Continuous recording is a key feature of unstructured observations in which all behaviours are recorded.
Event sampling involves counting the number of times the event occurs in a target group
Time sampling involves recording behaviour with a pre-established time frame
Evaluate sampling methods
Event sampling
Strengths: Useful when bahviour happen infrequently and could be missed in time sampling
Issues: If event is too complex then the observer may overlook important details
Time sampling
Strengths: Reduces observations that need to be made
Issues: May be unrepresentative
PICTURE BREAK :) !!!!!
What is the mean?
The arithmetic average calculated by adding up all the values in a set of data and dividing by the number of values
What are the strengths of using the mean?
It is the most sensitive as it uses all data in the set
Therefore representative
What are the limitations of using the mean?
The mean is easily distorted by extreme values so therefore may not represent the data overall
What is the median?
The central values in a set of data when values are arranged from lowest to highest. If there is not an even number of numbers than the median is halfway between the two middle values
What is the strength of using the median?
Extreme scores do not affect it
It is easy to calculate
What are the limitations of using the median?
It is less sensitive as actual values of lower and higher numbers and ignored and extreme values may be important
What is the mode?
The mode is the most frequently ocurring value in a set of data
What are the strengths of using the mode?
It is easy to calculate
Can be used for non-numerical data
What are the limitations of using the mode?
It is not representative of whole data set
If there are multiple modes then this is not useful
What is the range?
A Shop!
Joking the range is a simple calculation of the dispersion in a set of scores which is worked out by subtracting the lowest score from the highest
What are the limitations of the range?
It is not a fair representation of data
Influenced by outliers
Does not indicate whether they are spread out or close to the mean
Why do you add 1 onto the range?
To allow for margin of error
What is standard deviation?
A sophisticated measure of dispersion which tells us how much on average each score deviates from the mean
What does is mean if the standard deviation is larger?
The greater the dispersion or spread of data. It suggests that not all participants were affected by the IV in the same way
What does it mean if the standard deviation is lower?
Reflects that data is clustered and therefore all participants reacted in the same way
What are the strengths of standard deviation?
It is a more precise measure as it includes all values
What are the limitations of standard deviation?
It can be distorted by extreme values
EXtreme values may also be missed
What is a bar chart?
A type of graph in which the frequency of each variable is represented by the height of the bars. Bar charts are used when data is discrete (categorical). Bars are seperated to show that we are dealing with sepearate conditions
What is a histogram?
A type of graph that shows frequency but the area of the bars represent frequency. The x-axis must start at 0 and the scale is continuous
What is a scattergram?
A type of graph that represents the strength and direction of the relationship between co-variables in a correlational analysis
What is a line graph?
They represent continuous data and show how something changes over time
What is normal distribution?
A symmetrical spread of frequency data that forms a bell-shaped pattern. The mean, median and mode all occupy the same midpoint
What is a skewed distribution?
A spread of frequency data that it nt symmetrical as the data clusters to one end
What is a positive skew?
Where most distribution is concentrated on the left of the graph. The mean is the highest value and is pulled towards the tail of the graph
What is a negative skew?
Where the main distribution is concentrated on the right. The mean is pulled to the left now and becomes lower than the mode and median
Why do we need graphs?
They are used to show continuous data and/or distribution or proportion
What do you have to have to use the sign test?
- Have to be looking for a difference rather than an association
- We need to have a repeated measure design
- Data must be nominal
What is the accepted level of probability?
p=0.05
This suggests if the significant or null.
0.01 may be used but only when there is human cost for example drug trials. There is no repetition in the future and it is a one-off so therefore has to be more perfect
Critical value
To work it out you need
1. The significance level
2. Number of participants
3. Is it directional (one tailed) or non-directional (two tailed)?
What is step 1 using SpeedUp example?
We need to convert to nominal data by working out who has higher word count or a lower word count. If the answer is negative we record a negative sign if the answer is positive we record a positive sign.
What is step 2?
From the table we add up the total number of pluses and minuses and ignore the equals
What is step 3?
Take the less frequent sign and call this S
What is step 4?
Compare calculated value with criticial values using the table. Use the one tailed test as it is directional, the 0.05 significance and the number of participants taking away the equals
What is step 5?
The calculated value of S must be LESS THAN OR EQUAL to the critical values
Who completes peer review?
Two or three experts in a specific field
Where is peer review recorded?
Academic journals
What are the three aims ?
- To allocate research funding
- To validate quality and the relevance of research- All are analysed for quality and accuracy in their hypothesis and methodology
- To suggest amendments or improvements
What is a strength of peer review?
One strength is that it is anonymous so it is therfore more likely to produce and honest appraisal.
Counterpoint: They may use the anonymity as a way of criticising fellow researchers as they are in direct competition for funding. Some academic journals have suggested making names public
What is a limitation of peer review?
One limitation is publication bias. Producers want to produce grabbing headlines and they also prefer to publish results that are positive so therefore research who that is not fitting into this may be disregarded or ignored which creates a false impression of psychology
What is another limitation of peer review?
One limitation is burying ground breaking research suppress oppoisition as they are going to be favourable of research that supports their own ideas. This slow downs the rate of change
what is qualitative data?
Data that is expressed in words and non-numerical ie a transcript from an interview or an unstructured observation
Evaluate qualitative data
Strengths: Richer in detail
Higher external validity
Limitations:Difficult to analyse
Subject to bias
What is quantitative data?
Expressed numerically
Evaluate quantitative data
Strengths: Simple to analyse
More objective and less open to bias
Limitations: narrower and less detail
What is primary data?
Original data that arrives first hand from participants
Evaluate primary data
Strengths: Authentic for purpose of observation
Limitations: Requires time and effort
What is secondary data?
Data that is collected by someone other than the primary researcher or journal articles
Evaluate secondary data
Strengths: Inexpensive and easily accessed
Limitations: Variations in quality and accuracy. Challenges validity
What is meta-analysis?
Process of combining findings from a number of studies to produce an overall statistical conclusion
Evaluate meta-analysis
Strengths: Creates a larger and more varied sample
Generalised which increases validity
Limitations: Prone to publication bias
What is a case study?
Detailed study into the life of a person which covers great detail into their background. It builds up to a case history which provides qualitative data.
Give some examples of case studies
The memory study of HM
Little Hans case study
Give strengths of case studies
- Detailed so can gain in depth insight
- Permits investigation of situations that would otherwise be unethical
- Forms basis for future research
Give some limitations of case studies
- Not generalisable to the wider population
- Lots of biases i.e. interpretative bias
- Time consuming and hard to replicate
What is content analysis?
A type of observational research in which people are studied indirectly via communications that they have produced. The aim is to summarise and describe the communication in a systematic way so conclusions can be drawn
What is coding?
The stage of analysis that categorises each piece of data into meaningful units. This may involve counting up certain things to produce quantitative data
What is thematic analysis?
Form of content analysis but the outcome is qualitative. A theme is likely to pop up through the implicit meanings or explicit meaning in a text. These are likely to be more descriptive. After confirming that the data is correct they may collect a new set to test the validity. They will then write up a final report.
What are the strengths of content analysis?
- It cab get around many of the ethical implications that are associated with psychological research. Most of the things being studied already exist in the media
- They are high in external validity
- It can produce both types of data
What are the limitations of content analysis?
- People are studied outside the context so this is how data is interpreted. This means opinions may be included that were not intended originally
- Lack of objectivity
What is reliability?
Reliability is the measure of consistency. If a specific measurement is made twice and produces the same data twice then it is reliable.
What is test-retest reliability?
Involves administering the same test to the same people on different occasions. If the test is reliable then the data will be very similar or the same on both occasions. there must be sufficient time between the two, to ensure that they cannot recall the answers but have the same ability
What is inter-rater reliability?
One observers interpretation may differ greatly from the other. This is also known as subjectivity bias and it makes the data more likely to be unreliable. Observers should work in teams of two. This must be trialled on a pilot study. A comparison should then be reported at the end of the study and the data should be correlated
How to measure reliability?
Measured using correlational analysis. The correlation coefficient should exceed +.80 for reliability
How can you improve reliability in questionnaires?
May need to deselect or rewrite some of the items involved
Replacing open questions with fixed questions
How to improve reliability in interviews?
Use the same interviewer for each interview if possible
Use structured interviews so that they are more controlled by fixed questions
How to improve reliability in observations?
Behavioural categories have been properly operationalised and that they are measurable and self evident
Training observers in the way of making sure they know how to use categories
How to improve the reliability of experiments?
Procedures must be standardised and the same for each participant
What is validity?
The extent to which an observed effect is genuine and whether it measures what it is supposed to measure. It can be generalised beyond the research setting
What is internal validity?
Whether the effects in an experiment are due to the IV and not another factor. An example of this would be participants responding to demand characteristics
What is external validity?
The extent to which findings can be generalised to other areas of research or other populations
What is ecological validity?
The extent to which findings from a study can be generalised to other settings. If a task has low mundane realism it has low ecological validity.
What is temporal validity?
The issue of whether findings from a research study can be generalised to other eras. For example Freud has low temporal validity
What is face validity?
Whether a study measures what it is supposed to measure. This is a way of assessing validity
What is concurrent validity?
Whether or not the results obtained match the results of another predetermined and established study. Close agreement is seen if scores exceed +.80
How to improve validity in questionnaires?
Include a lie scale to assess consistency in responses and to control social desirability bias
Maintain all data to be anonymous
How to improve validity of experiments?
Using a control groups to determine the effect of the IV
Standardised procedures to reduce investigator effects
Using single blind and double bline studies
How to improve the validity of observations?
Covert observations have high ecological validity
Making sure behavioural categories are correct and not ambiguous
How to improve the validity of qualitative research?
Higher ecological validity as they have more depth
May have issues with interpretive validity. Whether a researchers interpretation of events is matched to the ppts interpretation
Draw the stats test table
What are statistical tests?
Used in psychology to determine whether a significant correlation or difference exists
What are the three things to look for when choosing a test?
- Difference or association
- Design
- Level of measurement
What are unrelated design?
When the participants in each condition are different for example independent groups
What is a related design?
When the participants in two groups are the same for example matched pairs or repeated measures
What is nominal data?
Data that can be seperated into distinct categories. This makes it discrete
What is ordinal data?
Data that is ordered for example ratings. The intervals are not equal. It lacks precision as it is based on objective measures
What is interval data?
Based on scales in which the units are equal and precise for example height
What do you need to do a chi-squared design?
- Test of difference
- Unrelated design
- Nominal data
What do you need to do a mann-whitney?
- Test of difference
- Unrelated
- Ordinal
What do you need to do the unrelated t-test?
- test of difference
- Unrelated
- Interval data
What do you need to do the wilcoxon test?
- Test of difference
- Related
- Ordinal
What do you need to do the related t-test?
- Test of difference
- Related design
- Interval
What do you need to do a chi-squared?
- test of association
- Nominal data
What do you need to do spearmans rho?
- test of association
- Ordinal
What do you need to do pearsons r?
- test of association
- Interval data
What is probability?
The likehood that a particular event will occur where 0 indicates impossible and 1 indicates certain
What is significance?
A statistical term that tells us how sure we are that a difference or correlation exists. A significant results means the research can reject a null hypothesis
What is the level of significance?
The point at which a researcher can claim to have discovered enough of a difference within the data to claim that an effect has been found
What is a critical value?
Numerical boundry between the acceptance of a null hypothesis or rejection of a null hypothesis. To use this you need to be aware of whether the hypothesis in one tailed or two tailed, the number of participants and the level of significance
What is a Type 1 error?
When the null hypothsis is rejected and the alternative is selected . This should be the other way round and this is known to be a false positive. This is because they are claiming to have found a difference that doesn’t exist. This is more likely to occur when the significant level is to lenient
What is a Type 2 error?
When a null hypothesis is accepted but it should have been the alternative hypothesis. This is a false negative as there is a difference that isn’t acknowledged. This is more likely to happen when the significance level is too low
What are the sections of a scientific report?
Abstract
Introduction
Method
Results
Discussion
Referencing
What is an abstract?
Short summary that includes all major elements such as aims and hypothesis, method, results. These are often looked at to determine whether a study is worth using
What is an introduction?
A general review of the topic, detailing theories and studies that could be used.
What is the method?
Should be done in detail to allow replication. The design, sampling method/populations, apparatus, procedure and ethics should all be included
What are the results?
Should summarise key findings from the study including descriptive statistics. Inferential statistics should reference the test, level of siginifcance etc. Raw data should appear in an appendix. Qualititave data may require content analysis
What is a discussion?
Summary of findings in a verbal way. Discussed in the context of the evidence. Discuss limitations and suggest improvements. Wider implications are also considered during this
What are references?
Includes full details of any source materials that are included in the report. These could be books, websites or journals
What is a paradigm?
A shared set of assumptions and methods within a scientific discipline. Thomas Kuhn suggested that this is what makes psychology a science. However it may be a pre-science as there are too many conflicting approaches to say one thing for certain.
What is paradigm shift?
The result of a scientifc revolution when there is a significant change in the dominant unifying theory within a scientific discipline. Mainly a critique of the intial paradigm, for example flat earthers
What is theory construction?
Gathering evidence from a direct observation and organising this into an account of laws that can explain behaviour. Provides understanding of regular behaviours
What is hypothesis testing?
Theories should suggest hypothesis that can be reasonably tested. Tested using scientific methods. This means that new hypothesis are found in a process named deduction
What is falsifiability?
Argued by Karl Popper. Suggests a theory cannot be deemed as genuine unless it acknowledges that it may be untrue. The Theory of Falsification suggests that while a theory may have been tested as true it hasn’t been tested as false. These are known as pseudosciences. A null hypothesis allows for theories to be proved wrong
What is replicability?
If findings from a study can be trusted then they must be find in multiple contexts and situations. Shows to what extent the findings can be generalised. Vital to report studies with as much rigour as possible
What is objectivity?
All sources of personal bias must be minimised and not influence any of the findings . Studies with the most control have the best replicability
What is the empirical method?
Emphasise the importance of data collection based on direct, sensory experience. According to John Locke a theory is not true until it has been empirically tested
What is a correlation co-efficient?
A number between -1 and +1 that represents the direction and strength of the relationship between co variables
How to use a correlation co-efficient?
+1 represents a perfect positive correlation and a -1 represents a perfect negative correlation. The weaker the relationship= the closer to
