research methods Flashcards
What is the definition of variables?
any thing that can vary or change within an investigation
What are independent variables?
The variable that the researcher changes
What are dependent variables?
The varable that the researcher measures to investigate to see if the IV’s have affected it
What is operationalism?
Showing how variables will be measured (eg. km/h or cm or kg)
What is a hypothesis?
A clear and testable statement that states the relationship between variables in an investiagtion
What does a hypothesis include?
1) IV
2) DV
3) the relationship betwwen the IV and the DV
What are the types of hypothesis?
1) experimental / alternative
2) null
What is a experimental / alternative hypothesis?
There will be differences between the results
What are the types of experimental / alternative hypothesis?
1) Directional; clearly states the relationship (increases / decreases)
2) Non-directional; doesnt state relationship
What is a null hypothesis?
There is no difference between the results
What are extraneous variables?
Any variables apart frorm the independent variable that may have an effect on the dependent variable if not controlled so the researcher night not be able to figure out what truly caused the change in the dependent variable
-> where possible should be identified at the start of the study so the researcher can take steps to minimise its influence
-> doesnt vary systematially with the IV
What are confounding variables?
If the extraneous variables are not controlled, it affects the experiment and its overall results, becoming a confounding variable
-> unsure about the true source of changes
-> varies systematically with IV
What are demand characteristics?
Any cues from the researcher or from the research situtation that may be interpreted by particiapnts on how they should behave in this experimental situation
-> participant might change their behaviour to act in a way that they think is epected or overperform to please the experimenter or underperform to sabotage the results
What are investigatior effects?
Any effect of the investigator behaviour (concious or unconcious) on the research outcome such as leading questions, materials or informtion
-> may include everything from the design of the study to the selection of and interaction with participants during the research process
What is randomisation?
The use of chance in order to control for the effects of bias when designing materials and deciding the order of conditions
What is standardisation?
using the exact same formalised procedures and instructions for all participants in a research study (as far as possible be subjective to the same environment, information and experience)
What are the types of experiments?
1) laboratory
2) field
3) natural
4) quasi
What is laboratory experiment?
-conducted in highly controlled experiment
-doesn’t have to be in lab (can be in classrooom with weell controlled conditions)
-example: Migrams original obedience study (40 male participants were assessed in a lab)
What are some strengths of laboratory experiments?
high control over extraneous variables
-> any effect on DV is caused by IV
-> more certain about cause and effect
-> high internal validity
replication is possible
-> ensures that new extraneous variables arent introduced when repeating an experiment
-> vital to check whether results are valid but not just a one-off
What are some weaknesses of labouratory experiments?
-lacks generalisability
-> enviroment is artificial not like everyday life
-> participants might behave in unusual ways
-> low external validity
-risk in unnatural behaviour (demand behaviour)
-mundane realism -> not represented real life experience
What are field experiments?
IV is manipulated in a more natural and everyday setting to observe the effect on the DV in a natural environment
example; Bickman’s obedience study
confederates stood in the streets and asked passer-bys to perform tasks
What are some strengths of field experiments?
higher mundane realism
-> experiment is more natural
produce more valid and authentic behaviour
-> participants maybe unaware they are being studied
-> high ecological/ external validity
What are some weaknesses of field experiments?
loss of control of extraneous variables
-> cause and effect between IV and DV is more difficult to establish
-> precise replication is impossible
ethical issues
-> no consent of participants
-> might constitute an invasion of privacy
What are natural experiments?
researcher takes advantage of pre-existing independent variables (IV occurs naturally)
-> variable would have changed even the experimente wasnt intrested
example; Rutter’s study of Romanian orphans
children have been transmitted by experiences / suffered behavement
What are some strengths of natural experiments?
provide oppertunites for research that may not otherwise be undertaken for practical or ethical reasons
high external / ecological validity
-> involve study of real life issues and problems
no demand characteristics
What are some weaknesses of natural experiment?
events only happen very rarely
-> reducing oppertunities for research
-> limit the scope for generalsing findings to similar situations
participants may not be randomly allocated to experimental conditions
-> less sure whether IV or other variable affected the DV
What are quasi experiments?
An IV that is based on an pre-existing difference between groups which no one has manipulated (eg. age/gender)
example; anxiety levels of phobic and non-phobic patients
IV of “having phobia” would not have come about through any experimental manipulation
What is a strength of quasi experiments?
carried under lab conditions
-> extranrous variables controlled
-> effects on DV is caused by IV
-> high ecological validity
What is a weakeness of quasi experiments?
cannot randomly allocate participants to condition
-> less sure whether DV is affected by IV
-> extraneous variables might become confounding variables
demand characteristics might appear
What are experimental designs?
How participants are used within an experiment depending on different conditions
What are the types of experimental designs?
1) independent groups
2) repeated measures
3) matched pairs
What are independent measures?
Two separate groups of participants experiencing two different conditions / levels of experiment
What are some evaluations for independent groups?
+ order effects are not a problem (no demand characteristics) -> participants are less likely to guess the aims
-participants who occupy different groups arent the same -> effect on DV by individual differences or IV?
What are repeated measures?
All participants experience both conditions within the experiment.
What are some evaluations of repeated measures?
+ participant variables are controlled
+ fewer participants are needed
-order effects might arise (confounding variables) -> create boredom or fatigue -> deteroriate performance
-more likely participants will work out aim of study -> demand characteristics
-each participant has to at least do two tasks
What are matched pairs?
Pairs of participants which are first matched on a variable / variables relevant to the experiment (or affect the DV)
-> then one member is assigned to condition A and the other to condition B
What are some evaluations for matched pairs?
+ order effect and demand characteristics are not a problem as participants only take part in one single condition
-participants will never be matched exactly
-time consuming and expensive (less economical)
What is random allocation?
the use of chance procedures in psychology experiments to ensure that each participant has the same opportunity to be assigned to any given group
What does random allocation involve?
tactics
-> eg. flipping a coin, drawing names out of a hat or assigning random numbers to participants when putting them into groups
What are order effects?
Where a participant’s performance gets better because they have done a similar task before (practice effects) or gets worse because they get tired or bored (fatigue effects)
What is needed to overcome order effects?
Counterbalancing
-> half do condition 1 then condition 2
-> half do condition 2 then condition 1
-> If the order effects happen after the first conditions, you still have a set of results from condition A and condition B
What are demand characteristics?
Participants pick up clues from the situation / researcher (investigator effect) which allow them to work out what the researcher is investigating
-> can cause changes in behaviour as a result (consciously or sub-consciously)
What is sampling?
The difference between the population and the sample
What are participants?
Individuals within the sample
What is target population?
A group of people who are the focus of the researcher’s interest from which a smaller sample is drawn
What is sample?
A group of people who takes part in a research which is drawn from a target population and presumed to be representative of that population (stands “fairly” for the population being studied)
What is bias?
When certain groups might be over or underrepresented (eg. too many young people or too many of one ethic minority) within the sample is selected
-> limits the extent of generalisation
What is generalisation?
The extent to which findings and conclusions can be broadly applied to the same population (made possible if the sample is representative of the population)
What are some sampling methods?
1) Random
2) Systematic
3) Stratified
4) Oppertunity
5) Volunteer
What is random sampling?
All members of target population have an equal chance of being selected
What is the process of random sampling?
Compile list of members in target population -> assign a number to each -> sample is generated by lottery method (computer based randomiser or picking numbers from a hat)
What are some evaluations of random sampling?
+ fairly representative as everyone has an equal chance of selection
+ no research bias as you have no control in the results
- very difficult and time consuming to conduct
- might not be representative of target population
What is systematic sampling?
The nth member of the target population is selected
What is the process of systematic sampling?
Compile list of all members in target population (sampling frame) -> sampling system is nominated or determined randomly -> researcher works through sampling frame
What are some evaluations of systematic sampling?
+ quick to do
+ avoids researcher bias as the researcher has little input once a selection system has been set up
- may not be representative (highly unlikely due to random nature of selection)
What is stratified sampling?
composition of the sample reflects the proportions of people in certain sub groups within the target population / wider population
What is the process of stratified sampling?
decide on strata which makes up the target population -> proportions needed for the sample to be representative -> participants that make up each stratum are selected using random sampling
What are some evaluations of stratified sampling?
+ most representative of all the methods as subgroups are represented
+ researcher bias is avoided as the researcher has little control over who is selected
+ can be easily generalised
- difficult and time consuming to conduct
- impossible to represent every difference between participants -> not representative
What is opportunity sampling?
Select anyone who happens to be willing and available (an opportunity sample)
What is the process of opportunity sampling?
Researcher asks whoever is around at the time of their study -> market research eg strangers on the streets
What are some evaluations of opportunity sampling?
+ quick and convenient to do compared to random and stratified sampling
+ saves time and effort
-not representative -> cannot generalise findings with certainty
- high in researcher bias as researcher is in control of who is selected so might pick people who “fit” their experiment better
What is volunteer sampling?
Involves participants selecting themselves to be a part of a sample
What is the process of volunteer sampling?
Researcher might place an advert on a noticeboard asking for participants or people might simply raise their hands to volunteer
What are some evaluations of volunteer sampling?
+ easy to collate
+ requires minimum input
+ less time consuming
- volunteering bias -> attract certain type of person (helpful? keen? curious?) -> affect how results are generalised
What are ethical issues?
Arises when a conflict exists between the rights of participants and the aims of research to gain authentic results
What is the BPS code od ethics?
A quasi legal document produced by the British Psychological Society (BPS) that instructs psychologists in the Uk about what behaviour is and is not acceptable when dealing with participants
What four major principles are the BPS code of ethics built around?
- respect
- competence
- responsibility
- integrity
What is informed consent?
Participants must be aware of aims of research, procedures, their rights and what their data will be used for before they give their permission to take part
What is deception?
The researcher shouldn’t mislead or deliberately withbid information from participants at any stage of the investigation
What is protection from harm?
Participants should not be placed any more risk than everyday lives
-> including psychological harm (stress, triggers of past experiences or fear) and physical harm (dangerous places or situations)
What is privacy and confidentiality?
Participants have rights to control the data about themselves + data must be protected (data protection act)
How does a researcher gain informed consent?
Participants sign a letter or form detailing key information
-> under 16s: signed by parent or guardian
How does the researcher avoid deception?
debrief after study - participants are told full details
How does research protect participants from harm?
psychological support in place + right to withdraw
What are the three alternative ways of gaining consent?
- presumptive
- prior general
- retrospective
What is presumptive consent?
A similar group or people are asked if the study is acceptable
What is prior general consent?
Participants give permission to take part in numerous studies
What is retrospective consent?
Participants are asked for consent (during debrief) having already taken part in the study
What is the ethics committee?
Weighing up the pros and cons of research proposals to decide whether the research study should go ahead
What is Jane Elliot’s study?
Blue eyes Brown eyes anti racist experiment
Where and when was the blue eyes brown eyes experiment conducted?
1968 ohio
What was the procedure of the blue eyes brown eyes experiment?
Children with brown eyes were superior on one day and children with blue eyes were superior on another day
What are some limitations of the blue eyes brown eyes experiment?
-consent? privacy? confidentiality?
-harm-> fights and arguments between classmates -> low self esteem-> stupidity and guilt thoughts
-teachers set up culture of discrimination
What are some strengths of the blue eyes brown eyes experiment?
+ children grew up holding non racist veiws
+ real life applications
What are the four types of data?
- qualitative
- quantitative
- primary
- secondary
What is qualitative data?
-words rather than numbers
-data which are in depth and descriptive
-often taken from real life context
What are some methods of qualitative data?
-unstructured interviews
-case studies
What are some examples of qualitative research?
-finding out about aspects of people’s childhood that relate to their mental health
-exploring the day to day memory problems experienced by a person with amnesia
What are some strengths of qualitative data?
+ richness of detail
-> higher quality and in depth as it is broader in scope and gives the participant / respondents more license to develop their thoughts, feelings and opinions on a given subject
+ greater external validity
-> more meaningful insight into the participants worldview
What are some limitations for qualitative data?
- difficult to analyse
-> cannot be summarised statistically
-> patterns and comparisons within and between data can be hard to identify - conclusions might often rely on subjective interpretations of the researcher
-> subject to researcher bias or preconceptions about what he or she is expecting to find
What is quantitative data?
-data which are numerical
-often involving measurement of a narrow aspect of behaviour
What are some methods of quantitative data?
-experiments
-closed questions in a structured questionnaire
What are some examples of quantitative data?
-testing the effect of the brightness of a stimulus on the speed of reaction time
-investigating the attitudes to male and female doctors held by young and older patients
What are some strengths of quantitative data?
+ easy to analyse
-> conclusions can be easily drawn
+ data in numerical form
-> less objective
-> less open to bias
What are some limitations of quantitative data?
- narrower in scope
-> hard to generalise
-> cannot represent “real life”
What is primary data?
original information which is obtained first hand by the researcher for the purposes of a research project
What are some examples of primary research?
-experiment
-questionnaire
-interview
-observations
What is a strength of primary research?
fits the job
-> authentic data obtained from participants for the purpose of a particular investigation
-> specifically targets info that the researcher requires
What is a limitation of primary data?
requires time and effort
-> needs considerable time for planning, preparation and resources
What is secondary data?
information that has been collected by someone else and exists before the psychologist starts their research or investigation
What are some examples of secondary research?
-government statistics
-books
-articles
-websites
What is a strength of secondary data?
inexpensive and easily accessible requiring minimal effort
-> used desired information that already exists
-> no need to conduct primary research
What is a limitation of secondary data?
substantial variation in quality and accuracy
-> information may be outdated or incomplete on future investigations although it might first appear to be valuable
What is meta analysis?
Process which data from a large amount of studies are combined to provide an overall view
What is standard deviation?
A sophisticated measure of dispersion in a set of scores
What does standard deviation tell us?
how much scores deviate from the mean and each score
-> all the differences are added up and then divided by the number of scores = variance
-> standard deviation: square root of the variance
What are the two uses of standard deviation?
- identify anomalies
- create conclusions
How can we identify anomalies with standard deviation?
- add up the mean
- add or minus the standard deviation to the mean
- repeat step 2 to the numbers already produced
- any number that is more than the (two) standard deviations will be seen as an outlier
How does standard deviation create conclusions?
it tells us how consistent the scores are
What does it mean if the standard deviation is small?
values are concentrated around the mean
-> there is consistency in the data
-> everyone scored relatively similar to one another
What does it mean if the standard deviation is large?
Values are spread out away from the mean
-> little consistency in the data
-> data has little similarity as participants have scored differently to each other
-> not all participants are affected by the independent variable in the same way
-> bc there is a big variation so there might be anomalous results
What is central tendency?
The spread of the scores
What is dispersion?
The measure of spread of a set of quantities
What is range
difference between the lowest value in the set and the highest value in the set
How can we measure central tendency?
- mean
- mode
- median
What is mean?
the average
How is the mean calculated?
sum of all numbers in the data set divided by how many numbers there are in the data set
What is the mode?
the most frequently occurring number in a data set
What is an example of the mode?
the mode of 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5 is 4
What is the median?
the middle score when the data are in numerical order
What is an example of the median?
the median of numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 would be 3
What are graphical techniques and tables used for?
summarise data in a clear and visually accessible way
What are tables?
summarising the key descriptive statistics for a data set
What are some strengths of using tables?
straightforward
-> allows readers to compare the most important values without needing to interpret the data
What is a scatter gram?
Graph that shows the correlation between two sets of data (co-variables) by plotting points to represent each pair of scores
What does a scatter gram indicate?
the degree and direction of the correlation between the co-variables (one is indicated on the x-axis and the other on the y-axis)
What is a positive correlation?
shows an upward trend
-> as one co-variable increases so does the other
-> eg. the number of people in the room and noise are positively correlated
What is a negative correlation?
shows a trend going in the opposite direction
-> as one variable increases, the other decreases
-> eg. the number if people in the room and the amount of personal space are negatively correlated
What is a zero correlation?
There is no distinct relationship shown between the two variables
-> the individual participant marks randomly appear on the scatter gram
-> eg. the number of people in the room in manchester and the total daily rainfall in peru has zero correlation
What is a bar chart used to show?
used to show frequency data for discrete (separate) variables
What is the difference of bar charts and histograms?
bar charts: has gap between bars
histograms: bars are touching each other
What data does a histogram present?
continuous data
What does the y-axis of a histogram represent?
frequency
What does the y axis of a bar chart represent?
value
What is a correlation?
A statistical technique for analysing the strength and direction of an association between the two sets of scores (co-variables)
What is the type of graph used to show correlation?
scattergraph
What is the difference between a correlation and an experiment?
experiment establishes a cause and effect whereas correlation doesnt
What does the hypothesis of a experiment have whereas the hypothesis of a correlation doesn’t?
independent and dependent variable
What is correlation coefficient?
strong or weak correlation
What is a strong correlation?
the closer to 1 (positive correlation) or -1 (negative correlation) the correlation, the stronger the correlation is
What is a weak correlation?
the closer to 0 the correlation coefficient is, the weaker the correlation
What is an example of a strong positive correlation?
0.8
What is an example of a weak positive correlation?
0.3
What is an example of a strong negative correlation?
-0.8
What is an example of a weak negative correlation?
-0.3
What are some strengths for correlations?
+useful preliminary tool for research
-> provide precise and quantifiable measure of how two variables are related or might demonstrate interesting patterns
-> often used as a starting point to assess possible patterns between variables before researchers start committing the study
+ relatively quick and economical to carry out
-> no need for controlled environment or manipulation of variables + secondary data (government stats) can be used
-> less time consuming than experiments
What are some weaknesses of correlations?
- studies can only tell you how variables are related but not why
-> lack of experimental manipulation + control within correlation
-> cannot know which co-variable causes the other to change hence cannot develop cause and effect - third variable problem
-> another uninterested variable could be causing the change between the two co-variables - correlations might be misinterpreted or misused
-> eg. in the media, relationships between variables are sometimes presented as casual facts when in reality they might not have been
What is the matching hypothesis?
a way of explaining what causes people to form romantic relationships with other people
-> we will be attracted to someone of a similar level of attractiveness to ourselves to avoid rejection
