Research methods Flashcards
What are the two types of unwanted variables?
Extraneous and confounding
What is an extraneous variable?
Many are easy to control (e.g. age of participants) they do not vary systematically with IV and may blur results (dilute experimental water)
What are confounding variables?
Unexpected events which can add a second unintended variable such as a varying emotion
Do vary systematically with IV
What are the three main types of variables?
Participant, situational, investigator
What are participant variables?
individual differences found among participants could change the results of a study, Individual differences can not be eliminated but you can limit their effects
How do you minimise participant variables?
-random allocation
-take a large sample size to remove any anomalies
What are situational variables?
difference in set up of experiment (e.g. environment, time of day, order effects)
How to minimise situational variables?
-standardised instructions and standardised procedures
-counterbalancing
What are investigator variables?
Differences due to the person running the experiment (body language, unconscious bias or hints, demand characteristics)
How do you minimise investigator variables?
-placebo conditions
-single blind
-double blind
What are demand characteristics?
Participant reactivity is a significant extraneous variable (participants are not passive). In research situations participants may work out what’s going on due to certain clues which help them to interpret what is happening
What causes the Please U and Screw U effect to take place?
demand characteristics where participants figure out what is happening and either try to please investigator or do something deliberately wrong
What is standardisation?
list of exactly what should be done in the study includes standardised investigation that is read to each participants
What is randomisation?
use of chance methods to reduce researchers unconscious bias when designing an investigation
as it decides order of groups or participants
What are aims in a research?
Initial idea (once found) and narrow focus on research to produce an aim
Aims developed from theories (based on research) and are general statements that describe purpose of investigation
Why should variables other than DV and IV remain constant in an experiment?
To make sure the IV (change) is the only thing effecting the DV (measure)
What are the two conditions of the levels of IV?
control conditions and experimental conditions
What are the two types of hypothesis?
Non-directional and directional
What is the difference between a Non- directional and a directional hypothesis?
Directional makes clear the sort of difference between the two conditions while non-directional does not specify
When do researchers typically use a directional hypothesis?
when a theory or previous research of findings from earlier studies are contradictory
What are the three groups used in experiments?
Independent groups, matched pairs, repeated measures
What does an independent group consist of ?
Two separate groups experiences two different conditions of experiment so it has two levels of IV
What does matched pairs consist of?
Participants are paired together variables or variable relative to the experiment
What does repeated measures consist of?
All participants experience both conditions of the experiment, two mean scores are taken from both groups
What are the limitations of independent groups?
Participants who occupy the different groups are not the same in terms of participant variables each participants produces only one results so more time + money spent on recruiting participants
What are the limitations of matched pairs?
matching may be time consuming
no way to match participants exactly
What are the limitations of repeated measures?
Each participant has to do at least two tasks so order of tasks may be significant
Order effects arise due to fatigue or boredom
Demand characteristics may be prominent due to working out aim
What are the advantages of independent groups?
Order effects are not a problem as participants less likely to guess aim
What are the advantages of matched pairs?
Participants only take part in one condition so order effects and demand characteristics are less of a problem
What are the advantages of repeated measures?
Participant variables controlled so fewer participants needed (less time)
What is counterbalancing and what is it used for?
is an attempt to control order effects in a repeated measure design.
In counterbalancing , half the participants take part in the condition A and B, and the other half take part in the condition B then A
ABBA structure
What is informed consent?
Making participants aware of aims by explaining procedures, what their data will be used for and right to withdraw
(should be able to make decision without coercion or feeling obliged)
-May make study meaningless as behaviour won’t be natural
What is deception?
Deliberately misleading or withholding information or may not receive adequate information when agreed to take part
What is protection from harm?
Should not be placed at more risk than in everyday life (psychological or physical harm)
Examples : embarrassment, feeling inadequate, stress or pressure
What is privacy and confidentiality?
Right to control information about themselves (right of privacy)if breached confidentiality must be ensured
What are ethical issues?
When a conflict or dilemma exists between rights and researchers need to gain valuable and meaningful findings (not informed to view in natural environment)
How do researchers deal with deception and protection from harm?
End of study participants should be given a full debrief on true aims and any detail not initially known. Participants told what their data will be used for (given right to withdraw or withhold information after results)
Should be reassured behaviour displayed is normal / typical
If participants subject to stress or embarrassment counselling should be supplied by the researcher in charge
How do researchers deal with confidentiality?
Personal details must be protected, usual to record no personal details using numbers and initials when explaining experiment (written), participants reminded they are protected
How do researchers deal with informed consent?
Participants should receive a consent letter or form with details of what will happen, for children under 16 parent signature of consent needed
What is the BPS code of conduct?
British Psychology Society
Set of ethical guidelines, attempt to ensure all participants are treated with respect. Implemented by ethics committees in research institutions with a cost - benefit approach
What are the three alternative ways of getting consent?
Presumptive consent
Prior general consent
Retrospective consent
What is Presumptive consent?
similar groups are asked if experiment is okay
What is Prior general consent?
participants give consent to be deceived and to partake in the other studies
What is retrospective consent?
asked for consent (during debriefing) haven already taken part
what is the lihert scale
participant’s have an options which shows their agreement (usually 5 points) usually strongly agree to strongly disagree
What is a rating scale
gets respondents to identify a value that represents their strength of feeling for a topic
What is a fixed-choice option?
includes list of possible options and multiple choice or ones that can be ticked
What is an interview schedule?
which is list of questions needed to cover should be standardised to reduce contamination effect by interviewer bias
Which type of interview would not be appropriate in clinical settings?
group interviews
Why should one on one interviews be carried out in a quiet room away from others?
to increase likelihood interviewee will open up
Why is it good to open with neutral questions?
relax interviewee and establish rapport
How many times should an interviewee be reminded of the confidentiality of their discussion?
7
What are the three mistakes made when writing questions?
over use of jargon
emotive language and leading question
double barrel questions and double negatives
Why is overuse of jargon bad when designing questions?
refers to term used that are only understood by certain people which makes the question difficult to understand and complex
Why is emotive language and leading questions bad when designing a question?
sometimes researchers attitude is clear towards certain topic and to avoid conflict may be led to an answer (demand characteristics)
Why are double barrel and double negative questions bad when designing a question?
contains two questions in one meaning respondents may agree with one half of question but not other half forcing then to either pick agree or disagree in closed question scenarios making the response not entirely useful
What are the two types of questions used in a questionnaire?
open and closed
What does a closed question consist of?
offers a fixed number of responses which can be used to collect quantitive data which is easier to analyse or qualatative which can be turned into quantative
What does an open question consist of?
do not have a fixed range of answers and respondents are free to answer how they wish, tend to produce qualatative data which have varied responses but hard to analyse
What are the three types of interviews?
structures
unstructured
semi-structured
What is a structured interview?
made up of pre-determined questions in a set order
What is an unstructured interview?
works like a conversation with no set questions. There is a general aim and interactions tend to be free flowing, interviewee encourages to expand or elaborate answers
What is a semi-structured interview?
list of questions that have been worked out in advance but interviewers also free to ask follow up questions based on previous answers
What are the positives of questionaries?
cost effective
can gather large amounts of data quickly
can be completed without researcher present
usually analysed quicker
comparisons can be made easily between graphs and charts
What are the negatives of questionnaires?
response given tends to be truthful
tend to have response bias (always either end of scale
May not give full attention
What are positives of structured interviews?
straightforward to replicate due to standardised format
format reduces difference between interviewers
What are the negatives of a structured interviews?
not possible to deviate however not being able to will limit richness of data as well as limited unexpected data
What are the positives of a unstructured interview?
more flexibility
can follow up on points meaning can gain more insight
experienced interviewer should be able to establish sufficient rapport with participants so feel more comfortable to give truth
What are the negatives of an unstructured interview?
may lead to interviewer bias
difficult to analyse as not straight forward
researchers may have to sift through irrelevant information so drawing firm conclusions may be difficult
risk interviewee may lie
Why is the experimental method of observation good for psychologists?
allows then to see what people do without asking then, also allows researchers to study more complex interaction between variables. Used to asses DV
What are the types of observation?
participant and non-participant
covert and overt
naturalised and controlled
What is the difference between overt and covert observation
covert- participant’s are unaware of the focus of the study so behaviour observed in secret, so must be in public and happen anyway to be ethical
overt- when participants know their behaviour is being observed and given informed consent beforehand
What is the difference between naturalistic and controlled?
naturalistic- takes place in setting or context where behaviour would usually occur. All aspects of environment free to vary
Controlled- aspects of situation (two way mirror in study to see how children react to mothers -strang studies-) some control over variables including manipulation to observe effect and control confounding and extraneous variables
What is the difference between participant and non-participant observations?
Participant- sometimes its necessary for observer to become pert of study to produce first hand account
Non-Participant- when researchers remains separate recording behaviour in objective man or sometimes impractical or impossible to join group
What are the positive of an overt observation?
seen as more ethically accepted
What is the negative of an overt observation?
participant’s may ‘act’
What is the positives of a covert observation?
removes problem of demand characteristics
increases internal validity of data
What is the negative of covert observation?
right of privacy (ethical issue)
what is the positives of a participant study?
increased external validity as it gives researchers insight into lives
What is the negative of a participant study?
may lose objectivity due to researcher identifying too strongly with those studying (adopting local lifestyle)
What is the positive of a non-participant study?
allows researchers to maintain objective psychological distance from participants so less likely to identify
What is the negative of a non-participant study?
may lose valuable insight as far removed from people being studied
What is the negative of a naturalistic study?
harder to replicate due to lack of control over variables
What is the positive of a naturalistic study?
tend to have high external validity as findings generalise every day life. As behaviour studied in a normal environment
What is the negative of a controlled study?
cannot be applied to everyday life
What is the positive of a controlled study?
confounding variables and extraneous less big so easier to replicate
What are the two main negatives for the experimental method of observation?
observer bias (interpretation by observer may effect expectation) but fixed by having multiple observers
cannot demonstrate natural relationship though observation technique may be used
What is the aims of a pilot study?
it’s a small scale trial run prior to investigation, by running the procedure through it allows the researcher to identify potential problems
What is a single blind procedure?
any information that may create expectations is not revealed until the end of study to control the confounding effects of demand characteristics
What is a double blind procedure?
neither participants or researchers is aware of aims (usually used in drug trials). Treatment may be administered to participant by someone external to study either a real or placebo drug. If it’s not known which participant gets which, expectations cannot influence participants behaviour
What are control groups and conditions in pilot studies?
group that receives drug is experimental group while placebo group is control group. Control group used for purpose of comparison , difference between the two groups is great researchers can conclude cause and effect was the IV (assuming confounding variables maintain constant) . Having two groups is an independent groups design, but can have control conditions in repeated measures design (each participant experiences control and experimental condition)
What are the four types of experiments?
natural experiments
laboratory experiments
quasi experiments
field experiments
Where is a laboratory study carried out?
conducted in highly controlled environments
What is a natural experiment?
like a field experiment insofar as the researchers measures the effect of IV on DV (researchers has no control over IV but may be devised from experimenter
What is a field experiment?
IV is manipulated in more natural and everyday setting
What is a quasi experiment?
IV that is based on an existing difference between people (ex anxiety levels of phobic and non phobic persons were compared, ‘having phobia’ would not come about through experimental manipulation
What are the strengths of a laboratory experiment?
high control over confounding and extraneous variables
replication more possible in other experiments due to high control
What are the limitations of a laboratory experiment?
participants usually aware so demand characteristics
may lack generalisability meaning more artificial lacking everyday life experiences (tasks asked to carry out may not be everyday life so low mundane realism)
What are the strengths of a natural experiment?
can research stuff not researched before due to ethical issues or practical likelihood
high external validity because they involve study of real-world issues and problems
What are the limitations of a natural experiment?
naturally occurring event may only happen rarely reducing research opportunities
may be conducted in lab so lacks realism
p’s may not be randomly allocated experimental conditions so reduces assurance of IV effect on DV
What are the strengths of a field experiment?
higher mundane realism because environment is more natural
What are the limitations of a field experiment?
loss of control so more CV’s and EV’s, means effect and cause relationship between Iv and DV more difficult to establish
Ethical issues due to lack of consent when creating realistic environment
What are the strengths of a quasi experiment?
carried out under controlled conditions
What are the limitations of a quasi experiment?
cannot randomly allocate conditions to P’s (CV’s)
Cannot claim IV causes any observed change as no control over IV
What are the two types of observational designs?
unstructured and structured
What is an unstructured observation?
writing down everything that is seen, tends to produce detailed account of behaviour . Suited for small scale and few participants
What is a structured observation?
uses behavioural categories to simply target behaviours, good for large amounts of information
What are the types of sampling methods?
event and time
What is event sampling?
involves counting number of times a behaviour occurs in target group or individual
What is time sampling?
involves recording behaviour with pre-established time frame
What is inter-observer reliability?
not recommended for researchers to conduct alone as may miss details and opportunity and may confirm their hypothesis creating bias so to decrease data from another observer is compared (inter-observer reliability)
How is inter-observer reliability carried out?
observer should familiarise with behavioural categories used
observe at same place and time
discuss any differences in interpretation
calculated by correlating each pair of observations made and overall figure is produced
What are behavioural categories?
target behaviours should be studied being precise and defined also made observable and measurable, no need for inference. Before observation and researchers should ensure they have included all possible ways the target behaviours may occur in behavioural checklist
What are sampling methods?
continuous recording of behaviour is key feature of unstructured observation to recall all target behaviour (not recommended for complex behaviours as may not be practical)
What are strengths of a structured observation?
less prone to bias ( due to being less opinion based)
More likely to be numerical data so easier to analyse and compare data
What are limitations of a structured observation?
objective behavioural categories
What are strengths of a unstructured observation?
have more depth and detail (more information)
What are limitations of a unstructured observation?
prone to observer bias
more likely to produce qualitative data so more difficult to analyse and compare
What are strengths of behavioural categories?
important they are clear and unambiguous
categories should be exclusive
Ensure all possible form of behaviour on checklist
What are limitations of behavioural categories?
all categories must be observable and measurable so no interpretation allowed
What are strengths of sampling methods?
effective in reducing number of observations that have to be made so time efficient
useful when target behaviour or event happens quite infrequently and could be missed (good for rare occurrences)
What are limitations of sampling methods?
instances where behaviour sampled might be unrepresented of observation as a whole
if event is too complex the observer may overlook important details
What are the four types of sampling?
opportunity
Stratified
random
Systematic
