RESEARCH METHODS

Question 1

Operationalising

Answer 1

A variable is operationalised when it has been turned in to something that can be measured

Question 2

Hypotheses

Answer 2

Directional
- Predicts the direction of the difference
- e.g students who have drank caffeine will have a significantly faster average reaction time than students who have not drunk caffeine

Non-directional
- Predicts that there will be a difference between the conditions, but not which direction it will be in
- e.g There will be a significant
difference between the average
reaction time of students who
have and those who have not
drunk caffeine.

Null
- There will be no difference between the groups
- e.g There will be no significant
difference between the reaction
times of students who have and
students who have not drunk
caffeine.

Question 3

Lab experiment

Answer 3

• Not always in a lab but well controlled
• IV can be change

advantages
- cause and effect can be established because the IV can be changed
- easy to replicate because the experiment is done in a controlled environment
- high in internal validity because there is a high level of control so as a result lab experiments do what they are supposed to do

disadvantages
- Experiments in labs are quite artificial and not reflective of everyday life so they lack generalisability as participants could act differently in these strange settings than they normally would so this means there’s a low ecological validity
- demand characteristics because they know that they are being tested on
- mundane realism because the tasks carried out in a lab setting may not be representative of real life

Question 4

Field experiments

Answer 4

• Take place in a natural setting
• IV can be manipulated

Advantages
- Higher mundane realism as
experiment is more natural, so
could produce behaviour
which is more valid and true.
Generalisation is possible.
- High validity if participant’s are
unaware that they are being
studied. No demand
characteristics.
- Cause and effect can be
established as the IV is
manipulated by the
psychologist.

Disadvantages
- No control over extraneous variables, so they are low in internal validity.
- Precise replication is not possible, so could affect validity of findings. They can’t be repeated to check for consistency.
- Ethical issues, if participant’s are unaware, they haven’t given
consent.

Question 5

Natural experiments

Answer 5

• IV changes naturally and cannot be manipulated by the researcher

Advantages
- Provide opportunities for research that may otherwise be unethical or impractical
to carry out. E.g. feral children/Romanian
orphanages.
- High external validity as involve real life issues and problems. E.g. effect of earthquakes on stress. Generalisation is possible.
- No demand characteristics.

Disadvantages
- As it is a naturally occurring event, could only happen very rarely and therefore
reduces opportunities for research.
- Participant’s may not be randomly allocated to conditions, so the researcher is unsure the IV affected the DV. E.g. The stress levels of someone involved in an
earthquake could be naturally high due to anxiety or depression etc.
-Cause and effect can’t be established, as the IV naturally occurs. Unreliable.

Question 6

Quasi-experiment

Answer 6

• carried out under controlled conditions
• the IV is based on an existing difference between people, E.g. gender or age.

Advantages
- highly controlled so it can be replicated

Disadvantages
- cause and effect can’t be established because the IV naturally occurs
- demand characteristics are more likely to occur
- cannot randomly allocate participants to conditions so there may be confounding variables

Question 7

mundane realism

Answer 7

Mundane realism is concerned with whether the study’s tasks, instructions, and interactions are similar to those found in everyday life.

Question 8

external validity

Answer 8

generalise findings to other situations or groups

Question 9

internal validity

Answer 9

the causal relationship you are testing is not influenced by other factors or variables

Question 10

ecological validity

Answer 10

Ecological validity focuses on how well the research setting reflects the real-world context in which the phenomenon under study occurs.

Question 11

Participant variables

Answer 11

These are variables connected with the research participants. E.g age, IQ, gender etc

They are controlled through the experimental design, such as matched pairs design by matching people who are similar in these categories because its more comparable. Alternatively, you can use random allocation which helps to reduce bias.

Question 12

situational variables

Answer 12

Situational variables are factors in the environment that could affect the participant’s performance. E.g the temperature or the light in the room.

To control this you can use standardisation which is where you give the same variables for all of the participants across the different conditions.

Question 13

Order effects

Answer 13

When the participants’ responses in the various conditions are affected by the order of conditions to which they are exposed to.

Counterbalancing can help manage order effects but cannot fix it.

When participants feel tired or bored the data becomes invalid so you can give them breaks

Question 14

Demand characteristics

Answer 14

This is when the participant knows the true aims of the experiment which can lead to the participant trying to give the more desired answer.

To control this you can used deception and lie to the participant so that there is no bias although ethically they cannot consent. Alternatively you can use a single blind technique where the participant does not know which study group that they are in.

Question 15

Investigator effect

Answer 15

The investigator effect occurs when the researcher unintentionally or unconsciously influences the outcome of any research that they are conducting.

To control this you can use a double blind technique where neither the person who runs the experiment or the participant knows the aim of the study. Alternatively, standardised instructions can be used so that everyone is given the same instructions. Alternatively just one person can carry out the experiment and not multiple ones.

Question 16

Independent group design

Answer 16

This is where participants take part in one experiment.

Advantages
- Order effects are not a problem compared to RMD
- Less chance of demand characteristics because you have less time to figure out the aims of the experiment unlike RMD.

Disadvantages
- IGD is less economical than RMD as each participant contributes to a single result so twice as many participants are needed to produce equivalent data than collected in RMD.

Question 17

Repeated measure design

Answer 17

This is where participants take part in two or more experiments

Advantages
- fewer participants are needed so there is a lower cost

Disadvantages
- Order effects can arise and cause boredom and fatigue which leads to invalid data. To overcome this you can use counterbalancing ABBA.
- It is more likely that the participants will work out the aim of the study when they experience all conditions - demand characteristics.

Question 18

Matched Pairs Design

Answer 18

Participants are paired together on a variable relevant to the experiment

Advantages
- Participants only take part in a single condition so order effects and demand characteristics are less of a factor

Disadvantages
- Matching can be expensive and time - consuming especially if pre-testing is involved

Question 19

Population

Answer 19

The group of people that the researcher is interested in

Question 20

Sample

Answer 20

A smaller group that is representative of the population so that the researcher can generalise findings from the sample to the rest of the target population

Question 21

Random sampling

Answer 21

This method gives every member of the target group an equal chance of being selected for the sample (e.g by assigning a number to each member, and the selecting from the sampling frame using a random number generator)

Strengths
- Each member has an equal chance of being chosen, unlike volunteer sampling. This is not bias and it gives a reasonable chance of achieving a representative sample, unlike volunteer sampling.

Weaknesses
- Small minority groups within your target group may distort result’s even with a random sampling technique so it’s not representative unlike stratified sampling.
- It can be impractical to use a completely random technique, e.g the target group may be too large to assign numbers to

Question 22

Volunteer sampling

Answer 22

The sample consists of people who have volunteered to be in the study

Strengths
- This often achieves a large sample size through reaching a wider audience, e.g with online adverts

Weaknesses
- Those who respond may fit a certain ‘profile’ who is more trusting and cooperative and is more likely to please the researcher this is volunteer bias.

Question 23

Systematic sampling

Answer 23

A systematic method is chosen for selecting from a target group, e.g every nth person in a list could be used in the sample. It differs from random sampling in that it does not give an equal chance of selection to each individual in the target group

Strengths
- Assuming that the list has been randomised, this method offers an unbiased chance of gaining a representative sample

Weaknesses
- If the list has been assembled in a specific way then bias may be present
- This method is time-consuming and in the end participants may refuse to take part, resulting in a volunteer bias.

Question 24

Stratified sampling

Answer 24

The samples divides or ‘stratifies’ the target group into sections, each showing a key characteristic which should be present in the final sample. Then each of those sections is sampled individually. The sample thus created should contain members from each key characteristic in a proportion representative of the the target population.

Strengths
- It avoids researcher bias because they are split and chosen from specific groups unlike volunteer sampling.
- High population validity because its representative unlike volunteer sampling.

Weaknesses
- Expensive because there’s lots of different people unlike volunteer sampling
- It takes more time and resources to plan
- It is impossible to take into account every factor because not everyone can fit into specific categories

Question 25

Opportunity sampling

Answer 25

Opportunity sampling is a sampling technique used to select participants from a target group to take part in a research study. It consists of the researcher who is available and is willing to take part.

Strengths
- Convenient, time-effective and inexpensive unlike random sampling

Weaknesses
- Takes a lot of effort to find people
- Population validity is low because only certain people will be available for the experiment
- Researcher bias because they might only approach people who will produce the desired answers

Question 26

Informed consent

Answer 26

The participant must give permission to take part in the experiment knowing the true aims of the study and must know what they are expected to do.

Question 27

Right to withdraw

Answer 27

Participants must have the option to leave the study and withdraw their data at any given time

Question 28

Protection from harm

Answer 28

Participant’s must not experience any more harm than they would in everyday life e.g extreme embarrassment would be considered psychological harm and even distress

Question 29

Confidentiality

Answer 29

All information collected must be published in a way that does not identify the participant. From the researcher’s pov this is difficult but they can get around this. From the participant’s pov this is a legal requirement.

Question 30

Deception

Answer 30

This is when the participants have been told a false purpose for the research. This is sometimes needed to prevent the participants from acting in a certain way.

Question 31

Privacy

Answer 31

Some research makes it hard to not invade participant’s privacy

Question 32

Presumptive consent

Answer 32

Gained informed consent from other people not taking part in the experiment that are similar to the participants and assume that if these people would consent then your participants would as well.

Question 33

Pilot studies

Answer 33

A pilot study is a small scale study which is conducted prior to the main experiment

Question 34

Identify one ethical issue associated with this case study of Peter. Suggest how psychologists could deal
with this ethical issue. (4 marks)

Answer 34

An ethical issue to consider is confidentiality. This means that Peter’s identity as well as the data collected from this study needs to remain private at all times. To overcome this issue the researcher could use a number or his initials instead when they publish the results of the experiment.

Question 35

Behavioural categories

Answer 35

A behavioural category is an observational technique where in participants’ possible behaviours are separated into more specific components.

Question 36

Questionnaire design

Answer 36

• Keep the terminology simple and clear
• Keep it as short as possible
• Be sensitive and avoid personal questions
• Do not use leading questions
• Do not use questions that make assumptions or sweeping statements
• Pilot and modify the questionnaire

Question 37

Self report technique

Answer 37

This is where the participant reveals personal information about themselves in a response to a series of questions

Question 38

Interview

Answer 38

Participants give information in response to direct questioning from the researcher. Can also be conducted in person or on a phone call.

Question 39

Questionnaire

Answer 39

Participants give information in response to a set of questions that are sent to them. This can be in a post or completing a form online.

Question 40

Open questions

Answer 40

Open questions is phrased in a way that allows the participant to answer in any way they choose. This produces qualitive data, meaning non-numerical data in the form of words.

Strengths
- Less chance of researcher bias, and detailed answers obtained

Weaknesses
- Participants may answer in a socially desirable way, making answers less valid.

Question 41

Closed questions

Answer 41

Closed questions is where the question is phrased in a way that limits the participants response to only a few fixed options. This produces quantitative data.

Strengths
- Easy to analyse quantitative data to discover trends and replicate research.

Weaknesses
- Predetermined list of questions limits responses ability to explore interesting answers. Response bias.

Question 42

Structured interviews

Answer 42

• Structured interviews have the questions decided on in advance and they are asked in exactly the same order for each interviewee taking part

Strengths
- Quantitative data which is easier to analyse
- Direct comparisons can be made between groups of data where patterns can be identified
- Easy to replicate because the questions are standardised
- Anyone can be the interviewer because it’s just a set of questions

Weaknesses
- If there is more than one researcher the data may be less comparable due to investigator effects where the researcher may be unconsciously bias to any responses given
- Limited answers so there is less room for interesting answers

Question 43

Unstructured interviews

Answer 43

No setlist of questions, on open conversation about a topic.

Advantages
- Rapport is more likely because the participant feels more comfortable to answer
- Interesting answers can be followed up with additional questions

Disadvantages
- Only a highly skilled interviewer can think if appropriate questions on the spot
- Every interview will be different so it may not be comparable

Question 44

Semi structured interview

Answer 44

Combination of prepared questions with the ability to ask follow up questions.

Advantages
- The interview responses are easy to compare because its the same questions used
- Rapport is more likely because they feel more comfortable to answer questions
- Interviewer can ask follow up questions to interesting answers

Disadvantages
- Highly trained interviewer to think up of appropriate questions in the moment

Question 45

Observation

Answer 45

A non-experiment technique, the researcher watches and records spontaneous/ natural behaviour of participants without manipulating levels of IV.

Question 46

Controlled observation

Answer 46

Aspects of the environment are controlled, in an attempt to give participants the same experience. This is often conducted in a laboratory experiment.

Advantages
- Controlling the environment and giving the same experience reduces the likelihood that extraneous variables are responsible for observed behaviour.
- Results are likely to be reliable as using the same standardised procedures.

Disadvantages
- The environment is artificial so it may result in unnatural behaviour, not like behaviour shown in real life situations

Question 47

Naturalistic observation

Answer 47

Takes place in the ‘real world’ places the participants are likely to spend their time such as school, work or in their own homes.

Advantages
- High realism, participants are more likely to show naturalistic behaviour.

Disadvantages
- There might be unknown extraneous variables that may be responsible for the behaviour observed resulting in a lower internal validity

Question 48

Overt observation

Answer 48

The participant can see the researcher, and are aware their behaviour is being observed as part of an observational study

Advantages
- Ethical because participants can give informed consent which means participants should agree and understand what they’re doing

Disadvantages
- Demand characteristics are likely, if the participants know they are being observed they may try to show their behaviour that they think the researcher wants to see. Social desirability bias may occur if they want to look good.

Question 49

Covert observation

Answer 49

The participants are not aware that they are being observed and they can’t see someone taking notes/ recording

Advantages
- As participants are unaware they are being observed they are far more likely to show naturalistic behaviour free from demand characteristics or social desirability bias

Disadvantages
- More unethical because participants cannot give informed consent

Question 50

Participant observation

Answer 50

The researcher joins the group being observed and takes part in the group’s activities and conversations

Advantages
- By taking part the researcher may build rapport, more trust and comfort could lead to the participants behaving more naturally, and disclosing more.

Disadvantages
- Researchers could lose objectivity, interpretation of behaviour is biased, seeing only from the participant’s perspective

Question 51

Non- participant observation

Answer 51

The researcher is separate from the participants recording observations without taking part in group activities

Advantages
- The researcher is more likely to remain objective in their interpretation of the participant’s behaviour

Disadvantages
- Due to lack of trust/ rapport with the participants the researcher misses out on important insights/ participants don’t behave naturally

Question 52

Time sampling

Answer 52

The researcher records all relevant behaviour at set points. E.g everything for 15 seconds every 10 minutes for 1 hour

Advantages
- More flexibility to be able to record unexpected types of behaviour

Disadvantages
- Can miss behaviour that happens outside of the recording periods

Question 53

Event sampling

Answer 53

Researcher records/ tallies every time a behaviour occurs from the list of operationalised behavioural categories

Advantages
- As long as the behaviour has been included in the list of behavioural categories it should be recorded if it happens at any stage of the observation

Disadvantages
- May miss relevant behaviour that isn’t on the list of behavioural categories

Question 54

Correlations

Answer 54

A strength for correlations is that you can see how strong the relationship between co-variables are. A weakness for correlations is that we cannot establish cause and effect due to intervening variables. For example, the co-variables could be the effect of obesity on CHD but the intervening variables like smoking, diet and exercise could also impact CHD and not just obesity.

Correlations can be shown on scatter graphs

Correlations only identify linear relationships and not curvilinear. Linear correlations have a systematic relationship between co-variables that is defined by a straight line.

Correlations are more ethical because there are co-variables that the psychologist doesn’t manipulate.

Question 55

Primary data

Answer 55

Primary data is data the psychologist collects first hand for the purpose of a research project.

Primary data fits the job, because it has been designed for this specific purpose, and the researcher has control over it.

Primary data is authentic because its obtained from the participants themselves for the purpose of a particular investigation.

Primary data is not accessible because it requires considerable planning, preparation and resources.

Primary data requires time and effort on the part of the researcher

Question 56

Secondary data

Answer 56

Secondary data is data that has been collected by someone other than the person who is conducting the research.

Secondary data may be inexpensive and easily accessed requiring minimal effort.

When examining secondary data, the researcher may find that the desired information already exists and so there is no need to conduct primary data collection.

However, secondary data may be incomplete or outdated leading to a substantial variation in the quality and accuracy of the data.

The content of the data may not quite match the researches needs or objectives. This may challenge the validity of any conclusions.

Question 57

Meta- analysis

Answer 57

Meta-analysis is the process of combining the findings from a number of studies on a particular topic. The results of these studies can be pooled together and a joint conclusion can be produced - this form of research method uses secondary data.

Meta-analysis allows us to create a larger, more varied sample and results can be generalised across much larger populations which increases validity.

Meta-analysis is prone to publication bias, because the researcher may not select all relevant studies, choosing to leave out those studies with negative or non-significant results. Therefore, the conclusions will be bias because they only represent some of the relevant data.

Question 58

Measures of central tendency

Answer 58

Mean
- The mean is the most sensitive because you include all of the numbers
- The mean can be easily distorted by anomalies

Median
- As the median is the central value, its calculation is not affected by extreme outlier scores.
- The median is very easy to calculate
- The median score does not include all of the values in its calculation, so it is not as sensitive as the mean measure of central tendency
- If there are an even number of data points, unlike the mode the ‘typical’ value will be a number that is not one of the recorded values

Mode
- The mode is not distorted by extreme scores called outliers
- The mode is helpful for discrete numbers
- Giving the modal group is the only way of giving the average of data in categories (e.g average pet choice)
- There can be no modes if every value is different or multiple modes; this is especially likely in small sets of data. This means in some cases, the mode does not give an exact average value.
- The mode does not include all of the values in its calculation, so it is not as sensitive as the mean measure of central tendency.

Question 59

Measures of dispersion

Answer 59

Range
- Easy to calculate
- Extreme scores easily distort the value
- The range does not show if the scores are clustered around the mean or more evenly spread out

Standard deviation
- The SD includes all values in its calculation, making it more sensitive than the range
- The SD provides information about the spread of scores
- Extreme scores can also distort the SD
- The SD is significantly more difficult to calculate than the range