Research Methods Flashcards
What is reliability?
The consistency of a measure. A measure is considered reliable if we get the same result repeatedly. A research method is considered reliable if we can repeat it and get similar results.
What is validity?
If a test is valid then it measures what it claims to measure. It could be that it is measuring behaviour as it happens naturally in real life (ecological validity). For example, does a questionnaire really measure people’s thoughts, or just what they think the should say.
What is test re-test?
Psychologists repeating the test to establish if results are reliable. The test is reliable if the same results are generated.
What is inter-observer reliability?
When 2 independent observers observe and afterwards compare results. If there is 80% agreement then the results are in high interobserver or interrater reliability.
What is ecological validity?
When the results of the investigation can be said to apply to real-life behaviour because it was tested as it occurs naturally
What is population validity?
The extent to which results can be generalised to explain behaviours in other groups/people
Experiment evaluations
Described as reliable because the researcher can standardise the procedure so it can be replicated. However, field experiments have less control over extraneous variables
Questionnaires evaluations
Easier to achieve reliability if the questionnaire is made up of closed questions where the choice of answers is fixed. Reliability can be checked by comparing answers on same person on separate occasions (test re-test)
How can we make observations more reliable?
Making sure the observer would record the same observations twice. Reliability is helped by having clear categories of behaviour and making sure observers are trained properly>
What are the issues with qualitative methods?
Regarded as less reliable are open to interpretation and are subjective, meaning two researchers may draw different conclusions (lack consistency and reliability)
Unstructured interviews means no 2 interviews are the same and there is a lack of consitency
What are the evaluations of sampling methods?
Opportunity sampling is very unlikely to produce a valid and representative sample, while stratified sampling is designed to do that.
What are the evaluations of experimental designs?
Results of repeated measures are influenced by order effects, meaning conditions of the experiment should be balanced to address this.
Independent groups design creates the issue of participant variables as an extraneous variable, affecting validity.
Matched pairs design overcomes these issues but the matching isn’t perfect
What are the evaluations of quantitative methods?
Issues with extraneous variables in field studies means we cannot be certain the change in the DV is from the IV.
Methods that collect quantitative data are often accused of lacking validity because participants behaviour is reduced to a single store.
What are the evaluations of qualitative data?
Designed to gather info that quantitative methods lack. They give insight into how the participant is thinking, feeling and seeing.
However, they are hard to analyse and is often fairly subjective, meaning the researcher might interpret their results differently and the validity is affected.
