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Psychology Paper 1 > Research Methods > Flashcards

Research Methods Flashcards

1
Q

Falsifiability

A

The possibility that a statement or hypothesis can be proved wrong via testing

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2
Q

Objectivity

A

Measurement of data is not affected by researcher expectations
Objectivity means reducing individual differences to make it more scientific

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3
Q

Replicability

A

Recording procedures carefully for another researcher to repeat and verify the original results, increasing validity of findings

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4
Q

Empirical methods

A

Methods which rely on direct observation or testing, like brain scans or blood tests

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5
Q

Paradigm

A

A shared set of assumptions about a subject matter of a discipline and the methods appropriate to its study

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6
Q

Paradigm Shift

A

Scientific revolution where the accepted paradigm is questioned and this gains popularity to the point the contradictory evidence becomes a new, more dominant approach

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7
Q

Steps of induction (theory construction) OHSCT

A

Observations
Testable hypothesis
Conduct a study
Draw conclusions
Propose a theory

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8
Q

Steps of deduction (theory construction) OTHSC

A

Observations
Propose theory
Testable hypothesis
Conduct a study
Draw conclusions

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9
Q

How should a hypothesis be tested?

A

Using systematic and objective methods to determine support or rejection

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10
Q

Experimental methods:

A

Lab
Field
Natural
Quasi

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11
Q

Lab experiment

A

Uses a carefully controlled setting and standardised procedure to measure how the IV affects the DV
The participants are aware they are in it but may not know the aims

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12
Q

Lab experiments Strengths

A

Greater control over variables
Easily replicable so results can be tested and compared
Standardised procedure increases internal validity

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13
Q

Lab experiments Weaknesses

A

Demand characteristics- when participants figure out the aims they can alter behaviour
Artificial environment lacks ecological validity

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14
Q

Field experiement

A

Uses control of lab experiments but in real-world settings. The IV is still deliberately manipulated and the DV measured
Usually participants unaware

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15
Q

Field experiment
Strengths

A

High ecological validity due to being in real-life settings
Reduced chance of demand characteristics- naturally environment=more natural behaviour

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16
Q

Field experiment weaknesses

A

Less control as it is harder to manipulate the IV and record the DV
Ethical problems- participants may be unaware they are observed
No controls so more difficult to replicate

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17
Q

Natural experiment

A

Study of a naturally occurring situation, no influence over the situation but observes individuals and circumstances

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18
Q

Natural experiment advantages

A

High ecological validity- natural settings, high relativity to real life behaviour
Less chance of demand characteristics- less likely to adjust behaviour as they are unknowingly being observed

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19
Q

Natural experiments disadvantages

A

Ethical issues- participants may be unaware they are participating in the study(deception)
No control over extraneous variable so affect of IV are not always clear

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20
Q

Quasi experiments

A

Naturally occurring IV, e.g. gender, age, disorder, control (DV still measured)

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21
Q

Quasi experiments
Advantages

A

Allows for comparison between types of people- no manipulation is carried out but results show differences
Can be done in lab- DV tested in a lab so high control/ replicability

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22
Q

Quasi experiments
Disadvantages

A

lab setting- low ecological validity
lack of random allocation-participants cant be randomly allocated so there may be confounding variables

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23
Q

Experiments demonstrate what

A

Cause and effect

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24
Q

Independent variable

A

Variable that is manipulated

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25
Dependent variable
Variable that is measured
26
Operationalisation
Process of making an abstract construct/variable to something measurable
27
Extraneous variables
Anything other than the IV that affects the DV. These variables can be controlled by the experimenter
28
Confounding variables
Variables that aren't controlled and affect the results
29
Research aims
Stated intentions of what questions are planned to be answered
30
Hypothesis
A formal, unambiguous statement of what is predicted
31
Main features of a hypothesis
Contains conditions of the IV and expected DV outcome Be operationalised and measurable
32
Directional hypothesis
States whether the DV outcome is expected to be greater or lesser, positive or negative e.g group A, who used a mnemonic will score significantly higher than group B who didnt
33
Non-directional hypothesis
Doesnt state the direction of the DV, just that there is a difference e.g. there is a significant difference between the scores from group A and group B
34
Null hypothesis
A prediction of no difference between the two IV conditions on the outcome of the DV
35
Reliability is...
consistency
36
Internal reliability
each person in a study is treated the same way
37
External reliability
Same/similar results found after repeated test
38
Test-retest reliability
Test the same person twice same sample, same test, ensure a time gap
39
Inter-observer reliability
Compares observations from different observers- reduces bias
40
Correlational reliability
should exceed +80 on Pearsons correlation coefficient which tells us if IV has enough influence
41
Validity is....
Accuracy/ representativeness
42
Internal validity
is it measuring what its meant to measure?
43
External validity
is it generalisable beyond the experimental setting?
44
Ecological validity Population validity Temporal validity
Realistic setting? Applicable sample? Does it stand "the test of time"?
45
Face validity
Surface level, does it look like it measures what it should?
46
Concurrent validity
Are findings similar to those on a well established test 2 tests correlating similarly as a check of accuracy
47
3 ways to improve validity
Representative sample Larger sample size Realistic setting
48
Independent groups
Two groups exposed to different conditions Random allocation and the DV is measured for each and compared
49
Independent groups advantages
No order effects Data collection is easier and faster
50
Independent groups disadvantages
Finding different participants- 2x Risk of individual differences affecting
51
Repeated measures
One group takes part in each condition then compare results
52
Repeated measures advantages
Controlled variables- same group of pp Fewer people- economic advantage
53
Repeated measures disadvtanges
Order effects- boredom fatigue from repeats Demand characteristics
54
Matched pairs
Recruit and group based on relevant characteristics then treat like independent variables
55
Matched pairs advantages
Reduces participant variables Less order effects- one condition
56
Matched pairs disadvantages
Time-consuming matching Less economical especially with a pre test
57
Demand characteristics
Cues that might indicate study aims to pp and cause change in behaviour
58
Investigator effects
When a researcher unconsciously influences the outcome of research
59
Single blind Double blind
Participants are not aware Participants and experimenters both not aware
60
Control group
A group in which a variable is not being tested
61
Confederate
A secret participant which makes the cover story more real and capture naive reactions
62
Randomisation Standardisation
Randomly assigning subjects to many potential influences that cant be controlled Keeping everything the same= fair
63
Pilot study: what, why, advantages
Small study to test research protocols, strategies, data collection instruments in prep for a large study Why: tests aspects for a larger indepth investigation Adv: identify potential problems and fix, avoids time/resource wasting
64
Opportunity sampling
Participants selected based on availability
65
Opportunity sampling Advantages and disadvantages
+ Fastest way, reduces time and costs - researcher bias(select participants for desired result) -unrepresentative(easy access)
66
Random sampling
Eaxh sample has an equal chance of being selected
67
Random sampling Advantages and disadvantages
+Avoids researccher bias +easy way of sampling -unrepresentative of all minority groups -difficult and time consuming
68
Stratified sampling
Dividing subjects into subgroups/strata based on shared characteristics
69
Stratified sampling Advantages and disadvantages
+Representative of target pop +Random chosen within each stratum -Not every characteristic will be represented -Time consuming to establish strata then select
70
Systematic sampling
Select participants of the population at regular intervals
71
Systematic sampling Advantages and disadvantages
+Avoids researcher bias +If list already exists of targets=quick -Unrepresentative sample -Big target pop, too hard
72
Volunteer sampling
Researchers seek volunteers to participate
73
Volunteer sampling Advantages and disadvantages
Easy sample to collect-self presented Reach a large no of potential participants Generalisability to target population?- Volunteers have diff characteristics Volunteer bias- friendlier, more freetime
74
informed consent
permission to use participant data and selves, should be informed on anything that could affect willingness could also be parental consent if the child is too young
75
dealing with informed consent when its broken
retrospective- gives consent for data use after debrief presumptive- similar group is assumed prior general- give permission to take part where they may be deceived
76
informed consent right to withdraw
have to have it and tell if you use any of the above methods
77
# when can it be used deception
researchers intentionally misleading participants about the true nature of a study no lies but sometimes it is unavoidable to keep pps naivety cost benefit analysis should be used to decide if its acceptable
78
dealing with deception if broken
pps receive an immediate debrief in full detail
79
protection from harm
risk or stress protection from extremely damaging to physical or psychological state
80
protection from harm dealing
debrief right to withdraw counselling
81
what should be in a consent farm
info about the study- aim and procedure right to withdraw confidentiality opportunity to ask questions statement for them to sign
82
written debrief form
thanks and explain the purpose of the study and predictions remind of confidentiality and if decepton is used explain why suggest counselling if necessary and right to withdraw inform if they want any info about results they should contact and ask them to not talk about it when its still running and provide names if anyone wishes to contact
83
qualitative data
data representing non numerical info, language associated
84
qual data collection
interviews diaries lab notebooks questionnaires
85
qual data adv and disadv
+more detailed to explain human complexity descriptive nature allows more analysis -time consuming harder to analyse as categorising is harder
86
quantitative data
data from measures of values, expressed as numers
87
quant data collection
experiments surveys polls probability sampling
88
quant data adv and disadv
+easy analysis consistency due to its objectivity -difficult to explain complex issues hard to analysis correlation
89
primary data
original data from researchers own research
90
primary data evaluation
+accuracy reliability - lost and time consuming researcher bias
91
secondary data
info collected and available for use by researchers who did not create it themselves
92
secondary data evaluation
time efficent- analysis is quicker and cheaper - lack of accuracy- incomplete or inaccurate data not up to date- lack of applicability
93
nominal data
qualititave values, usually tallied eg. age, ethnicity
94
ordinal data
scaled/ ordered data, subjective ratings usually 1-5 scales, ranking
95
interval data
ranked data with equal intervals and units eg. temperature, precipitation, time
96
ratio data
same as interval but with an absolute zero/baseline eg. distance, weight, cash
97
measure of central tendency
how sets of results are measured and analysed eg. mean, mode, median
98
measure if dispersion
how spread out the data is in a set of results eg. range, semi interquartile range, standard deviation
99
mean corresponds with which data type
interval/ratio
100
mode coresponds with which data type
nominal
101
median corresponds with which data type
ordinal
102
normal distribution
naturally occuring symmetrical bell curve more in middle few on side 68% on one side of standard deviation, 95% within 2 SD of mean
103
negatively skewed distribution
more at the higher end, outliers at the lower endp
104
positively skewed distribution
more scores at the lower end, outliers at the higher end
105
probability
how likely something is to happen between 0 and 1
106
conventional use of p<0.05 significance level
likelihood of behaviour happening is equal or less than 5% any higher= significance lower= hard to achieve, only needed for medical research
107
# significance levels challenging other research
psychologists adapt more stringent significace levels, 0.02/0.01
108
does proof exist in psychological research
does not exist in psychology research unless 100% accuracy is found, 0.05 is enough to show support
109
type one error
belief that significant difference/correlation is found but it doesnt exist
110
type two error
belief that no significant difference/correlation is found but there is one
111
avoiding type 1 or 2 errors
stringency, increasing the sample size
112
inferential statistics
stat test is done to determine whether a difference found in results is statistically significant and not by chance
113
when to use a sign test
nominal data checking for differences repeated measures experimental design matched pairs experimental design
114
how to calculate sign test
state null and alternative hypothesis represent each pair of data with plus of minus to work out S value look up critical value of S by knowing N and whether it is two tailed or one tailed compare critical t compared- if calculated is equal or less than value is significant
115
what do formal writeups always include
title abstract-summary paragraphs introduction- backgrounds and hypothesis aim method-designs, participants, materials results- data types of stats, tests done for significance discussion- analysis of data, support of hypothesis references appendices- forms, stats
116

Psychology Paper 1 (12 decks)

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