Research methods Flashcards
How do you start of the aim
to investigate the effect of…
what is the aim
the intent of the experiment
what is the hypothesis
a clear and concise prediction about the possible outcomes of the results
what is a directional hypothesis and what is it also called
-states the possible outcomes of the results which is typically based on previous research results or research literature
-also known as one-tailed
what is a non directional hypothesis and what is it also known as
-also known as two tailed
-just predicts that there will be a difference between the groups of the IV
what are the level of measurements of the Dependant variable
-nominal level(categorical data)
-Ordinal level (rank data or put the data in some sort of numerical order)
-Interval level(data consists of equal measurements e.g. swimmers can be measured in mins and secs)
what are operationalising variables
where the experimentor needs to define the variable and state exactly how accurately and very precisely, they intent to measure of manipulate it
what are extraneous variable
a variable may affect the measurement of the DV and therefore should be controlled by the experimenter
what is cofounding variables
when an extraneous variable wasn’t properly controlled, it has now confounded the measurements of the DV
what is situational variables
variables that should be controlled in the set up of the experiment e.g. temperature, time of day
What are participant variables
variables that the participants bring to the study that may affect the measurement of the DV e.g. intelligence level, age, gender. They cannot be controlled
what are some issues with experiments
- Demand characteristics
-Researcher bias
-Order effects/Practice effects/Fatigue effects
what are demand Characteristics
when participants are unsure of how to behave and they try to work out what is required of them
what is researcher bias
either consciously or not the researcher may impose a bias on the collection of data to be favourable towards their hypothesis
what are order effects/practice effect/fatigue effects
when participants do the same task twice it may produce a bias
how do you overcome demand characteristics
the single blind test, the double blind test
how do you overcome researcher bias
double blind test, standardised procedures(to ensure that all participants get the same experience)
how do you control for order effects/fatigue effects/practice effects
counterbalancing
How do you control for participant variables (individual differences)
Randomisation (random allocation of participants to groups to reduce )
what are pilot studies
small scale prototype of a study
what is internal validity
the accuracy of the measure of the DV
what is external validity
whether the data can be applied across different situations that are outside of the researchers set up
what are the types of external validity
-ecological
-temporal
-population
what is ecological validity
the extent to which the results can be applied to everyday settings
what is population validity
the extent to which results can be applied across different types of people
what is temporal validity
the extent to which the results can be applied across time
what are the two types of ways validity can be measured
face validity, concurrent validity
what is face validity
assessing whether or not something measures what it claims to measure
what is concurrent validity
comparing a new test with an existing test to see if they produce similar results
what are ways to improve validity
controls
single or double blind test
standardised procedures
what are the four types of experiments
laboratory, natural, field and quasi
what is a laboratory experiment
an experiment that takes place in a laboratory or controlled setting and is therefore to be considered to be an artificial environment
what are strengths of laboratory experiments
-replicable due to their strict controls and standardised procedure so are very reliable
-cause and effect relationship can be established due to the artificial settings allowing controls over variables, making it have a high internal validity
what are weaknesses in laboratory experiments
-artificial setting and the unnatural tasks they have low ecological validity
-High demand characteristics due to strict controls ,procedures and the set up of lab experiments that may give cues to what the experiment is about
-Researcher bias may be high thus affecting the validity of the data collected
what is a field experiment
It is an experiment that takes place in the field or more natural setting while still trying to maintain a high level of control
what are strengths of field experiments
-more natural setting so have a high ecological validity
-since it still has manipulation of the IV they can establish a cause and effect relationship and so have a high internal validity
-Demand characteristics are slightly lower
What are the weaknesses of a field experiment
-Harder to control all variables in a field setting , lowering internal validity
-more difficult to replicate thus lowering the reliability
-experimenter effects
what are the strengths in a natural/quasi experiment
-research is allowed where it previously may not have been due to ethical reasons
-study of real events and issues
what are the weaknesses in a natural experiment
- lack of manipulation of the IV means that there are not obvious conclusions about cause and effect
-hard to replicate so lower reliability
-experimenter effects may occur due to lowered controls
what are the weaknesses in a quasi experiment
-lack of manipulation of the IV means that there are not obvious conclusions about cause and effect
-experimenter effects may occur due to lowered controls
what are strengths in a quasi experiments
- allows for comparison to be made about different groups
- higher generalisability
-demand characteristics are slightly lower
what are the experimental designs
independent measure design
repeated measure design
matched pairs design
what are independent measures
using different groups of participants in each condition
what are repeated measures
using the same participant for each condition
what are matched pair design
using different but matched participants for each condition
what are strengthen of independent measures
- no order effects
-less likely for demand characteristics will effect the results
-same test can be used in all conditions
what are weakness in independent measures
-more participants required which may take time
-participant variables (independent differences) may affect the results, to overcome this randomisation
what are strengths in repeated measures
- same participants do all conditions so no participant variables
-fewer participants needed
what are weakness in repeated measures
- order effects
-demand characteristic
-different tests need to be produced
what are weakness in matched pairs measures
-matching process is very difficult and time consuming
what are strengths in matched pair measures
-low demand characteristics
-no order effects
-participant variables are controlled
What are methods to obtain a sample
Random, systematic, stratified, opportunity, volunteer
what are the strengths of random sampling
-least biased
what are the strengths of stratified sampling
-more representative
what are the strengths of systematic sampling
- Generally unbiased method
what are the strengths of opportunity sampling
-Quick and easy
-Sample readily available so time effective
what are the strengths of volunteer sampling
-wide access to variety of people
what are the weaknesses of random sampling
-need large pool of participants
what are the weaknesses of volunteer sampling
-same type of people volunteer
-volunteer bias
what are the weaknesses of opportunity sampling
-need multiple opportunity sample
-get same type of people
what are the weaknesses of systematic sampling
-not everyone has an equal chance of being selected
what are weaknesses of stratified sampling
expensive
time consuming
participants selected may not agree
what are the 4 principles of the British psychological society
respect
competence
responsibility
integrity
what are the measures of central tendency
mean, median and mode
what are the measures of dispersion
the range and standard deviation
what are the advantages and disadvantages of a mean
ad: uses all the data
dis: can be affected by anomalies
what are the advantages and disadvantages of a median
ad: used when there are extreme scores that would otherwise affect the mean
dis: don’t take into consideration all of the data set
what are the advantages and disadvantages of a mode
ad: used on categorical data when the mean and mode cannot
dis: some times there are more than one mode and other times there are no modes
what are the advantages and disadvantages of a range
ad: easy to calculate
dis: doesn’t indicate distribution pattern
what are the advantages and disadvantages of a standard deviation
ad: all values are included and it shows the distribution around the mean
dis: hard to calculate so it requires a calculator, extreme scores distort measurements
what are advantages of quantitative data
-large amounts of data can be collected
-objective
-trends and comparisons can be made
what are disadvantages of quantitative data
-lacks detail and depth
-narrow numerical response
-lacks meaningful content
-lowers validity
what are advantages of qualitative data
-increases validity
-more depth language and data
-develops insight into the participants beliefs ,attitudes and feelings
what are disadvantages of qualitative data
-can be subjective
-lower reliability
-harder to statistically analyse
what is primary data
data that is obtained from the researcher
what is secondary data
data that is previously obtained
what is meta analysis
combination of findings from secondary data on one research area
what are the advantages of primary data
-data is relevant to the researchers aims
-authentic
-high levels of controls as research is original
what are the disadvantages of primary data
-time consuming
-costs money
-takes effort
what are the disadvantages of secondary data
-data may not meet specific aims on the research
-validity is compromised
what are the advantages of secondary data
-less time consuming
-cheaper than primary
-easier data collection
what are the advantages to meta analysis
-greater ability for generalisations
-access large sample size
-increased validity of analysing patterns and trends by conducting statistical analysis on findings
what are the disadvantages of meta analysis
-time-consuming
-biased
-may not accurately represent all data on the research topic
What is a case study in psychology?
A case study is an in-depth study of one person or a group of people over time. It is
usually carried out in the real world. They are idiographic and very individualistic.
Why do psychologists use case studies instead of studying a lot of people?
Psychologists use case studies when they want to learn a lot about a person’s life, behaviours, or special situations that can’t be studied with big groups of people.
How do psychologists study someone in a case study?
They might do interviews, ask questions, observe them, or look at old records, like school reports or health files, to understand more about them
What are the advantages about case studies?
-ideographic and holistic
-high validity
-detailed insight into unique development and causes
-therapeutic application and diagnosis
What are the disadvantages about case studies?
-unethical
-subjective
-low reliability
-low generalisability to other individuals
what is the data collection for case studies
qualitative data
what is reliability
a measure of consistency of the data
what are the ways to measure reliability
-test-retest method
-inter observer reliability
-internal reliability
what’s the test retest method
where researchers ask the same participants to complete the same tests at different times
what is inter observer reliability
extent to which two or more observers are observing and recording behaviour in the same way
what is internal reliability
where participants score similar scores in different condition
what are the observational techniques
-Naturalistic and controlled
-Participant and non participant
-covert and Overt
What are the observational designs
-structured and unstructured
-behavioural categories
-Sampling procedures
what is a naturalistic observation
behaviour is observed in a natural environment
what is the advantage of a naturalistic observation
High ecological validity
what is the advantage of the controlled observation
behaviours can be observed in more detail and some aspects of the environment have been controlled so higher validity
what is the disadvantage of a naturalistic observation
Little control over situational variables so lower validity
What is the disadvantage of controlled observation
lower in ecological validity as the natural environment has been altered
what is controlled observation
the researcher manipulates and controls certain variables in a structured setting to observe participants’ behaviour.
what is overt observations
when the participant knows they are being observed
what is covert observations
when the participants don’t know that they are being observed
what are the advantages of overt observations
Participants can give informed consent and understand their right to withdraw
what are the advantages of covert observations
no demand characteristics
what are the disadvantages of covert observations
could raise ethical issues
what are the disadvantages of overt observations
demand characteristics
what are participant observations
when the observer is apart of the observation
what are non participant observations
when the observer is not apart of the observation and observes from a distance
what are advantages in participant observations
gains a deeper insight into group behaviours and interactions thus increasing validity
what are advantages in non participant observations
- observer is likely to be more objective
-if also covert observation it means there will be no demand characteristics
what are disadvantages in participant observations
- demand characteristics
-lose objectivity
what are disadvantages in non participant observations
lose valuable insight that can be gained if to far away
what is unstructured observational design
researcher records all behaviour seen in the participant
what are disadvantages to unstructured observational design
time consuming
inaccurate
irrelevant behaviours recorded
difficult to analyse
what are advantages to unstructured observational design
good when there is no idea how participants may behave
good for a piolet study
what is structured observational design
the researcher has a list of specific behaviours they expect to see
what are advantages to structured observational design
objective and rigorous
what are disadvantages to structured observational design
unique or unexpected behaviours are missed
what is behavioural categories
behaviour is operationalised and broken down into categories to observe
what is event and time sampling
event- counting the number of times a specific category or behaviour occurs in a given time period
time- counting the number of times a specific category list within a time frame of intervals
What is a paradigm shift
When a theory/law changes from one paradigm (one thought/idea) to another due to evidence being brought up
Explain why statistical testing is used in psychological research
Psychologists read statistical date to find out if their results are significant or due to chance
What is the framework of directional hypothesis
Group IV will score higher/lower on the DV (operationalised) than group IV
What is the framework of non directional hypothesis
There will be a difference between group IV1 and group IV2 on DV
What is the self report method
Self-reports get information direct from the participants about their behaviour or thoughts
These are unlike observations as they do notrely on the psychologist’s interpretations
What are the two types of self reports
interviews
questionnaires
What are the types of interviews
-unstructured
-structured
-semi structured
What are unstructured interviews
informal, flexible, no set questions, natural responses (high validity), lack consistency (low reliability)
What are structured interviews
fixed questions, standardised, (high reliability), (low validity)
What are semi structured interviews
Semi Structured- combination of both, set questions + informal chat, interviewer must be well trained
What are the strengths of unstructured interviews
-high ecological validity
-flexible
-use open questions so the interviewee can elaborate on the point in more detail thus increasing the validity
What are weaknesses of unstructured interviews
- tend to use qualitative data which is harder to analyse
-researcher may loose their objectivity due to the intimate nature of unstructured interviews
What are the strengths of structured interviews
-tend to use quantitative data which is easy to analyse
-they use standardised questions which means the interview can be replicated
What is a weakness of structured interviews
A predetermined set of questions may be restrictive
What are the types of questions that can be asked in questionnaires
-Openquestionsallow the respondent to answer in any way they like. Questions like “How” and “Why”.
-Closedquestionsonly allow an answer from a list of responses. The simplest type of closed question is a “Yes/No” question.
What are the key principles of the questionnaire that should be followed
FILLER QUESTIONS - adding irrelevant questions to distract the participants from the main purpose.
SEQUENCE OF QUESTIONS - questionnaire begins with easy questions and the sensitive questions are saved towards the end.
FIT FOR THE PURPOSE - the questionnaire should get straight to the point by asking as little questions as possible and sticking to the aim.
STANDARDISED PROCEDURE - all participants are given the same questions
PILOT STUDIES - questions are tested on a small group of people.
ETHICAL ISSUES - deception may be necessary to control demand characteristics.
What are strengths of questionnaires
-High reliability due to the use of standardised procedures
-Standardised procedures also control extraneous variables
-researcher doesn’t need to be present to administer the questionnaires
-large amounts of data can be collected quickly and cheaply
What are the weaknesses of questionnaires
-demand characteristics
-participants may misunderstand information thus lowering the validity
-often closed questions which may lower the validity
-there is a tendency for people to under report the negative aspects of their life and over report the positive
