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Psychology Paper 2 > Research Methods > Flashcards

Research Methods Flashcards

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1
Q

What is an aim

A

A statement which indicates the researcher’s intentions

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2
Q

What is the structure of an aim
Give the music example
Give the Loftus and palmer example

A

To investigate the impact of —– on ——
To investigate the impact of different genres of music on students performance on a maths test
To investigate the impact of leading questions on recall accuracy

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3
Q

What is an independent variable
Give an example of IV in music and Loftus and Palmer

A

A variable that is manipulated during an experiment
Genre of music either Jazz/Pop
Verb used either smashed/collided/contacted/hit/bumped

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4
Q

What is a dependent variable
Give an example of DV for music and Loftus and Palmer

A

Variable that is measured in an experiment
Students marks on a math test out of 100
Estimated speed in mph given by participants

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5
Q

What is an extraneous variable
Give examples of extraneous variables for music

A

A variable aside from the IV which cab impact the DV and its impact does not systematically change with conditions(affects all conditions)
Individual differences/Volume/Time/Quality of resources

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6
Q

What is a confounding variable
Give an example

A

A variable aside from the IV that can have an impact on DV and its impact does systematically change with conditions(affects some conditions)
In one room, there are loud kids outside, in the other room it is quiet outside

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7
Q

What is the template for hypothesis
Give an example for music and Loftus and Palmer

A

There will be a significant increase/decrease/difference in the DV when IV1 compared to IV2
-There will be a significant increase in the participants mark out of 100 on a maths test when participants revise for maths listening to jazz music compared to pop music
-There will be a significant increase in the estimated speed in mph given by the participant when the verb used in the question is smashed compared to when the verb is contacted

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8
Q

Define operationalisation(dv defenition)
Why do we operisationalise the DV

A

When you make a behaviour or a trait measurable numerically and specifically
-Allows you to do a statistical analysis with the results
-Allows you to compare conditions

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9
Q

Why are two types of hypothesis

A

Null(no significant difference) and Alternate(Increase/Decrease/Difference)

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10
Q

Give an example for null hypothesis and alternate hypothesis for music

A

NULL There is no significant difference in the participants marks out of 100 on a maths test when they listened to jazz music compared to pop music
ALTERNATE There is a significant increase in the participants marks out of 100 on a maths test when they listened to jazz music compared to pop music

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11
Q

What are two types of alternate hypothesis

A

Directional hypothesis(Increase/Decrease)
Nondirectional hypothesis(Difference)

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12
Q

Give an example of a directional hypothesis and non directional hypothesis for music

A

DIRECRIONAL There will be a significant increase in participants marks out of 100 on a maths test when they listened to jazz music compared to pop music
NONDIRECTIONAL There will be a significant increase in participants marks out of 100 on a maths test when they listened to jazz music compared to pop music

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13
Q

When do you give a directional hypothesis
When so you give a non directional hypothesis

A

DIRECTIONAL When previous researchers suggest a direction of change
NONDIRECTIONAL When there is no previous research
If there is contradictory research

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14
Q

What is an experiement

A

A scientific study to investigate behavior
Involves manipulation of the IV to measure the effects on the DV

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15
Q

What are the 4 types of experiments

A

Laboratory experiments
Field experiments
Natural experiments
Quasi experiments

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16
Q

Laboratory experiments
Strengths
Weaknesses

A

THE RESEARCHER MANIPULATES THE IV+HIGH LEVELS OF CONTROL(ARTIFICIAL)+TAKES PLACE IN AN ARTIIFICIAL SETTING
STRENGTHS: High replicability - high levels of control over variables - establish standardised procedures - replicated by other researchers to check is findings are consistent
High levels of control - Researched can manipulate the method to eliminate extraneous variables - Stronger cause and effect relationship between IV and DV - confident that it is the IV that leads to the DV
WEAKNESSES: low ecological validity - takes place in an artifical setting with high levels of control - the setting will not be reflective of participants everyday environment - behaviour showed by participants will not be reflective of everyday life - reduces validity

17
Q

Natural experiments
Strengths
Weaknesses

A

TAKES PLACE IN A REAL LIFE SETTING+NO CONTROL OVER VARIABLES+IV PCCURS NATURALLY+RESEARCHER HAS NO CONTROL OVER IV
STRENGTHS: High ecological validity - takes place in an real life setting with no control - setting will be reflective of participants everyday environment - behaviour showed by participants will be reflective of everyday life - reduces validity
WEAKNESSES: Low replicability -
No control over variables - can’t establish standardised procedures - can’t be replicated by other researchers to check is findings are consistent
No control over variables - Researchers can’t manipulate the method so no extraneous variables are eliminated- weaker cause and effect relationship between IV and DV - can’t be confident that it is the IV that leads to the DV

18
Q

Field experiments
Strengths(Comparing field to lab)
Weaknesses(Comparing field to lab)

A

RESEARCHER MANIPULATES IV+TAKES PLACE IN A NATURAL ENVIRONMENT+SOME CONTROL OVER VARIABLES
Strengths: Field experiments have a higher ecological validity than lab experiments - field experiments take place in a more natural setting - setting will be more reflective of participants everyday environment than lab experiments - behaviour shown by participants will be more reflective of their everyday lives than lab experiments - field experiments are more valid than lab experiments
Weaknesses
Field experiments have a lower replicablity than lab experiments- field experiments have lower levels of control over variables in comparison to lab experiments- cannot establish standardised procedures as well as lab experiments - method cannot be replicated by other researchers as well as lab experiments - less likely to check reliability
Field experiments gave lower levels of control compared to lab experiments - less able to manipulate method so less extraneous variables are eliminated than lab experiments - field experiments have a weaker cause and effect relationship between the IV and DV than lab experiments- less confident that it is the IV that causes the DV - field experiments are less valid than lab experiments

19
Q

Quasi experiments
Strengths(example)
Weaknesses

A

NO CONTROL OVER IV+IV OCCURS NATURALLY+IV IS BASED ON PARTICIPANTS CHARECTERISTICS
STRENGTHS: Allows the researcher to investigate sharecteristics and abnormal behaviour that would be difficult or unethical to induce as an IV within an experimental setting
(E.g. if someone already has anorexia, it it ethical to investigate them howver if you make someone develop anorexia for the sake of your experiment, that is unethical as it is causing harm to participants)

20
Q

What is reliability
How do you test reliability
How do you improve reliability

A

-Reliability is when results in an experiment remain consistent Overtime
-Get all your participants data using a method, after a period of time, use the same method on the same participants and gather a second set of data, compare the results of the 1st and 2nd time using the method for each participant using a correlation analysis, if there is a strong positive correlation between the 1st and 2nd time using the method and the correlation coefficient is greater than 0.8, there is high reliability
-You can improve reliability by operationalising the DV, reducing the EV, high control allows you to recreate the environmental setting and variables exactly how they occurred so other researchers can repeat the method to check for similar findings which increases reliability, standardised procedures

21
Q

What is internal validity
Explain using examples

A

Internal validity is when the experiment measures what it intends to measure
For example, in an experiment if you intend to measure the effects of the IV on DV and there are EVs that you don’t realise are present, you will be measuring the impact of EV aswell on your DV so it has low internal validity

22
Q

What is external validity
Explain the 3 examples of external validity

A

How well the findings can be applied beyond the experiment
1) Ecological validity- How well findings can be applied to real life behaviour
2) Population validity- How well findings can be applied to everyday member of the target population
3) Temporal validity- How well findings can be applied to a different time

23
Q

What are the 3 types of experimental designs

A

Independent groups
Repeated measures
Matched Pairs design

24
Q

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
What is an independent group
Strengths
Weaknesses

A

Each participant only takes part in one condition
A strength of independent measures is it is less prone to demand characteristics as participants only take part in one condition, less likely to work out aim of the experiment, less likely to show unnatural behaviour to fit the aim or impress the researcher, can be confident that the manipulation of the IV causes the DV, not the EV, increases validity of the findings

A strength of independent measures is the findings are not affected by order effect as each participant only takes parts in one condition so less likely to be affected by boredom or tiredness as they would be if this was a repeated measure so we can be confident that it is the manipulation of the IV causes the DV, not the EV, increases validity of the findings

A weakness of independent measures is the findings can be affected by individual differences because two different groups of people are being compared in each condition and it is possible that one group of people is naturally better at the task than the other group so we can not be confident that it is the manipulation of the IV causes the DV, not the EV individual differences, decreasing validity of the findings

25
Q

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS
What is repeated measures
Strengths
Weaknesses

A

Every participant takes part in each condition
A strength of repeated measures is the findings are not affected by individual differences because the same groups of people are being compared in each condition so one condition can’t naturally be better at the task than another group so we can be confident that it is the manipulation of the IV causes the difference in the DV, not the EV individual differences, increasing validity of the findings

A weakness of repeated measures is it is more prone to demand characteristics as participants take part in all condition, more likely to work out aim of the experiment, more likely to show unnatural behaviour to fit the aim or impress the researcher, can not be confident that the manipulation of the IV causes the differences in DV, not the EV, decreases validity of the findings

A weakness of repeated measures is the findings are affected by order effect as each participant takes part in both conditions so so they might be bored or tored when going through the second condition so their performance will be worse so we can not be confident that it is the manipulation of the IV causes the differences in DV, not the EV, increases validity of the findings

26
Q

Matched pairs design
Explain how you create the pairs
Strengths
Weaknesses

A

All participants take a pretest before the experiment on a variable related to the study
Rank participants based of the performance
1st and 2nd paired as they have a similar ability, 3rd and 4th paired and this continues until all the participants are in a pair
From each pair, one person is randomly allocated into condition 1, the other person gets randomly allocated to condition 2
STRENGTHS: It reduces individual differences as participants vave meen matched on their prior abilities and individual traits. Therefore, you can be confident that is the manipulation of the IV that leads to differences in the DV, not the EV
Findings are not affected by order effects as participants only take part in one condition so there are less likely to be affected by boredom or tiredness when going through the second condition, Therefore, you can be confident that is the manipulation of the IV that leads to differences in the DV, not the EV
Less prone to demand characteristics as participants only take part in one condition so are less likely to work out the aim of the experiment so are less likely to show unnatural behaviour to fit the aim or to impress the researched, Therefore, you can be confident that is the manipulation of the IV that leads to differences in the DV, not the EV
WEAKNESS: The process of testing participants ability prior to the experiment and then pairing them up can be time consuming so doing this takes longer than independent groups or repeated measures

27
Q

What are the 4 methods of control

A

Counter balancing
Random allocation
Standardisation
Randomisation

28
Q

How do we do counter balancing and why do we do it

A

Divide the sample into 2 subgroups of equal sizes. Subgroup 1 goes through condition A first and then condition B. Subgroup 2 goes through condition B first and then condition A.
This ensures we balance out the impact of order effects across both conditions so that both conditions are equally affected by the impact of order effects. As a result, we can be confident that it is the manipulation of the IV causing differences in the DV, not due to EV(Order effects)

29
Q

How do we do random allocation and ehy do we do it

A

Put the names of all participants in your sample in individual pieces of paper and put them all in a hat. Given there are 50 ppt, pick 25 names and they will all go to condition A. Pick 25 names and they will all go to condition B. OR Put 25 individual pieces of paper with A and 25 individual pieces of paper with B in the same hat. Participants pick paper themselves and if they pick A, they go to condition A, if they pick B, they go to condition B.
To ensure ppt of a particular type do not all end up systematically in the same condition, therefore individual traits or characteristics are spread across both conditions
To ensure the researchers don’t knowingly allocate participants of a particular type to one condition in order to prove their hypothesis to be true

30
Q

How do we do randomisation and why do we do it

A

Put all the words that participants are going to see on individual pieces of paper in a hat. Pick out words put of the hat one by one. The order in which words are pulled out of the hat will be the order in which participants see the information
To ensure that participants do not see words/images in an order that has been systematically changed to elicit a particular response (e.g. not all the happy words at the beginning of the list and sad words at the end of the list)

31
Q

Define standardisation
How do we do standardisation and why do we do it

A

To ensure all participants are treated the same in an experiment and everything is kept the same apart from the IV
Ensure amount of time given same, difficulty of task is same, treatment same(e.g. same neutral tone with everyone), Interviewer is same sex as interviewee, everyone given same resources
-To ensure all participants recieve the same fair treatment and to prevent one condition from having an unfair advantage over the other condition which can lead to innacurate results which reduces the validity

32
Q

What is investigator effects
Explain one way we can reduce investigator effects

A

Researcher unknowingly or unknowingly demonstrates a behaviour or through their charecteristics, will influence the participants behaviour, this impacts the findings of the study

Double blind research: Researcher and participant do not know which condition the participant is in, this reduces the investigator effect so the Researcher can’t knowingly or unknowingly change their behaviour to influence their participants behaviour in order to prove their hypothesis to be true

33
Q

What is a target population
What is a sample
What is a representative sample
What are 5 types of sampling

A

TARGET POPULATION Group of people the researcher wants to study and apply their findings to
SAMPLE Group of people taken from the target population who will take part in the research
REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE The sample is a good reflection of the target population so you can apply the findings to the target population
Opportunity sampling
Volunteer sampling
Random sampling
Systematic sampling
Stratified sampling

34
Q

What is Opportunity sampling
Strengths
Weaknesses

A

Researcher goes to members of public who are the TP and ask if they want to take part in the research. If they are willing to take part and able to take part, they become part of the sample for this investigation
STRENGTHS
-Quick and convenient way of gathering sample compared to other sampling methods like stratified sampling and lots of ppts can be gathered in a short amount of time
WEAKNESSES
-Sample will be unrepresentative of tp a sample will only reflect members of tp who are in the vicinity of the researcher or those who the researcher has access to-can’t generalise findings to tp - reduces population validity
-Sample will be biased as researcher has full control over the members of tp so they will go up to people who they prefer (friends) or people who they believe will prove their hypothesis to be true - This increases researcher bias and reduces validity of the findings

35
Q

What is volunteer sampling
Strengths
Weaknesses

A

The researcher advertises the study on relevant websites/newspapers/appropriate locations, advert medium has to be tailored to the TP. After seeing the advert, participants will respond to the researcher if they are interested, those who contact the researcher will be part of the sample
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
Sample not representative of tp as it may attract atypical repsondents(people who take part in the study as they are interested in the aim of the study) - this means they will try hard and put in effort into the study - leads to atypical behaviour and results that can’t be applied to tp - reduces population validity
Also based on where the researcher chose to advertise, they are more likely to attract ppts who have access to that medium (e.g. local newspaper) - can’t generalise findings to tp - reduces population validity

36
Q

What is random sampling
Strengths
Weaknesses

A

Researcher aquire names of all members of TP and puts them on individual pieces of paper in a hat. Researcher picks out as many names from the hat as needed to form the sample. All the names that are picked from the hat will be part of the sample
STRENGTHS
No researcher bias as participants are ppts by chance as researcher as no control over who is randomly picked so they cannot choose to pick members of the tp who they prefer (friends) or those who they believe will prove their hypothesis to be true - this reduces investigator effects and increases validity of findings
WEAKNESSES
-It is time consuming as gathering the names of all members of tp requires a lot of time and effort and can be inconvenient
-May be unrepresentative of the tp, it is possible that by chance every person picked out of a hat has similar traits - can’t generalise findings to tp - reduces population validity

37
Q

What is systematic sampling
Strengths
Weaknesses

A

Researcher aquire names of all members of TP. Put names in a list in a specific order (e.g. alphabetical order). Generates a random number to act as the nth term. Pick every nth participant on the list until you have as many participants as needed
STRENGTHS
-No researched bias as participants are picked based on nth term so researcher has no control over who is picked so they cannot choose to pick members of the tp they prefer (friends) or those who they belive will prove their hypothesis to be true - reduces investigator effects and increases validity of findings
WEAKNESSES
- It can be time consuming as gathering names of all members of tp can require a lot of time and effort and can be inconvenient
-Sample may not be representative of tp, possible that by chance every nth ppt picked has similar traits - can’t generalise findings to tp - reducing population validity

Psychology Paper 2 (2 decks)

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