research methods Flashcards
what is an independent and dependent variable?
independent variable is the variable directly manipulated by rhe researcher in ordee to examine its effects
while the dependent variable is the variable being measured by the researcher
what is operationalisation?
making the variavle in an investigation detailed and specfic
What is an extraneous variable and give a few types of extraneous variables
it is a variable not controlled, which could affect the results of the study
1)confouding variable
an extraneous variable that affects the result of the study so that the effect of the IV is not truly seen
2) situational variable
an extraneous variable present in the environment of the study
3) participant variable
an extraneous variable specific to trye participants of the investigation, such as their mood abilities or personality
Way in which the study conducted can introduce situational variables
1) order effects when a participant improve or worsen in the second condition because they have practised or become fatigued
2) demand characteristics when the participants alter their behaviour in response to the perceived aims of the investigation
3) investigator effects is when a researcher unintentionally gives clues to a participant altering their behaviour
Ways in which to control situational variables
using standardised procedures, where the procedure of a stufy is the same across all conditions.
How to prevent order effectd
- counterbalancing which involves half of the participants experiencing the first condition and then the second condition, while the otjer half experience the second condition then the first condition. this way order effects are equally distributed in both conditions to cancel eachother out
2) randomisation, where each participant is assigned to the first or second condition as amatter of chance,
ways in which to control demand chsracteristics
1) single blind technique where information of the sstudy is withheld or nto told to the participants
2) double blind technique is where the aim of the study is withheld from both participant and researcher,,
ways in which to control participant variable
through random allocation, where participants are randomly assigned to a conditioj of the study, designed to precent only a certain type of person being in one condition of the study
what is a null hypothesis
a prediction fhat the result will fail to show any difference that is consistent or systematic such as
there will be no differencd in the numver or digits recalled whether participants listened to classical music or jazz, any difference is die to chance
what is an alternative/experimental hypothesis
a prediction of the outcome of a study baded on what is expected to happen, can either be directional or non directional
directional hypothesis is a hypothesis thst predicts the direction the resultd will go on
non directional hypothesis is a hypothesis that predicts that a difference/relationship will be found bit does not specify what the difference/relationship will be
what is an experimental hypothesis
the name given to a hypothesis when used in a field and labratory experiments
what is an experimental hypothesis
the name given to a hypothesis when used in a field and labratory experiments
What is a target population
the group of ppl beinng investigated in a study
what is generalisability
the extent to which the result of a study represent the whole population
what is a sample
a selection of the target population that is directly studied in an investigation
what is a sampling method and give several rypes of sampling method
a technique used to gather a representative group if people as a sample from the target population
1) random sampling technique
2) startified sampling technique
3) volunteer sampling technique
4) opportunity sampling technique
in depth what is random sampling technique, strength snd weaknesses
a technique used to gather a random sample of participants from the target population
strength
- each member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected
weakness
- however some may refuse to participant as they havd the rights to do so, which can lead to a less representstive sample
stratified sampling technique in detail
s tec a technique that ensures sub groups of the target population are proportionally represented in a sample
strength
wnsires that the sample is completely representstive as a cross section of a target population
weakness
time consuming and suffers from
the same weakness as random sampling. that ppl can refuse to tale part leading to sample error
what is a sampling error
when a sample differs in qualities from the target population it intends to represent
volunteer sampling technique in detail
a technique that asks for participants by placing an advert for volunteers
stengths
involvss minimal effort on hte part of resesrchers in identifying and selecting a sample.
most ethical sampling method because participants do not need to be ssked directly this avoiding placing pressure on tp participate
weakness
not everyone coild see the advert leading go biased sample as volunteers tend to ve a particular type of presonality or have the inclination to participate leading to unreliable findings
opporunity sampling twchnique in detail
recruits participants who are readily available at the time
, makes use of people who happe to be around the time of the research
rhis can be done with or withoutt their agreement
strengths
quickest and somplest sampling
weakness
can lead to bissed sample becUse not every memebee of the target population may be around at the time of the study
so not really feneralisable to the target population
findings can ve unreliable as if done in different times in a week they may differ
what is a research design and experimental design?
research design
how participants are allocated to the conditoons of the study
experimental design
the name fiven to the research design when used in an experiment
types of research and experimental designs
independent measures design
involves splitting participants into groips with each tested in only one condition of the study
repeated measures design
the same participants are used in all conditions of a study
matched pairs design
different participants are usee in each conditoon of the study but are matched for likeness on important characteristics
what are strengths and weaknesses of independent measures design
str
there are no order effects as participants take part in one condition of the
wk
more participants required
maybe be individual differeneces between teh groups
controlling problems
participants can be randomly allocated to each condition
repeated measures design str and wk
str
fewer participants rwquired making it more economical
no individual differences between conditions of the study
wk
demand characteristics are more likelt as participants are more able to guess aim
order effects mean that results may reflect practice or fatigue
controlling problems
order effects need to be controlled using counterbalancing or randomisation
matched pairs design str and weaknesses
str
fair comparisons can be made between the groups as they are equally matched
wk
it is time consuming to match participants and not all characterstics can be equally matched
what is reliability
refers to the consistency of an outcome or result of an investigation
means that the same result is found again and again
describe relability in sampling methods
if a sampling method or technique leads to a biased sample, then the ourcome of the research may not be relied upon to occur again, as it could differ if the study was relicated
reliability in experimental designs
in an independent measures design, participants differ between conditions, so there is variability between groups because participant variables. this can lead to unreliable findings
descfibe validity
the extent to which a study measures what it intends to measure.
validity can be split up into internal and external validity
what does internal and external validity mean
internal validity whether the measures used in a test geniunely test what they were designed to test
external validity (ecological validity) describes whether the findings are generalisable to the target population
describe vailidiry in sampling methods
- if a sample error occurs then rhe findings of the research are untrue of the target population. this affects the external validity of the results
describe validity in experimental designs
way in which participants are allocated to a consitoon can affect the validity of the findingsZ
describfe qualitative methods
ways of conducting research that find out new information rather than testing a prediction, often resulting in qualitative data
describe quantitative methods
ways of conducting a research that test a prediction and gather quantitative data
what is triangulation
when more than one measure is taken for a behaviour to cross validate the findings
what is researcher bias
when a researcher interprets the outcome of a study according to their own view(subjective)
what is ethical issues
researcherrs follow codes or rules of conduct when carrying out research to protect participants from harm
what is the right to withdraw
ensuring that participants are clearly aware of their rigjt to leave thenstudy at any point
What is the BPS??
British Psychological Society produced a guideline to help psychologists identify consider and deal with ethical issues through series of ethical guidelines
what ate the four main principles of the BPS
1) Respect for the autonomy, privacy and dignity of individuals and communities
2) Scientific integrity
3) Social Responsibiliry
4) Maximising benefts and minimising harm
What is deception and how to stop it
deception involves misleading ofr lyong to the parricipants of the true nature of the investigstion. violating the participants ability to givd informed concent
to prevent this, debriefed can be used to disclose information as soon as the study finishes and discloses the outcome of the study
What are some rights participantd have
Confidentiality, Informed Consent, Right to withdraw and protection of participants from psychological harm
describe the three experiments in short
labratory experiment
a procedure staged in an artificial environment
field experiment
a procedure staged in a naturalistic environment
manipulated
natural experiment
a study that examines a naturally occuring variable in a real life situation
not manipulated
describe labratory experiment, pros and cons
labratory experiment takes place in a controlled environment, where the labratory has an IV and DV,
tries to controlling and eliminating all other extraneous variables
pros
most scientific due to high levels of control
cause and effect can be established between IV and DV
cons
conducted in an unnatural environment
participants are invited to the experiment so may display demand characteristic
reductionist as it isolated only the variables under consideration, ignoring other variables thet could also be involved
describe field experiments and their pros and cons
an experiment conducted in a natural environment, but theere is still an IV that is manipulated by the researcher and a DV measured
Some control in variables but more unpredicablr due to naturalistic setting
participants may or may not be aware of taking part in researcher
pros
-conducted in a naturalistic environment so behaviour is natural
pros
-there is cause and effect vetween UV and DV so some extranous variables can be controlled
cons
- not all extraneous variablee fancbe controlled as it is real life
-can be unethical as participants may be unaware of takiny part so researchers may not have gained informed consent
natural experiment description and pros cons
occurs in a real life environment and has an IV and Dv but the researchers so nto manipulate the IV, it occurs naturally
Generally opportunistic means they make use of unique and naturally occuring siutations that would otherwise ve difficult or unethical
pros
naturally occuringn and not manipulayed
real and naturalistic
cons
not possible to ransomly allocate participants to consitions of rhe IB, so there may be issues with participant variables that can influence findings
extraneous variables are difficult to control
describe interview
a researcher method designed to gather self reported information from participants
a non experimental method as it does not manipulate an IV directly
- Structured interview
- Semi Structured interview
- Unstructured interview
describe structured interview
a standardised list of pre-set questions asked to a respondent,
suitable for lwrge scale studies whete a number of interviews are required to get information from alot of respondents
describe semi structures interview
has a mix of preset and unprepared questions to ask to a respondent allowing for some free flowing conversation to occur allowing the intervirerto explore the respondents thoughts and beliefs when opporunitiescarise throughout the interview
describe unstructed interview
a free flowing conversation around a particular topic with a respondent.
althought interviewers have a broad aim they generally have a conversation with respondents that csn go in all sorts of directions
describe strength and weakness of interviews
suffer from social desirability biad where respondents andwer in a way that they feel is more socially acceptable
- structured interviews are able to gather alot ot info from alot of people relatively quick, easy to replicate.
however they can inly access superficial information from respondents and do not allow respondents to answer freely - semi structuredallowing respondents to answer their own way, interviewers csn deviste from the intervire to an interesting avenue they can rxplore
however this is more time consuming and requires interwiers to have more training on how to conduct an interview
3) unstrucutred interviews gsther the most indepth information, allowing interviewers to freely explore the beliefs and attitiudes of respondents.
however interviewers need to ge welltrained and takes time to build a rapport with respondents.
impossible to replicate as not all respondents are the same
Describe Questionnares
a self report technique designed to ask lots of people questions about a topic
they can he either closed ended questions(qs with a fixed response to choose from) or open ended questions(qs with no fixed response)
strength and weakness of questionaires
pros
inexpensive way of gathering information from a large sample
ethical because people can quite easily choose to not complete them
respondents are not affected by the pressnce if an interviewer so are more likely to andwer honest reducing social desirability effect
closed ended questions produce quantitative daya which is easy to analyse and object
open wnded question produce qualitative data which is open too interpretation ans offer more freedom than quantitative
cons
response rate of qs is relatively low as people may not be inclined or have time to do them
closed ended questions may cause participants to feel that the rigjt option is not available or thst they would like to explain their choices
open ended questions are hard to analyze as they produce qualitative data
describe correlation
a way of analysing relationships between variables
a positive correlextion is where as one co variable increases the other increases
a negative correlation is where as one co variable increases the other decreases
pros and cons of correlations
pros
useful for examining relationships between many variables as they are cheaper and take less time than experimental research
useful in researching a topix that would be difficult to study experimentsllyvfor ethical reasons
less interfentionist so more likely to be ehical
cons
cause and effect cannot be establushed, we csnnot say that ine variable causes another to occur as it could be the other way around, or a third variable het to be studied could give an external influence
case study describe
an indepth investigstion into one person or a group of people typically involves using a range of research methods, suitable for the study of unique or rare individuals in circumstances a psychologist could not have staged for ehtical and practical reasons
pros and cons of case study
useful in situations that would be unethical to set up experimentally and provides the most in depth information about ap articular individual
can stimulate research inti new areas of psychology that would not have been found unless rare individuas were studied
cons
csnnot be repeated to check reliability of the findings as every individual iz different
may not be applicatble/generalisable to others for the same reason
researchers may be intensely involved in gathering data they may lose their obiectivity and interpret the findingd differently kniwn as researcher vias, can be avoided through triangulation
describe observation
a research merhid designed to simply observe and watch what people do
- naturalistic observation
conducted in an everyday environment where behaviour can ve studied and seen - controlled/structured obsercation
conducted un labratory orncontrolled environment - overt observation
conducted with participants knowledge they are being watched - covert observation
conducted without the participants awarenthat they are being watched - participant observation
when observer is involved in the group they are observing - non participant observation
when ovserver watches and records without being actively involved
str and wk of observation
pros
cons
xan be unreliable if certain measures are nor in place. can be that oveervers did not detect behaviours.
each coded behaviour needs to be clearly operationalised and the observer mist be well rrained in how to conduct an observation in ordee to correctly record coded behaviours
can lack validity if the coded behaviours are not a good measure of the concept being tested or due to observer bias more likely in a participant observstion ss observer becomed involved in the group being stuxied and lose objectivity
ethical issues due to covert observations which can raise the issue of a lack of consent, participants covert observstion could raise ethical concerns becuase researchsr who may be acting a sa group member deceives the participants
