research methods Flashcards
what is an aim
General statement that sets out what the researcher wants to investigate.
I.e to investigate wether music genre has an effect on psychology ability
What is an independent variable?
Variable that is manipulated by the researcher or changed in order to see the effects on the dependent variable.
What is a dependent variable?
Variable that is being measured as a consequence to the manipulation of the independent variable.
What is an extraneous variable?
Variable other then the dependent variable that may affect the dependent variable if not controlled. May affect both conditions.
What is a confounding variable
Variable other then the dependent variable that may have affected the dependent variable. Only affects one condition. Identified after the experiment.
Hypothesis writing
There will be a significant increase/decrease/difference in the DV when IV1 compared to IV2
What is operationalisation?
Making variables stated in the aim measurable so they can be precisely tested.
Why do we operationalise the DV
Makes it easier to replicate because it means you can standardise the procedures. This makes it more specific, more objective and thus increases validity.
Why do we need null and alternate hypothesis?
Null hyp= no difference. We need both so that the researcher can accept one and reject the other.
What is the difference between directional and non directional hypothesis?
Directional hypothesis predicts the direction of change( increase/ decrease) whereas non- directional hypothesis doesn’t predict the direction of change- simply states there will be a difference. However does not predict wether there will be an increase or decrease.
When should we use directional and non directional hypothesis?
Directional, use when previous research suggests direction
Non- directional it has not much other research into this specifically. Also use when there is a contradictory previous research.
what is an experiment
it is a scientific investigation of behaviour which involves the manipulation of the IV to observe the effect on the DV.
what are the four types of experiments
Lab, Quasi, Field and Natural
labrotory experiments
Iv is manipulated by the researcher. takes place in a controlled enviornment (artificial ) allows for control over extrenious variables.
STRENGTHS:
- high control over extrrenious variables by controllling EVs we can be confident of the IV Dv link and can establish a strong cause and effect relaionship between the IV and the DV
- controlled nature of the experiment allows for standardised procedure by keeping the fators the same thus we can replicate the study to test for reliability
WEAKNESSES:
- high levels of control= artificial setting
behaviour does not represent real life behaviour giving the research low ecological validity
-participants are aware they are being experimented on so may change their behaviour to suit their aim(demand characteristics). Please you vs screw you effect (sabotage by acting in the opposite from expectations. )
field experiments
IV is manipulated by the researcher, however experiment takes place in a natural environment.There is some control over extraneous variables, more control then a natural experiment however less control then a lab experiment. One example of one is conducting an experiment in a subway- whether the public would help someone who falls over.
STRENGTHS
natural environment findings will represent behaviour that will occur in real life settings so it has high ecological validity.
Ppts less likely to know they are being studied- therefore, unlikely to guess the aim - act more naturally decreasing Demand characteristics.
WEAKNESSES
lower degree of control over extraneous variables cant be confident that the IV caused the DV lowering internal validity and thus weakens the cause and effect relationship
low levels of control also mean difficult to replicate as we cannot standardise or check for consistency therefore it has low reliability
Natural experiments
IV is naturally occuring cannot be manipulated by the researcher, they just take advantage of pre-existing variables
takes place in a natural environment with limited to no control over the extraneous variables.
STRENGTH
takes place in a natural environment- behaviour will be representative of Real life behaviour- increasing in ecological validity.
ppts less likely to know they are being studied= no change in behaviour = low demand characteristics.
Weaknesses
difficult to replicate as it is unlikely that certain situations will; occur in the same way- if we cannot repeat the experiment to check for consistency in results =reducing reliability.
no control over extraneous variables- cant be aware IV alone caused the DV weakening the cause and effect relationship.
Quasi Experiments
IV is a naturally occuring difference between the participants- pre exisiting within the participants
Can take place in controlled conditions (artificial), i.e de[ression vs OCD, cannot make any ppt have depression or OCD
STRENGTHS
allows researchers to study variables that would otherwise be unethical to study, such as depression and attachment styles
highly controlled situation= increased cause and effect relationship
WEAKNESSES
ppts cannot be randomly allocated to conditions
there will be other confounding variables that may have an affect on the DV- researcher has no control over. These variables are known as ppt variables, cannot control ppt variables as we cannot use random allocation in a quasi exp due to them already being split due to characteristics, unable to allocate them into those conditions/ different conditions.
what is reliability
the extent to which the method of measurment can produce consistant findings. If it produces consistent findings then it is reliable
how do you test reliability?
replicate the research to check for similar results using test retest method- =do the test again to see whether it produces the same results if the results are the same/ similar it is reliable.
How do you improve reliability
keep procedure standardised- same time, same measurements, same test(depending on what the study actually is) same instructions.
what is validity- internal?
the extent to which the test measures what it intends to measure- IV causes DV and the extraneous variables have been controlled
what is external validity
what goes on outside the study- can it be applied t the real world, different groups of people/ situations/ time periods?
types of experimental designs
repeated measures, independent groups and matched pairs
independent groups
diff ppts take part in diff conditions- only exposed to one condition Researcher divides the total ppt into as many equal groups as there are conditions.
STRENGTHS
no order effects, ppt only take part in one condition. Increase validity as IV affects DV rather than rather than boredom or practice.
Less demand characteristics they only take part in one condition so less opportunity to guess the aims of the experiment.
weaknesses
there are individual differences because ppt take part in different conditions, thus results may be as a result of individual differences rather then because of manipulation of IV. More ppts are required.
repeated measures
all ppt take part in all conditions
strengths:
individual differences are accounted for
- as the same ppl are taking part. in all conditions individual differences as an EV will not distort results. thus we can be sure manipulation of the IV is what is effecting DV(strong cause and effect relationship)
weakness:
-order effects - as ppts are taking part in all conditions, there will be order effects, thus order effects will act as extrenious variable that will mean we cannot be sire that the only thing effecting the DV is IV manipulation (weak cause and effect relationship) less valid results
-demand characteristics- as ppts take part in all conditions they are more likely to figure out the aim of the study. Therefore, more likely to exhibit demand characteristics which act as a extrenious variables thus we cannot be sure manipulation of IV is the only thing effecting DV (weak cause and effect relationship )
matched pairs design
diff ppts take part in different conditions- but matched on a characteristic from a pre test
- only exposed to 1 condition
- pretest on a relevant characteristics for the test
-assigned to either conditions.
within each pair, 1 goes to one codition, another goes to the other condition.
allocate each ppt into each condition until you have the right amount in each condition (i.e total sample50, 25 in condition 1 and 25 in condition 2)
strengths:
same srengths as independent measures
- does account for individual differences- as ppts are matched based on their individual traits/ differences, this means ID will not act as an extrenious variables as they are accounted for. Therefore, we can be more confident that manipulation of IV affected DV leads to more valid results.
weaknesses:
- time consuming, the process of pretesting and then pairing ppts up based on who preformed similarly can be time consuming and expensive.
investigator effects
investigator knowingly. unknowingly demonstrates behaviour that may influence oots behaviour affecting the results, we can control for this by doing s double blind research method where ppt now researcher know which condition they are in and cannot change their behaviour or misinterpret data. Characteristics of investigator may also lead to investigator effects. False pos results which could affect findings/ validity of research.
what is a target population
the group of ppl researcher wants to apply their findings to.
what is a sample?
the group of ppl taken from the target population that take part in the research
what is a representative sample?
representatibeness= sample being a good reflection of target population, findings can be applied to the target population
what are the types of sampling?
volunteer, oppurtunity, systematic, stratified and random
oppurtunity sampling
researcher goes up to members of the public which fall under the target population that they wish to investigate . Ask them if they wish to take part in the investigation if they are willing and able to take part they will form the sample
strengths:
quick and time efficient(easy) all researcher has to do is go to the location and ask ppts if they will take part which requires less effort then other sampling methods
weakness:
not representative of the t.p- only relects those that are in the vacinity where the research saught the ppts and reflect those that are there at that time therefore we cannot generalise the findings to the t.p
there may be researcher bias, as researcher has control over who they choose to take part in the experiment/ study and so may choose ppts that they feel support the hypothesis= leaving us with invalid results
volunteer sampling
researcher will advertise the investigation using different platforms/ medians =. Advertise the oppurtunity to take part un an investigation. Advert medium and location must be tailored to target population. upon seeing the advert ppt themselves contact the researcher. those who contact the researcher will form the sample.
strengths:
relatively quick method compared to stratified ect. as it does not require alot of the initial work needed in other sampling methods, i.e random sampling.
as they volunteered- less likely to drop out(low attrition rate)
weakness:
sample may not be generalisable- depending on where the researcher advertises i.e if study advertised in local news, it would only reach the people within that local vacinity so the sample will not be representative.
study may attract atypical respondants
only those interested in the researches aim will reach to offer themselves to take part in the research. May try harder within the study due to their intereset which may lead to atypical results which cannot be generalised.
random sampling
Researcher gathers name of all members of the t.p and puts them in a hate.
The researcher will then pick names out the hat- however many is required for the sample
all the names that are picked out will form the sample.
strengths:
no researcher bias- researcher cannot persinally oick the ppt they would lie to take part in the study also nocontrol over who is selected which means they wont be able to pick ppts that will prove their hypothesus to be true= results are valid an dthere are no investigator effects.
Weakness:
time consuming requires gasthering the names of all the members of the tp which takes alot of effort and is less convenient compared to other methods like oppurtunity sampling which are convient.
possiblity that by chance one group is over, under or not at all represented .b therefore, sample may not be representative of the t.p
systematic sampling
gather names of all memebers of the t.p and out them in an order. Researcher then generates an nth term which then is used to choose every nth term from a random place in. the list of the t.p
strengths:
no researcher bias as the researcher cannot personally choose the pp they would like to take part in the study and they have little control over the nth term who the nth name will be so researcher cannot pick ppt that will prove their hypotheseis to be true and thsu the research will be more valid and have no investigator effects.
weaknesses:
- requires gathering names of all of the t.p which is time consuming and inconvenient gather all names
- every nth term may represent only one specific group and so there is a possiblity that bychance the sample are unrepresentative of the target populationtherefore cannpot generalise the findings to the t.p.
stratified sampling
proportions of the sub groups:
1. researcher works out the proportion of each sub group in the t.p
2. researcher then tries to replicate these proportions in the sample.
select randomly
3. researcher will gather the names of all the ppl in the t.p split them into groups
4. researcher willthen randomly pick out the amount of names they need in each hat
strength: fully representative as the sample accurately represents the composition of the target population and therefore could be generalisable to the target population
weakness:
time consuming it requires working out the proportions of different subgroups within the target population
can be problematic to find pp in line with generated proportions if the proportion is small- ppl may be difficult to get a hand of.
how can sampling lead to problems with bias
and also generalisability and representativness
researcher chooses the ppt to take part in the study and this can lead tp bias as the researcher may choose ppts of a particular groyp they prefer because they think they will get a positive result that they are looking for. Unrepresentative sample and not generalisable thus not have a true reflection of the t.p and 1 group may be more represented then others.
cant generalise findings thus cant apply the findings to the target population.
pilot studies what are they, why do researchers conduct them
a small scale, trail run of a study using members of the target population in order to identify and rectify any metheodological flaws .
they are done to check quality of research, held avoid unnecessary work and save time and money.
pilot studies not intended ii=to test the validity of hypothesis.
ethical guidelines and standards- informed consent
Ensuring ppts have a full understanding of the aims of the experiment as well as understanding of tasks and procedural studioes. PPts need to have reasonable understanding of what the research entails and give consent to take part in the research.
how we deal with this?
ppts are given consent forms at the start of the study detailing all he releveant info about the study and asked if they would like to take party.
methods of control, method how and why
random alocation
equal chance of ppt being in either condition.
how? put all the name sin a hat and draw a name and ollocate them o condition1- then draw another name and allocate them to condition 2. continue doing this until all ppts have been allocated to condition 1 and condition 2.
why? to ensure that individual differences do not effect the results ensures ppts are not systemaatically put into 1 condition - i.e researcher does not knowingly/ unkowingly allocate all ppt of 1 type into 1 condition which lead sto specific results being elicited that will effect the validity
methods of control, method how and why
standardisation
length of time for task, instructions, researcher giving instructions- all ppts have the same experience as much as possible- keep everything the same other then the IV- same resources, same length of time for tasks.
why? to ensure all ppt have the same experience and its fair for everyone this prevents 1 condition having advantage over the other conditions which can affect the validity of results
methods of control, method how and why
counter balancing
EV it accounts for+ order effects. Reason: used in repeated measures to balaance ot the impact of order effects evenly across conditions.
how? split tot number of ppt into 2 sub groups one sub group does 1 condition first then the oother condition and the decond group does condition 2 first and then condition 1 after. AB/BA method.
why? accounts for order effects and speads them out evenly.
methods of control, method how and why
randomisation
how? put all the words/ images in a hat
pick them out of the hat 1 by 1.
order they are drawn out of the hat is the same one in which they will be presented to the ppts/ the order ppts will see them.
why? to ensure that all images/ words are not seen/ presented un an order that will systematically elicit a certain result, i.e in a memory test, all easy words being at the beginning whilst all the hard words were at the end, eliciting results systematically, randomise= casue and effect overcomes researcher bias.
ethics
deception
when ppts deliberately mislead abt the nature of the experiment for instance its aim and other elements in study
we deal with this by having a debrief with ppts and telling them the actual aims of the study (clarify what you lied about- normally otehr conditions within the study) ppts are then given the oppurtunity to withdraw their consent and data once find out about the deception if they then choose to withdrawe their data- delete all of the ppts information belonging to the ppt.
protection from harm?
ppts need to leave study in the same state that they arrived in. No physical or psychological harm should befall them throughout the experiment and they should not be expposed to any more harm then they would expect to experience in day to day life
how to deal with this? if ppts are harmed unkowingly inform them of their right to withdraw, offer psychological support / on- sight councilling during the debreifing. If ppt taken them up on that offer, researchers need to follow up with ppt until theyve recovered from the harms caused by the methods of the experiment. If ppt experience/ express distress throughout the study, offer them thr right to withdraw.
confidentiality
when ppts personal details, including preformance in the study is kept confidential, and should not be made available to the public under their names , they should not be identifiable.
Use initials instead of ppts full names - release the information under these names
give each ppts a number to refer to them as these numbers.
the right to withdraw
all [ppts have a right to withdra from the study throughout even if they give consent- they cannot be coerced / manipuated to ____ with the study once they have started.
deal with this by:
- remind ppts at the start/ during the study that they have the right to withdraw, if they wish to withdra at the end of/ during the experiment you have to withdrae their data/ all their data, also allow them to leave the experiment during the study.
consent form process
- inform ppts of the aims of the procedure/ investigation
- inform ppts of what they will be expected to do in the study. include details of the tasks/ time.
- inform them of the right to withdraw and assure them of confidentiality
- oppurtunity ask questions about the experiment/ allow them to contact you via fake email
- space for ppts to indicate consent by signing and dating.
debreif form
thank you for taking part in the study- inform them of the real aim of the experiment(if you havent lied- reinstate the aim of the experiment)
inform ppts of the actual tasks on the experiment and all conditions
give ppts the right to withdrae their data/ themselves and remind them of the confidentiality
provide them with the oppurtunity to ask any questions/ contact. Offer psychological support if necessary
designing an observation
what are unstructured observation
does not use specific behavioural categories observer able to describe in rich detail everything being observed do so freely. Obtain quantitative date/ data n the form of words and pictures.
designing an observation
what is a structured observation
uses specific behavioural categories(actions specific to a target bahviour)
-> when ppts preform that behaviour- recorded via a taly (rewarded on a behaviour/ category sheet with predetermined categories of behaviour- quantitative/ numerical data can be _____ analysed)
bahvioural categories
what are behavioural categories
an opperationalised set of actions which act as indicators of target behaviour to help us measure a target behaviour , for example the TB of agressuin a behavioural categoryt can be “number of punches thrown”
behavioural categories
what is operationalization o target behaviours
taking a target behaviour and breaking it down into a set of operationalized actions. This allows for data to be counted and analysed easily.
what shld a good behavioural category look like
specofoc, easily countable, something that clearly starts and stops
sampling procedures
event sampling
- researcher must come up with a list of behavioural categories related to the target behaviour of interest.
- once the observation starts the researcher notes down every occurance of said behaviour that fits in with one of their categories
Pros:
wont miss any behaviour, as observation occurs through out the whole period od study, and researcher is remaining vigilant they will not miss out on any occurances of behaviour leading to any invalid conclusions
- once the observation starts the researcher notes down every occurance of said behaviour that fits in with one of their categories
cons:
less practical- can be harder to conduct compared to time sampling as researcher must stay vigilant throughout the whole period of observation.
can miss behaviours- if a behaviour occurs that doesnt fit a behav category it must be ignored= less valid conclusions
cannot be used to measure on going behaviours.
sampling procedures
time sampling
- researcher musy decide the total duration of the intended observation- i.e 1 hour,
- researcher then decides the smaller intervals at which they will observe- i.e 10 min intervals
- observation begins and researcher notes down any occurances of behaviour that occurs at the stroke of the interval.
- researcher does this until they reach the end of the total duration od their observation
pros:
easier then event sampling- as the researcher only needs to observe at the strokes of the intervals, this means they do not have to remain vigilant througout the whole observatuion. This isnt the case with event sampling.
can be used to measure ongoing behaviour
cons: can miss out on behaviour as the researcher only has to stay vigilant and observing at the stroke of the intervals, any behaviours that occur outside of the stroke of the interval will be disgarded thus decreasing validity of conclusions.
inter observer reliability
- first the 2 different observers use the same sampling sheet, observe the same ppts foe the same duration in the same location
2.the researchers independently observe the ppts
3.the researcher conduct a spearmens correlection analysis on their results from their observation
4.a correllation of 0.8 or more between the 2 covariavles of researchesrs 1 and 2s results suggests high inter observer reliability
what are self report measures
any RM where the ppts themselves provide the data first hand.
research methods
what are open questions
questions where there are no fixed choice answer options and ppts can answer to any ength they wish
strength- more depth then closed qs - ppts are able to answer and eleaborate on those answers i.e providing reasons for their answer. This leads to increased validity and in depth conclusions
weakness- ppts can provide answers that vary- no fixed options for them to choose from make it difficult to analyse the results and thus make objective conclusions
research methods
what are closed questions
questions where there are fixed choice answer options and ppts cannot answer to any length they wish.
strengths- ppts choose from fixed options- its much easier for the researcher to analyse the results leads to quentifiable data and thus conslusions are much more objective.
weakness- less valid answers- as data lacks depth from ppts having to choose from a limited set of options- they cannot elaborate on their choice particularly this is problematic when none of the options fit the ppts true thoughts- instead they have to choose from the best fit which is not representative of their true opinions.
questionaires
what are they?
information regarding thoughts and behaviour is gathered from ppts in written form
questionnaires
what are the 3 designs if given closed questions
likert scae, rating scale and fixed choice options
questionnaires
what are likert scales
extent of agreement- agreement scales
i.e strongly disagree- disagree- neither- agree- strongly agree
what are rating scales
rating feelings on a numerical scale from 1 to 10
fixed choice options
yes or no options
strengths of questionaires
easy to collect large amount of data in a short amount of time- less time consuming. this makes them convenient- ppts are able to complete the questionaires in their own time without the presence of the researcher
as well as this..
can be considered more ethical - as ppl are fuly aware they are taking part in research as they are themselves completing the questionnaire.
weaknesses of questionnaires
if ppt doesnt understand the q they either leave it blank or answer innacuratlet this leads to faulty data and inaccurate conclusions as there is no researcher present to clarify any misunderstandings
ppts may lie about true thoughts and behaviour to create a pos impression on the researcher due to social disireblity bias this leads to false data.
what are structured interviews
questions are preditiremend, every ppts they intervie will be asked the same questions in the same order researcher cannot ask a follow up even if they wanted to.
strengths: does not require alot of skill/ training to conduct as the researcher just reads out the same questions to all interviewes and do not need questioning skills
easier to analyse as all ppts recieve the same qs therefore its much easier to conduct a question by question analysis of all ppts responses and therefore we can get an overall understanding of ppts response per question.
they also use standardised procedure making it replicable so that questions can be asked to all ppts.
what are unstructured interviews :
researcher starts with a theme/ topic/ starter question in mind all remaining questions are based on the interviews response. All the interviewes will have varying questions
strength:
provides more in depth information
the researcher is able to ask follow up questions and theyre able to ectract more relevant information thus the answers are more valid.
weakness- requires training as R needs interview skills to be able to ask fllow up questions that are relevant in a non- leading way. Training staff will require time and money.
difficult to analyse all ppts may have recieved diff set of wuestions which will make it difficult to do question by qiestion analysis of all the responses.
Interview questions arent standardised as ppts arent asked the same questions we cannot replicate as well as structured interview.
designing interviews
no leading questions
no double barralled questions
questions need to be specific to the aim
avoid using unnecessary / complicated language
overall strength of interviews
less likelyhood of ppts misunderstanding the questions as the researcher is present if they do not undertsand the question they can ask the researcher for clarification and increase accurate data.
overall weakness of interviews
ppts may lie in order to create a positive first impression on the researcher some social disireability bias can lead to false data and invalid research this is worse in interviews compared to questionaires as the ppt is in direct contact with the researcher,
this process can be time consuming. More time consuming compared to questionaires as the researcher needs to be present and directly questioning the ppts whilst recording their responses- requiring more effort from the researcher.
Naturalistic observation
Takes place in ppts natural setting/ a real life enviornment. There is no control over extreniour cariables/ any aspect of the study
Strengths: high ecological validity- natural setting means natural behaviour thus findings will be applicable to real life behaviour.
Weakness:
Difficult to replicate- no control over the conditions means its hard to establish standardised procedure= cannot repeat/ recreate it to test for reliablity.
Controlled observation
Takes place in an artificial environment- aspects of the enviornment may be controlled in order to observe the effects/ behaviours and reduce EV
Strengths- easy to replicate
- high levels of control
-procedures can be standardised= we can test for reliabilty
Weakness: lacks ecological validity- ppts are tested in an artificial observed setting so may present unnatural behaviour which would mean the findings cannot be applied to real life behaviour.
Cover observation
Ppts arent aware they are being observed
Strengths: dont know they are being watched unlikely to change behaviour to suit aims or behave desirably l- making it more natural and allowing findings to be more applicable to real life
Weakness: may have ethical problems as ppts dont know they are being observed they cannot consent
Overt pbservation
Ppts are aware they are being watched and most likely have given consent
Strength: more ethical as you gain informed consent from the ppts.
Weakness: as ppts know they are being observed, they may change their behaviour which means behaviour may not be genuine and they may try to please the researcher thus their behaviour cannot be applied to real life.
Ppt observation
Researcher takes part in the observation as a ppt
Strengths: gain in-depth detailed data into ppts behaviour including subtle interactions which provides more insight into ppts behaviour and thus deeper understanding of why behaviour is occurring.
Weakness: being a ppt in group being observed may lead to bond being created= subjective interpretation of the behaviour
May also lead to invalid data as they cannot record data during the observation thus may forget info when recording after observation takes place
Non ppt observation
The researcher makes observations without taking part in the tasks- they record the data without direct participation
Strengths: valid and objective data they cab record data whilst monitoring ppts in an objective manner.
Weakness: cannot gain insight into reasoning behind ppt behaviour- cannot understand why certain behaviour occurs leading to less depth and detail as they are simply observing the behaviour then directly participating.
correlation
a method of investigation that measures the relationship between two co variables.
pos correlation- both up
neg correlation- one increase, other decrease
no correlation- no relationship between the two covariables
correlational hypothesis - directional
thereis a positive/ negative correlation between covariable 1 and covariable 2.
pos: this means as covariable 1 increases, so does co variable 2.
neg: this means as covariable 1 increases, covariable 2 decreases.
correlational hypothesis- non directional
there will be a correlation between covariable 1 and covariable 2.
NULL:there will be no correlation between covariable 1 and covariable 2
two ways correlational data is presented
scatter graph and correlational coefficients
