Research methods Flashcards
Define what a hypothesis is
A statement that directly describes the relationship between the variables being investigated
What is a directional hypothesis
States the direction of the relationship that will be shown between the variables. a directional hypothesis: ‘Caffeine will make a person stay awake for longer.’
What is a non directional hypothesis
doesnt state the direction of the hypothesis between 2 variables, e.g. ‘caffeine will effect how long a person stays awake’
when would a directional hypothesis be used?
usually when there is already research that supports the hypothesis
when would a non directional hypothesis be used?
when there is no research supporting the direction of the relationship between the variables
what is an independant variable
the thing your changing to see the effect on the thing being measured
what does it mean to operationalise?
to operationalise the variables is to clearly define and expand the hypothesis. e.g. ‘500mg will affect how long adolescents can stay awake for’ if its non directional for example
what are extraneous variables?
variables that could affect the dv, other than the iv. e.g. if youre testing to see if people read better in blue or black writing, but they all have different reading abilities that would be an extraneous variable
what is confounding variable?
variable that could affect the dv other than the iv, but that effects the iv. e.g. the text being read in the coloured text study
what are demand characteristics?
characteristics displayed by the participants because of a clue given by the researcher or the situation which makes the ppt feel they know the aim of the experiment
What is meant by a case study? (2)
A case study is an in-depth study of one person or a group of people over time. (1) It is usually carried out in the real world. They are idiographic and very individualistic. (2)
Outline two weaknesses of using a case study as a method of investigation (2)
Findings cannot be generalised very easily to other individuals. (1) As case studies are unique situations it is difficult to generalise (to other
situations). (2)
The information gathered is often based on retrospective data, which might not be accurate. (3) Because it is very difficult to replicate a case study they lack reliability. (4)
Apart from ethical issues, explain one or more limitations of using case studies (4)
- The main limitation is that each individual, and their experience, is unique and the results cannot therefore be generalised to others. (2)
- Evidence from an individual’s past
may be difficult to verify. (3) - Researchers may get to know the individual well, which may lead to loss of objectivity (4)
what are the 3 levels of data?
Nominal, ordinal, interval
why would a single participant study be done?
if it isn’t possible to get more than one participant, e.g. if you are looking at gold medal winners of the 1980 olympics and some are dead or have dementia or whatever only 1 has the capacity to do the study
why are statistical tests done?
To prove causation from correlation
what is nominal data?
data that can be put in specific categories, qualitative data that doesn’t use numerical values. each piece of data is individual and not related
what is ordinal data
Continuous and follows a pattern, can be used to represent test scores. can be represented in a histogram with the bars touching
