Research Methods

Question 1

What four experiment types are studied?

Answer 1

1. Laboratory experiments,
2. Field experiments,
3. Natural experiments,
4. Quasi experiments.

Question 2

What are laboratory experiments?

Answer 2

1. Aim is to control all relevant variables except for one key variable, which is altered to see what the effect is,
2. The variable that you alter is called the independent variable,
3. Laboratory experiments are conducted in an artificial environment.

Question 3

Limitation of lab experiments?

Answer 3

1. Artificial - experiments might not measure real-life behaviour,
2. Demand characteristics - participants may respond according to what they think is being investigated, which can bias the results,
3. Ethics - deception is often used, making informed consent difficult.

Question 3

What are the strengths of lab experiments?

Answer 3

1. Control - effects of confounding variables are minimised,
2. Replication - strict controls mean you can run the study again to check the findings,
3. Causal relationships - ideally it is possible to establish whether one variable actually causes change in another.

Question 4

What are field experiments?

Answer 4

1. Field experiments are conducted outside of the laboratory,
2. Behaviour is measured in a natural environment like a school, the street, or on a train,
3. A key variable is still altered so that its effect can be measured.

Question 5

Strengths of field experiments?

Answer 5

1. Causal relationships - you can still establish causal relationships by manipulating the key variable and measuring its effect, although it is very difficult to do in a field experiment,
2. Ecological validity - field experiments are less artificial than those done in a laboratory, so they relate to real-life better,
3. Demand characteristics - these can be avoided if participants don’t know that they are in a study.

Question 6

Limitations of field experiments?

Answer 6

1. less control - confounding variables may be more likely in a natural experiment,
2. Ethics - participants who didn’t agree to take part might experience distress and often can’t be debriefed. Observation must respect privacy.

Question 7

What are natural experiments?

Answer 7

1. Where the researcher looks at how an independent variable, which isn’t manipulated by the researchers, affect a dependent variable. The independent variable isn’t manipulated because it is an event which occurs naturally,
2. An example is research into the effect of a single-sex school and a mixed-sex school on behaviour,
3. Participants are usually allocated to conditions randomly.

Question 8

Strengths of natural experiments?

Answer 8

1. Ethical - it is possible to study variables that it would be unethical to manipulate, e.g. you can compare a community that has TV with a community that doesn’t to see which group is more violent,
2. Demand characteristics - participants might not know they are in a study, so their behaviour is likely to be more natural,
3. Ecological validity - they tend to be less artificial than laboratory experiments.

Question 9

Limitations of natural experiments?

Answer 9

1. Causal relationships - because you don’t manipulate the independent variable, and because other variables could be having an effect, it is hard to establish causal relationships,
2. Ethics - deception is often used, making informed consent difficult. Also, confidentiality may be compromised if the community is identifiable.

Question 10

What are quasi experiments?

Answer 10

1. The researcher isn’t able to use random allocation to put participants in different conditions,
2. Usually because the independent variableis a particular feature of the participants, such as gender or the existence of a mental disorder.

Question 11

Strengths of quasi experiments?

Answer 11

1. Control - quasi experiments are often carried out under contolled conditions,
2. Ecological validity - the research is often less artificial than laboratory studies, so you are more likely to be able to generalise the results to real-life.

Question 12

Limitations of quasi experiments?

Answer 12

1. Participant allocation - you can’t allocate participants to each condition, and so confounding variables may affect results. You have no control over these variables, so it is ridiculously hard to establish causal relationships,
2. Causal relationships - it can be hard to establish cause and effect because the independent variable isn’t directly being manipulated.

Question 13

What is naturalistic observation?

Answer 13

Involves observing subjects in their natural environment. Researchers take great care not to interfere in any way with the subjects they are studying.

Question 14

Strengths of naturalistic observation?

Answer 14

1. Ecological validity - participant behaviour is natural and there are no demand characteristics; participant is unaware of observation,
2. Theory development - these studies can be a useful way of developing ideas about behaviour that could be tested in more controlled condition later.

Question 15

Limitations of naturalistic observations?

Answer 15

1. Extraneous variables - you can’t control variabls that may affect behaviour,
2. Observer - observers’ expectations may affect what they focus on and record. This means the reliability of results may be a problem - another observer may have come up with very different results,
3. Ethics - should only conduct observations where people might expect to be observed by strangers. This limits the situations where you can do a naturalistic observation. Debriefing is difficult. Observation must respect privacy. Getting informed consent can be tricky.

Question 16

What is controlled observation?

Answer 16

1. This is where the situation is carried out in conditions set up by the researcher,
2. Although the variables are more controlled, these studies have lower ecological validity and participant may behave differently if they know they are being observed.

Question 17

What is correlational research?

Answer 17

1. Looks for a relationship between two variables,
2. As these variables aren’t manipulated as in an experiment, it is not possible to state that just these two variables rise and fall together, or that one variable is causing the change in the other - the pattern may be the result of some unknown third variable or be just a coincidence.

Question 18

Strength of correlational research?

Answer 18

1. Causal relationships - these can be ruled out if no correlation exists,
2. Ethics - you can study variables that it would be unethical to manipulate, e.g. is there a relationship between cigarettes smoked and incidences of ill health?

Question 19

Limitations of Correlational research?

Answer 19

1.Causal relationships - these cannot be assumed from a correlation, which may be caused by some third, unknown variable,
2. Ethics - misinterpretation can be an issue. Sometimes the media infer causality from correlation.

Question 20

Strengths of questionnaires?

Answer 20

1. Practical - can collect a large amount of information quickly and relatively cheaply.

Question 21

Limitations of questionnaires?

Answer 21

1. Bad questions - leading questions or unclear questions can be a problem,
2. Biased samples - some people are more likely to respond, making a sample unrepresentative,
3. Self-report - people often wish to present themselves in a good light, what they say and what they actually think could be different, making any results undesirable,
4. Ethics - confidentiality can be a problem, especially around sensitive issues.

Question 22

What is the difference between unstructured and structured interviews?

Answer 22

1. St Interviews follow a fixed set of questions that are the same for all participants,
2. Unstructured interviews may have discussion topics, but are less constrained about how the conversation goes.

Question 23

Strengths of interviews?

Answer 23

1. Rich data - can get detailed information, as there are fewer constraints than with a questionnaire. Unstructured interviews provide richer information than structured interviews,
2. Pilot study - interviews are a useful way to get information before a study.

Question 24

Limitations of interviews?

Answer 24

1. Self-report - the results can be unreliable and affected by social desirability bias,
2. Impractical - conducting interviews can be time-consuming and requires skilled researchers,
3. Data analysis- analysing the data can be hard, particularly for unstructured interviews, because there could be a huge amount of qualitative data, which can be tricky to analyse,
4. Ethics - confidentiality can be a problem, especially around sensitive issues.

Question 25

Strengths of case studies?

Answer 25

1. Rich data - researchers have the opportunity to study rare phenomena in a lot of detail,
2. Unique cases - can challenge existing ideas and theories, and suggest ideas for future research.

Question 26

Limitations of case studies?

Answer 26

1. Causal relationships - cause-and-effect of a relationship cannot be established,
2. Generalisation - only studying a single case makes generalising the results extremely difficult,
3. Ethics - informed consent can be difficult to obtain in some cases.

Question 27

What is content analysis?

Answer 27

A research method used to analyse secondary data and data you’ve already collected. It involves splitting data into assigned categories.

Question 28

Strengths of content analysis?

Answer 28

1. Inexpensive - it is usually an easy and inexpensive method to use,
2. Ethics - there may be fewer ethical issues as participants aren’t directly involved.

Question 29

Limitations of content analysis?

Answer 29

1. Data analysis - analysing the data can often be time-consuming,
2. Subjectivity - interpretation and categorising the data can be subjective.