Research Methods Flashcards
1
Q
What are the types of experiments?
A
Lab, Field, Natural, Quasi
2
Q
What characterizes a Lab experiment?
A
Manipulated by the researcher in a lab setting.
3
Q
What characterizes a Field experiment?
A
Manipulated by the researcher in a real-life setting.
4
Q
What is a Quasi experiment?
A
A variable that is set in people, e.g., gender, in a lab setting.
5
Q
What characterizes a Natural experiment?
A
A naturally occurring event in a real-life setting.
6
Q
What are the types of experimental designs?
A
Independent groups, Repeated measures, Matched pairs.
7
Q
What are the types of observation?
A
Covert or Overt, Participant or Non-Participant, Naturalistic or Controlled, Structured or Unstructured.
8
Q
What are Behavioural Categories?
A
They serve the purpose of operationalising the variable being observed.
9
Q
What is Covert observation?
A
The researcher is hidden.
10
Q
What is Overt observation?
A
The participant is aware they are being observed.
11
Q
What is Naturalistic observation?
A
Carried out in a real-life environment.
12
Q
What is Controlled observation?
A
An artificial setting is used.
13
Q
What is Participant observation?
A
The researcher acts like a participant.
14
Q
What is Non-Participant observation?
A
The researcher remains separate from the group they are studying.
15
Q
What is Unstructured observation?
A
Recording all relevant information without a system.
16
Q
What is Structured observation?
A
Using a tally sheet of behavioural categories.
17
Q
What are the types of interviews?
A
Structured and Unstructured Interviews.
18
Q
What is a Structured Interview?
A
All participants are asked the same questions in the same order.
19
Q
What are the advantages of a Structured Interview?
A
Can be replicated and comparable, but are time-consuming and require skilled researchers.
20
Q
What is an Unstructured Interview?
A
Participants can discuss anything freely, and the interviewer devises new questions based on previous answers.
21
Q
What are Questionnaires similar to?
A
Similar to structured interviews.
22
Q
What is Correlation?
A
A statistical technique used to calculate the correlation coefficient to quantify the strength of the relationship between two variables.
23
Q
What is a Negative Correlation?
A
When one variable increases as the other decreases.
24
Q
What is a Positive Correlation?
A
When both variables increase together.
25
What is a Case Study?
A detailed study into the life and background of one person.
26
What is Content Analysis?
Studies human behaviour indirectly by studying the things we produce such as newspapers and magazines.
27
What is Primary Data?
Data collected through observations, surveys, case studies, and interviews.
28
What is Secondary Data?
Data collected by external sources such as magazines, television, and newspapers.
29
What is Meta-Analysis?
A statistical technique that involves combining and analysing the results of different individual studies on a specific topic.
30
What are the British Psychological Society Ethical Guidelines?
Consent, Deception, Debriefing, Withdrawal from the Investigation, Confidentiality, Protection of Participants.
31
What is Consent in research?
Participants should be informed of the purpose and all aspects of the research.
32
What is Deception in research?
Misleading participants is unacceptable and should be avoided.
33
What is Debriefing?
The post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions.
34
What is Withdrawal from the Investigation?
Participants should be informed of their right to withdraw from the research at any time.
35
What is Confidentiality in research?
Information obtained about a participant is confidential unless otherwise agreed.
36
What is Protection of Participants?
Participants must be protected from physical and mental harm and stress.
37
What is a Null Hypothesis?
A statement of no difference or correlation; the IV does not affect the DV.
38
What is a Directional Hypothesis?
Predicts the direction in which the results are expected to go.
39
What is a Non-directional Hypothesis?
States there is a relationship between two variables but doesn't specify the direction.
40
What is Random Sampling?
Selecting names from a hat; everyone has an equal chance of being selected.
41
What is Opportunity Sampling?
Asking whoever is available and willing to participate.
42
What is Volunteer Sampling?
People who volunteer to participate.
43
What is Systematic Sampling?
Selecting participants in a systematic way, e.g., every tenth participant.
44
What is Stratified Sampling?
Identifying different types of people in the target population and working out proportions needed for a representative sample.
45
What are Independent Groups?
Different participants are used in each condition.
46
What are Repeated Measures?
The same participants are used in all conditions.
47
What are Matched Pairs?
Different participants are used in each condition but matched on relevant characteristics.
48
What are Observational Designs?
Focal Sampling, Event Sampling, Time Sampling.
49
What is Focal Sampling?
Records the behaviour of one individual at a time.
50
What is Event Sampling?
Observing a group and recording each time a specific behaviour occurs.
51
What is Time Sampling?
Divides the observation period into sample intervals.
52
What is a Closed Question?
Allows only answers that fit into pre-decided categories.
53
What is an Open Question?
Enables respondents to answer in detail and provide qualitative information.
54
What is Peer Review?
A way of validating new knowledge.
55
What is the purpose of Peer Review?
Determining research funding, deciding publication quality, and improving university credibility.
56
What is Reliability?
Refers to consistency.
57
What is Validity?
Refers to how true or accurate something is.
58
What are the types of Validity?
Internal and External Validity.
59
What factors affect Internal Validity?
Social desirability bias, Demand characteristics, Extraneous/confounding variables.
60
What is Internal Validity?
The extent to which a measurement technique measures what it is supposed to measure.
61
What is External Validity?
The extent to which findings can be generalized to real-world settings.
62
What is Ecological Validity?
The extent to which the research setting generalizes to a realistic real-life setting.
63
What is Temporal Validity?
The extent to which findings are generalizable to the past and future.
64
How can you improve validity in experimental research?
Using a control group and standardizing procedures.
65
How can you improve the validity of questionnaires?
Incorporate a lie scale within questions.
66
What is Social Desirability Bias?
A tendency for respondents to answer in a way that presents themselves in a better light.
67
What are Demand Characteristics?
Clues from the researcher or situation that may reveal the purpose of the investigation.
68
What are Extraneous Variables?
Any variable other than the independent variable that may influence the dependent variable.
69
What are the types of Reliability?
Internal and External Reliability.
70
What is Internal Reliability?
How consistently a method measures within itself.
71
What is External Reliability?
The consistency of measures over time if repeated.
72
What is Inter-observer Reliability?
Assesses whether several observers agree on coding behaviour.
73
How can you improve reliability in questionnaires?
Using the test-retest method.
74
How can you improve the reliability in interviews?
Use the same interviewer each time and a structured interview technique.
75
How can you improve the reliability of observations?
Ensure behavioural categories are operationalised and measurable.
76
What are the features of a Science?
Objectivity, Empirical Method, Replicability, Falsifiability, Theory Construction, Hypothesis Testing, Paradigm and Paradigm Shift.
77
What is Objectivity?
Eliminating all sources of bias.
78
What is the Empirical Method?
Using observable evidence and direct observations to draw conclusions.
79
What is Replicability?
If a study can be repeated and produce similar results.
80
What is Falsifiability?
It should be possible to prove a study wrong.
81
What is Theory Construction?
Developing theories to explain observed phenomena.
82
What is Hypothesis Testing?
Formulating testable hypotheses based on existing theories.
83
What are Paradigms?
Widely accepted beliefs or assumptions within a scientific field.
84
What is a Paradigm Shift?
Occurs when new evidence challenges existing paradigms.
85
How are Psychological Reports Structured?
Title Page, Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, References.
86
What is included in the Method section?
Experimental Design, Participants, Materials, Procedure.
87
What is an Abstract in a report?
A summary of the entire research process.
88
What is included in the Results section?
A summary of findings, including statistics and tables/charts.
89
What is included in the Discussion section?
Critiques the research and compares findings to the aims.
90
What are Measures of Central Tendency?
Averages that describe the center of a set of data.
91
What are Measures of Dispersion?
Describe the spread of the data.
92
What is Range?
Useful for comparing scores obtained in each condition.
93
What is Standard Deviation?
Measures how scores are distributed around the central point.
94
What is a Pilot Study?
A preliminary study used to test the original procedure.
95
What are the advantages of a Pilot Study?
Saves time, effort, and money; allows changes to be made.
96
What is Normal Distribution?
A bell-shaped curve describing the spread of a characteristic.
97
What are Descriptive Statistics?
Gives a summary of research results.
98
What are Inferential Statistics?
Used to make inferences about the target population.
99
How to avoid subjective interpretations in qualitative data analysis?
Use accurate language, a team of observers, and convert qualitative data into quantitative data.
100
What is Thematic Analysis?
Emphasizes pinpointing, examining, and recording themes within data.
101
What is Statistical Significance?
Whether any differences observed are simply due to chance.
102
What is a Type 1 Error?
Rejecting H0 and accepting H1 when H0 is true.
103
What is a Type 2 Error?
Accepting H0 and rejecting H1 when H1 is true.
104
Why do we apply a statistical test?
To make a decision about our hypothesis.
105
What is a Single Blind Procedure?
Participants are not aware of the aims of a study.
106
What is a Double Blind Procedure?
A third party conducts the investigation without knowing its purpose.
107
How can you improve the validity of observations?
Ensure the observer remains undetected and improve behavioural categories.
108
How do you assess reliability?
Using Test-retest and Inter-observer reliability.
109
What is Test Retest?
Administering the same test to the same person on different occasions.
110
What is Chi Square?
Test of difference for unrelated design and nominal data.
111
What is Sign Test?
Test of difference for related design and nominal data.
112
What is Mann Whitney?
Test of difference for unrelated design and ordinal data.
113
What is Wilcoxon?
Test of difference for related design and ordinal data.
114
What is Unrelated t-Test?
Test of difference for unrelated design and interval data.
115
What is Related t-Test?
Test of difference for related design and interval data.
116
What is Spearman's Rho?
Test of association for ordinal data.
117
What is Pearson's?
Test of association for interval data.
118
What are Unrelated Designs?
Independent groups.
119
What are Related Designs?
Matched pairs/repeated measures.
120
What is Nominal Data?
Data falling into categories that do not overlap.
121
What is Ordinal Data?
Data presented in an order of scale.
122
What is Interval Data?
Measured in a fixed unit with equal distance between points on the scale.
