Research Methods 2

Question 1

Define a Controlled Observation

Answer 1

The conditions are manipulated by the researcher. This type of observation may be carried out in a laboratory type situation

Question 2

Controlled Observation AO3

Answer 2

:) High in reliability as the environment is controlled and standardised (contextualise e.g., what has been controlled?) so the observation can be easily repeated to check for consistent results, Therefore, the controlled observation will gain more respect from other professionals and members of the public.

:( Low in ecological validity as the observation takes place in a controlled/artificial setting (context) which does not reflect real life. Therefore, it is more difficult to generalise the results beyond the setting of the observation which lowers the external validity of the research.

Question 3

Define a Naturalistic Observation

Answer 3

Watching natural behaviour in a natural environment for the participant where the target behaviour would normally occur. No manipulation of variables e.g. CONTEXT - aggression in playground

Question 4

Naturalistic Observation AO3

Answer 4

:) High ecological validity as the observation takes place in a natural setting (contextualise e.g., what is the natural setting) therefore it is easier to generalise the results (contextualise e.g., what are they researching?) beyond the setting of the observation to other similar settings increasing the external validity of the research.

:( Low in reliability as they are being observed in a natural environment (contextualise e.g., be specific about what natural setting they are in and what is not being controlled) therefore very difficult to replicate the observation in the exact same conditions to achieve consistent results

Question 5

Define a overt observation

Answer 5

Participants are aware their behaviour (CONTEXT) is being observed, so will be aware of the purpose of the research.
Observer is clearly visible to participant

Question 6

Overt Observation AO3

Answer 6

:) More ethically appropriate than a covert observation as participants know they are being observed (contextualise e.g., how do you know the observation is overt? Refer to scenario), so the ppts can give consent for their data to be used.

:( ONLY USE THE TERM DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS & HELP/HINDER IF PPTS ARE OVER 10 YEARS OLD: IF NOT THEY WILL JUST CHANGE THEIR NATURAL BEHAVIOUR
More prone to demand characteristics as ppts are more likely to know they are being watched (contextualise e.g., how do you know the research is overt? Refer to scenario) therefore ppts are likely to change their natural behaviour and may help or hinder the research based on clues given off by the observer or environment. Therefore, this could lower the internal validity.

Question 7

Define a covert observation

Answer 7

These are observations that are conducted without the knowledge or awareness of the participants. This can be done through an observer being hidden, use of secret cameras or from behind a two-way mirror.
-The observer may become part of a group to observe behaviour, but hide the fact they are doing research

Question 8

Covert Observation AO3

Answer 8

:) Less prone to demand characteristics as people are less likely to know they are being watched (contextualise e.g., how do you know the research is covert? Refer to scenario)
therefore, they are unlikely to change their natural behaviour, and are less likely to help or hinder the research increasing the internal validity of the observation

:( Participants are unaware they are being studied (contextualise e.g., how do you know the research is covert?) raising ethical issues such as lack of informed consent and invasion of privacy that would need to be resolved. When ppts are informed they may become upset and choose to withdraw their data.

Question 9

Define a participant observation

Answer 9

The researcher is involved with the group (CONTEXT)
Data collected whilst being part of a group or situation e.g. (CONTEXT) joining a cult or football hooligans

Question 10

participant observation AO3

Answer 10

:) The observer can gain an in-depth understanding of the group’s behaviour as they are part of the group (contextualise e.g., how do you know? Refer to the scenario) and so will not miss important aspects e.g., feelings and motivations (contextualise here too if you can to what specific behaviour they are observing). Therefore, this increases the overall internal validity of the observation

:( There is increased chance of researcher bias as the observer is part of the group (contextualise how you know by referring to the scenario). This decreases the objectivity of the observation as the researcher’s own thoughts and behaviours may impact the observation and therefore lower the internal validity research.

Question 11

Define a non-participant observation

Answer 11

The researcher is not involved with the group (CONTEXT). Data collected from distance e.g. video camera

Question 12

non-participant observation AO3

Answer 12

:) There is reduced chance of researcher bias as the observer is not part of the group (contextualise how you know by referring to the scenario). This increases the objectivity of
the observation as the researcher’s own thoughts and behaviours are less likely to impact the observation and therefore the overall internal validity research.

:( The observer is less likely to gain an in-depth understanding of the group’s behaviour as they are not part of the group (contextualise e.g., how do you know? Refer to the scenario)
and so may miss important aspects e.g., feelings and motivations (contextualise here too if you can to what specific behaviour they are observing). Therefore, this lowers the overall internal validity of the observation

Question 13

Behaviour categories - designing a study

Answer 13

When you have decided which type of observation to use you also need to create operationalised behaviour categories which basically means being SPECIFIC about what you are observing to make the behaviour more MEASURABLE

Question 14

How can behaviour categories improve observations

Answer 14

1. Provides a clear focus for the observation – observers know exactly what behaviours they are looking for.
2. Allows for more objective research/ data recording as the behaviour observed is clearly measurable and therefore less prone to bias.
3. Allows observers to tally the behaviour in groups, therefore the results can be compared to check for consistency to see if the observation is reliable.
4. Using behaviour categories provides data that is easier to analyse as it provides quantitative/numerical data through tallies.

• Therefore it is important that behaviour categories are specific and measurable to avoid AMBIGUITY when observing behaviour which would lower the internal validity of the observation

Question 15

Behaviour Sampling in Observations- Event Sampling

Answer 15

The observer decides on specific events (behaviour categories) relevant to the investigation. These relevant events (behaviour categories) are recorded every time they happen within a set period of time. For example, when observing aggression at a football match, recording a tally every single time they see an aggressive act occur within the full time period (90 minutes).

Question 16

Event Sampling AO3

Answer 16

:) One strength of event sampling is that it is useful when behaviour happens infrequently as the ppts are watched over a period of time and the behaviour category (context) is recorded every time it occurs, so researchers are less likely to miss behaviours, unlike time sampling, in which if the behaviour happens infrequently, it may be missed.

:( However, a limitation of event sampling is that if the behaviour being observed is complex/happens very often the observer may miss some behaviours (context) as they cannot tally in time, unlike time sampling, in which the researcher only tallies at set time intervals and is therefore less likely to miss these behaviours.

Question 17

Behaviour Sampling in Observations- Time Sampling

Answer 17

Tallying behaviours in a set time interval e.g. every two minutes.
To explain in more detail, recording what behaviour is shown at every two minute time interval, over a one hour period e.g. this would mean the researcher would tally 30 behaviours within the hour.

Question 18

Time Sampling AO3

Answer 18

:) A strength of time sampling is that it reduces the amount of time the observers must observe behaviours for (contextualise - what behaviours and how long), as they only observe in set time intervals. However, as the researchers are only observing at set time intervals the behaviours tallied (context) may not be representative of the observation.

Question 19

Ways to assess reliability of observations

Answer 19

Inter-OBSERVER reliability:
1. The reliability of the observation can be checked by using TWO OBSERVERS
2. The two observers would create and be trained on how to use the behaviour categories. (for example… (CONTEXT))
3. Two observers would then conduct the observation separately - watch exactly the same behaviour (contextualise – what behaviour are they measuring in the scenario?) for the same amount of time (contextualise – does the scenario give a time length?) but independently record their observations.
4. The tallies from the two observers should be compared and correlated using an appropriate stats test.
5. A strong positive correlation of +0.8 shows high reliability

Question 20

Improving reliability of observations

Answer 20

As well as operationalising there are other ways reliability of observation can be improved:
* Having two observers can improve reliability as consistency of the observation can be checked between observers.
* Provide training to observers on how to use the categories appropriately
* Filming the observation so observers can practise categorising behaviours accurately and consistently

Question 21

Assessing the validity of observations

Answer 21

Face validity:
The quickest most superficial way of assessing for validity. This involves an independent psychologist in the same field seeing if a behaviour category (contextualise: give an example) looks like it measures what it claims to measure (contextualise: refer to scenario, what are they measuring?) at first sight/face value. If they say YES the observation (CONTEXT) is valid.

Concurrent validity:
A way of assessing validity by comparing the results of a new observation (contextualise) with the results from another similar pre-existing observation which has already been established for its validity. Correlate the two sets of behavioural recordings/results gained from an appropriate stats test should exceed +0.8. If the results from both observations are similar then we can assume the test is valid.

Question 22

Improving the validity of observations

Answer 22

• Ensure behaviour categories are operationalised.
• Observers are trained in how to use the behaviour categories
• Covert observations as ppts behaviour are more likely to be natural.

Question 23

What is involved in Self Report?

Answer 23

• Participants give information to the researcher to provide details on thoughts/feelings/behaviour
• It involves the participants responding to questions in a questionnaire or interview
• The questions in the questionnaire can be open or closed questions. The questions in the interview can be structured or unstructured.

Question 24

Describe what a questionnaire is

Answer 24

• Questionnaires form part of surveys, which involves asking a large sample of people for information on a specific topic.
• Involves a pre-set list of written questions or items to which the participant responds
• The purpose of surveys is to get a good representation of the target population using a large sample – therefore making it able to generalise results to the rest of the population.

Question 25

Questionnaires AO3

Answer 25

:) Reduction of investigator effects as the researcher does not have to be present whilst the ppts completes the questionnaire. Therefore, researcher’s response to the participant’s answer is not visible and their characteristics will not influence the
participant’s answers. (Unlike an interview, where the researcher must be present, therefore this increases the internal validity of the questionnaire.)

:( A further weakness is misinterpretation of questions. For example, a ppt may not understand a question and as the researcher is not present, they cannot ask for
clarification meaning, they could leave the question or give invalid information. Moreover, the researcher could misinterpret/not understand the ppts answer and again cannot ask for clarification, lowering the internal validity. (Unlike in an interview, where the researcher is present so the ppt/researcher can ask for clarification increasing the internal validity.)

Question 26

Open questions

Answer 26

questions which Ppts can answer using their own words. They can express their views of their own behaviour and responses tend to include greater detail.

GAIN:
QUALITATIVE DATA
Data which is non-numerical e.g. words to give a full description of what ppts think and feel. It provides detailed data with depth, detail and human meaning.

(explain, describe, give eg of )

Question 27

Closed questions

Answer 27

questions which mean that Ppts responses are fixed for example ‘yes’ or ‘no’ or rating scales.

GAIN:
QUANTITATIVE DATA. Data in numerical form.
‘Yes/No’ answers are closed BUT NOT quantitative

( how often, on a scale of)

Question 28

Open Questions AO3

Answer 28

:) Provides in-depth, rich detailed data which provides greater understanding of the content/behaviour in question (context).

:( Open to researcher bias as participant’s responses (context) will be open to the subjective interpretation of the researcher

Question 29

Closed Questions AO3

Answer 29

:) Easier to analyse and collate the data allowing comparisons to be made between groups of people enabling conclusions to be made about behaviour (context).

:( Lacks depth and insight into behaviour (context) in question, therefore the answers could lack validity.

Question 30

Describe what an interview is

Answer 30

A method for asking questions – in a face to face nature, sometimes it can also be over the phone or computer such as through skype. There are two types of interview structured and unstructured

Question 31

Interview AO3

Answer 31

:) As the researcher is present during an interview, the ppts can ask for clarification if they do not understand a question or the researcher could ask for clarification if they do not understand a response, therefore improving the internal validity of the research, unlike in a questionnaire where the researcher is not present and therefore clarification cannot be established, lowering the internal validity.

:( interviews are more time consuming and expensive as the questions are asked face to face and so require a 1:1 with a researcher unlike a questionnaire which are less time consuming and expensive as they can be given to lots of Ppts to complete and does not take as much time as the researcher does not need to be present.

Question 32

Structured interview

Answer 32

• All of the questions are pre-set before the interviews are carried out.
• Less likely to deviate from the topic
• Every interviewee will be asked the same questions in exactly the same order
• The interviewer cannot ask any extra questions based on information provided by the participant.

Question 33

Structured interview AO3

Answer 33

:) All participants get the same questions meaning that it is possible to compare responses and identify trends and patterns much more easily about (contextualise e.g., refer to the behaviour being studied from scenario) UNLIKE unstructured interview where pts get different questions, therefore it’s hard to make comparisons.

:( The researcher cannot deviate from the pre-set questions meaning they cannot follow up on new lines of enquiry. This may mean they do not get a full understanding of behaviour
(Contextualise e.g., refer to the behaviour being studied from scenario) UNLIKE in an unstructured interview where questions can be developed based on reposes from previous questions.

Question 34

Unstructured interview

Answer 34

• May contain a topic area for discussion but no set questions so each interviewee gets different questions.
• The questions are based on the responses of the interviewee so the interviewer can discuss interesting points made by the interviewee.
  -The questions that are asked are more likely to be open questions.

Question 35

Unstructured interview AO3

Answer 35

:) The researcher can allow the person to go into more depth with their responses as questions are based on the responses of the interviewer. This means that they can gain a fuller understanding of the Ppt behaviour (contextualise e.g., refer to the behaviour being studied from scenario UNLIKE a structured interview where participants only answer a set list of questions where there is no deviation, increasing the internal validity of an unstructured interview.

:( It can be hard to identify patterns and trends as all participants are asked different questions (contextualise: What will the questions investigate? making the responses harder to analyse and make comparisons between Ppts UNLIKE a structured interview where all Pots answer the same questions.

Question 36

Investigator effects definition

Answer 36

When the researcher’s behaviour/characteristics either consciously or unconsciously influences the outcome of the research. For example, the researcher’s gender or tone of voice may influence how the participant responds in the self report

Question 37

How can investigator effects be controlled?

Answer 37

• Train experimenters to use a neutral tone of voice in the way they greet ppts or ask questions
• Ensure the researcher is the same gender as the participants
• Provide a standardised script for the researchers to use so that they are asking questions or giving instructions in the same way
• IF the researcher is aware of the aims of the study, get another interviewer to conduct the self report who is unaware of the aims. (DOUBLE BLIND)

ALL OF THESE WILL AVOID A CHANGE IN PARTICIPANT’S BEHAVIOUR AND A BIAS RESPONSE FROM THE PARTICIPANTS WHICH WOULD LOWER THE INTERNAL VALIDITY.

Question 38

Ways to asses reliability of a self report

Answer 38

Test re-test
1. Participants are given a questionnaire or interview (context) to complete
2. The same participants are then asked the same questions (context) after a time delay e.g. two weeks.
3. Compare the data on a scattergraph to describe the correlation. Then correlate the results from each questionnaire or interview using stats test.
4. A strong positive correlation of above +0.8 shows high reliability

Question 39

Improving reliability of self reports

Answer 39

• Operationalising
• Questionnaires - Make sure all questions are clear and understandable - this can be checked for with a pilot study.
• Interviews - using set questions will improve reliability.

Question 40

Assessing the validity of self reports

Answer 40

Face validity:
The quickest most superficial way of assessing for validity. This involves an independent psychologist in the same field looking to see if the questions in the questionnaire or interview (CONTEXT) looks like they measure what they intend measure (contextualise: refer to scenario, what are they measuring?) at first sight/face value.

Concurrent validity:
A way of assessing validity by comparing the results of the new questionnaire/interview (context) with the results of another similar pre-existing questionnaire/interview (context) that has already established its validity. If results from both tests are similar then we can assume the test is valid. Correlation of the

Question 41

Improving the validity of self reports

Answer 41

• The use of standardised procedures across all participants (reduces chances of researcher bias).
• Allow ppts to remain anonymity.
• Avoid leading questions to ensure ppts are not encouraged to respond in a particular way.

Question 42

What is a correlation?

Answer 42

A correlation shows a relationship between variables. These are known as co-variable one and co variable two.
There is no IV and DV and therefore, no manipulation of variables by the researcher

Question 43

different directions of correlation

Answer 43

Positive - As one co-variable increases so does the other co-variable
Negative - As one co-variable increases the other co-variable decreases
Zero - There is no relationship between the co-variables

Question 44

different strengths of a correlation

Answer 44

Strong – if all the points on a scattergraph are close to the line (direction)
Weak – if all the points are spread far apart and away from the line (direction)

• You must comment on both direction and strength

Question 45

Explain what is meant by the term correlation coefficient

Answer 45

A correlation coefficient is a result from a correlation statistical test which tells us how strong or weak a correlation is. They range from -1 to +1 the closer to 0, the weaker the correlation

Question 46

Correlational Analysis AO3

Answer 46

:) There is no manipulation of the variables so it is appropriate to use when studying sensitive issues that may raise ethical issues or when it would be inappropriate to manipulate a situation e.g., is there a relationship between addiction and stress? Whereas in an experiment it would be impractical and unethical to investigate a cause and effect.
:( It is difficult to establish cause and effect between the two variables as only a relationship is found between the two variables. Therefore, other extraneous variables could have been responsible for the relationship found (context) which lowers the internal validity.

Question 47

Writing a hypothesis for a correlation

Answer 47

Non-directional hypothesis:
There will be a significant relationship between (operationalised co-variable 1) and (operationalised co-variable 2).

Directional hypothesis :
There will be a significant POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE relationship between (operationalised co-variable 1) and (operationalised co-variable 2).

Question 48

What is the difference between a correlation and an experiment?

Answer 48

In an experiment the researcher is looking for a difference between conditions. The researcher controls/manipulates the IV and measures the effect on the DV. It is possible to establish cause and effect between the IV and the DV.

WHEREAS

A correlation shows a relationship between two co-variables there is no manipulation by the researcher and a cause and effect cannot be established.

Question 49

Define what is meant by a case study

Answer 49

An in-depth study conducted into one group or one person. They can be over a long period of time and are often used alongside other techniques e.g. interviews, observations, questionnaires or a combination of all these, which produce in depth qualitative data.
Case studies may involve gathering data from the individual being studied but also from family and friends of the individual as well.

Question 50

Case studies AO3

Answer 50

:) Case studies offer rich, detailed insights into unusual forms of behaviour (context) that would otherwise be difficult to manipulate in an experimental setting, e.g., when investigating the effects of brain damage or memory loss. Therefore, increasing our understanding of complex behaviour.
:( Low population validity as it only conducted on one person or small group (contextualise to scenario, who is the individual or small group being studied?). Therefore it will difficult to generalise the findings to the target population (contextualise, who would it be difficult to generalise to and why?) lowering the external validity.