Research Methods

Question 1

Scientific method

Answer 1

observation of phenomena, hypothesis formulation and experimentation, must use empirical methods and be objective

Question 2

Replicability,

Answer 2

must be possible in order to establish validity and reliability

Question 3

Peer review

Answer 3

research checked by experts before publication

Question 4

Random sampling

Answer 4

selected without bias, using random number tables or out of a hat, but doesn’t guarantee a representative sample

Question 5

Opportunity sampling

Answer 5

makes use of available people but is often biased

Question 6

Volunteer sampling

Answer 6

obtained by adverts/posters, unlikely to be representative

Question 7

Systematic sampling

Answer 7

choosing every nth person, unbiased but not certainly representative

Question 8

Stratified sampling

Answer 8

P’s selected in proportion to their frequency in the target population

Question 9

Reliability

Answer 9

extent to which results are consistent, internal (consistent within itself) external(measure consistent with other measures), to test use test-retest or inter rater

Question 10

Validity

Answer 10

how a research measures what it claims to measure, internal(does the test measure what it says it does) and external( for far the results can be generalised)

Question 11

Ethical issues

Answer 11

consent, no harm, debrief, deceit, confidential, ethical committees, suitable observation

Question 12

Graphs

Answer 12

bar charts(discrete), histograms( continuous), frequency polygons, scatter grams

Question 13

Measures of central tendency and dispersion

Answer 13

mean, median, mode, range and standard deviation

Question 14

Type 1 errors

Answer 14

accepts found difference when in fact it’s down to chance

Question 15

Type 2 errors

Answer 15

rejects difference as insignificant but are wrong as the LOS is too low

Question 16

Nominal data

Answer 16

frequency of qualitative variables

Question 17

Ordinal

Answer 17

involves ranking data in order

Question 18

Interval/ratio data

Answer 18

uses equal measurement intervals such as time or weight

Question 19

Chi-squared

Answer 19

difference, nominal, independent groups

Question 20

Mann-whitney

Answer 20

difference, ordinal, independent groups

Question 21

Wilcoxon matched ranks

Answer 21

difference, ordinal, repeated measures

Question 22

Spearman’s rho

Answer 22

correlation, ordinal, data is pairs of scores from the same person or event

Question 23

Content analysis

Answer 23

quantifying qualitative data, data placed in categories and counted

Question 24

Report writing

Answer 24

prose, past tense, clear and formal, important for replicability

Question 25

Abstract

Answer 25

summary of the entire report in about 150 words

Question 26

Introduction

Answer 26

why study conducted, background into previous theories and research

Question 27

Hypothesis

Answer 27

stated precisely with justification of directional and significance level

Question 28

Method

Answer 28

outline of what was done, choice of method , designs and techniques, outline of target population and the actual P’s in the study and how they were obtained

Question 29

Apparatus

Answer 29

description of technical equipment involved and how it was used

Question 30

Standardised procedure

Answer 30

A step by step procedure, allowing for replicability. Where the study took place and any standardised instructions and debriefing procedures

Question 31

Controls

Answer 31

Should include details of controls such as counterbalancing, random allocation of P’s, control of extraneous variables and how bias was avoided

Question 32

Results

Answer 32

presentation of data, summary of raw data in prose with support from tables and graphs

Question 33

Discussion

Answer 33

What result mean, limitations of study and implications for future research, concluding paragraph tying all key conclusions and references and appendices added at the back