Research methods Flashcards
name the four types of non-experimental research methods
observational techniques
self report
correlation analysis
case studies
give an example of an experimental research method
controlling what people eat for a specific amount of time
what is the definition of external validity?
the Degree to which research findings can be generalized
name six ethical issues
Informed consent
deception
the right to withdraw
protection from physical and psychological harm
confidentiality
pricacy
What does informed consent consist of
telling the participant the true aims behind the experiment
how can deception be avoided
by making sure all participants know the truth immediately after they finish or withdraw from the test
how much information is allowed to be released with out breaking the right to confidentiality
as much as the psychologist wants to as long as the data recorded is not made available in a form which identifies the participants
what does bps stand for?
BRITISH PSYCHOLOGY SOCIETY
what is the ethics comity
a group of people within a research institution that must approve a study before it begins
what is the ethics committee also called
The IRB
what does IRB stand for?
Institutional review board
what is a directional hypothesis
states the direction of the predicted difference between two conditions or two groups of participants
what is a non directional hypothesis
predicts simplly that there will be a difference beteween two conditions or two groups of participants without stating the direction of the difference
what is a pilot study
a small scale trial run of a study to test any aspects of the design, with a view to making improvements
what is a confederate
an individual in a study who is not a real participant and has been instructed on how to behave by the investigator/experimenter. may act as an independent variable
what are the three experimental designs
repeated measures
independent groups
matched pairs
list the limitations of repeated measures
after doing the same test twice the participant might find it easier to guess the demand characteristics
if the second test is at two different times the participant may perform better of worse (e.g preform better in the afternoon than the morning)
the participant may also get better at the test with practice for the second measure.
list the limitations of independent group design
no control over the variance in participants (e.g different abilities or characteristics) this means that participants in group one could have better memory than participants in group two and therefore un validate the results
you also need twice as many participants
list the limitations of matched pairs
it is very time consuming to match participants accurately on key variables. you would also have to start with a large group of participants to make sure you can obtain matched pairs on key variables
ways to deal with the limitations of repeated measures
you could make it harder for the participants to guess the demand characteristics by creating a back story.
make sure each test is necessarily different to stop the participants getting better with practice
counterbalancing
ways to deal with the limitations of independent group design
randomly allocate participants to conditions which theoretically distributes participant variables evenly
be prepated to spend more time and money
ways to deal with the limitations of matched pairs design
restrict matching variables to make it easier to set up
conduct a pilot study to consider key variables
what is counter balancing
an experimental technique used to over come order effects
what is experimental design?
a set of procedures used to control the influence of factors such as participant variables in an experiment
what is single blind
a type of research where the participant is not aware of the research aims or of which condition of the experiment they are receiving