Research methods Flashcards
Random allocation
Every member of the sample is given an equal chance of being in either the control or experimental group
Participant differences
Any characteristics that can vary naturally between participants in a study that may have an unwanted effect on the results
Order effects
The participants may become bored or fatigued when performing the same tasks
What are the research designs?
Independent groups
Matched participants
Repeated measures
Independent groups
Different participants in each condition
Advantage - no order effects, quicker than repeated measures, run at the same time
Disadvantage - least effective design in elimination of participant differences
Matched participants
Participants are paired on important variables relevant to the study e.g, memory ability
Advantage - eliminates order effects, limits the effect of participant differences
Disadvantages - never a perfect match, time consuming, one person drops out the pair has to
Repeated measures design
One group of participants completes all of the conditions in the experiment
Advantages - no participant differences, less participants needed
Disadvantages - order effects, slower and more time consuming as conditions can’t be run at the same time
Ethics - list the ethics relevant for the study
Confidentiality, Voluntary participation, informed consent, withdrawal rights
Confidentiality
All persons details and information gathered from participants should be kept private
Voluntary participation
Participants must not be forced to be involved in the study
Informed consent
Participants must be told the nature rights and risks of the study. They must also sign a permission form
Withdrawal rights
Participants are allowed to stop participating in the experiment at any time. Can also ask to have their results removed from the study
What are descriptive statistics?
Used to summarise, organise and describe important features of data, so they can be easily interpreted and communicated
E.g. Mean
However a conclusion can not be drawn from descriptive stats
Inferential stats
Allows the researcher to draw inferences or conclusions based on evidence. They determine the statistical significance of the results. That is whether the results could have occurred by chance
E.g p value - allows psychologists to determine the probability that the results are due to chance
Qualitative data
Data that describe the changes in the quality of a behaviour; often accounts of personal attitudes or experiences, or descriptions of feelings
More detail provided Based on personal accounts,
open to personal, observer, or researcher bias, making them difficult to statistically analyse.
Quantitative data
Data collected through systematic and controlled methodology and presented in numerical form
Objective data, quick and easy to analyse.
Lack of detail
What is an experiment
A study that investigates the cause and effect relationship between 2 or more variables. A variable is any condition that can change
Stratified sampling,
Advantage and limitation
Involves dividing the population into strata
The sample from each of the strata are selected in the same proportion to the population
- more representative
- can be time consuming
Random stratified
Advantage
Limitation
This involves the same process as stratified sampling, except each person is selected at random from each strata
- most representative
- time consuming
Convenience sampling
Advantage
Limitation
Participants are easily accessible at the time
- quick and easy
- sample is biased, not representative of the population
Random sampling
Advantage
Limitation
Ensures that every member of the population has an equal chance of being in the sample
- less biased and more representative than convenience sampling
- can be more time consuming
- may not be representative still
