Research Methods Flashcards
1
Q
What are research methods?
A
Methods and techniques psychologists use to answer questions about human behavior.
2
Q
What types of research methods are there? (5)
A
Experiments, observations, self-reports, correlations, case studies
3
Q
What is an aim? And when is it used in an experiment?
A
An aim is a general statement of what you intend to do. It is ALWAYS used in an experiment.
4
Q
What 2 words do you start an aim with?
A
TO INVESTIGATE
5
Q
What is an independent variable?
A
A variable manipulated by a researcher or naturally changes to see whether the dependent variable can be measured.
6
Q
What is a dependent variable?
A
The thing the researcher is measuring
7
Q
What is a hypothesis?
A
A prediction
8
Q
What are the 5 types of hypothesis?
A
Alternative, experimental, null, directional, non-directional
9
Q
What is an alternative hypothesis?
A
Precise prediction of what is going to happen
10
Q
What is an experimental hypothesis?
A
Predicts the effect of the IV on the DV
11
Q
What is a directional hypothesis?
A
Predicts expected direction of the results
12
Q
What is a non-directional hypothesis?
A
Predicts there will be an effect but does not predict the exact results
13
Q
What does operationalise mean?
A
Being clear on how you are measuring your results (YOU MUST ALWAYS DO THIS IN YOUR HYPOTHESIS)
14
Q
What is a null hypothesis?
A
Predicts there will be no affect and any difference on affect will be due to chance
15
Q
What is a lab experiment?
A
Artificial environment under controlled conditions, IV is manipulated, effect on DV is measured.
16
Q
What is a field experiment?
A
IV is manipulated, effect on DV is measured, natural place for the participant.
17
Q
What is a natural experiment?
A
IV is NOT manipulated, effect on DV is measured, age and gender are not characteristics measured
18
Q
What is a quasi experiment?
A
IV is not manipulated but age, gender etc is measured as a characteristic of the participant
19
Q
What are extraneous variables?
A
Things that may influence your results other than the DV
20
Q
What are confounding variables?
A
Things that may influence your results other than the IV
21
Q
Why do you try to control extraneous variables?
A
To stop them becoming confounding variables
22
Q
What do researchers want to establish?
A
Cause & effect
23
Q
What does a confounding variable do?
A
Confuses the results
24
Q
What are the 3 types of extraneous variables?
A
Participant variables, situational variables, demand characteristics and investigator effects
25
What are participant variables?
Characteristics and differences between participants that may affect the DV
26
What are situational variables?
Features of the environment that may affect the DV
27
What are demand characteristics?
Participants change their behavior due to perceived demands of the study
28
What is the hawthron effect/please you effect?
Participants trying to guess what the investigator wants and changing their behaviour
29
What is the screw-you effect?
Deliberately changing your behavior in an unexpected way to 'mess' with the investigation
30
What is social desirability?
Changing your behavior to what you think is socially acceptable
31
What is investigator effects?
The experimenter having an effect on your behavior
32
What is standardisation?
Extraneous variables are kept constant across conditions of the IV.
33
What is single blind experiments?
Participants have no idea what condition they are in
34
What are double blind experiments?
Researcher and participants have no idea what conditions they're in
35
What is deception?
Lying to participants so they don't know how to behave
36
What is randomisation?
2 different conditions and participants are randomly allocated
37
What are the 2 types of extraneous variables and what are they?
Participant - participant features (gender, age, motivation, intelligence)
Situational - situational features that may effect the experiment (time of day, noise, lighting)
38
What is independent groups?
Where there are 2 or more conditions but participants only take part in one
39
What is repeated measures?
Where all participants take part in all conditions
40
What are matched pairs?
Participants taking part in 1 condition but researchers matching them based on their characteristics and comparing results (i.e similar intelligence level)
41
What are the advantages and disadvantages of independent groups?
Advantages- order effects are not a problem
| Disadvantages- participant variables could affect results
42
What are the advantages and disadvantages of repeated measures?
Opposite of independent groups
43
What are the advantages and disadvantages of matched pairs?
Advantages- Reduces participant variables as researcher has paired participants due to important characteristics and also avoids order affects
Disadvantages- Time consuming!! Impossible to match people exactly
44
What is the big problem with using people in 2 or more different groups?
Individual differences
45
What are order effects?
The order you do conditions in
46
Unethical experiments arise when...
A conflict exists between participants rights and researchers needs to gain valid results on natrual behaviour
47
Why may a researcher not reveal the real study to participants?
Because they want to minimize demand characteristics
48
When is it alright to lie in an experiment?
If it will benefit the public and get valuable results
49
What is the anagram for what you have to do to participants in an experiment?
Can Do Can't Do With Participants
50
What does the anagram stand for?
Consent, deception, confidentiality, debriefing, withdrawal & protection from harm
51
What is informed consent?
Where participants should be made aware of the aims, procedures, and right to withdraw.
52
What are the alternatives for consent?
Presumptive consent, prior general, retrospective consent
53
What is presumptive consent?
Taking a sample of the population and explaining the aim of the experiment, getting their consent and releasing the experiment would be ethical
54
What is prior general?
Obtaining prior consent to see if a participant would be willing to be in an experiment which involved deception, if yes then you can use them in the future
55
What is retrospective consent?
Getting consent after the experiment and letting participants have the right to withdraw data
56
What is a consent form?
Explaining aims, objectives etc in a study on paper. Have to say data can be withdrawn and make clear all data is confidential
57
What is a debrief form?
Saying the true aim of the study, any details that were not supplied in the study, should be told what data is sued for, option to withdraw their data
58
What is confidentiality?
Personal info being kept confidential, results can be published but not identify person (numbers, initials, pseudonyms) YOU MUST TELL THEM ABOUT THIS
59
What is deception?
Avoiding lying if will lead to harmful consequences, can lie if study is beneficial to society, if you don't lie slightly you will get demand characteristics
60
What is protection from harm?
Not putting participants at risk to any physical/psychological harm any more that they would be exposed to in every day life
Can be used if harm is short term & relatively minor
61
What is the right to withdraw?
Make them aware they can leave during the experiment and tell them after their data can be removed if they want it to be
62
What are 3 studies that caused harm and broke these 6 rules?
Zimbardo - prisoner & guard
Milgram - electric volts chair
David Reimer - boy with no penis
63
What is the society that presented these 6 rules?
(BPS code) British Psychological Society
64
What is a population?
Large group of people researchers are interested in
65
What is a target population?
Sub group of the general population
66
What is a sample?
Participants selected from target population to take parrt in research
67
What does the sample drawn have to be?
Representative of the target popualtion
68
What are the 5 sampling methods?
Opportunity, random, stratified, systematic, volenteer
69
What is a opportunity sample?
People who are most convenient and around at the time (people on the street etc)
70
What are the advantages and disadvantages of an opportunity sample?
Advantage - Easiest method, less time consuming
Disadvantage - Biased and unrepresentative of population (some numbers are unincluded - people who work in the day/ go to college)
71
What is a random sample?
Each member of the public has an equal opportunity of being picked (wheel of numbers)
72
What are the advantages and disadvantages of an random sample?
Advantage- not biased, increased chance of being representative
Disadvantage- time consuming & doesn't guarantee unbiased sample as it is selected by chance
73
What is a stratified sample?
Subgroups (strata) within a population are identified (males, females etc) random selection from each strata
74
What are the advantages and disadvantages of an stratified sample?
Advantage - sample should be generalized and representative, usually best results
Disadvantage- Detailed knowledge about the participants may not be known, MOST TIME CONSUMING
75
What is a systematic sample?
Predetermined system used to select participants ('nth number of the phone book etc)
76
What are the advantages and disadvantages of an systematic sample?
Advantage - unbiased, selected using an objective system therefore representative
Disadvantage - not truly unbiased (first person will never be picked etc)
77
What is a volunteer sample?
Researcher advertising for participants
78
What are the advantages and disadvantages of an volunteer sample?
Advantage - quick and easy for researcher, participants wanting to take part are likely to take research seriously
Disadvantage- sample would be unrepresentative as people who volunteer for things may have more confidence etc
79
Which of the 5 samples can be influenced by a researcher?
Opportunity
80
What are correlations?
Mathematical technique where a researcher investigates an association between 2 variables
81
What is the other word for variables?
Co-variables
82
What word should you always used when talking about experiments with correlations?
Relationship
83
How do you plot correlations?
On a scatter gram
84
What are the 3 types of correlations?
Positive, negative, no correlation
85
What is a positive correlation?
Where both variables increase or decrease together
86
What is a negative correlation?
Where one variable increases and the other decreases (visa versa)
87
What does it mean by no correlation?
No relationship established between variables
88
What is the main problem with correlations?
They do not establish a cause and effect
89
What is the 'third variable' problem?
Where another variable changes both your variables and the two things appear to be related but are not at all (Facebook improves grades)
90
What is the difference between a correlation and an experiment?
An experiment tries to establish a cause and effect, a correlation cannot do this
91
Do you have to have a hypothesis in correlations?
Yes
92
What are the advantages of a correlation? (2)
It can be used when experiments are unethical, they can easily show a relationship between 2 co-variables
93
What are the disadvantages of a correlation? (3)
They cannot establish a cause and effect!!! Extraneous variables can affect the co-variables, correlations can only measure linear relationships (not on a curved line)
94
What is an example of a positive correlation?
Shoe size and height
95
What is an example of a negative correlation?
The more caffeine you drink the less sleep you get
96
What is a covert observation?
The participants are not aware they are being observed.
97
What is a strength of a covert observation?
Ecological validity is high
98
What is a weakness of a covert observation?
Ethical issues - lack of consent
99
What is an overt observation?
Participants know their behavior is being observed
100
What is a strength of an overt observation?
Ethically sound
101
What is a weakness of an overt observation?
Demand characteristics
102
What is a controlled observation?
Lab setting, researcher manipulates the enivronment
103
What is a strength of a controlled observation?
High control, measurement of behavior is easier
104
What is a weakness of a controlled observation?
Ecological validity is low
105
What is a naturalistic observation?
Observation in a natural environment
106
What is a strength of a naturalistic observation?
Ecological validity is high
107
What is a weakness of a naturalistic observation?
Extraneous variables could affect results
108
What is a participant observation?
Researcher becomes part of obsevation
109
What is a strength of a participant observation?
Provides greater insight
110
What is a weakness of a participant observation?
Observer could form own opinions which could affect interpretation of behavior
111
What is a non-participant observation?
The researchers do not become part of the experiment
112
What is a strength of a non-participant observation?
Greater objectivity when interpretating behavior
113
What is a weakness of a non-participant observation?
Data lacks richness - such as feelings and motivations of participants
114
What is a behavior category?
Catergories of types of behaviors you are looking for in your observation
115
What is event sampling?
Recording how many times a behavior category occurs - i.e how many times a child kicks
116
What is time sampling?
Count how many times behavioral categories occur in an order in a certain amount of time
117
What is qualitative data?
Expressed in words - may take written description of thoughts of participants
118
What is quantitative data?
Expressed numerically - usually data of individual scores
119
What is a strength and a weakness of qualitative data?
Represents complexity of human behavior - more detailed
| Difficult to draw conclusions and detect patterns
120
What is a strength and a weakness of quantitative data?
Easy to draw conclusions
| Can over simplify complex behavior
121
What is primary data?
Information been obtained first hand by researcher
122
What is secondary data?
Data already been subjected to statistical testing (found in journals, books, websites)
123
What is a strength and weakness of primary data?
Authentic data direct from participants for a particular purpose
Requires a lot of time and planning
124
What is a strength and weakness of secondary data?
Inexpensive and requires minimal effort
| It can be outdated and accuracy could vary
125
What are the 2 sub divisions of self report techniques?
Interviews and questionnaires
126
What can a questionnaire have?
Opened and closed questions (fixed range of responses)
127
What are some examples of questionnaire scales?
Rating scales, fixed choice options
128
What are pilot studies?
Carrying out a smaller version of your study before the real thing - might ask opinions on ways to improve
129
What can interviews be?
Structured (identical, pre-determined questions) or unstructured (discussion, exploring questions or semi-structured (mixture of both)
130
What is an interviewer schedule?
List of questions interviewer wants to cover (should be standardized)
131
What are 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of questionnaires?
Provide honest data and reduces impact of investigator
| Response rates can be poor, difficult to phrase questions that are not leading questions
132
What are 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of interviews?
Any misunderstood questions can be adapted and they are easily replicated
Interviewer effects!!! and may not collect meaningful data (unstructured)
133
What is important to consider about an interviewer?
Who's most appropriate, especially on sensitive topics they may need to be trained
134
How do you work out a percentage?
Number your looking for divided by total number times 100
135
What are the 3 measures of centeral tendency?
mean median and mode
136
What are the 2 measures of dispersion?
Range and standard deviation
137
Why is the range good and bad?
Easy to calculate but no indication of how data is distributed
138
What is standard deviation?
Shows deviation of each score from the mean
139
Why is standard deviation good and bad?
More precise measure but sooo hard to calculate
140
What does a low standard deviation indicate?
participants responded in a similar way
141
When do you present data in bar graphs?
If data has been divided into catergories
142
When do you present data in scattergrams?
X and Y are obvious
143
What are skewed distributions?
Distributions that appear to lean to one side
| Positive skew - data leaning to left
144
What are the 3 aims of peer reviews?
To allocate research finding
To validate quality and relevance of research
To suggest amendments or improvements
145
What is a strength of peer review?
Usually remains anonymous so likely to produce honest appraisal
146
What is a weakness of peer review?
Researchers prefer to publish data they agree with or is positive so other data could be ignored
