research methods - 5 Flashcards
what are the features of science?
-paradigm
-paradigm shift
-objectivity
-empirical method
-replicability
-falsifiability
-theory construction
-hypothesis testing
what is a paradigm?
a set of shared assumptions / methods within a particular discipline
psychology a science - paradigm
prychology is a science because all psychologists study the human mind and behaviour
(each approach is its own paradigm)
psychology not a science - paradigm
no, because there isn’t a shared set of assumptions about the causes of human behaviour
↳ bio approach (genes, neurotransmitters, brain structures)
↳ behaviourist (learn from envionment)
what is a paradigm shift?
a psychological revolution leading to a new, widely accepted, dominant paradigm
(change in unifying theory)
psychology a science - paradigm shift
psychology has had several paradigm shifts
(wundt → psychodynamic → behaviourist → cognitive)
psychology not a science - paradigm shift
if there is no paradigm, there can’t be a paradigm shift
(eg: biological approach & behaviourist approach conflict)
what is objectivity?
rerearchers mustn’t let their personal opinions, judgements or biases interfere with data
psychology a science - objectivity
some approaches are objective
→ behaviourist (focus on observable behaviour)
→ biological (scanning techniques)
psychology not a science - objectivity
not all research is interpreted in an objective way
→ psychodynamic (little hans case study)
what is the empirical method?
the idea that knowledge is gained from direct experiences in an objective,
systematic + controlled manner to produce quantitative data
psychology a science - empirical method
some approaches use the empirical method → behaviourist (only focuses on observable behaviour)
psychology not a science - empirical method
not all psychological matter can be directly observed
→ cognitive (inferences are assumptions)
→ psychodynamic (unobservable, unconscious thought)
→ wundt (conscious thoughts can’t be verified )
what is replicability?
when research is repeated and consistent results are found
psychology a science - replicability
most psychological research is standardised and therefore replicable
➢ wundt = stimuli (metronome)
➢ behaviourist = skinner’s box
psychology not a science - replicability
it is almost impossible to replicate the same conditons and behaviour in humans (individual differences)
↳ partipant variables, wundt used a ticking metronome, but not all participants repeated the same thoughts
what is falsifiability?
the idea that a research hypothesis could be proved wrong. this helps to keep science advancing findings and
with new paradigms
psychology a science - falsifiability
some theories have testable hypotheses:
↳ behaviourist
↳ biological
psychology not a science - falsifiability
there is no testable hypothers in the prychodynamic approach
→ theories are on an unconscious level
what is theory construction?
to construct a theory, evidence to support this notion needs to be collected first
psychology a science - theory construction
psychology not a science - theory construction
what is hypothesis testing?
if a researcher suspects something to be true, they need to devise an experiment that will allow them to examine their ideas
psychology a science - hypothesis testing
psychology not a science - hypothesis testing
most early psychologists focused on causal explanations and argued that behaviour was determined by either internal or external influences.
in the 1960s, some psychologists chose to focus more on the role of free will in behaviour. more recently, there has been a broad shift back to more deterministic thinking, but this time with the focus on biology and cognitive processes.
referring to the text above, explain what is meant by a paradigm shift
(4 marks)
-paradigm is a set of shared assumptions/beliefs about how behaviour/thought is studied/explained
(eg: a focus on causal explanations of behaviour)
-a shift occurs where members of a scientific community change from one established way of explaining a behaviour to a new way, due to new evidence
(eg: shifting focus from cause to free will)
-this shift leads to a ‘scientific revolution’ (eg: the cognitive revolution in the 1970s and the current emphasis on cognitive neuroscience)
briefly explain one reason why it is important for research to be replicated.
(2 marks)
-the theory gains strength if it is replicable
-generalisability increases if research is replicable (the theory may then have practical applications)
a psychodynamic psychologist wished to investigate the function of dreams. he asked five friends to keep a ‘dream diary’ for a week by writing a descriptive account of their dreams as soon as they woke up in the morning. he interpreted the content of their dreams as an
expression of their repressed wishes.
referring to the study above, explain why psychodynamic psychologists have often been criticised for neglecting the rules of the scientific approach.
(3 marks)
-interpretation of the content of dreams is open to bias and subjectivity
-small sample & an opportunity sample of friends → implications for generalisability
-retrospective data / memory
distortions → problem of objectivity
outline what is meant by replication in research. explain why replication forms an essential part of the scientific approach. (4 marks)
1 mark = (definition) being able to copy the original experiment in order to see if results are the same or similar.
1 mark = reference to method (doing the same way).
1 mark = reference to results (if similar or not)
up to two marks = for explaining the role of replication in the scientific approach
candidates may focus on two reasons briefly or may choose to elaborate on a single reason
-increases confidence in results; theory strengthened through repeated attempts at refutation
-generalisability increased
a researcher believed that there is a biological basis to aggression in males. she predicted that there would be a significant difference between the levels of the hormone testosterone in
aggressive males and the levels of the hormone testosterone in non-aggressive males. In order to test her prediction, the researcher statistically analysed the levels of testosterone in saliva
samples from 20 aggressive males and 20 non-aggressive males.
outline three ways in which the study described above could be considered to be scientific.
statistical testing:
measuring levels of hormones; use of saliva samples
-hypothesis testing
-open to replication
strengths of psychology as a science:
-theories provide general laws of behaviour and allow psychology to
progress as a science
-respectability due to scientific status
-objective and provides reliable findings that can be generalised
-resulted in practical applications which can improve people’s lives
and help solve problems
-allows us to establish causality of behaviour
-allows us to predict behaviour
limitations of psychology as a science:
-scientific laws are generalisable but psychological explanations are often restricted to specific times and places, because psychology studies (mostly) people, it studies
(indirectly) the effects of social and cultural changes on behaviour
↳ behaviour changes over time, and over different situations
↳ these factors, and individual differences, make research findings reliable for a limited time only
-much of the subject matter in psychology is unobservable (e.g. memory) and therefore cannot be
accurately measured
-when psychologists operationalise their IV, it is highly likely that
this is reductionist or subjective
-objectivity is impossible. It is a huge problem in psychology, as it involves humans studying humans, and
it is very difficult to study the behaviour of people in an
unbiased fashion.
what is peer review?
-the process by which psychological research papers, before publication, are subjected to independent
scrutiny by other psychologists working in a similar field
-they consider the research in terms of its validity, significance and
originality
the process of peer review:
(stage 1)
independent scrutiny by other psychologists working in a similar field, work is considered in terms of its validity, significance and originality
the process of peer review:
(stage 2)
there is assessment of the appropriateness of the methods and designs used
the process of peer review:
(stage 3)
the reviewer can accept the manuscript as it is, accept with revisions, suggest the author makes
revisions and re-submit or reject without the possibility of re-submission
the process of peer review:
(stage 4)
the editor makes the final decision whether to accept or reject the research report based on the
reviewers’ comments/recommendations
the process of peer review:
(stage 5)
research proposals are submitted to panel and assessed for merit to see whether it should be
published
why is peer review important in research?
1) identify weaknesses - it is difficult for authors and researchers to spot every mistake in a piece of work
↳ showing the work to others increases the probability that weaknesses will be identified and addressed
↳ this checks the validity of the research
2) it helps to prevent the dissemination of irrelevant findings, unwarranted claims, unacceptable interpretations, personal views and deliberate fraud
3) peer reviewers also judge the quality and the significance of the research in a wider context
4) recommend changes - peer reviewers can then make a recommendation as to whether the research paper should be published in its original form, rejected or revised in some way
↳ helps to ensure that any research paper published has integrity and can be taken seriously by fellow researchers and people
what are the parts of psychological reports?
1) title
2) abstract
3) introduction
4) method
5) results
6) discussion
7) references / bibliography
8) appendices
what is the abstract?
-a summary of the report
-tells the reader about the major elements of the report, including; aim, hypotheses, method, results and conclusions
why are abstracts helpful?
-they mean that researchers do not have to read hundreds of
reports when conducting new research
-hey use these to find the most relevant reports to read in full
aim and hypothesis:
-the aim states the purpose of the study
-the hypothesis states what is going to be tested, and the expected outcome
method:
it should include these elements:
-design and method
-sample and participants
-apparatus/equipment
-procedure
-ethics
sample and participants:
the sampling method, number of participants
procedure:
-a full account of how the experiment or observation took place, including standardised instructions and everything said to the participants in debriefing
-note control for extraneous
variables here
ethics:
an acknowledgement of possible ethical issues and explanations of
how occurring ethical issues were dealt with
what must the method be?
detailed enough so that if someone
else picks up the report, they could replicate the research
results:
-this section should include key findings in relation to the hypothesis
-descriptive statistics include tables, graphs and charts, measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion
-inferential statistics refer to the choice of statistic test (and why), the
calculated values and the critical values, as well as the level of significance
discussion:
-the results should be summarised at the start of the discussion, and this includes relating them to the aim and the hypothesis stated in the introduction
-the researcher then compares the results to the previous research
outlined in the introduction
-any limitations of the research will be discussed, and possible
suggestions of addressing these in future research
-the implications of the research for real life – what contribution has the research made?
referencing:
the reference section includes all of the sources the researcher used
to gather their initial information and apparatus for their
investigation; e.g. books, articles, websites
referencing style:
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Location: Publisher
appendices:
any materials used for any part of the research go here…
(eg: consent form, debrief form, questionnaires, diagrams, raw data
statistical calculations)
format of psychological report:
-rhe report should be written in the third person
-language should be formal, and technical
Briefly outline what information psychologists should include
within an abstract when reporting psychological investigations.
The abstract should tell the reader about the major elements
of the report such as the aim, hypotheses, method, results
and conclusions.
List four sub sections that should be included within the method section of a psychological report [4 marks]
research design, sample, sampling method, participants, apparatus, procedure, standardised instructions, ethics
Design a Study
how to answer an exam question about designing a study:
-only answer the bullet points
-justify everything
