Research methods 5+6 workbook qs Flashcards
observational techniques pg. 78 Qu 43c
explain why watching students covertly should reduce demand characteristics? (2 marks)
the researcher is able to look at the way people really behave. if ppl are unaware they are being watched they will not be susceptible for demand characteristics.
it looks at real behaviour rather than what people say they would do
observational techniques not in textbook
give one advantage of using observation in psychological research (2 marks)
COVERT- participants are unaware they are being observed they wont change their behaviour (1) more likely to be natural and therefore have higher internal validity (1)
OR
CONTROLLED- easier to replicate than a natural observation bc the researcher has control over extraneous variables (1) observations can be repeated and reliability of the findings assessed (1)
observational design pg. 16 qu 14a
One situation in which disruption of attachment can occur is when a mother of a young child is
admitted into hospital. A researcher decided to study the behaviour of a two-year old boy who
experienced this disruption of attachment. She decided to use naturalistic observation of the
boy both before his mother was admitted into hospital and after she returned. Each period of
observation lasted for one hour.
Suggest two suitable behavioural categories the researcher could use to record the boy’s behaviour. (2 marks)
could be :
how many times he smiles/ cries
everytime boy asks for mother
clinging to mother
observational design pg. 16 qu 14b
One situation in which disruption of attachment can occur is when a mother of a young child is
admitted into hospital. A researcher decided to study the behaviour of a two-year old boy who
experienced this disruption of attachment. She decided to use naturalistic observation of the
boy both before his mother was admitted into hospital and after she returned. Each period of
observation lasted for one hour.
How might the researcher record the boy’s behaviour? (2 marks)
might use event sampling
and record how many times he smiles at his mother
pilot study pg. 16 qu 14c
One situation in which disruption of attachment can occur is when a mother of a young child is
admitted into hospital. A researcher decided to study the behaviour of a two-year old boy who
experienced this disruption of attachment. She decided to use naturalistic observation of the
boy both before his mother was admitted into hospital and after she returned. Each period of
observation lasted for one hour.
Explain why the psychologist might want to carry out a pilot study before the main observation. (2 marks)
one reason for the psychologist carrying out a pilot study would be to check cameras were positioned appropriately.
another would be to check the suitability of the behavioural categories
observational design/ behavioural categories pg. 25 qu 22a
A psychologist wanted to investigate the effects of age of adoption on aggressive behaviour. He
compared children who had been adopted before the age of two with children who had been
adopted after the age of two. The children were observed in their school playground when they
were six years old.
a) Suggest two operationalised behavioural categories the psychologist could use in his observation of aggressive behaviour. Explain how the psychologist could have carried out this observation.
(2+2 marks)
observational design/ behavioural categories pg. 25 qu 22b
Explain one ethical issue the psychologist would have needed to consider when carrying out this research. How could the psychologist have dealt with this issue?
(4 marks)
observational design/ behavioural categories and operationalisation pg. 80 qu 43h
In a final, follow-up study, the researchers wanted to know if there was a difference in the type of work students engaged in at each of the three workspaces. Again, they conducted an observation study using CCTV recording. Before the observation could begin the researchers needed to operationalise the behavioural category ‘type of work’.
Explain what is meant by operationalisation and suggest two ways in which ‘type of work’ could be operationalised. [4 marks]
Content: operationalisation:
* clear identification/definition of the observable actions/behaviours to be recorded
* this enables the behaviour under review to be measured objectively.
Plus
1 mark each for two observable behaviours that could represent ‘type of work’, eg making notes, using a laptop, reading a book. Credit any relevant observable behaviour.
correlations pg. 17 qu 15a
A recent study recorded the amount of time that children spent in day care from birth to four years, and asked each child’s mother to rate her child for aggression and disobedience. The study found that, as the time in day care went up, the mother’s rating of aggression and disobedience also went up.
What kind of correlation is this research showing? (1 mark)
positive correlation
correlations pg. 17 qu 15b
A recent study recorded the amount of time that children spent in day care from birth to four years, and asked each child’s mother to rate her child for aggression and disobedience. The study found that, as the time in day care went up, the mother’s rating of aggression and disobedience also went up.
Outline one strength and one weakness of using correlational research. Refer to the stem in your answer. (2 marks + 2 marks)
For example, a strength would be it is an ethical way of collecting data (1 mark) because there is no manipulation of time the child spends in day care (2 marks).
A weakness you can’t infer cause and effect (1 mark) because you can’t be sure that time in day care causes the child to be disobedient (2 marks).
consent form pg. 70 qu 40g
The psychologist decided to conduct an experiment to investigate the effect of watching horror films before
going to bed. A volunteer sample of 50 university students consented to take part in the experiment. The 50
students were randomly split into two groups. Group 1 watched a horror film before going to bed each night
for the first week then a romantic comedy before going to bed each night for the second week. Group 2
watched the romantic comedy in the first week and the horror film in the second week. When the students
woke up each morning, each student received a text message that asked if they had had a nightmare during
the night. They could respond ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
g) Write a brief consent form that would have been suitable for use in this experiment.
The consent form should:
* include some detail of what participants might expect to happen
* refer to ethical issues
* be in an appropriate format/style. (6 marks)
Outline of what the experiment entails:
* an explanation of the general purpose of the research * they would need to watch an assigned horror
film every night before going to bed for 7 nights and would need to watch an assigned romantic comedy
every night before going to bed for 7 nights * a daily requirement to truthfully respond to a text message
asking whether they had experienced a nightmare * the two-week duration of the experiment. Ethical
guidelines: * no pressure to consent * they can withdraw at any time * they can withdraw their data
from the experiment * their data will be kept confidential and anonymous * they should feel free to ask
the researcher any questions at any time * they will receive a full debrief at the end of the programme.
Format and style of consent form: * will require the participant’s agreement * could be written as a form
that participants need to sign * could include space for the participant to sign the consent form * could
include a space for the participant to write the date * could include a space for the participant to print their name. Credit any other relevant information
debrief
standardised instructions pg. 32 qu 28
In an experiment participants were given 20 blue shapes or 20 red shapes. They were then asked to pick 5
shapes and use them to make a toy suitable for a child aged between five and eleven years. They were given
a limited time to carry out this task.
Participants given red shapes made toys that independent judges rated to be more practical but less
original, whereas participants given blue shapes made more creative toys.
Write a set of standardised instructions that would be suitable to read out to participants in this
experiment. (5 marks)
pilot study pg. 67 qu 40b
What is meant by a pilot study? Explain one possible reason why the psychologist decided to conduct a pilot study for this investigation. (3 marks)
1 mark for a clear and coherent definition of a pilot study. Pilot studies are small-scale investigations
conducted before research.
Plus 2 marks for a clear, elaborated reason for why the psychologist decided to conduct a pilot study for
this investigation.
1 mark for a limited/muddled reason for why the psychologist decided to conduct a pilot study for this
investigation.
Possible reasons:
* to identify whether there needed to be any modifications in the design, eg whether the interview
questions were sufficiently relevant to dream content
* to identify whether it would be feasible to conduct a study on the differences in dream themes across
gender. Credit other possible reasons.
pilot study pg. 9 qu 9e
Explain why the psychologist did a pilot study. (3 marks)
A pilot study is used to check aspects of the research such as whether participants understand standardised instructions, whether timings are adequate etc. It allows the researcher to try out the study with a few participants so that adjustments can be made before the main study, so saving time and money.
1 mark for a very brief explanation.
Further marks for appropriate elaboration or identification of other reasons.
Eg
To check it works. 1 mark
To check the standardised instructions are clear. 2 marks
To check the standardised instructions are clear enough for the participants to understand what they are required to do in the experiment. 3 marks
This question requires an explanation of why a pilot study was used, so a description of what a pilot study is (small scale study carried out before the main research) is not creditworthy on its own. Candidates do not have to refer to a specific aspect of this experiment. However, to gain full marks the answer must be relevant, so reference to checking sound levels for example would not be relevant.
pilot study pg. 10 qu 10b
A researcher carried out an experiment to investigate misleading information. Participants were
shown a photograph in which a man and a woman were talking. The photograph was then taken
away and the participants were asked questions about it.
Participants were randomly allocated to condition one or condition two.
Participants in condition one were asked: Question A: “How old was the youth in the
photograph?”
Participants in condition two were asked: Question B: “How old was the man in the
photograph?”
Explain why it would be appropriate to use a pilot study as part of this experiment. (4 marks)
In this experiment it could be used to check how long the participant should be given to look at
the picture so that the timing could be changed if it was too long or too short. It could check the
participants understand the questions asked and what they are required to do. It could also be
used to ask a few participants about their experience of taking part.
peer review pg. 45 qu 33i
Briefly explain one reason why it is important for research to undergo a peer review process.
[2 marks]
- prevents dissemination of irrelevant findings/unwarranted claims/unacceptable
interpretations/personal views and deliberate fraud – improves quality of research - ensures published research is taken seriously because it has been independently scrutinised
- increases probability of weaknesses/errors being identified – authors and researchers are less objective
about their own work.
peer review pg. 61 qu 38k
The report was submitted for peer review and a number of recommendations were advised. Describe
the process and purposes of peer review. [6 marks]
Process
* other psychologists check the research report before deciding whether it could be published
* independent scrutiny by other psychologists working in a similar field
* work is considered in terms of its validity, significance and originality
* assessment of the appropriateness of the methods and designs
used
* reviewer can accept the manuscript as it is, accept with revisions, suggest the author makes revisions and re-submits or reject without the possibility of re-submission
* editor makes the final decision whether to accept or reject the research report based on the reviewers’ comments/recommendations
* research proposals are submitted to panel and assessed for merit.
Purposes
* to ensure quality and relevance of research, eg methodology, data analysis etc
* to ensure accuracy of findings
* to evaluate proposed designs (in terms of aims, quality and value of the research)
for research funding. Credit other relevant material.
peer review pg. 27 qu 24a
Outline what is meant by the term peer review in psychological research. (2 marks)
Peer review is the process by which psychological research papers, before publication, are subjected to independent scrutiny by other psychologists working in a similar field who consider the research in terms of its validity, significance and originality
peer review pg. 27 24b
Peer review is an important part of this process because it provides a way of checking the validity of the research, making a judgement about the credibility of the research and assessing the quality and appropriateness of the design and methodology.
Peers are also in a position to judge the importance or significance of the research in a wider context.
They can also assess how original the work is and whether it refers to relevant research by other psychologists.
They can then make a recommendation as to whether the research paper should be published in its original form, rejected or revised in some way.
This peer review process helps to ensure that any research paper published in a well-respected journal has integrity and can, therefore, be taken seriously by fellow researchers and by lay people.
peer review pg. 27 24c
Explain one limitation of the peer review process. (3 marks)
Problems of Validation:
* In a very small number of cases peer review has failed to detect fraudulent research including
fabrication (where data is made up), falsification (where data exists but has been altered) and
plagiarism (where work has been copied from others).
- However, it should be stressed that cases of proven fraudulent research are very rare.
Consistency with Previous Knowledge:
* Most findings build on previous knowledge or theories
- Research that does not ‘fit’ with previous work is often seen as suspect and can be rejected.
- This means that new findings that go against existing theories might not be published.
- Peer review tends to favour positive results (i.e. ones where the results support the hypothesis).
- For this reason many negative findings (i.e. ones when the null hypothesis has been accepted)
are either not published or are ignored. - If ten negative findings are overlooked whilst one positive finding is published our
understanding of a topic is distorted. - There may be resistance to revolutionary ideas that go against the elite or prevailing
views,
Bias in Peer Review:
* Peer review is subject to bias.
* There are a number of ways that the review may be biased, for instance if the reviewer’s
theoretical view is different from that in the manuscript (for example, if the reviewer is
convinced that intelligence has a strong genetic component they might not look favourably
on research that suggests that it is largely the result of upbringing).
- In addition, there is evidence of both ‘institution bias’ (the tendency to favour research from
prestigious institutions) and gender bias (the tendency to favour male researchers). - If the author and the reviewer share these values then they may be published as objective
science e.g. Bowlby’s work on maternal deprivation was later seen to reflect the cultural
values and politics of the post-war period and his emphasis on separation from mothers
rather than parents was questioned. - Research occurs in a narrow social world and social relationships within that world
affect objectivity and impartiality. There are even suspicions that some researchers’
ability to consider research in an unbiased and professional manner is compromised by
them being funded by organisations that want certain research to be seen as
scientifically acceptable.
