Research Methods

Question 1

Explanation of confidentiality

Answer 1

• legal right
• personal information protected
• participants not individually identifiable from research

Question 2

How is confidentiality dealt with?

Answer 2

• researchers use letters or numbers to represent participants
• any materials kept secure e.g. Questionnaires, taped interviews : once all information received from the materials, they’re destroyed

Question 3

Explanation of right to withdraw

Answer 3

• participants must be told at the beginning of the research that they can withdraw at any point
• all data must be destroyed if a participant withdraws

Question 4

How is right to withdraw dealt with?

Answer 4

• allowing the participant to withdraw and destroying their data
• participants can be given a number which they have to remember so that only their data will be destroyed not all of it

Question 5

Explanation of informed consent

Answer 5

• participants fully informed of objectives of the investigation and all other aspects of the research that may affect the participants willingness to take part
• under 16s and mentally impaired cannot consent themselves

Question 6

What is prior general consent?

Answer 6

Participant is informed of basic details of the investigation

Question 7

What is presumptive consent?

Answer 7

Small group of people similar to the individuals in the investigation are gathered and informed of objectives and procedures. If the group agree the study is acceptable, it’s presumed the actual group would feel the same.

Question 8

What are the 5 ethical issues?

Answer 8

Confidentiality
Right to withdraw
Informed consent
Protection from harm
Deception

Question 9

What are the three ways informed consent is dealt with?

Answer 9

Prior general consent
Presumptive consent
Debriefing

Question 10

Explanation of protection from harm

Answer 10

• participants protected from physical and psychological harm
• participants should be in the same physical and psychological state as they were when they begun the investigation

Question 11

How is protection from harm dealt with?

Answer 11

• debriefing
• if harm occurs, the investigation should be ended
• counselling and therapy etc

Question 12

Explanation of deception

Answer 12

• participants must not be intentionally lied to

- only acceptable when the benefits outweigh the cost and there’s no alternative

Question 13

What is debriefing?

Answer 13

Participant is informed about all of the details of the study at the end and asking if they’re still happy to participate

Question 14

Define aim

Answer 14

States the intended purpose of an investigation

Question 15

What is an alternative hypothesis?

Answer 15

A precise and testable statement that predicts a difference/relationship will be found in an investigation

Question 16

What is a null hypothesis?

Answer 16

A statement that predicts there’ll be no difference/relationship found in an investigation

Question 17

What are the two types of alternative hypothesis?

Answer 17

Directional hypothesis and non-directional hypothesis

Question 18

What is a directional hypothesis?

Answer 18

States the direction of the predicted difference/relationship between two conditions

Question 19

What is a non-directional hypothesis?

Answer 19

States that there’ll be difference/relationship between two conditions, but not what that will be

Question 20

Define variable

Answer 20

Anything that changes

Question 21

Define independent variable

Answer 21

The variable manipulated by the researcher, so it’s though that to directly affect the DV

Question 22

Define dependent variable

Answer 22

The variable the researcher measures

Question 23

What is operationalisation?

Answer 23

Process of putting variables into practice by making them measurable (operationalised)

Question 24

Complete the sentence.

The _________ variable affects the ________ variable.

Answer 24

The independent variable affects the dependent variable

Question 25

What two things should be included when writing a hypothesis? (One for IV, one for DV)

Answer 25

IV: 2 conditions
DV: units

Question 26

What is a correlation?

Answer 26

A relationship between 2 variables

Question 27

What variables are used in correlation?

Answer 27

Co-variables not IV and DV

Question 28

What are co-variables?

Answer 28

Variables that don’t directly affects each other - they just show a relationship

Question 29

How is a correlation all hypothesis written?

Answer 29

“There’ll be a relationship between…”

Question 30

What can correlation not show?

Answer 30

Cannot establish cause and effect

Question 31

How can correlation be shown (which graph)?

Answer 31

Scatter graphs

Question 32

What is an extraneous variable?

Answer 32

Any variable other than the IV that, if left uncontrolled, could affect the DV.

Question 33

What are confounding variables?

Answer 33

Extraneous variables that aren’t controlled become confounding variables as they confound (confuse) the results

Question 34

What are the 3 types of extraneous variable?

Answer 34

Participant variable
Situational variable
Participant reactivity

Question 35

What is a participant variable? (EV)

Answer 35

Any characteristic of the individual participant that could affect the results

Question 36

What is a situational variable? (EV)

Answer 36

Features of the research situation that might influence participants behaviour

Question 37

What is participants reactivity? (EV)

Answer 37

Occurs when the participant actively seeks clues about how to behave and the responds accordingly

Question 38

What are some examples of participant variables?

Answer 38

Differences in participants age, intelligence, motivation and past experience - some participants will then perform better/worse (gender isn’t always an extraneous variable)

Question 39

What are some examples of situational variables?

Answer 39

Time of day, temperature and noise levels - only controlled if they’re likely to affect the research
Order effects
Investigator effects
Demand characteristics