Research Methods Flashcards
What Is a hypothesis?
Is a prediction and testable statement of the relationship between 2 variables
What are the 2 types of hypotheses?
Directional (one-tailed)
Non-directional (two-tailed)
What is a directional hypothesis? (One tailed)
This predicts that the nature of the effect of the IV in the DV
-predicts the direction in which results are expected to occur. (Correlation would either be positive or negative)
What is a non-directional hypothesis? (Two-tailed)
This predicts that the IV will have an effect on the DV, but the direction of the effect is not specified
-predicts a difference but not a ‘direction’ of difference (there would be a correlation but not specified whether positive or negative)
What is a dependent variable?
Is the variable that the experimenter measures and it depends on the IV
What is an independent variable?
Is the variable that the experimenter manipulates
What must variables always be?
Operationalised
What does operationalising a variable mean?
Putting the variables into a form, that can be easily tested, so defining them as precisely as possible
What are the 4 types of experiments?
- Laboratory
- field
- quasi
- natural
define what a lab experiment is?
An experiment conducted in an environment where the variables are carefully controlled
-participants are aware that they are taking part in an experiment, although they may not know the true aim of the study
Give an example of a lab experiment
Milgrams study on obedience (1963)
Give 2 advantages of laboratory experiments
- a high degree of control over the variables minimises any extraneous variables, leading to higher internal validity and a greater likelihood of establishing a cause and effect relationship
- greater potential for replicability as the study is carefully designed and variables are highly controlled, allowing other researchers to check for similar results
Give 3 disadvantages of laboratory experiments
- they are artificial
- risk of demand characteristics
- low ecological validity as participants may not behave naturally
Define what is meant by field experiments
IV manipulated by researcher. Carried out in everyday settings (more realistic than lab)
Give an example as to when a field experiment was used
Hofling et al(1966) - investigated obedience in a hospital setting. 22 nurses were telephoned by a ‘doctor’ who asked them to administer a drug they’d never heard of. The nurses were unaware they were participating in the study
Give 2 advantages of field experiments
- behaviour is more realistic. Ecological validity higher than lab experiments
- everyday behaviour
Give 3 disadvantages of field experiments
- less control over extraneous variables, because the study takes place in the real world, therefore reducing the internal validity of the study
- potentially more time consuming and expensive
- problems with replicability
Define what is meant by natural experiments
A natural experiment is conducted when it is not possible for ethical or practical reasons, to deliberately manipulate the IV. Therefore it is said that the IV varies naturally. The DV may be tested in the lab
Give an example of when a natural experiment was used
Effects of institutionalisation-
A study looking at the effects of being adopted either before 6 months or after
Give 3 advantages of using natural experiments
- reduced demand characteristics
- good method to use if topic is a sensitive ‘ethical issue’
- very high levels of ecological validity
Give 2 disadvantages of using a natural experiment
- difficult to show cause and effect(IV-DV)
- researcher does not control IV and does not allocate Ps to conditions
Define what is meant by a quasi experiment
An experiment where the IV is naturally occurring and the DV may be measured in the lab. The IV could not be made to vary by anyone the difference is fixed (e.g. Males/females
Give 1 advantage of quasi experiments
-allows for comparison between different types of people
Give 1 disadvantage of quasi experiments
-participants may be aware of being studied, this will reduce the internal validity (e.g. What you are measuring in your study)
How can you remember the 4 types of experiments?
LQNF
Little Quires Never Fuck
Lab. Quasi. Natural. Field
What is an extraneous variable? EVs
Variables other that the IV that might affect the DV
What is a confounding variable? CVs
Uncontrolled extraneous variables that negatively affect results
What are 2 types of extraneous variables?
Practice effects AND boredom effects
Define what is meant by boredom effects
Reflects the possibility that participants performance may be influenced by lack of concentration
Define what is meant by practice effects
Influence on test results when a test is taken more than once
What is meant by counterbalancing?
It is a type of experimental design in which all possible order ms of presenting the variables are included
Condition A-B 1/2 participants
Condition B-A 1/2 participants
Define what is meant by investigators effects
The investigator unconsciously conveys to the participants how they should behave
Define what is meant by demand characteristics
Subtle cue that makes participants aware what the experimenter expects to find
Name 4 ethical issues in psychological research
- debriefing
- observational research
- deception
- giving advice
- confidentiality
- consent
- colleague
- right to withdraw
- protection
What is the code of conduct that protects participants from ethical issues?
British Psychological Society (BPS) 4 main principles: •respect •competence •responsibility •integrity
To what extent do you think the code of ethics protects the interests of those who participate in psychological research?
It protects the participants however some ethical issues are better protected than others as they are easier and more straight forward to protect the interests of participants involved
How should deception be dealt with according to the BPS Code of Ethics?
- information should not be withheld and the purpose of the study should be revealed
- intentional deception about nature of investigation should be avoided
- if participants are deceived, they should undergo a debriefing to reveal the true purpose of investigation
- right to withdraw
- any deception needs to be approved by the ethics committee
How should informed consent be dealt with according to the BPS Code of Ethics?
- participants should formally agree to participate in a research study
- special care should be given to vulnerable groups
- prior general consent (involves participants agreeing to be deceived without knowing how they will be deceived) or presumptive consent could be obtained
How should protection of participants be dealt with according to the BPS Code of Ethics?
-risk of harm
•debriefing
•offering advice and support
•reminding them of their right to withdraw
-protection from stress
•terminating any research which appears to be causing distress
-non human animals
•terminating research if non-human animal is being caused stress/harm
How should the right to withdraw be dealt with according to the BPS Code of Ethics?
-participants should be aware that they can leave a study at any time, and can withdraw their data after the study has finished
How should confidentiality and anonymity be dealt with according to the BPS Code of Ethics?
- names should not be recorded
- if findings are published, then the data should remain anonymous and there should be no obvious links to specific individuals
- if anonymity and confidentiality cannot be guaranteed, then participants should be warned before consenting to take part in the study
What are the difficulties that the researcher may face when attempting to deal with deception?
- it may be difficult to judge the costs prior to undertaking the study
- participants may feel embarrassment when being debriefed
What are the difficulties that the researcher may face when attempting to deal with informed consent?
Some study’s based on participants under 16 require consent and this may not be achieved/ take longer - prolonging the researcher time
What are the difficulties that the researcher may face when attempting to deal with the protection of participants?
It can be difficult for researchers to accurately predict the risks of the study
What are the difficulties that the researcher may face when attempting to deal with the right to withdraw?
Often participants are paid or rewarded for their participation which may mean that they feel obligated to continue with the study
What are the difficulties that the researcher may face when attempting to deal with confidentiality and anonymity?
If the participants needed for later studies then the researchers will have more difficulties in locating them
What are the 3 experimental designs?
- independent groups design
- repeated measures designs
- matched participants/ pairs design
What does the experimental design of a study refer to?
How participants are allocated to the different conditions of an experiment
Define what is meant by independent groups design
One group of participants for each condition e.g. Half do condition A and half do condition B
Identify 2 strengths of independent groups design
- there is no risk of practice effects as the participants only partakes in one condition. Boredom effects are also less likely
- participants are less likely to show demand characteristics
Identify 2 weaknesses of independent groups design
- no control of individual differences/ participants variables
- twice as many participants are needed; less economical than a repeated measures design
Define what is meant by a repeated measures design
When the same group of people do all conditions e.g. Do condition A then condition B
Identify 2 strengths of the repeated measures design
- participants variables (the different abilities or characteristics of each participant) are controlled as the same participants are used in each condition
- more economical- fewer participants needed
Identify 2 weaknesses of the repeated measures design
- demand characteristics-by participating in all conditions it is more likely that participants may guess the purpose of the study and act accordingly
- takes more time - a gap may be needed between conditions to counter the effects of fatigue or boredom
Define what is meant by matched participants/pairs design
When the participants of each group are not the same but matched on key variables such as age, sex or intelligence e.g. Half do condition A and ‘matched’ participants do condition B
Identify 2 strengths of matched participants design
- attempt to tackle participant variables by trying to ensure that 2 groups are similar on some level, whether is being in terms of age, IQ, gender or ability
- no order effects
Identify 2 weaknesses of the matched participants design
- matching is difficult and expensive. Time consuming
- matching is never totally successful
What does the term validity refer to?
Whether the results obtained in a study are true/genuine. The extent to which a research measures what it sets out to measure
What is participant awareness?
An awareness of what the researcher is investigating can be a threat to internal validity
What is meant by experimental control?
Lack of experimental control is a threat to internal validity
Why might researchers not want participants to be aware that they are participating in a study?
Because they may act different which may affect the result as the participant might act in a way to please the researcher
Knowing that you are being studied may act as an alternative IV (an extraneous variable) as it did in the Hawthorne effect
What is meant by social desirability bias?
The tendency of survey respondents to answer questions in a manner that will be viewed favourably by others
What is a single bling design?
Where participants in an experiment do not know which condition they have been placed in - it can reduce demand characteristics e.g. Using independent groups design
What is double blind design?
Where neither the participants nor the investigator knows the hypothesis being tested- this can reduce investigator effects
When measuring validity, give an explanation of face validity
The extent to which the test looks as if it is measuring what it should measure. This is the least sophisticated measure of validity. Face validity is simply whether the test appears to measure what it claims to
When measuring validity, give an explanation of concurrent validity
Assessed by comparing the outcome of a ‘new’ test with an already established test in the same topic. Very often, a new IQ of personality test might be compared with an older but similar test known to have good validity already
What is meant by external validity?
The extent to which the results of the study can be generalised to different situations (ecological validity) and to different groups of people (population validity)
What is meant by the ‘target population’?
- a group of people the researchers is interested in studying
- a group of people who share a given set of characteristics
- inevitably if the sample is not representative it will be a biased sample
What are the 5 sampling methods available to researchers?
- opportunity sampling
- random sampling
- volunteer sampling
- systematic sampling
- stratified sampling
What is meant by opportunity sampling?
Uses people who are available
What is meant by random sampling?
Every individual in the target population has an equal chance of being selected
What is meant by volunteer sampling?
When people offer to take part in a study, often responding to an advert or poster
What is meant by systematic sampling?
Taking the nth person from a list to create a sample
What is meant by stratified sampling?
Small scale reproduction of a population. The population is randomly sampled within each category
Give an advantage of opportunity sampling
-this can be the most straight forward sampling method to use as you can use people who are readily available to you
Give 3 disadvantages of opportunity sampling
- will not be representative sample
- may create problems with generalising findings
- researchers may choose people who will be helpful
Give an advantage of random sampling
Best chance of getting a representative sample
Give 2 disadvantages of random sampling
- does not guarantee a representative sample
- is often difficult and expensive to obtain
Give an advantage of volunteer sampling
Very convenient
Give a disadvantage of volunteer sampling
The sample is usually biased because the participants are likely to be more highly motivated and / or have extra time on their hands
Give an advantage of stratified sampling
As selection occurs from sun groups within a population, the sample should also be fairly representative
Give 2 disadvantages of stratified sampling
- time consuming to carry out
- knowledge of population characteristics is required- this may be difficult
Give an advantage of systematic sampling
There is no bias in selection increasing the chance of getting an unbiased and representative sample
Give a disadvantage of systematic sampling
Does not fully guarantee an unbiased sample because you could select all females, this would make your sample unrepresentative
What is nominal data?
The data are in separate categories, as when grouping people according to their favourite football teams
What is ordinal data?
Data are ordered in some way, for example asking people to put a list of football teams in order of liking. The ‘difference’ between items is not the same
What is interval data?
Data are measured using units of equal intervals, such as when counting correct answers
What is ratio data?
There is a true zero point, as in most measures of physical quantities
How do you measure the mean?
Add up all the numbers and divide by how many numbers there are
Give 2 advantages of using the mean
- uses all the data available
- sensitive measure of central tendency
Give 2 disadvantages of using the mean
- it can only be used with interval or ratio data
- a few extreme values can radically change the mean
How do you calculate the median?
Middle number after the numbers are placed in order
Give 2 advantages of using the median
- it can be used with ordinal data
- fairly easy to carry out
Give 2 disadvantages of using the median
- may be unreliable
- lack sensitivity as it ignores most values in a set of numbers
How do you calculate the mode?
Most common number
Give 2 advantages of using the mode
- easy to carry out
- it is useful when the data are in categories (I.e. Nominal data)
Give a disadvantage of using the mode
Unreliable with small sets of data as a few small changes in the data set can alter the mode
What is meant by the range?
The difference between the highest and lowest numbers
Give 2 advantages of using the range
- it is easy to calculate
- quick
Give a disadvantage of using the range
Provides no information about the spread of values within the range
What is meant by standard deviation?
A measure of the spread of the data around the mean
Give an advantage of standard deviation
Powerful and sensitive measure of dispersion using all scores in a data set
Give a disadvantage of using standard deviation
May hide some of the characteristics of the data set e.g. Extreme values
