Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

AQA A2 Psychology > Research Methods > Flashcards

Research Methods Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
Psychology 101 flashcards GRE® Psychology flashcards AP® Psychology flashcards
1
Q

Statistical testing

A

Used to determine the likelihood that a relationship has been found due to chance
It determines whether a hypothesis should be rejected or accepted

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Spearman’s Rho

A

Use for testing correlation
When data is ordinal
Pairs of scores

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Pearson’s R

A

Use when testing correlation
Data is interval
Pairs of scores

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Mann-Whitney

A

Use when independent measures design
Data is ordinal
Testing for difference

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Unrelated T-test

A

Use when independent measures design
Data is interval
When testing for difference

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Wilcoxon

A

Use when repeated measures/matched pairs
When data is ordinal
Testing for difference

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Related T-test

A

Used when repeated measures/matched pairs
When data is interval
To test for difference

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Chi-Squared

A

Use when independent groups design
Data is nominal and data within each category is independent
Used to test for association/difference

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Nominal Data

A

Represented in the form of CATEGORIES e.g small or tall
Participants cannot be in more than one category which makes the data discrete
It is the crudest and least informative type of data as it does not have a numerical result for each participant

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Ordinal Data

A

Represents data in PLACE ORDER e.g 30 students would be numbered with the tallest being 30 and the smallest being 1
A strength is that the intervals are equal however the intervals are not equal between each unit
It is criticised as being based on subjective opinion rather than on objective measures

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Interval Data

A

Based on STANDARDISED measurements e.g weight or time

The most informative and accurate data

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Significance level

A

“p<0.05” means that the probability of the results occurring by chance is less than 5 times in 100

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Null Hypothesis

A

States there is no difference/association between variables

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Type One Error

A

When the researcher rejects the null hypothesis (accepts the alternative hypothesis) when in fact the effect is due to chance
Known as error of optimists

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Type Two Error

A

When the researcher rejects the alternative hypothesis (or accepts the null hypothesis) when in fact the results occurred due to chance
Referred to as error of pessimists

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

One tailed test

A

Used when the hypothesis is DIRECTIONAL

If previous research has been conducted to suggest the direction of the results it is used

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Two tailed test

A

Used when the hypothesis is NON-DIRECTIONAL

If no previous research has been done to suggest the direction of the research, a two tailed test is used

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Case study

A

A detailed study about an individual or a group of individuals that is either LONGITUDINAL or RETROSPECTIVE

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Strength and Weakness of a Case Study

A

It gives a lot of depth and understanding of the individual and allows us to investigate a situation that could not be set up for ethical reasons

If is difficult to replicate therefore it is difficult to say whether or not it is reliable. The findings can also not be generalised

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Content Analysis

A

A technique of analysing qualitative data
It is an indirect way is studying behaviour by analysing the communications the individual has used such as texts or emails
It uses coding to get quantities data from qualities data
By identifying categories e.g. words or phrases, the researcher then goes through the communications and uses a tally chart to go through and look for examples

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Evaluation of Content Analysis

A

It is easy to perform and doesn’t require contact with the participant
HOWEVER
It is descriptive and just not show the underlying reasons for the behaviours. Reasons may be attributed to the author which were not intended

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Thematic Analysis

A 
Involves assessing data to identify patterns within it. For example, a thematic analysis of the portrayal of the mentally ill in the press may involves looking at themes such as "they drain NHS resources".
It has 6 stages:
Familiarisation 
Coding
Searching for themes
Reviewing themes by collecting new data
Defining and naming themes
Writing up
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Assessing Reliability

A

Test-Retest
Inter-observer reliability
Split-half method
Questionnaire

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Test-retest

A

Tests for EXTERNAL reliability
It involves getting the same participants to perform he same tests after a time delay.
If the results are similar then the test would be deemed reliable

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Inter-Observer Reliability

A

Used to assess the reliability of OBSERVATIONS
Could be measured by getting two observers the observe the phenomena
A strong correlation of scores (0.8) would suggest that the observation was reliable

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

Split-Half method

A

Tests for INTERNAL reliability

Involves splitting the test in half and if the results are similar on each side it is deemed reliable

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

Improving reliability

A

In observational research, the observer could gain more training
Or create a clear criteria for behaviours categories

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

Internal Validity

A

Whether or not it measures what it is suppose to measure i.e the effect of the IV on the DV
Reduced by demand characteristics and investigator effects

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

External Validity

A

Comprised of ecological and temporal validity:
ECOLOGICAL- the extent to which findings can be generalised to other situations and settings
TEMPORAL- whether findings can be generalised to other historical times and eras

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

Ways of assessing validity

A

Content Validity
Face Validity
Concurrent Validity

31
Q

Content Validity

A

Involves independent experts assessing the validity of the measuring instrument concerned

32
Q

Face Validity

A

Scrutinising a measure to determine whether it appears to measure what it intends to”on the face of it”

33
Q

Concurrent Validity

A

Correlating the scores from the new procedure with an alternative for which validity has already been established
A positive correlation would suggest the procedure is valid

34
Q

Improving Validity

A

INTERNAL=Single and double blind techniques
Single Blind- participants do not know which condition they are in
Double Blind- both participant and research do not know which condition participants are in
EXTERNAL= could use a variety of locations e.g Milgram
However, improving internal validity could come at the expense of the external validity

35
Q

Sign Test

A

When using repeated measures
Data is nominal
Looking for difference

36
Q

What is the experimental method?

A

Aims to determine cause and effect through the manipulation of variables

37
Q

4 types of Experimental Methods

A

Lab experiment
Field experiment
Natural experiment
Quasiexperiment

38
Q

Lab experiment

A

Takes place in carefully controlled conditions rather than the real world and the IV is manipulated
Strength: control of variables means you can see the effect of IV on DV
Weakness: due to the controlled conditions, it lacks ecological validity and cannot generalise findings

39
Q

Field experiment

A

An experiment that is not done under carefully controlled conditions but in the real world and the IV is manipulated
Strength: due to it being in the real world it have ecological validity and the findings can be generalised
Weakness: it lacks control of variables so there may be other variables affecting the DV

40
Q

Natural experiment

A

An experiment which the IV is NATURALLY OCCURRING and not manipulated
Strength: it allows the researcher to study situations which are unable to be set up for ethical reasons
Weakness: lacks control of variables which may affect the DV

41
Q

Quasiexperiement

A

An experiment which the IV already exists e.g gender, age and the IV is not manipulated
Strength: it allows research of areas not available to set up for ethical reasons
Weakness: lacks control of variables

42
Q

Self-Report Techniques

A

Involves participants being asked their own opinion beliefs or attitudes on a subject
Includes questionnaires and interviews

43
Q

Questionnaire

A

Involves participants recording their answers to a set of written questions

44
Q

Interview

A

Involves participants answering questions from the researcher verbally

45
Q

Strengths and weakness of questionnaire

A

Strength:
People may feel more comfortable disclosing their beliefs rather than speaking verbally
Participants can answer without the investigator being present which reduces experimenter bias
Weakness:
If participants do not understand a question, they cannot ask someone and so may answer wrong. This can be a problem when analysing the data

46
Q

Strength and weakness of interview

A

Strength:
If participants do no understand a question they can ask the researcher to explain which helps them answer correctly
Weakness:
Due to social desirability, participants are more likely to talk more favourably of themselves

47
Q

Structured interview+evaluation

A

Researcher asks the participant a set of pre-determined questions in a fixed order
Strength: It can easily replicated which means it increases reliability
Weakness: Due to it having fixed questions, the researcher may not get as much insight which reduces validity

48
Q

Unstructured interview+evaluation

A

This is like a conversation with the participant where the questions are not pre-determined on in a fixed order
Strength: Due the researcher being able to get more of an insight, it improves the validity
Weakness: It is difficult to replicate which reduces the reliability

49
Q

Correlation

A

A method of studying the association/relationship between 2 variables
Due to not manipulating variables, it does not infer cause and effect
Data is displayed on a scattergram
Correlational analysis involves working out the extent of the relationship through finding the co-efficient

50
Q

Strength and weakness of correlations

A

Strength: It is an ethical way or research as it does not require manipulating variables
Weakness: Due to not manipulating variables, it is unable to find cause an effect as it is not certain which variable impacts the other

51
Q

Co-Variables

A

The variables studied in a correlation

They are not referred to as IV and DV because the study looks for the relationship between rather than cause and effect

52
Q

What is an observation? Name the 6 types

A 
An observation involves watching and recording behaviour e.g. how children play
Naturalistic
Controlled
Overt
Covert
Participant
Non-Participant
53
Q

Naturalistic observation + evaluation

A

Watching and recording behaviour in real world situations
Strength: People are likely to behave how they normally would+there are low demand characteristics
Weakness: There is a lack of control of extraneous variables which may affect the results

54
Q

Controlled Observation + Evaluation

A

Observation done in a structured environment e.g. Strange situation
Strength: Control over extraneous variables
Weakness: Lacks ecological validity

55
Q

Covert observation + evaluation

A

The participants do not know and have not given consent to being observed
Strength: Validity will be increased as the participants will act naturally
Weakness: it is unethical as participants haven’t given consent to be watched and observed

56
Q

Overt observation + evaluation

A

Participants do know and have given their consent to be observed and recorded
Strength: It is ethical as consent is given
Weakness: the validity decreases as the participants may not act natural

57
Q

Participant observation and evaluation

A

Where the researcher becomes a member of the group they are watching and recording
Strength: The investigator can get more of an insight which increases validity
Weakness: the researcher may lose their objective and ‘go native’ by becoming more like the participants than the researcher

58
Q

Non-Participant observation + evaluation

A

The researcher does not become a member of the group being observed
Strength: The researcher can retain their objectivity and be impartial
Weakness: It may lack validity because they cannot achieve as much of an insight

59
Q

Aim

A

A general stat,net about the purpose of a piece of research e.g to see the effect of caffeine on memory

60
Q

Hypothesis

A

A clear and precise statement about the research with operationalised variables

61
Q

Directional Hypothesis vs Non-Directional

A

Directional hypothesis states the direction of the results

Non-directional does not predict the direction of the results

62
Q

Extraneous vs confounding

A

Extraneous is any variable other than the IV that could affect the DV if it is not controlled
Confounding variable is an uncontrolled variable that HAS affected the results

63
Q

Independent and Dependent variable

A

Independent: manipulated to see the effect with will have on the DV
Dependent: affected by the IV

64
Q

Demand Characteristics

A

Features of a piece of research that enables the participants to work out the aim/hypothesis
Participants may then change their behaviour to frustrate the aim
This is more likely in repeated measures swing and when repeating historical research

65
Q

Investigator affects

A

When the researches behaviour characteristics influence the research in some way; this includes the presence of the researcher
For example, the researcher may expect a certain result and therefore unconsciously communicate this to the participant by smiling at a right answer

66
Q

Randomisation vs Standardisation

A

Randomisation: the use of chance when designing materials and deciding the order of conditions
Standardisation: involves giving the participants the exact same instructions and procedures in a research study

67
Q

3 types of experimental designs

A

Independent groups
Repeated measures
Matched pairs

68
Q

Independent groups + evaluation

A

The participants are either in the control or the experimental condition
Strengths:
-There are no order effects so there will be no improvement
-The same test np an be used for both groups
Weakness:
-There are difference people in each groups therefore one group may be better than the other naturally
-Requires more participants

69
Q

Repeated measures

A

Involves all participants experiencing both conditions
Strengths:
-There are no participant variables as participants take part in both conditions
-Requires less participants
Weaknesses:
-There are order effects as having done the test once, they may be better a second time
-Two tests would be needed

70
Q

Matched pairs

A

Participants in one condition is matched with a participant in the other condition as closely as possible e.g age or gender
Strength:
-There are no order effects or participant variables
Weakness:
Participants can never be matched exactly therefore there will be participant variables

71
Q

What is a peer review?

A

The process by which a psychological research papers are subject to independent scrutinising by other psychologists working in a similar field; before publication.
It is considered in terms of its validity, significance and originality

72
Q

Evaluation of a peer review

A

Strengths:
-It is difficult for the researcher to spot every mistake in their research
-It ensures research will be taken seriously because it has been scrutinised by other researchers
Weaknesses:
-Bias can influence whether the research is published
-If the research is not consistent with previous findings, it is less likely to be published. For example, Garcia and Koellings work on classical conditioning wasn’t published but later was found to be true

73
Q

Ethical Issues

A

Informed consent
Right to withdraw
Confidentiality
Protection from harm

74
Q

Resolving ethical issues

A

Right to withdraw: Participants should be reminded of their right to withdraw before the research begins and also if they shown signs of distress during procedure
Confidentiality: Participants details should remain private and any identifiable details should not be published

AQA A2 Psychology (11 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions