Research Methods Flashcards
What is a case study?
In depth analysis of an individual, small group or event
What are methods used in case studies?
Interviews
Observations
Questionnaires
What are strengths of case studies?
Lots of info gathered- different research methods are used to gather data
Different methods used means data is valid- many aspects of case have been researched
What are weaknesses of case studies?
Every case is unique- results can’t be applied to everyone
Can be unethical to induce behaviours in lab experiments
What is a correlational study?
Aim to analyse relationship between 2 variables
What is a positive correlation?
When one variable goes up, the other goes up
What is a negative correlation?
When one variable goes up, the other goes down
What is a strength of correlational study?
Cost effective- don’t need to conduct own experiment as your analysing other experiments related to hypothesis
What is a weakness of correlational study?
Researchers are unable to establish cause and effect. You can only see the relationship between 2 variables
What is an observation?
Researcher watches and records participants behaviours without interfering
What does naturalistic mean in an observation?
Participants natural environment
What does structured mean in an observation?
Researchers have control. E.g. in a lab
What does overt mean?
Participants know they’re being observed
What does covert mean?
Participants don’t know they’re being observed, which can be unethical
What is a strength of an observation?
Real human behaviour being observed
What is a weakness of an observation?
Participants may fake their behaviour
What is a questionnaire?
They consist of questions that require info about attitudes, opinions, lifestyles and any aspect of their lives
What is a laboratory experiment?
The environment they take place in is conduced and controlled
What is a positive aspect of a lab experiment?
Experimenter can control other factors that may impact the study easier
What are negative aspects of using a lab experiment?
Due to artificial setting, behaviours shown may not reflect everyday behaviours
What is a field experiment?
Takes place in an environment that’s natural to participants
What is a positive aspect of a field experiment?
Behaviours shown by participants will be true to everyday life
What is a weakness of a field experiment?
Researcher has limited control over factors in the setting that may impact the result
What does an interview consist of?
Interviewer verbally asks participant questions either face to face or by phone
What are the 3 types of interview?
Structured
Semi-structured
Unstructured
Define a structured interview
A set of pre-determined questions asked to all participants
Define a semi-structured interview
Prepared questions that can be adapted based on participant
Define an unstructured interview
No pre-determined questions, just a prepared theme. Each interview will be different
What is a strength of a structured interview?
If structured interview is used, data is high in reliability and can be replicated to check consistency of answers
What is a negative aspect of an unstructured interview?
Difficult to replicate
what is an open question?
one that can be answered in any way the participant chooses
what type of data does an open question provide?
qualitative
what are strengths of open questions?
doesnt restrict participants responses
what are weaknesses of open questions?
difficult to analyse data as its subjective
what are closed questions?
restricts participants responses (usually on a scale)
what type of data does closed questions provide?
quantitative
strengths of closed questions?
easy to analyse and compared
weaknesses of closed questions?
can restrict participants responses
what are researcher effects?
when the behaviour of the researcher influences the participant
external reliability?
consistency of results over time
internal reliability?
consistency of a test
one way to measure external reliability?
test-retest method
what is the test-retest method?
when you give the same participant the same questionnaire more than twice to check for consistency of answers
what is inter-relater reliability?
when two or more researchers interpret the participants responses
what is face validity?
whether our questions appear to be
predictive validity?
whether the results of the questionnaire can predict people’s behaviour in the future
concurrent validity?
measures how well a new test compares to a well-established test
what is random sampling
every member of population has equal chance of being selected
strength of random sampling
relatively unbiased and can choose subgroups
weakness of random sampling
time consuming
what is stratified sampling
researcher divides the population into separate groups
strength of stratified sampling
important subgroups selected
weakness of stratified sampling
lengthy process
what is volunteer sample
when ppts respond to an advertisement
strength of volunteer sample
convenient and cost-effective
weakness of volunteer sample
may attract a certain group of people, biased
what is opportunity sample
use ppts available at the time and place
strength of opportunity sample
quick and convenient
weakness of opportunity sample
some participants won’t take part, not everyone is willing
what are the four main principles
Respect
Responsibility
Integrity
Responsibility
What are all the ethical guidelines
Confidentiality Competency Debrief Deception (avoiding) Right to withdraw Informed consent Psychological harm
what is an alternative hypothesis
significant difference or correlation the researcher expects to find
what is a null hypothesis
predicts no significant difference or correlation
what is a non-directional hypothesis (two-tailed)
states there will be a difference or correlation, bit not the direction
what is a directional hypothesis (one-tailed)
states the direction of the difference or correlation
what are the three types of experimental design
independent groups
repeated measures
matched pairs
what is independent groups
different participants in each condition of the study
strength of independent groups
less chance of guessing the aim and demand characteristics
weakness of independent groups
participant variables may impact the results of the study
strengths of brain scanning techniques
reliable. objective
weaknesses of brain scanning techniques
not suitable for people with claustrophobia, costs a lot
fMRI scan strengths
can see function and structure of brain
fMRI scan weaknesses
not suitable with people with pacemakers, claustrophobia
PET scan strengths
indicates function and structure
PET scan weaknesses
have to be injected, a lot of people don’t like them
CAT scan strengths
shows brain structure, non invasive
CAT scan weaknesses
doesn’t indicate brain function. potential risks of x-ray radiation
what are twin studies used for
to establish whether a behaviour is due to nature or nurture
define monozygotic
identical twins
define dizygotic
non-identical
strengths of twin studies
can help establish whether a behaviour is nature or nature
weaknesses of twin studies
difficult to separate the impact of shared genes and shared environment
what are adoption studies used for
establish whether a behaviour is due to nature or nurture. they compare concordance rates between adopted children and their biological parents
define concordance rates
the likelihood that one individual has a trait, that the other individual also has the trait
strengths of adoption studies
the impact of nature and nurture can be easily isolated
weakness of adoption studies
children are adopted at all different ages, making comparisons difficult.
what is internal validity
refers to the extent to which results are due to manipulation of IV
what is predictive validity
refers to extent to which the performance in the study can predict the future performance at a similar measure
what are experimenter effects
ways in which the experimenter can influence the outcome of the experiment
what are demand characteristics
ppt guesses the aim of the experiment
what is experimental control
prevents confounding variables impacting experiment
what is order effects
effects that occur due to the order in which ppts experience the conditions
what is counterbalancing
used to overcome the impact of order effects
what is randomisation
used to overcome impact of order effects
what is thematic analysis?
themes are identified and there are 2 types- inductive and deductive
what is inductive approach?
themes are not pre-determined before analysis
themes would emerge directly from data
what is deductive approach?
themes are pre-determined before analysis
specify themes they want to find
strengths of thematic analysis
allows analysis for qualitative data, keeps data meaningful and detailed- no numbers
weaknesses of thematic analysis
unscientific as themes are dependent on the subjective opinions of the researcher
researcher can demonstrate bias when interpreting data (personal opinions may impact how they interpret themes)
define extraneous variable
might have an impact on the DV
define confounding variable
variable that does have an impact on the DV, impacting validity
define situational variable
variable relating to environment e.g light and noise
define participant variable
variable relating to ppt used in experiment e.g tiredness, age
define ecological validity
extent to which results reflect everyday occurrences
what is nominal data
categorical info. e.g how many people answered yes or no to a question
what is ordinal data
data that can be ordered, e.g. 5 is higher than 2
strengths of scatter diagrams
useful as they indicate there is relationship between 2 co-variables
tells us further research is needed in the area to see cause and effect relationship
weaknesses of scatter diagrams
correlations only show relationship between 2 co-variables- can’t see which variable causes which, we can’t establish cause and effect
define event sampling
creating lists of behaviour categories then tallying each time behaviour occurs in a specific time period
define time sampling
counting behaviours at regular intervals e.g. for 1 min every 10 min
what is structured observation?
setting or situation controlled/manipulated by the researcher
strength of structured observation
standardised setting makes observation easily repeatable to test reliability
weakness of structured observation
lack ecological validity as situation may not reflect everyday life
what is a naturalistic observation?
setting in ppts natural environment
strengths of naturalistic observation
high ecological validity as natural behaviours will be observed due to natural setting
weaknesses of naturalistic observation?
poor reliability as setting can’t be controlled, may differ slightly for each replication of observation
what is participant observation?
observer is part of group being observed- researcher actively involved in observation
strengths of participant observation?
as you are close to the action- more likely to observe more detail
likely to be covert- reactions will have high validity
weaknesses of participant observation?
observer may be too involved in activity to accurately record all behaviours seen
what is a non-participant observation?
observer is not part of group or activity
strengths of non-participant observation?
observer can accurately record all behaviours as they are not trying to take part in activity at the same time
weaknesses of non-participant observation?
likely to be overt- meaning reactions may lack validity
define content analysis
transforms qualitative data into quantitative data to produce objective conclusions and identify trends in data
define sample in a content analysis
analyses artefacts rather than ppts. e.g. books and newspapers
define manifest content
what is seen on the surface e.g. number of words used in magazine
define latent content
more in-depth analysis e.g. whether a word is used positively
3 steps to do content analysis
- researcher identifies ‘categories’ e.g. key words of theme
- analyse artefacts creating tally charts of occurrence of categories
- researcher can draw conclusions from quantitative data
strengths of content analysis
turns qualitative data into quantitative data. inferential tests can be used to determine statistical significance
process can easily be repeated by multiple researchers
weaknesses of content analysis
transforming qualitative to quantitative, you lose some rich detail, therefore reductionist approach to data analysis
what are the 3 R’s in animal testing
Replace- alternatives should be used
Reduce- number of animals used at minimum
Refine- suffering to minimum
practical issues for animals
generalisability
gestation
control
ethical issues for animals
alternatives batesons cube- low suffering, high benefit, high quality of research caging distress excessive numbers
