Research methods Flashcards
what is a confederate
someone part of the experiment but they are acting to help the experiment go along
what is ecological validity
a form of external validity
concerns the ability to generalise a research effect beyond the particular setting in which is it demonstrated, to other settings. established by representativeness (mundane realism) and generalisability (to other settings)
what is an extraneous variable
does not vary systematically with the iv and therefore do not act as an alternative iv but may affect the dv
they are nuisance variables that make it more difficult to detect a significant effect
what are confounding variables
not the iv but varies systematically with the iv
changes in the dv may be due to the confounding variable (to confound means to confuse)
what is opportunity sampling
taking the sample from people who are available
what is random sampling
a sample in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being chosen
what is stratified and quota sampling
involves classifying the population into categories and choosing a sample which consists of participants from each category in the proportion they are in the population
what is volunteer sampling
participants become part of a study because they volunteer when asked or respond to an advert
what is systematic sampling
using a predetermined system to select participants
what is the difference between consent and informed consent
in informed consent participants must be given comprehensive info: the nature and purpose of the research and their role in it so they can make an informed decision about whether to participate
what are standardised procedures
procedures that are the same for all p’s in order to be able to repeat the study (includes standardised instructions)
what does it mean when a variable has been operationalised
it has been turned into something that can be measured
what is the difference between a directional and a non directional hypothesis
directional hypothesis states which condition of the IV will perform better or worse than the other eg male p’s will score more basketball hoops than female p’s whereas non directional states there will be a difference but doesn’t state which will perform better or worse
what are the 3 experimental designs
repeated measures
matched pairs
independent groups
what are the 3 experimental methods
lab,
field
observation
self report
what is a repeated measures design
all participants receive all levels of the IV. eg each participant does the task with the tv on and then with the tv off
what are the limitations of the repeated measures design
1) order effect- p’s may do better on the second test because of a practice effect or worse because of boredom
2) when p’s do the second test they may guess the purpose which can change their behaviour
how do you deal with the limitations of the repeated measures design
counterbalancing- cover story presented about purpose of test to avoid p’s guessing the aim
2 different but equivalent tests are used to reduce a practice effect
what is independent groups design
p’s are placed in separate groups where each does one level of the IV
what are limitations of independent groups design
1) researcher can’t control effects of participants variables (different characteristics) which can act as confounding variables
2) more p’s needed than repeated measures to end up with same amount of data
what is matched pairs design
use 2 groups of p’s but match them on key characteristics believed to affect performance on the dv
one member of the pair allocated to each group
what are limitations of matched pairs design
1) time consuming and difficult to match on key variables. researcher needs a large group to start with
2) can’t control all participant variables as you can only match on variables known to be relevant but others could be important
how can you deal with the limitations of independent groups design
randomly allocate p’s to conditions which distribute participant variables evenly
eg names out a hat
how can you deal with the limitations of matched pairs design
restrict the number of variables to match on to make it easier
conduct a pilot study to consider variables that may be important when matching
what is a lab experiment
carried out in a controlled setting
high internal validity as good control over all variables is possible
low ecological validity as p’s are aware they’re being studied
what is a field experiment
controlled but not in a lab
lower internal validity but higher external validity (mundane realism)
p’s are usually unaware it is an experiment
what is a natural experiment
experimenter has not manipulated IV directly and it would vary regardless of study
what are the strengths of a lab experiment
well controlled
extraneous/ confounding variables are limited so higher internal validity
can easily be replicated- external validity
what are the limitations of a lab experiment
a contrived situation
p’s may know they’re being studied
materials lack mundane realism, environment may be unfamiliar so p’s may not behave naturally leading to lower ecological validity
what are advantages of a field experiment
higher mundane realism, less artificial
higher ecological validity
p’s are usually not aware of being studied
what are the limitations of a field experiment
less control of extraneous / confounding variables
reduces internal validity
more time consuming and thus more expensive
what are the strengths of a natural experiment
allows research where IV can’t be manipulated for ethical or practical reasons
enables study of ‘real’ problems
what are the limitations of a natural experiment
can not demonstrate casual relationships because IV isn’t directly manipulated
random allocation not possible so maybe be confounding variables
what are ethical rights that the researcher has to ensure
confidentiality
no deception
protection from harm
right to withdraw
what are 3 ways of dealing with ethical issues
cost benefit analysis
ethics committees
punishment
what is cost benefit analysis
the costs of the research is judged against the benefits
it is difficult to predict both before conducting a study
argued that it solves nothing as you exchange one set of dilemmas for another
why would you use a sign test
because it is a test of difference with nominal/categorical data and repeated groups design
what are the measures of central tendency
mean
median
mode
what does p<0.05 mean
that you can be 95% sure that your results are not down to chance
what probability is required for results to be considered significant in the sign test
for a one tailed hypothesis it’s p<0.05
for a two tailed hypothesis it’s 0<0.01
what are the measures of dispersion
range and standard deviation
what are the disadvantages of using standard deviation
may hide some characteristics of the data set as extreme values won’t really be represented in the result
what is the advantage of using standard deviation
it is a more precise measure of dispersion than range as it takes all values into account
why is content analysis used
to transform complex qualitative data into quantitative data so that conclusions about patterns may be drawn more easily
how is content analysis carried out
systematic
researcher decides what material to sample, decides what themes / categories might emerge from these and create a coding system eg may note each time they find a word/theme/ character and count frequencies of occurrence
what are the strengths of content analysis (3)
1) studies can be easily replicated by accessing archived materials so findings can be tested for reliability
2) high ecological validity as it’s based on real communications in natural settings
3) effective way of presenting qualitative data
what are limitations of content analysis (3)
1) low validity as researchers may be inconsistent or impose their own meaning on the data
2) time consuming to prepare and analyse large volumes of sample material
3) ethical issues as p’s may be unaware that their material is being used for research
what is counterbalancing
an experimental technique used to overcome order effects when using a repeated measures design. ensures each condition is tested first or second in equal amounts
what is a pilot study
a small scale trial run of a study to test any aspects of the design with a view to making improvements
what is a null hypothesis
when a researcher is confident that the IV will have no effect at all on the DV they select a null hypothesis
what is the anagram to remember the british psychological code of ethics
Psychology Is Dead Cool Really ( protection from harm (informed consent) (deception) (confidentiality) (right to withdraw)
advantages of random sampling
chances of selecting a biased sample are slim as everyone has a change of being selected
improves population validity
weaknesses of random sampling
1) can be hard to obtain a list of the entire target population not everyone you select will be available or willing
2) representative sample is not guaranteed some subgroups may be over represented or not selected
what are the advantages of opportunity sampling
1) time and cost efficient technique as participants are readily available
sample sizes can be larger as expenses per individual are smaller
what are weaknesses of opportunity sampling
1) samples are likely to be skewed in terms of participants background lacks population validity and findings can’t be generalised
2) ethical issues regarding consent and right to withdraw eg students of a lecturer may feel obliged to take part
advantage of volunteer sampling
sometimes the only way of locating a niche group of participants who are difficult to identify
disadvantages of volunteer sampling
1) only atypical members of population respond eg the most cooperative and motivated reduces population validity and generalisability
2) only those who see the advert have a chance of being selected may reduce sample size and significance of findings
what is concurrent validity
a means of establishing validity by comparing an existing test or questionnaire with the one you are interested in and comparing p’s scores. if scores are similar then concurrent validity is confirmed
what is face validity
whether a self report measure looks like it is measuring what the researcher intended (only requires intuitive measurement)
what is mundane realism
how a study reflects the real world. the simulated task environment is realistic to the degree to which experiences encountered in the environment reflect the real world
what is temporal validity
concerning the ability to generalise a research effect beyond the particular time period of the study
