Research Methods Flashcards
1
Q
What are the 2 types of scientific/psychological research?
A
Experimental and Non experimental
2
Q
What 3 types of research are experimental?
A
- Laboratory
- Field
- Natural
3
Q
What 5 types of research are non experimental?
A
- Observation
- Self report (interview/questionnaire)
- Case studies
- Content analysis
- Correlations
4
Q
What is meant by primary data?
A
When researchers test their own hypothesis.
5
Q
What is an advantage of primary data?
A
It specifically target research aims, has the advantage of quality control for validity and reliability
6
Q
What is meant by secondary data?
A
Data is utilised by the researcher from a source - it is second hand
7
Q
What is an advantage of secondary data?
A
It is more economically sustainable (cheaper)
8
Q
What is a disadvantage of secondary data?
A
There is no guarantee that the procedure was of a high standard (lack validity and reliability). It may also not reflect the researchers aims directly
9
Q
What are the 5 main sampling types?
A
- Random sampling
- Opportunity sampling
- Stratified sampling
- Systematic sampling
- Volunteer sampling
10
Q
What is random sampling?
A
Choosing participants at random, everyone has an equal chance of being selected
11
Q
What is a strength of random sampling?
A
It is not biased which means it won’t skew the results
12
Q
What is a weakness of random sampling?
A
It may be harder to generalise to a bigger population due to a lack of variation in the sample
13
Q
What is opportunity sampling?
A
Recruiting people who are most convenient
14
Q
What is a strength of opportunity sampling?
A
Easy and quick method
15
Q
What is a weakness of opportunity sampling?
A
Biased
16
Q
What is stratified sampling?
A
Proportionally choosing people from a group
17
Q
What is a strength of stratified sampling?
A
More representative of a larger group, better for generalising
18
Q
What is a weakness of stratified sampling?
A
It is less economic and its time consuming
19
Q
What is systematic sampling?
A
Using a system to help select participants
20
Q
What is a strength of systematic sampling?
A
Helps to eliminate bias
21
Q
What is a weakness of systematic sampling?
A
Could be bias if researcher chooses system; especially if motives are behind choice
22
Q
What is volunteer sampling?
A
When people volunteer to take part
23
Q
What is a strength of volunteer sampling?
A
Gives access to a variety of participants
24
Q
What is a weakness of volunteer sampling?
A
Only a specific type of person chooses to volunteer (volunteer bias)
25
What is meant by presumptive consent?
Asking a group of people from the same target population as the sample whether they would agree to take part in the study, if yes the researcher presumes that the sample would
26
What is post-event consent?
Offering to destroy any information from the study if they don't consent
27
What is involved in a research study debrief?
- Information about the true aims of the study
- Opportunity to discuss concerns/queries
- Right to withhold their data
28
What is meant by reliability?
Having consistent results that can be depended on, research can be repeated to achieve similar results
29
How is reliability often tested?
Correlational analysis
30
What is meant by inter rater reliability?
Allows a researcher to measure the extent to which observers agree on the behaviours which they have observed
31
How is inter rater reliability measured?
Through correlational analysis - scorers record their own data individually, and then the sets of data obtained from each scorer is correlated
32
How is observer reliability achieved?
If there is a highly significant positive correlation obtained between the scorers
33
How can a research individually test the reliability of their research?
Audiotaping/videotaping
34
How can observer reliability be improved?
Having operational definitions of the key terms that are clear and understood fully by all observers
35
What is debriefing?
A post research interview designed to inform participants of the true nature of the study. It may be useful to gain feedback
36
What are extraneous variables?
A general term for any variable, other than the IV that might affect the results
37
What is the confounding variable?
When the EV is significant enough to cause a change in the results of the experiment/study
38
What is the independent variable?
Something which is directly manipulated by an experimenter in order to test its effect on another variable (dependent variable)
39
What is informed consent?
Participants must be given full information concerning the nature and purpose of the research and their role in it. An informed decision can then be made on whether to participate
40
What does it mean to operationalise?
Ensuring that variables are in a form that can be easily tested
41
What are standardised procedures?
A set of procedures that are the same for all participants in order to be able to repeat the study, this includes standardised instructions
42
What is meant by external validity?
The degree to which research findings can be generalised to other settings (ecological validity), groups of people (population validity) and times (historical validity)
43
What is meant by internal validity?
The degree to which experimental results was due to the manipulation of independent variables rather than other factors such as confounding variables
44
What is mundane realism?
Refers to how a study mirrors real life applications and activities
45
What is a directional hypothesis?
```
States the expected direction of the results
e.g) People who sleep well do BETTER on class tests
```
46
What is a non directional hypothesis?
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States that there is a difference between 2 conditions but does not state the direction
e.g) People with good sleep have DIFFERENT marks on class tests than people with lower sleep average
```
47
What is a pilot study?
A small scale trial run of a study to test the quality of the design, with a view to making improvements
48
What is counterbalancing?
An experimental technique used to overcome order effects when using a repeated measures design
49
What is independent groups design?
2 groups of participants representing different aspects of the IV
50
What is matched pairs design?
Pairs of participants are matched in terms of key variables such as age and IQ. One member of each pair is allocated to one of the conditions under the test and the second person is allocated to the other condition
51
What are order effects?
When the order in which things are presented affect the results of an experiment (matched pairs design)
52
What is the repeated measures design?
Each participant takes part in every condition under (each level of the IV)
53
What is a field experiment?
A controlled experiment conducted outside the lab. The IV still manipulated by the experimenter however participants are usually unaware hat they are participating in an experiment. Their behaviour may be more natural and they are less likely to respond to experimenter cues
54
What is a laboratory experiment?
An experiment carried out in a controlled setting. Participants tend to be aware they are being studied and tasks are more artificial
55
What is a natural experiment?
The experimenter doesn't directly manipulate the IV, it will vary naturally without researcher input. The researcher records the effects of the IV on a dependent variable - this DV may be measured in a lab
56
What is a quasi experiment?
The IV is naturally occurring and the DV may be measured in a lab. The key feature is the the IV has not been made to vary by anyone. It is simply a difference between people/conditions that exist
e.g) Gender differences/Locus of control
57
What is an investigator effect?
Cues from the investigator that encourage certain behaviours in the participants
58
What is volunteer bias?
A form of sampling bias because volunteer participants have special characteristics (more motivated etc.)
59
What are the ethical issues?
1. Informed consent
2. Deception
3. Confidentiality
4. The right to withdraw
5. Protection from harm
60
What is cost-benefit analysis?
A systematic approach to estimating the negatives and positives of any research
61
What is presumptive consent?
A method of dealing with lack of informed consent, by asking a group of people who are similar to the participants whether they would agree to take part in a study. If this group of people consent, it is presumed the real participants would've agreed
62
What is controlled observation?
A form of investigation in which behaviour is observed but under conditions where certain variables have been organised by the researcher
63
What are covert observations?
Observing people without their knowledge, knowing that behaviour is being observed is likely to alter participants behaviour
64
What is inter-observer reliability?
The extent to which there is agreement between 2 or more observers involved in observations of behaviour where observations should be consistent and produce the same record
65
What is a naturalistic observation?
an observation carried out in an everyday setting in which the researcher does not interfere in any way and just observes behaviour
66
What is non participant observation?
The observer is separate from the people being observed
67
What is observer bias?
Expectations/predictions may affect what they think they have seen/heard. This reduces the validity of the observations
68
What is an overt observation?
Observational studies where participants are aware that their behaviour is being studied
69
What is participant observation?
Observations made by someone who is also participating in the activity being observed
70
What are aims?
Statement(s) of what the researcher intend to find out from an experiment/study
71
What is meant by a hypothesis?
A precise and testable statement about the assumed relationship between variables
72
What is event sampling?
An observational technique in which a count is kept of the number of times a certain behaviour/event occurs
73
What is a structured observation?
A researcher uses various systems to organise observations, such as behavioural categories and sampling procedures
74
What is time sampling?
An observational technique in which the observer records behaviours in a given time frame
e.g) every 10 minutes
75
What is interviewer bias?
The effect of expectations, communicated unconsciously, on a respondent's behaviour
e.g) leading questions
76
What is social desirability bias?
A distortion in the way people answer questions so that they present themselves in a better light
77
What is a structured interview?
Question are decided and planned in advance
78
What is an unstructured interview?
The interview starts out with some general aims and questions however the responses mainly guide subsequent questions
79
What are closed questions?
Questions that have a predetermined range of answers from which respondents select one. Tends to produce quantitative data
80
What are open questions?
Questions that invite respondents to provide their own answers rather than choose from a selection. Tends to produce qualitative data
81
What are the advantages of lab experiments?
- All variables are strictly controlled and said to be reliable
- Conclusions can easily be drawn about casual relationships
82
What are the disadvantages of lab experiments?
- Events do not occur in the natural environment and may have low ecological validity
- Increased likelihood of demand characteristics
- The more the variables and participants are manipulated the more likelihood of ethical issues
83
What are the advantages of field experiments?
- Validity is likely to increase as the experiment takes place in the natural environment
- Demand characteristics are reduced as there is usually limited contact between participant and researcher
84
What are the disadvantages of field experiments?
As only the IV is manipulated, control is reduced and the results become less reliable due to extraneous variables and sources of bias (the environment and sample)
85
What are the advantages of natural experiments?
- Events can be studied where no variables are manipulated and there are no ethical implications
- High validity as real situations and experiences are studied
- No/few demand characteristics
86
What are the disadvantages of natural experiments?
- No control over variables = little reliability
| - There may be ethical implications in terms of consent and feedback
87
What is an advantage of quasi experiments?
Often carried out under controlled conditions and therefore share the strengths of laboratory experiments
88
What is a disadvantage of quasi experiments?
Participants can't really be allocated to conditions and therefore they may be cofounding variables
89
What are the advantages of self report techniques such as interviews and questionnaires?
- Interviews allow non verbal communication
- Structured interviews/questions are more reliable and allow the aims to be directly tested
- Questionnaires can be quick and economic, while generating large samples
90
What are the weaknesses of self report techniques such as interviews and questionnaires?
- More likely to have demand characteristics
- Questionnaires can also be answered to reflect social desirability which makes them less reliable
- Researcher bias/investigator cues
- Closed questions can be less valid
- Questionnaires can be hard to suit a range of participants and needs (different age ranges, abilities)
91
What are the advantages of observational techniques?
- Behaviours occur in a natural environment so there is high validity
- Less demand characteristics
92
What are the weaknesses of observational techniques?
- Ethical/consensual issues
- If it is an overt observation, this may change their behaviour and reduce the validity of the findings
- Behaviours will need to be agreed between more than one person (inter rater reliability)
93
What are the advantages of a correlational analysis?
- Can indicate the strength of a relationship
- Secondary data can be used which is economic
- Can relate variables which may be unethical to manipulate
94
What are the disadvantages of correlational analysis?
- A causal relationship can’t be determined from a correlational analysis
- The relationship may be as a result of a third ‘unknown’ variable
- Doesn’t account for non linear relationships
95
What is a strength of random sampling?
Likely to be representative of a population as it mostly avoids bias
96
What is a strength of opportunity sampling?
Practical, quick and convenient
97
What is a weakness of opportunity sampling?
- Unlikely to be representative
- Could be affected by bias
- Cannot confidently generalise the findings
98
What is an advantage of volunteer sampling?
- Economic
| - Can produce large samples
99
What is a disadvantage of volunteer sampling?
- Volunteer bias, more likely to have demand characteristics
100
What is an advantage of stratified sampling?
Likely to be more representative than other methods because it is proportional and random
101
What is a disadvantage of stratified sampling?
Very time consuming to identify subgroups, then randomly select participants
102
What is an advantage of systematic sample?
Unbiased if first person selected randomly
103
What is a disadvantage of systematic sampling?
Could be manipulated if first person isn’t selected randomly, this makes results less reliable
104
What is a strength of independent groups design?
As each participant undertakes one condition there is no risk of order effects and reduced demand characteristics
105
What is a weakness of independent groups design?
- Individual differences may affect performance on conditions
- More participants are needed than repeated measures
106
What is a counter measure for independent groups design?
Participants should be randomly allocated to conditions
107
What is an advantage of repeated measures?
- Individual differences are more controlled
| - More economic than independent measures
108
What is a disadvantage of repeated measures?
- Order effects
- The second condition in contrast to the first might reveal the hypothesis and the participant could change their behaviour accordingly (demand characteristics)
109
What is an advantage of matched pairs design?
- No risk of order effects
- Reduced demand characteristics
- Individual differences are controlled by the matching process
110
What is a disadvantage of matched pairs design?
- Very time consuming and costly to match participants
| - May not have control over all variables
111
What is a counter measure for the repeated measures design?
Counterbalancing
112
What is a counter measure for matched pairs design?
A pilot study may need to be conducted to identify key variables
113
What is the purpose of filler questions in a questionnaire?
Some irrelevant questions are included to mislead the respondent from the main purpose of the survey
114
What is BPS?
British Psychological Society Code of Ethics
115
What are the BPS codes?
- Respect individual and cultural differences
- Competence
- Informed consent
- Discomfort and distress
- Confidentiality
- Right to withdraw
- Debriefing
- Privacy
116
How could you evaluate the BPS codes in psychological practices?
- Guidelines only have limited force
- Individuals could find loopholes in the system
- Do post event measures such as debriefing and the right to withdraw really offset the deception and potential loss of self esteem that participants may have experienced during the research
117
What is peer review and what does it entail?
The assessment of scientific work by other experts who are in the same field. Research is submitted and reviewed by assessors whose evaluation is then discussed by a panel
118
What is the aim of peer review?
The aim of peer review is to ensure that any research conducted and published is valid and of high quality
119
What are the implications of psychological research for the economy?
- Less pressure for the NHS
- More people back at work
- More productive economy
120
What is an advantage of using a mean average?
Makes use of all values in the set
121
What is disadvantage of using a mean average?
Can misrepresent the data if extreme values are included in the calculation
122
What is an advantage of a median average?
Not affected by extreme scores
123
What is a disadvantage of using a median average?
Not as representative of the data set as a whole because not all values are reflected in the average
124
What is an advantage of using the mode average?
Quick and easy method to calculate an average, especially useful when the data is in categories
125
What is a disadvantage of using the mode average?
Use is limited if the data set is multi modal
126
What is a disadvantage of using a range to see how disperse a data set is?
Affected by extreme values, doesn't take into account the number of observations in a data set
127
What is an advantage of using standard deviation to see how disperse a data set is?
Precise, all values taken into account
128
What is a disadvantage of using standard deviation to see how disperse a data set is?
Conceals extreme values
129
What is meant by behavioural categories?
Dividing a target behaviour (such as aggression) into a subset of specific and operationalised behaviours
130
What is a correlation?
A systematic association between two continuous variables
131
What is a co-variable?
The 2 measured variables in a correlational analysis where the variables must be continuous
e.g) age and beauty co vary, as age increases so does beauty etc
132
What is a correlational co-efficient?
A number between -1 and +1 that tells us how closely the co-variables in a correlational analysis are associated
133
What is a curvilinear correlation?
A non-linear relationship between co-variables
134
What is meant by an intervening variable?
A variable that comes between 2 other variables which is used to explain the association. It is an unidentified 3rd variable with a causal explanation
135
What is a linear correlation?
A systematic relationship between co-variables that is defined by a straight line
136
What is content analysis?
A kind of observational study in which behaviour is observed indirectly in written or verbal material such as interviews, conversations, books, diaries or TV programmes
137
What is effect size?
A measure of the strength of the relationship between 2 variables, how big is the effect between each one
138
What is a meta analysis?
A researcher looks at the findings from a number of different studies and produces a statistic of the overall effect
139
What is a population?
An entire group with specified characteristics, from this we select a target group to conduct research however a target group is too large thus a representative sample is required
140
What is a representative sample?
A subset of the target group with a similar distribution of relevant characteristics, allowing researchers to generalise with some justifications
141
What is an unrepresentative sample?
A sample which does not reflect the distribution of characteristics of the target group, cannot be generalised to the population and is therefore biased
142
Discuss the implications of bias and generalisation
- Inaccurate conclusions
- Lacks reliability
- Generalisation has limitations because it is almost a prediction hence it will have inaccuracies
