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Psychology AQA A-Level Year 1 & AS > Research Methods > Flashcards

Research Methods Flashcards

1
Q

What is the independent variable (IV)?

A

Variable that researcher manipulates to determine its effect on dependent variable

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2
Q

What is the dependent variable (DV)?

A

Variable being measured

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3
Q

What are extraneous variables (EV)?

A

Any other variables (other than IV) that could affected DV

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4
Q

What are confounding variables (CV)?

A

Any other variables (other than IV) that have affected DV

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5
Q

List some types of experiments.

A

1) laboratory experiments
2) field experiments
3) natural experiments
4) quasi experiments

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6
Q

What is a laboratory experiment?

A

1) carried out in controlled environment
2) allows researcher to exert high level of control over IV + eliminate EV
3) researcher can measure change in DV caused by manipulation of IV
4) participants are randomly allocated to a condition

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7
Q

What are the strengths of a laboratory experiment?

A

1) high level of control - effects of confounding variables become minimised
2) causal relationships - can establish cause + effect between IV + DV
3) replicable by other researchers + results are reliable

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8
Q

What are the weaknesses of

a laboratory experiment?

A

1) strong change of demand characteristics
2) artificial - lacks mundane realism + ecological validity
3) deception is often used making informed consent difficult

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9
Q

What is mundane realism?

A

The extent to which an experiment reflects real life

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10
Q

What is ecological validity?

A

The ability to generalise findings of research to the real world)

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11
Q

What is a field experiment?

A

1) carried out in the real world

2) IV manipulated to see effect on DV

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12
Q

What are the strengths of a field experiment?

A

1) more mundane realism + ecological validity than in laboratory
2) causal relationships - can establish cause + effect between IV + DV
3) less chance of demand characteristics - participants might not know they are taking part in research

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13
Q

What are the weaknesses of a field experiment?

A

1) less control over extraneous variables - valid?
2) less control over sample
3) more difficult to replicate
4) participants often can’t be debriefed

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14
Q

What is a natural experiment?

A

Researcher takes advantage of naturally occurring IV to see effect on DV

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15
Q

What are the strengths of a natural experiment?

A

1) high level of mundane realism + ecological validity

2) less chance of demand characteristics

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16
Q

What are the weaknesses of a natural experiment?

A

1) less control over extraneous variables
2) difficult to replicate
3) difficult to determine cause + effect

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17
Q

What is a quasi experiment?

A

1) naturally occurring IV that already exists between people

2) examination of IV on DV

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18
Q

What are the strengths of a quasi experiment?

A

1) controlled conditions

2) high level of mundane realism + ecological validity

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19
Q

What are the weaknesses of a quasi experiment?

A

1) can’t randomly allocate participants to each condition

2) hard to establish cause + effect

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20
Q

What is an observation?

A

When researcher watches/listens to participants engaging in behaviour that is being studied

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21
Q

What is a non-participant observation?

A

Researcher does not get directly involved with interactions of participants

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22
Q

What is a participant observation?

A

Researcher is directly involved with interactions of participants

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23
Q

What is a covert observation?

A

1) psychologist goes undercover + does not reveal true identity/give themselves a new identity
2) group does not know they are being observed

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24
Q

What is a overt observation?

A

1) psychologist reveals true identity
2) observer effects can occur - participants changing behaviour because they know they are being observed (invalid results)

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25
What is an aim?
Statement of a study's purpose
26
What is a null hypothesis?
What you're going to assume is true during the study
27
What is an alternative hypothesis?
Used when data forces you to reject your null hypothesis
28
What is a directional hypothesis?
Directly predicts which way results will go
29
What is a non-directional hypothesis?
Predicts which way results will go but won't say which group would go which way - used when there is little research or when previous research is mixed/inconclusive
30
What is operationalising a variable?
Describing the process by which the variable is measured
31
State some experimental designs.
1) independent groups 2) repeated measures 3) matched pairs
32
What is an independent groups design?
Different participants in each group
33
What are the advantages of an independent groups design?
1) no order effects - no one gets better though practice/worse through being tired
34
What are the disadvantages of an independent groups design?
1) different people in each group may affect results - can't safely compare groups 2) twice as many participants needed to get same amount of data
35
What is an repeated measures design?
All participants do the task with an audience + then without
36
What are the advantages of an independent groups design?
1) same people do test in both conditions - difference between individuals shouldn't affect results 2) fewer participants needed to get same amount of data
37
What are the disadvantages of an independent groups design?
Any improvements in second condition would be due to practice
38
What is a matched pairs design?
Different participants in each condition are matched on important variables (age/sex/personality)
39
What are the advantages of a matched pairs design?
1) no order effects - different people in each condition | 2) important differences minimised through matching
40
What are the disadvantages of a matched pairs design?
1) twice as many people needed 2) time consuming 3) difficult to find participants who match
41
What is counterbalancing?
1) solves order effects in repeated measures design | 2) half do condition 1 then 2, other half do condition 2 then 3 - order effects cancel out
42
What is primary data?
Information collected during researcher's direct observations of participants
43
What is secondary data?
Information collected from other studies - can be used to check validity of studies/provide evidence to support/discredit a theory
44
What is random sampling?
Every member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected for the sample
45
What are the advantages of random sampling?
1) fair - everyone has an equal chance of being selected | 2) likely to be representative
46
What are the disadvantages of a matched pairs design?
1) doesn't guarantee representative sample - some sub-groups may not be selected 2) if target population is large, it is not possible to give everyone a number that might be picked
47
What is opportunity sampling?
Researcher samples whoever is available + willing to be studied
48
What are the advantages of opportunity sampling?
1) quick | 2) practical - often used
49
What are the disadvantages of random sampling?
1) unlikely to be representative of target population | 2) can't generalise results
50
What is volunteer sampling?
People actively volunteer to be in a study by responding to a request for participants advertised by researcher
51
What are the advantages of volunteer sampling?
1) large number of people may respond | 2) may allow more in-depth analysis + more accurate statistical results
52
What are the disadvantages of volunteer sampling?
1) only includes people who saw the advertisement 2) people who volunteer may be more cooperative than others 3) sample is unlikely to be representative of target population
53
What is systematic sampling?
Every nth name from a sampling frame is taken
54
What are the advantages of systematic sampling?
1) simple 2) effective 3) random + population is more evenly sampled
55
What are the disadvantages of systematic sampling?
1) subgroups might be missed | 2) may not be representative if pattern in samp;e coincides with pattern in population
56
What is stratified sampling?
All important subgroups in population are identified + proportionate number of each is randomly allocated
57
What are the advantages of stratified sampling?
1) produces fairly representative sample
58
What are the disadvantages of stratified sampling?
1) takes time 2) takes money 3) some subgroups may be missed 4) can be difficult to identify traits + characteristics
59
What are the principles of the ethical guidelines?
1) informed consent 2) deception 3) protection from harm 4) debriefing 5) confidentiality
60
What is informed consent?
1) should always give informed consent 2) should be told aims + nature of the study before agreeing to it 3) should know that they have the right to withdraw at any time
61
What is deception?
1) if participants have been deceived they cannot give informed consent
62
What is protection from harm?
1) risk of harm to participants should be no greater than they would face in normal lives - hard to accurately assess this
63
What is debriefing?
1) returns participants to state they were in before research 2) important if deception has been used
64
What is confidentiality?
1) no participants in the study should be identifiable from reports produced
65
What is peer review?
1) ensures integrity of published scientific work 2) sent to experts in the field to asses quality 3) keeps scientists honest 4) helps validate conclusions - published material is more trustworthy
66
What is the correlation coefficient between?
-1 and +1
67
How do you conduct a statistical test?
1) write out null hypothesis 2) choose a significance level 3) turn experimental results into single test statistic 4) if probability
68
What is a significance level?
1) probability between 0 and 1 2) 1=very likely 3) 0=very unlikely

Psychology AQA A-Level Year 1 & AS (7 decks)

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