Research methods Flashcards
John grey
“men are from mars, women are from Venus” what is the main idea of these books?
Is what he says accurate?
Men and women are different, and will always see the world differently. The key to happiness is accepting these differences.
But this is false.
What is the magic bullet to lasting love?
There is none, it is highly variable.
There is no one thing, it is a lot of different small factors.
What is the key in sperating accurate from inaccurate information?
Methodology
What is methodology?
How the information is gathered and how the conclusions are made.
How do we study intimate relationships?
We study psychological constructs (exist in the mind) rather than physical things
How do we study psychological constructs?
we operationalize them
What is operationilzation?
We take abstract constructs and make them into something that can be measured, observed, and tested.
What does it mean when we say “Relationships are Multi-determined”
It means that it is determined by many different factors, and it changes based off the couple.
What are the three aspects of couple research?
Measurement
study design
Sampling
What is the most common measurement method in couples research?
Self reporting - asking people directly for their own description.
Can be a fixed response (1-5)
Can be open-ended
(tell me about)
What is a omnibus approach to measuring a relationship?
Looks at how satisfied a person is about specific things within a relationship
What is a global approach to measuring a relationship?
It asks broad questions about the general satisfaction within their relationship.
What are the three biggest challenges in self reported measurements of relationships?
- Social desirability
(we tend to present our self in a more positive light) - Lack of insight
(some people just don’t reflect as much about their relationships) - Misinterpret the questions
(people have different ideas of what sex is, leads to confusion)
What is the most common measure in relationship science?
Global approach
If someone has a extreme social desirability is their information creditable for research?
Nope, it is contaminated
What is another common issue with self reporting over long time scales?
Memory Bias:
Memory of quality relationship vs actual recorded quality of relationship can be very different
What are observational measures?
Partner reported or observer reported of interactions within a relationship.
What are the four major challenges with Observational measures of relationships?
- Sentiment override in partner relationships
(when you are happy you let things slide more) - interrater reliability
(how can we get the observers to see the same observations) - Deciding what is important to code
- Couples act differently when being observed.
What physiological measures within relationship studies?
Looking at physical affects of relationship
it is very objective.
- cortisol test
- fMRI
What are the challenges with physiological measures within relationship studies
Physical responses can be multi-determined, ambiguous, and context dependent
What are the four main research designs?
- Cross sectional research (correctional)
- Longitudinal research
- Experimental research
- Archival study
What is the general approach to Cross sectional research?
Assesses several variables on a single occasion (survey)
What are the advantages to Cross sectional research?
Can describe naturally occurring associations among variables
What are the disadvantages of Cross sectional research?
Cannot support causal statements.
What is the general approach to longitudinal research?
Assesses variables on more than one occasion
What are the advantages of longitudinal research?
Can describe change over time and predict outcomes?
What are the disadvantages of longitudinal research?
cannot support causal statements; attrition bias
What is the general approach to Experimental research?
Evaluates the effects of an independent variables on a dependent variable in a controlled setting
What are the advantages of experimental research?
Can support causal statements
What are the disadvantages of experimental research?
results may not generalize outside the experimental situation
What is the general approach to archival research?
reanalyzes existing data originally gathered for another purpose
What are the pros of archival research?
Cost-effective and can provide historical perspective
What are the cons of archival research?
conclusions are limited by the quality of the original data
What is a sample?
Participants in a study whoa re thought to represent a broader population
What is a representative sample?
People who represent the population to which one would like to generalize
What is a convenience sample?
People who participate because they are easy for researchers to recruit
Who are the most common convenience sample?
Uni students
in relationship research what is coincided a “good” association score?
why?
r = 0.35
There is a lot of variability within the population.
