Research Methods Flashcards
define repeated measures design
same people are used in both conditions of the experiment and their performances in the different conditions are compared
strengths of a repeated measures design
participant variables are eliminated and fewer participants are needed overall
limitations of a repeated measures design
order effects and demand characteristics
define order effects
where a participants performance in the second condition may have been effected from having already performed in the first condition
define demand characteristics
where the participants may guess the aim of the study
how can order effects be controlled
counterbalancing
define standardisation
all participants are subject to the same conditions, information and experience
if control is high then what is low
ecological validity
benefits of randomisation
minimises the effects of ev and cv
define independent group designs
different people take part in each condition and their performances are compared
what is a strength of random allocation
reduces bias
what is a strength of an indepndent group design
no order effect
what are limitations of a group design
participant variables could confound the results and more participants are needed
define participant variables
when you have different people in each condition
give an example of a confounding variable
when you have different people in each condition
what is a matched pair design
different people take part in each condition but they have matched in ways that matter for the experiment. this means that individual differences won’t have as much as an effect on the results
strengths of a matched pair design
participant variable are minimised no order effects and no demand characteristics
what are limitations of a matched pair design
finding pairs is time-consuming and participant variables aren’t completely eliminated
define a lab experiment
takes place in a very controlled environemnt, helps control external factors is ethical but has less mundane realism and ecological validity
define a field experiment
takes place in a natural environment, researchers are often dressed so participants know that there’s something going on (demand characteristics) but they don’t officially know about an experiment (ethical ?) good for mundane realism but less control
define a quasi-experiment
participants aren’t randomly allocated, research group where the differences between them already exist (male/female), the setting can be controlled however it lacks ecological validity
define a natural experiment
where the researcher takes advantage of a change that is already happening, iv is pre-existing. the setting can be controlled, increased mundane realism and ecological validity.
is the IV manipulated in a naturl experiment
no
define a random sample
a random sample is one where every member of the target population has an equal chance of being chosen
systematic sample
a systematic sample is the one where every nth member of the target population is chosen
stratified sample
a stratified sample involves the researcher first identifying the different subgroups of people in the target population and then drawing participants from each of these sub groups
define an oppurtunity sample
an opportunity sample consists of people who are available to take part and are accessible to the researcher
define a volunteer sample
a volunteer sample involves participants that have opted to be part of the sample
what is a pilot study
a smaller scale version of an experiment to see how well it would do before putting time and resources into it
what is a self report method
any method where the participant report on their own behaviour
examples of self report
questionnaires and interviews
2 types of questions within a self report
open and closed
define a likert scale
how much you agree or disagree with something (measured in strongly agree- strongly disagree)
define a rating scale
measures the strength of a feeling and it identifies a value that represents their strength of feeling
define a fixed choice option
multiple choice
define content analysis
a systematic method used to quantify the content of any form of media, turns quan into qual
what is another type of content analysis
thematic analysis
2 types of data are used in content analysis what are they
primary and secondary
define primary data
data you collect yourself
define secondary data
data someone else has collected that you can still use in your study
what is thematic analysis
turns qual data into more refined qual data
define a case study
in depth study of an individual, small group ,event or situation
list the grid of statistic tests
chi-squared chi-squared sign test unrelated test related test Mann Whitney test Wilcoxon test Spearman's rho Pearsons test
how do you calculate DF for unrelated test
n-2
how do you calculate DF for related test
n-1
what does n represent
n = number of participants
what is the calculation for DF in a chi-squared test
(number of columns-1) x (number of rows - 1)
list the 3 types of measurements in statistical testing
nominal ordinal interval
define ordinal measurements
subjective form of measurements
define nominal measurements
grouped/ categorised, simplistic form of measurement
define interval measurements
most accurate form of measurement - regular standardised intervals
what number is the desired correlation coefficient
0.8
whats continuous data
an infinite amount of possibilities
whats discrete data
a finite number of possibilities
what is a measure of central tendency
summarises your data and turns data into a representable number- mean median mode
mode
most common number
mean
all values together and dividing by n
median
the middle number
define a measure of dispersion
measures the spread of data (how dispersed it is), summarises your spread of data
what is an example of a measure of dispersion
the range
what is a standard deviation
a measure of dispersion
the standard deviation…
is the spread of all data around the mean
3 types of validity
ecological
population
external and internal
define external and internal validity
internal - is your information actually truthful
external - all about the application to the research
what is a type 1 error
is accepting an experimental hypothesis incorrectly, saying something is happening but not as a result of data its just due to chance
what is a type 2 error
accepting a null hypothesis incorrectly, saying something isn’t happening when it is
what reduces the likelihood of a type 1 error from occuring
reducing the level of significance
what reduces the likelihood of a type 2 error from occurring
increasing the level of significance
the side effect of reducing level of significance
increases chance of T2 occurring
the side effect of increasing the level of significance
increases chance of T1 occurring
