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Psychology > Research Methods > Flashcards

Research Methods Flashcards

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1
Q

population

A

the entire group that is of interest to the researcher

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2
Q

sample

A

sub set of the population

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3
Q

convenience sampling

A

sampling technique where subjects are recruited from a nearby source due to convenient accessibility and proximity to researcher

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4
Q

random sampling

A

sampling technique where population is given equal chance of being selected to be part of the sample

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5
Q

stratified random sampling

A

sampling technique where population is divided into group and random sampling is done within each group

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6
Q

snowball sampling

A

sampling technique where individuals of interest are interviewed and they would provide names of others of interest who may consent to being interviewed for the study

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7
Q

experimental method

A

involves manipulation of IV to see its effects on the DV to establish cause and effect

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8
Q

independent variable

A

variable manipulated by experimenter to see its effects on another variable

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9
Q

dependent variable

A

variable measured in response to changes in manipulated variable

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10
Q

experimental group

A

group of participants subjected to manipulation of IV

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11
Q

control group

A

group of participants who are not exposed to IV, rather used to provide comparison to the experimental group

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12
Q

controlled variable

A

variable that remains the same for both experimental and control group throughout the experiment so that the changes observed are the results of the IV

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13
Q

uncontrolled variable

A

variable that is allowed to stay random as it is predicted to have no effect on the outcome of the experiment

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14
Q

hypothesis

A

scientific statement based on the available information that can be tested by experimentation
- when appropriate, the statement expresses an expected relationship between IV and DV for the observed phenomena

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15
Q

placebo

A

dummy pill or harmless substance given as if it were treatment
- used to control participants expectations

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16
Q

variables that can affect changes in DV and outcome in IV

A
  • personal characteristics
  • desire to look good or perform appropriately
  • demand characteristics: cues given by experimenter of what is expected of the participants
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17
Q

reliability

A

extent to which the researcher would obtain similar results when the same test is given to the same person again under the same circumstances

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18
Q

types of reliability

A
  • internal consistency: extent to which the results across items within a test are consistent
  • split half method: where scores on one half of a measurement are correlated to the other half of the measurement
  • test retests reliability: where participants should obtain similar results across time by repeating the same test on different occasions
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19
Q

validity

A

extent to which the results of a test reflects what the measurement instrument says it is measuring

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20
Q

types of validity

A
  • face validity: when a measurement looks like what it is supposed to measure
  • construct validity: to see whether test items are keeping with the constructs on which the test was based on
  • concurrent validity: where scores on a measurement are correlated with another measurement that reflects the same construct
  • predictive validity: extent to which test results predict other behaviors related to the constructs tested
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21
Q

study design

A

set of methods and procedures used in collecting and analysing measures of the variables specified in the research problem

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22
Q

cross sectional study design

A

research design which takes into account age related developmental changes by comparing groups of different ages at the same point in time

  • benefits: time efficient, cost efficient, researchers are less likely to lose their participants
  • limitations: does not provide for changes over time, cannot eliminate cohort effect
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23
Q

longitudinal study design

A

research design which follows developments of one group over time to look for changes

  • benefits: eliminates cohort effect, allows for study of actual changes with development
  • limitations: expensive to follow group for long period of time, researchers run risk of losing participants, participants may experience practice effect
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24
Q

longitudinal-sequential study design

A

research design which combines features of both cross sectional and longitudinal design in an attempt to overcome the limitations of each design

  • groups of participants are followed over time and at every measurement point, a new group is added that is the same as the first group at the first measurement point
  • benefits: allows for actual changes over time, allows to look for age differences in behavior, check for cohort effect
  • limitations: complex, expensive, requires well organised research team to track data
25
Q

non experimental method

A

does not involve any manipulation of variables

26
Q

observation

A

study of people by observing them

27
Q

types of observations

A
  • structured observation: where researchers gather data without getting directly involved with the participants
  • naturalistic observation: observation of subjects in their natural environment
28
Q

case study

A

study which provides detailed knowledge about a single case or small number of related cases

29
Q

survey

A

self reported data from participants who ideally have been randomly selected

30
Q

types of surveys

A
  • fixed response surveys: consists of questions which usually consists of yes or no answers or rating a response from 0 to 10
  • open ended surveys: consists of questions which will ask participants to comment freely on a statement or question
31
Q

correlational study

A

study which investigates whether there is a relationship between variables and how strong that relationship is

32
Q

archival research

A

study which involves examination of old material usually found in places like libraries or government buildings

33
Q

qualitative method

A
  • data cannot be expressed in numbers and cannot be analysed statistically
  • benefits: provides in depth information, flexibility of explanations in participants responses, explores new area of research
  • limitations: requires a lot of time to sift through detailed information, cannot be generalised to population, responses might be affected by social desirability bias
34
Q

social desirability bias

A

peoples tendency to behave in a certain way that they consider socially acceptable even if they don’t normally behave that way

35
Q

interview questions

A
  • open ended interview: researchers ask participants to comment freely on statements or questions in any way they like
  • fixed response interview: responses are restricted to a range of options offered by researcher
36
Q

quantitative method

A

data can be expressed in numbers and analysed statistically

37
Q

objective quantitative method

A

measures are generally physiological responses

- advantage: difficult for participants to manipulate responses

38
Q

subjective quantitative method

A
  • responses are provided on a checklist or likert scale to measure a range of abilities, attitudes, views and opinions
  • advantages: responses provides in depth information
  • disadvantage: responses might be affected by social desirability bias
39
Q

measures of central tendency

A

identifies location of centre of various distributions

  • mean: average score
  • median: middle score
  • mode: most frequently occurring score
40
Q

measures of dispersion

A

finds out how spread out data values are on the number line

  • range: difference between the largest value and smallest value
  • variance: spread of scores around the mean
  • standard deviation: average amount by which scores differ from the mean
41
Q

bell curve

A

display of distribution of scores

42
Q

features of bell curve

A
  • area under the normal curve is always equals to 1
  • mean, mode and median are identical
  • defined according to mean and standard deviation
43
Q

left skewed

A

when most of the data is concentrated on the right end of the curve

44
Q

right skewed

A

when most of the data is concentrated on the left end of the curve

45
Q

statistical significance

A

value used to indicate whether differences between the mean scores in sets of data for groups being studied are real or due to chance

46
Q

p > 0.05

A
  • results are due to more than 5% of chance or random error.
  • results do not have statistical significance
  • there is no significant difference in DV between EG and CG
  • hypothesis is rejected
47
Q

p < 0.05

A
  • results are due to less than 5% of chance or random error
  • results have statistical significance
  • there is a significant difference in DV between the EG and CG
  • hypothesis is accepted
48
Q

single blind study

A

experimental procedure in which the researcher is aware of whether participants are in EG or CG, however participants are blind to their membership

  • prevents participants from displaying social desirability bias
  • prevents placebo effect
49
Q

double blind study

A

experimental procedure in which both researcher and participants are blind to whether participants are in EG or CG
- prevents experimenter’s effect

50
Q

experimenter’s effect

A

experimenter’s values and beliefs which can influence the research process at any point

51
Q

professional conducts

A
  • dressing appropriately
  • being punctual
  • using appropriate language
52
Q

privacy

A

right of protection from unwanted intrusion by government or other people into one’s affairs

53
Q

confidentiality

A

degree of secrecy attached to information provided by client to researcher

  • information should not be disclosed to anyone but the researcher unless given consent
  • ensure data is stored securely in locked cabinet or password protected computer
  • destroy data securely
  • ensure that there is no identifying information that may be linked to client
54
Q

anonymity

A

protection of people’s identity through not disclosing their name or not knowing it

  • researcher should not ask for any identifying information from participants
  • use code to identify participants
  • store participants identifying information separate from their research data
55
Q

voluntary rights

A

participants must willingly decide to take part in the experiment without any persuasion or coercion
- participants should not receive any threats or negative consequences if they decide not to participate

56
Q

withdrawal rights

A

participants have the right to leave the research at any time without any negative consequences

57
Q

informed consent

A

approval of participant to participate in a research based on their knowledge of why procedure is being carried out and what is involved

  • researcher must ensure participants are aware of the nature and objectives of the study, duration, what they will be expected to do and the potential risks and benefits that can be obtained in a language they can understand
  • minors must obtain consent from their parent or legal guardian as they are considered to not be able to understand what they are being told
58
Q

deception

A

necessity of researcher to hide the real reason behind the research in order to reduce the likelihood that participants will behave differently
- researcher must debrief participants after the experiment and explain why deception has been used

59
Q

beneficence

A

where the benefits must outweigh any potential risks obtained from an experiment

Psychology (9 decks)

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