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A level Psychology > Research Methods > Flashcards

Research Methods Flashcards

1
Q

What is coding?

A

The process of placing quantitative or qualitative data in categories

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2
Q

What is content analysis?

A

A kind of observational study in which behaviour is usually observed indirectly in visual written or verbal material.

May involve either qualitative or quantitative analysis or both.

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3
Q

What is thematic analysis?

A

A technique used when analysing qualitative data.

Themes or categories are identified and then data is organised according to these themes.

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4
Q

In what ways does a researcher of content analysis make design decisions?

A
  • Sampling method
  • Coding the data
  • Method of representing data.
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5
Q

What are the strengths of content analysis?

A
  • High ecological validity - observations of what people actually do
  • reliable - sources retained and accessed by others.
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6
Q

What are the limitations of content analysis?

A
  • observer bias reduces objectivity and validity of findings
  • culturally bias - affected by language and culture of observer and behaviour categories used.
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7
Q

What are the main intentions of thematic analysis?

A
  • impose order on data
  • endure ‘order represents participants perspective
  • ensure order emerges from data rather than preconceptions
  • summarise data so hundreds of pages of text or hours of videotapes can be reduced
  • enables themes to be identified and general conclusions drawn
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8
Q

what is the general method of thematic analysis?

A
  1. Read and reread transcript dispassionately to understand the meaning. No notes made.
  2. Break into meaningful units
  3. assign labels to each unit
  4. combine simple codes into larger categories/themes and then instances can be counted or examples provided
  5. check made to emergent categories by collecting a new set of data and applying categories.
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9
Q

Define - Case study

A

A research method that involves a detailed study of a single individual institution or event.

Providing a rick record of human experience but are hard to generalise from.

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10
Q

Why are case studies normally longitudinal?

A

They follow the individual or group over an extended period of time.

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11
Q

What are the strengths of using case studies?

A
  • Offers rich, in-depth data information.
  • Used to investigate instances of human behaviour and experiences that are rare. - it would not be ethical to generate such conditions experimentally.
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12
Q

What are the limitations of using case studies?

A
  • Difficult to generalise from individual cases - HM
  • Ethical issues such as conformity and informed consent - HM and little Hans
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13
Q

What is inter-observer reliability?

A

The extent to which there is an agreement between two or more observers involved in observations of behaviour.

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14
Q

What is the reliability?

A

Consistency

We would expect any measurement to produce the same data if taken on successive occasions

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15
Q

What is test-retest reliability?

A

The same test or interview is given to the same participants on two occasions to see if the same results are obtained.

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16
Q

How can you improve reliability using behavioural categories?

A

Behavioural categories

  • BCs are not operationalised clearly enough
  • Some observers just need more practice using BCs so they can respond more quickly.
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17
Q

What are the two ways to assess reliability?

A
  • Test-retest reliability
  • Inter-interview reliability
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18
Q

How can you improve reliability using reduced ambiguity?

A
  • People give different answers - tests should be re-examined and rewritten
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19
Q

How can you improve reliability using standardisation?

A
  • Procedures should be exactly the same every time they are repeated.
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20
Q

what is concurrent validity?

A

A means of establishing validity by comparing an existing test or questionnaire with the one you are interested in

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21
Q

What is ecological validity?

A

The ability to generalise a research effect beyond the particular setting in which it is demonstrated to other settings.

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22
Q

What is face validity?

A

The extent to which test items look like what the test claims to measure

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23
Q

What is mundane realism?

A

Refers to how a study mirrors the real world.

The research environment is realistic to the degree to which experiences encountered in the research environment will occur in the real world.

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24
Q

What is temporal validity?

A

Concerning the ability to generalise a research effect beyond the particular time period of the study.

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25
What is validity?
Refers to whether an observed effect is a genuine one.
26
What are examples of internal validity?
* Investigator effects * demand characteristics * confounding variables * social desirability bias * poorly operationalised behavioural categories
27
What are the sections of external validity?
* population validity * temporal validity * ecological validity
28
What are the two methods of assessing validity?
* face validity * concurrent validity
29
How can you improve validity?
* If poor face validity - questions revised so more obviously related to the topic * if low concurrent validity - remove questions that are irrelevant * A Better design used if lack internal or external validity.
30
Define - empirical
A method of gaining knowledge which relies on direct observation or testing, not hearsay or rational argument.
31
Define - falsifiability
The possibility that a statement or hypothesis can be proved wrong.
32
Define - Paradigm
A shared set of assumptions about the subject matter of discipline and the methods appropriate to its study Kuhn 1962
33
What are the five key features of science?
1. Empirical methods 2. Objectivity 3. Replicability 4. Theory construction 5. Hypothesis testing
34
What did Karl Popper argue?
It was not possible to confirm a theory - it was only possible to disconfirm it Led to the null hypothesis - disproving this will prove other hypotheses - the alternative hypothesis
35
What did Thomas Kuhn publish in 1962?
The structure of scientific revolutions Proposed that scientific knowledge about the world develops through revolutions rather than Poppers theory of falsification The idea of a paradigm shift
36
Define - Alternative hypothesis
A testable statement about the relationship between two or more variables
37
Define - Null hypothesis
An assumption that there is no relationship in the population from which a sample is taken with respect to the variables being studied
38
Define - probability
A numerical measure of the likelihood or chance that certain events will occur. A statistical test gives the probability that a particular set of data did not occur by chance.
39
What is a type 1 error?
Occurs when a researcher rejects a null hypothesis that is true false negative
40
What is a type 2 error?
Occurs when a researcher accepts a null hypothesis that is not true. false positive
41
Why do we use statistical tests?
Work out how probable it is that a pattern in research data could have arisen by chance or how probable it is that the effect occurred because there is a real difference/correlation in the populations from which the samples are drawn
42
What is chance?
Something with no cause - it just happens
43
What is the average level of probability?
95% This is the degree of uncertainty. 5% chance the null hypothesis is true. p=0.05
44
What does p = ?
0.05 = signifcance level 5% chance null hypothesis is correct.
45
Define - calculated value
The value of a test statistic calculated for a particular data set
46
define - critical value
In a statistical test the value of the test statistic that must be reached to show significance
47
define - degrees of freedom
the number of values that are free to vary given that the overall total values are known
48
Define - levels of measurement
Refers to the different ways of measuring items of psychological variables the lower levels are less precise.
49
Define - one-tailed test
form of test used with a directional hypothesis
50
Define - significance
A statistical term indicating that the research findings are sufficiently strong to enable a researcher to reject the null hypothesis under test and accept the research hypothesis.
51
Define - statistical test
procedures for drawing logical conclusions about the population from which samples are drawn
52
Define - test statistic
the name was given to the value calculated using a statistical test. For each test, this value has a specific name such as S for the sign test.
53
Define - two-tailed test
Form of test used with a non-directional hypothesis
54
Why do psychologists prefer parametric tests over non-parametric?
They are more powerful. They can however only be used if certain criteria are met.
55
What criteria must be met in order to use a parametric test?
* the level of measurement is interval or better * data are drawn from a population that has a normal distribution * the variances of the two samples are not significantly different
56
What values do you need to use a statistical table?
1. signifance level - usually p \<- 0.05 2. kind of hypothesis - one or two-tailed 3. Value of N - participants in study
57
What are the two non-parametric tests for difference?
* Wilcoxon test for related designs * Mann-whitney test for unrelated designs.
58
What are the two parametric tests of difference?
1. Related T-test 2. unrelated T-test
59
What are the two tests of correlation?
1. A non-parametric test - Spearman's rho 2. A parametric test - Pearson's R
60
What sections are journal articles separated into?
1. abstract 2. introduction 3. method 4. results 5. discussion 6. references
61
What is an abstract?
Summary of the study covering aims, hypothesis, method, results and conclusions. usually 150-200 words
62
What does the method section in a journal contain?
* design * participants * apparatus/materials * procedures * ethics
63
What is in the discussion section of a journal?
* summary of results * relationship to previous research * consideration of methodology * implications for psychological theory and possible real-world applications * suggestions for future research
64
What is the format for a journal article?
Authors name(s), date, the title of article, *journal title, volume (issue number),* page numbers

A level Psychology (5 decks)

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