research methods

Question 1

ethics

Answer 1

balance between rights if participants and the goals of the research to produce authentic and valid data.

Question 2

consent

Answer 2

Participants must be fully informed about the experiment and their explicit consent must be obtained before it starts

Question 3

deception

Answer 3

Participants should not be deceived as a part of the experiment.

Question 4

Confidentially

Answer 4

participants identities should be kept private and it should not be possible to identify them from the published research.

Question 5

debriefing

Answer 5

After the experiment the participants should have the research fully explained to them and they should be allowed to ask questions. This is important when there’s been deception or when informed consent wasn’t possible.

Question 6

right to withdraw

Answer 6

Participants should have the right to withdraw from the experiment at any time. They can also withdraw their data after the experiment.

Question 7

protection from physical/ psychological harm

Answer 7

Participants shouldn’t be harmed or distressed during the experiment.
This must be reflected during the debriefing of participants.

Question 8

unethical research

Answer 8

Research that breaches the guidelines may still be carried out, but in order for this to happen, the psychologist needs to justify why.

Question 9

aim

Answer 9

Statement of what the researchers intend to find out in a research study

Question 10

Independent variable

Answer 10

the thing that changes

is manipulated by the researcher/ changes naturally

Question 11

Dependant variable

Answer 11

the thing that’s measured

any effect on the DV is caused by the IV

Question 12

directional hypothesis

Answer 12

predicts the nature of the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable.
e.g. Adults WILL correctly recall more words than children.

Question 13

non-directional hypothesis

Answer 13

predicts that the IV will have an effect on the DV, but the direction of the effect is not specified.
e.g. There WILL BE A DIFFERENCE in how many numbers are correctly recalled by children and adults.

Question 14

operationalisation

Answer 14

the term used to describe how a variable is clearly defined and measured by the researcher.

Question 15

repeated groups design

Answer 15

one group of participants that take part in both conditions

Question 16

independant groups

Answer 16

2 separate groups of participants that take part in different conditions

Question 17

matched pairs

Answer 17

2 separate groups that are matched into pairs for certain qualities, such as age or intelligence.
Each person in the pair takes part in the different conditions

Question 18

order effects

Answer 18

occur in repeated group designs
is where the participants are practiced enough after the first condition to complete the second condition
also is where participants may be tired after the first condition which will then affect their performance on the second condition.
the solution is counterbalancing and randomisation

Question 19

randomisation

Answer 19

participants are randomly assigned to different conditions

Question 20

extraneous variables

Answer 20

anything other than the IV that can influence the results

Question 21

situational variables

Answer 21

type of extraneous variable that’s found in the environment

e.g. noise, light,time,location,temperature

Question 22

participant variables

Answer 22

type of extraneous variable thats found in participants

e.g. motivation levels, moods,skills,experience,fatigue

Question 23

how to control situational variables

Answer 23

standardise procedure

counterbalance

Question 24

demand characteristics

Answer 24

participants form an interpretation of the experiment’s purpose and unconsciously change their behaviour accordingly

Question 25

how to control demand characteristics

Answer 25

deception | single blind- participants are unaware of which condition they're in

Question 26

experimenter effects

Answer 26

a term used to describe subtle cues or signals from an experimenter that affect the performance of participants in studies. The cues may be unconscious nonverbal cues, such as muscular tension or gestures. They may be vocal cues, such as tone of voice.

Question 27

how to control experimenter variables

Answer 27

double blind- Neither the researcher or the participant knows which condition they are in inter-rater reliability-Independent raters rate same behaviour as researcher – check for agreement

Question 28

field experiments

Answer 28

experiment that's conducted in a real world situation. | the participants are not usually aware that that they are participating in an experiment

Question 29

field experiments advantages

Answer 29

finds natural behaviour as it's in a real life setting. Able to control some variables and observe effects Insight into meanings and perceptions held by subjects subjects not aware of being observed

Question 30

field experiments disadvantages

Answer 30

not usually possible to gain informed consent from the participants and it is difficult to debrief the participants. Impossible to control all variables Ethical issue of deceit Depends on skill of observer/selectivity

Question 31

laboratory experiment

Answer 31

experiment conducted under highly controlled conditions allow for precise control of variables. The purpose of control is to enable the experimenter to ISOLATE the one key variable which has been selected, and observe its effect on some other variable. control is intended to allow us to conclude that it is the independent variable, and nothing else, which is influencing the dependent variable.

Question 32

Laboratory experiment advantages

Answer 32

``` controlled environment observe variables- cause and effect removes bias replicable generalisable ```

Question 33

laboratory experiment disadvantages

Answer 33

lacks ecological validity | not true to life as not all of society's studied

Question 34

natural experiment

Answer 34

independent variable is not manipulated by the researcher but occurs naturally. The DV may be experimented in a laboratory. E.g. Effect of mental illness on employability

Question 35

quasi experiment

Answer 35

researcher takes advantage of pre-existing conditions such as age or gender. It is simply a difference between people that exist.

Question 36

observational studies

Answer 36

involve watching and recording people’s behaviour. | Usually carried out by observing people’s natural behaviour in their natural environment.

Question 37

why do psychologists use observations

Answer 37

to study a particular behaviour – researchers will watch/listen to participants engaging in whatever behaviour is being studied. to study natural behaviour in a natural setting – a more realistic view/picture. They can also study behaviours, where it would be unethical to manipulate or which can’t be directly manipulated by the researcher.

Question 38

controlled observations

Answer 38

some variables in the environment are regulated by the researcher, reducing the ‘naturalness’ of the environment and consequently the ‘naturalness’ of the behaviour being studied. Participants are likely to know that they are being studied Controlled observations may take place in a laboratory.

Question 39

controlled observations disadvantages

Answer 39

Demand Characteristics Lacks ecological validity (if done outside of natural environment)

Question 40

naturalistic observations

Answer 40

Observing people in their natural environment - High in Ecological validity. Behaviour is not controlled – people behave freely and are less likely to know that they are being observed. The researcher does not interfere, they simply observe. The negative side is that the lack of control leaves room for confounding variables.

Question 41

participant observation

Answer 41

observations made by someone who is also participating in the activity being observed. This means that their objectivity may be affected. may provide special insight

Question 42

non-participant observations

Answer 42

researchers do not become actively involved in the behaviour being studied. The observer is separate from the people being observed and simply watches/listens. objective because they are not part of the group being observed.

Question 43

overt observations

Answer 43

participants are aware that they are being observed. participants have the opportunity to give their informed consent prior to the study – however, they are more prone to demand characteristics/ social desirability bias.

Question 44

covert observations

Answer 44

participants are not aware that they are being observed. participants will behave naturally because they are not aware, however it is intrusive.

Question 45

observer bias

Answer 45

observer’s expectations can affect what they see or hear. This reduces the validity of the observation

Question 46

inter-observer reliability

Answer 46

two or more observers and how much agreement there is between them is calculated.

Question 47

unstructured observation

Answer 47

produce qualitative data. researchers record the most noticeable behaviours which might not be the most relevant or important behaviours to record and is highly subjective.

Question 48

unstructured observation benefits

Answer 48

provides rich information and can be used as a pilot study to see what kind of behaviours can be recorded in the structured system.

Question 49

structured observation

Answer 49

provide quantitative data. | where the researcher uses various systems to organise the recording of observations.

Question 50

random sample

Answer 50

every member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected

Question 51

systematic sample

Answer 51

every nth person is chosen from a list

Question 52

stratified sample

Answer 52

proportions of people in population sub groups (strata) are reflected in sample

Question 53

opportunity sample

Answer 53

whoever's available at time of sample's included

Question 54

volunteer sample

Answer 54

participants self-select