RESEARCH METHODS ( ALL ) Flashcards
what are research methods?
research methods look at the.. different type of research
the basics of experimental designs
relationships between variables
what are ethical issues?
ethical issues arise when a conflict exists between the rights of a participant in the research and the goals of the research
define and name the problem..
INFORMED CONSENT
we need valid consent.
pps should be made aware of aims, procedure and rights.
problem: pps will know aim of study if consent is given
3 ways to solve informed consent
- consent letter with only the relevant info
- parental signature required for children under 16
- presumptive consent ( gain from similar and assume )
define and name the problem..
DECEPTION
deliberately misleading/ withholding info.
problem: if we dont deceive the pps they will know the aim of the study
one way to solve DECEPTION
at the end of the study, pps should be made aware of the true aims
reassured behaviour was normal
offered counselling
define and name the problem..
CONFIDENTIALITY
personal data should be protected
problem: could be sued if not
how do i assure confidentiality in a study?
do not record personal data
remind pps during debrief their data is protected
define right to withdraw
pps should be given the right to withdraw at any point in the study with 0 consequences
define protection from harm
should be protected from physical and psychological harm eg: embarrassment
define ‘the experimental method’
manipulating 1 variable to determine if this causes change in another
define research aims
general statements about what the researcher intends to investigate ( purpose of study )
whats ‘the independent variable’
the IV is what is being changed/ manipulated in the study
whats the dependant variable
the dependant variable is the thing being measured within the study
whats operationalising ?
being specific and clear about what is being manipulated or measured. it must be testable and repeatable
whats a hypotheses
a hypotheses is a statement of what you believe in. Its a precise and testable statement of the relationship of two variables
whats a directional hypotheses
a hypotheses that states the direction of a predicted difference between 2 conditions
whats a non directional hypotheses
states there will be a difference between the two, but no direction
whats a non directional hypotheses
states there will be a difference between the two, but no direction
null hypotheses
there will be no significant difference between two conditions
whats an extraneous variable
an extraneous variable affects the DV only, its an unwanted factor that could negatively affect data factors such as: age.
whats a confounding variable
is a type of extraneous variable which changes the IV, making it hard to tell if the DV is changing due to the IV or the confounding variable
what are pps variables
variables linked to people used in the study eg: gender, age
what are situational variables
variables linked to the environment of the study eg: noise, time, distractions
define pps reactivity
behaviour of pps is affected by awareness they’re part of a study
define social desirability bias
pps change behaviour to fit in with social norms
what are demand characteristics
a cue in the experiment that may allow pps to guess the aim of the study and cause them to change behaviour
define investigator effects
any effect of the investigator behaviours that affects outcome eg: tone of voice
how can we control demand characteristics
- deception- withhold info
- single blind procedure, pps unaware of which condition they are in or the research aims
how can we control investigator effects
inter- rater reliability
independent raters rate same behaviour as researcher
double blind procedure
both pps investigator are unaware of the groups and which variable they are under
randomisation
how do we control situational variables
standardisation
- use the same, formalised procedures instructions for all pps
what are experimental designs
different ways pps can be organised in relation to the experimental conditions
what are the 3 types of experimental designs
independent groups
repeated measures
matched pairs
whats independent groups
where different pps are used in each condition of the independent variable.
the performance of the 2 would then be compared
2 strengths of independent groups
- avoids order effects as pps are only in 1 condition
- pps less likely to guess the aim and show demand characteristics
2 weaknesses of independant groups
- time consuming as we need more people
- individual differences may affect results
define repeated measures
all pps take part in all conditions
2 strengths of repeated measures
- pps variables are reduced as the same pps are used in each condition
- fewer people needed
weakness of repeated measures
may be order effects eg: may perform better in the 2nd condition due to practise
define matched pairs
pairs of pos are matched based on extraneous variables eg: age and then one is assigned to condition one and the other condition 2
2 strengths of matched pairs
- reduces pps variables as they have been based on characteristics
- avoids order effects as each pp is in only 1 condition
2 weakness’ of marched pairs
- time consuming to match
- pps can never be matched exactly
what are the 4 types of experiments
lab, field, natural, quasi
define lab experiments
conducted under controlled conditions
researcher changes IV to see effect on DV
define field experiments
carried out in a natural setting
researcher manipulates IV to see effect on DV
define natural experiments
the change in IV would have happened if the researcher wasnt there eg: heart attack number after smoking ban
define quasi experiments
IV simply exists
2 strengths of lab experiments
high level of control, inc validity
easy to replicate and check results
limitation of lab experiment
lacks ecological validity due to control of researcher, findings cant be generalised
strength of field experiments
good internal and external validity
limitation of field experiment
less control, therefore extraneous variables can affect data, lowering internal validity
strength of natural experiments
provides opportunity to research things that may not be ethical if they hadn’t occurred naturally
2 limitations of natural experiments
may happen rarely, reducing research opportunities
may not be able to randomly allocate pps to conditions
strength of quasi
controlled conditions, high external validity
weakness of quasi
cannot allocate to conditions, may be confounding variables
define a population
a group of people who are the focus of the researchers interest, from which a smaller sample is drawn
whats a sample
a sample is the people who take part in study. they’re drawn from target population and presumed to be representative of that population
random sample
everyone has equal chance
strength, 2 limitations of random sampling
- potentially unbiased, validity
- time consumimg
- may be biased sample
systematic sampling
using a system to select eg: every 4th
one strength, 2 weakness of systematic sampling
objective, researcher little influence
- time consuming
- may end up biased eg: every 4th was male
stratified sampling
sample reflects proportions of people in subgroups
one strength, 2 weakness of stratified
representative sample
- time consuming
- subgroups cant reflect how all people are different, therefore complete representation isnt possible
opportunity sample
uses pps who are willing and available
1 strength , 1 weakness of stratified
easy and inexpensive
may be biased ( similarities of interest? )
volunteer sample
pps who have volunteered to be in study
strength and weakness of volunteer
large samples reached
similiar characteristics
what are self report techniques
methods of gathering data where pps provide into about themselves without interference
difference between qualitative and quantative data
qualitative is detailed and focusses on opinions
quantitative is usually numerical
open and closed questions
open is usually detailed, closed focusses on one answer questions
5 things to include in good questionnaire questions
- filler questions
- open and closed
- no double negatives
- no leading questions
- easy to hard
4 strengths of questionnaires
- quick and cheap
- comfortable to reveal info
- reduces experimenter bias
- no special training
3 weakness of questionnaires
- biased to those willing
- timely
- cant ask questions
difference between structured and unstructured questions
structured has pre determined questions and cant deviate from script, unstructured have new questions and may be based on last answer
2 strengths, 2 weakness of structured interviews
easily repeated
easy to analyse questions
- interviewer bias
- comparability difficult if interviewer behaves differently
strength, 2 weakness of unstructured
more detail obtained
- interviewer with skill needed
- expensive
why do psychologists observe
- to study natural behaviour
- to study behaviours that are unethical
name the 3 types of observation
controlled v naturalistic
overt v covert
pps v non
difference between overt and covert
covert is where pps dont know they are being observed
over is where the pps knows and have given consent
difference between time sampling and event sampling
event sampling is where the number of times the behaviour is carried out is recorded
time sampling is a pre determined time frame
whats a correlation
measures extent of which two variables are related
difference between a positive and negative correlation
a positive is a relationship where both variables move in the same direction, a negative is where an increase in one is a decrease in the other
2 strengths of correlations
determines if theres a relationship
may suggest ideas for future research if correlation is strong
2 weakness’ of correlations
only tell us variables are related, not why
dont demonstrate cause and effect ( which variable causes other )
3 differences between correlations and experiments
experiments..
- asses effect of IV on DV, correlations dont use seperate conditions
- experiments look for difference
- bar chart vs scatter graph
whats a meta analysis
large scale review where a researcher takes the data from lots of individual studies and analyses to get an overall picture
what are the measures of cendral tendancy
averages which give info on the most typical values eg: mean, mode, median
when do we use the mean?
when there are all data values
we dont use them when theyre extreme values
what are measures of dispersion
based on spread of the scores eg: range, standard deviation
whats standard deviation
measure which shows to what extend the values deviate from the mean
whats a pilot study
a small- scale version of an investigation which takes place before the real one
3 aims of pilot studies
no biased results
properly operationalised
behaviour categories are being properly observed
strength of pilot study
pilot studies can be used to identify misleading questions and reduce bias, therefore, the internal validity increases and the reliability
weakness of pilot study
just because a pilot study is successful, doesnt guarantee the actual will be
therefore
we cant accept that the pilot study will be a 100% recreation
whats a peer review
all aspects of investigation are checked by experts ‘peers’ in the field
3 reasons to peer review
allocate funding
amend research
validate quality and relevance
3 negatives if we didnt peer review
- damage integrity of the field
- lead to misinformation
- poor quality may be disseminated
what happened with the MMR vaccine study, relating to peer review
- 1998 Andrew Wakefield led a study that suggested vaccine caused autism
- this was published and parents didnt vaccinate their children, leading to death
- a 2014 meta analysis confirmed it was lies
- rumours still persist
2 strengths of peer review
protects quality
preserves reputation
2 weakness of peer review
publication bias
anonymity of review may be used to criticise rival researchers
2 examples of implications of psychological research on economy
- attachment research into role of fathers. modern parents may be better equipped to contribute effectively
- mental disorders cause time off work and lead to a negative effect on the economy
define reliability
how consistently a method measures something
- repeat and obtain
- linked to replication
define internal reliability
within study consistency, how consistently different items with 1 test measure same concept
external reliability
similiar results over time/ situations in different conditions
inter reliability
reliability within the study, is the result consistent
external reliability
focusses in if the result is still consistent over different time periods and situations
split half
split test in half, not only in half but eg: systematic
give pps both half
0.8 to be accurate
test retest
test is completed over 2 time periods
0.8
inter rater test
2 psychologists analyse same situation and compare results
