RESEARCH METHODS ( ALL ) Flashcards

1
Q

what are research methods?

A

research methods look at the.. different type of research
the basics of experimental designs
relationships between variables

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2
Q

what are ethical issues?

A

ethical issues arise when a conflict exists between the rights of a participant in the research and the goals of the research

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3
Q

define and name the problem..
INFORMED CONSENT

A

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

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4
Q

3 ways to solve informed consent

A
  • consent letter with only the relevant info
  • parental signature required for children under 16
  • presumptive consent ( gain from similar and assume )
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5
Q

define and name the problem..
DECEPTION

A

deliberately misleading/ withholding info.
problem: if we dont deceive the pps they will know the aim of the study

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6
Q

one way to solve DECEPTION

A

at the end of the study, pps should be made aware of the true aims
reassured behaviour was normal
offered counselling

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7
Q

define and name the problem..
CONFIDENTIALITY

A

personal data should be protected
problem: could be sued if not

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8
Q

how do i assure confidentiality in a study?

A

do not record personal data
remind pps during debrief their data is protected

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9
Q

define right to withdraw

A

pps should be given the right to withdraw at any point in the study with 0 consequences

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10
Q

define protection from harm

A

should be protected from physical and psychological harm eg: embarrassment

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11
Q

define ‘the experimental method’

A

manipulating 1 variable to determine if this causes change in another

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12
Q

define research aims

A

general statements about what the researcher intends to investigate ( purpose of study )

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13
Q

whats ‘the independent variable’

A

the IV is what is being changed/ manipulated in the study

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14
Q

whats the dependant variable

A

the dependant variable is the thing being measured within the study

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15
Q

whats operationalising ?

A

being specific and clear about what is being manipulated or measured. it must be testable and repeatable

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16
Q

whats a hypotheses

A

a hypotheses is a statement of what you believe in. Its a precise and testable statement of the relationship of two variables

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17
Q

whats a directional hypotheses

A

a hypotheses that states the direction of a predicted difference between 2 conditions

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18
Q

whats a non directional hypotheses

A

states there will be a difference between the two, but no direction

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19
Q

whats a non directional hypotheses

A

states there will be a difference between the two, but no direction

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20
Q

null hypotheses

A

there will be no significant difference between two conditions

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21
Q

whats an extraneous variable

A

an extraneous variable affects the DV only, its an unwanted factor that could negatively affect data factors such as: age.

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22
Q

whats a confounding variable

A

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

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23
Q

what are pps variables

A

variables linked to people used in the study eg: gender, age

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24
Q

what are situational variables

A

variables linked to the environment of the study eg: noise, time, distractions

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25
Q

define pps reactivity

A

behaviour of pps is affected by awareness they’re part of a study

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26
Q

define social desirability bias

A

pps change behaviour to fit in with social norms

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27
Q

what are demand characteristics

A

a cue in the experiment that may allow pps to guess the aim of the study and cause them to change behaviour

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28
Q

define investigator effects

A

any effect of the investigator behaviours that affects outcome eg: tone of voice

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29
Q

how can we control demand characteristics

A
  1. deception- withhold info
  2. single blind procedure, pps unaware of which condition they are in or the research aims
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30
Q

how can we control investigator effects

A

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

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31
Q

how do we control situational variables

A

standardisation
- use the same, formalised procedures instructions for all pps

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32
Q

what are experimental designs

A

different ways pps can be organised in relation to the experimental conditions

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33
Q

what are the 3 types of experimental designs

A

independent groups
repeated measures
matched pairs

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34
Q

whats independent groups

A

where different pps are used in each condition of the independent variable.
the performance of the 2 would then be compared

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35
Q

2 strengths of independent groups

A
  • avoids order effects as pps are only in 1 condition
  • pps less likely to guess the aim and show demand characteristics
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36
Q

2 weaknesses of independant groups

A
  • time consuming as we need more people
  • individual differences may affect results
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37
Q

define repeated measures

A

all pps take part in all conditions

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38
Q

2 strengths of repeated measures

A
  • pps variables are reduced as the same pps are used in each condition
  • fewer people needed
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39
Q

weakness of repeated measures

A

may be order effects eg: may perform better in the 2nd condition due to practise

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40
Q

define matched pairs

A

pairs of pos are matched based on extraneous variables eg: age and then one is assigned to condition one and the other condition 2

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41
Q

2 strengths of matched pairs

A
  • reduces pps variables as they have been based on characteristics
  • avoids order effects as each pp is in only 1 condition
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42
Q

2 weakness’ of marched pairs

A
  • time consuming to match
  • pps can never be matched exactly
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43
Q

what are the 4 types of experiments

A

lab, field, natural, quasi

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44
Q

define lab experiments

A

conducted under controlled conditions
researcher changes IV to see effect on DV

45
Q

define field experiments

A

carried out in a natural setting
researcher manipulates IV to see effect on DV

46
Q

define natural experiments

A

the change in IV would have happened if the researcher wasnt there eg: heart attack number after smoking ban

47
Q

define quasi experiments

A

IV simply exists

48
Q

2 strengths of lab experiments

A

high level of control, inc validity
easy to replicate and check results

49
Q

limitation of lab experiment

A

lacks ecological validity due to control of researcher, findings cant be generalised

50
Q

strength of field experiments

A

good internal and external validity

51
Q

limitation of field experiment

A

less control, therefore extraneous variables can affect data, lowering internal validity

52
Q

strength of natural experiments

A

provides opportunity to research things that may not be ethical if they hadn’t occurred naturally

53
Q

2 limitations of natural experiments

A

may happen rarely, reducing research opportunities
may not be able to randomly allocate pps to conditions

54
Q

strength of quasi

A

controlled conditions, high external validity

55
Q

weakness of quasi

A

cannot allocate to conditions, may be confounding variables

56
Q

define a population

A

a group of people who are the focus of the researchers interest, from which a smaller sample is drawn

57
Q

whats a sample

A

a sample is the people who take part in study. they’re drawn from target population and presumed to be representative of that population

58
Q

random sample

A

everyone has equal chance

59
Q

strength, 2 limitations of random sampling

A
  • potentially unbiased, validity
  • time consumimg
  • may be biased sample
60
Q

systematic sampling

A

using a system to select eg: every 4th

61
Q

one strength, 2 weakness of systematic sampling

A

objective, researcher little influence
- time consuming
- may end up biased eg: every 4th was male

62
Q

stratified sampling

A

sample reflects proportions of people in subgroups

63
Q

one strength, 2 weakness of stratified

A

representative sample
- time consuming
- subgroups cant reflect how all people are different, therefore complete representation isnt possible

64
Q

opportunity sample

A

uses pps who are willing and available

65
Q

1 strength , 1 weakness of stratified

A

easy and inexpensive
may be biased ( similarities of interest? )

66
Q

volunteer sample

A

pps who have volunteered to be in study

67
Q

strength and weakness of volunteer

A

large samples reached
similiar characteristics

68
Q

what are self report techniques

A

methods of gathering data where pps provide into about themselves without interference

69
Q

difference between qualitative and quantative data

A

qualitative is detailed and focusses on opinions
quantitative is usually numerical

70
Q

open and closed questions

A

open is usually detailed, closed focusses on one answer questions

71
Q

5 things to include in good questionnaire questions

A
  • filler questions
  • open and closed
  • no double negatives
  • no leading questions
  • easy to hard
72
Q

4 strengths of questionnaires

A
  • quick and cheap
  • comfortable to reveal info
  • reduces experimenter bias
  • no special training
73
Q

3 weakness of questionnaires

A
  • biased to those willing
  • timely
  • cant ask questions
74
Q

difference between structured and unstructured questions

A

structured has pre determined questions and cant deviate from script, unstructured have new questions and may be based on last answer

75
Q

2 strengths, 2 weakness of structured interviews

A

easily repeated
easy to analyse questions
- interviewer bias
- comparability difficult if interviewer behaves differently

76
Q

strength, 2 weakness of unstructured

A

more detail obtained
- interviewer with skill needed
- expensive

77
Q

why do psychologists observe

A
  • to study natural behaviour
  • to study behaviours that are unethical
78
Q

name the 3 types of observation

A

controlled v naturalistic
overt v covert
pps v non

79
Q

difference between overt and covert

A

covert is where pps dont know they are being observed
over is where the pps knows and have given consent

80
Q

difference between time sampling and event sampling

A

event sampling is where the number of times the behaviour is carried out is recorded
time sampling is a pre determined time frame

81
Q

whats a correlation

A

measures extent of which two variables are related

82
Q

difference between a positive and negative correlation

A

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

83
Q

2 strengths of correlations

A

determines if theres a relationship
may suggest ideas for future research if correlation is strong

84
Q

2 weakness’ of correlations

A

only tell us variables are related, not why
dont demonstrate cause and effect ( which variable causes other )

85
Q

3 differences between correlations and experiments

A

experiments..
- asses effect of IV on DV, correlations dont use seperate conditions
- experiments look for difference
- bar chart vs scatter graph

86
Q

whats a meta analysis

A

large scale review where a researcher takes the data from lots of individual studies and analyses to get an overall picture

87
Q

what are the measures of cendral tendancy

A

averages which give info on the most typical values eg: mean, mode, median

88
Q

when do we use the mean?

A

when there are all data values
we dont use them when theyre extreme values

89
Q

what are measures of dispersion

A

based on spread of the scores eg: range, standard deviation

90
Q

whats standard deviation

A

measure which shows to what extend the values deviate from the mean

91
Q

whats a pilot study

A

a small- scale version of an investigation which takes place before the real one

92
Q

3 aims of pilot studies

A

no biased results
properly operationalised
behaviour categories are being properly observed

93
Q

strength of pilot study

A

pilot studies can be used to identify misleading questions and reduce bias, therefore, the internal validity increases and the reliability

94
Q

weakness of pilot study

A

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

95
Q

whats a peer review

A

all aspects of investigation are checked by experts ‘peers’ in the field

96
Q

3 reasons to peer review

A

allocate funding
amend research
validate quality and relevance

97
Q

3 negatives if we didnt peer review

A
  • damage integrity of the field
  • lead to misinformation
  • poor quality may be disseminated
98
Q

what happened with the MMR vaccine study, relating to peer review

A
  • 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
99
Q

2 strengths of peer review

A

protects quality
preserves reputation

100
Q

2 weakness of peer review

A

publication bias
anonymity of review may be used to criticise rival researchers

101
Q

2 examples of implications of psychological research on economy

A
  • 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
102
Q

define reliability

A

how consistently a method measures something
- repeat and obtain
- linked to replication

103
Q

define internal reliability

A

within study consistency, how consistently different items with 1 test measure same concept

104
Q

external reliability

A

similiar results over time/ situations in different conditions

105
Q

inter reliability

A

reliability within the study, is the result consistent

106
Q

external reliability

A

focusses in if the result is still consistent over different time periods and situations

107
Q

split half

A

split test in half, not only in half but eg: systematic
give pps both half
0.8 to be accurate

108
Q

test retest

A

test is completed over 2 time periods
0.8

109
Q

inter rater test

A

2 psychologists analyse same situation and compare results