Research methods and key terms test Flashcards
Target population
the group you want to study
sampling
selecting a representative group from the population under study
sample
group of people who take part in the investigation
generalisability
how much we can apply the findings of the research to the target population we are interested in.
non directional hypotheses (two tailed)
there is a difference but we don’t say which way.
directional hypothesis (one tailed)
states the direction in which the results are to go.
random sampling
members of a population have an equal chance of being selected
systematic sampling
participants are selected by taking every nth person from a list
stratified sampling
a Mini reproduction of the population using ratios and randomly selected from strata’s
opportunity sampling
anyone who happens to fulfil criteria of sample at a random time and place
self selected sampling
volunteers
operationalisation
making variables physically measurable/testable
null hypothesis
there is ‘no difference’. The hypothesis states that the IV has no effect on the DV.
situational variables
these extraneous variables are related to the testing situation. e.g. noise, lighting, temp in the environment. They tend to affect the participants.
participant variables
these extraneous variables are related to individual characteristics of each participant that may impact how they respond. e.g. background differences, prior knowledge, health status, mood, anxiety, intelligence etc.
randomization- allocation
using chance to decide the order in which participants experience the experimental or control condition when a repeated measures design is used. (happens after sampling)
order effects
weakness of the repeated measures design. Refers to how the positioning of tasks influences outcome. e.g. practice, fatigue, boredom effect on second task. Balanced across conditions through counterbalancing.
how do you do counterbalancing?
used with repeated measure design and split participants into 2 groups. group 1 completes IV A then IV B. group 2 complete IV B then IV A.
why do you do counterbalancing?
to balance/distribute the order effects across both conditions
how do you match participants in a matched pairs design?
pick an important variable, pre-test participants, rank them. pair top two participants and the ones with 3rd and 4th highest score. then allocate one participant from each pair to each IV group.
why do you do a matched pairs design?
it reduces individual differences/extraneous variables in the form of participant variables
objective
no bias is possible
subjective
bias is possible
validity
how true the results are
ecological validity
degree to which an investigation represents real-life experiences
experimenter effect
ways that the experimenter can accidentally influence the participant through their appearance, mannerisms, or behaviour.
demand chracteristics
subtle cue that makes participants aware of what the experimenter expects to find or how participants are expected to behave. They can change the outcome of an experiment because participants will often alter their behaviour to conform to expectations.
control groups
group which does not receive the manipulation of the independent variable and can be used for comparison with the experimental groups
reliability
consistency over time/between people
single blind technique
way of reducing demand characteristics whereby participants are not aware of the aims of the experiment.
double blind technique
both the participant and the researcher carrying out the experiment are unaware of the aim of the experiment. Reduces investigator or experimenter bias.
standardisation
means of ensuring that all participants in an investigation have the same experience.
pilot studies
small scale version of an investigation that takes place before the real investigation is conducted.
aim of pilot studies
aim is to check the procedures, materials, measuring scales etc. allows researchers to make changes and modifications if needed. check if participants can guess the aim. allows changes to be made before money and time is spent on the study
verbatim
word for word
two criteria which made an experiment true
IV is manipulated with all other variables being kept constant so you can ensure the effect that this has on the DV.
it is possible to randomly allocate participants to conditions.
laboratory experiment
carried out under controlled conditions. artificial environment with tight control over variables.
field experiment
carried out in a natural environment (for the participants) with the independent variable manipulated by researchers. e.g. in a school or hospital.
quasi experiment
membership determined by conditions beyond the control of the experimenter (subjects already in box). focused around participants characteristics. for example, if the performance of males and females is being compared, participants can’t be randomly allocated to conditions.
natural experiment
where the independent variable is naturally occurring.
ethics
set of guidelines which psychologists carrying out research should follow
primary data
first hand data (collected by the researcher to study their aim)
secondary data
data had been collected by someone else for their aim. second hand data. researcher may use it afterwards. data may have been published in some form. e.g. government and public sector reports, websites and books.
meta-analysis
combines the results from multiple studies to increase power ( over individual studies), improve estimates of the size of the effect and to resolve uncertainty when reports disagree.
matched pairs design
where pairs of participants are matched on important characteristics and one member allocated to each condition of the IV.
independent measures design
where each participant only takes part in one condition of the IV.
Repeated measures design
where each participants take part in all conditions of the IV.
Extraneous variables
variables that mess up the results (distraction)
Confounding Variables
variable that you know is guilty. (what messed up the results)
aim
what you want to achieve
method
experiments, observations, questionnaires
procedure
step by step process
results
the findings- qualitative and quantitative
conclusion
an interpret/ explanation of the data
variable
anything that can change
independent variable
the variable the researcher CHANGES
dependent variable
what is MEASURED
control
what is kept the same. (standardised procedures)
cause and effect
advantage of experiments
hypothesis
states precisely what you expect to show (includes the IV and DV in their operationalised form)
