Research Methods And Techniques Flashcards
Lab experiment
An experiment which is carried out in controlled settings
IV is manipulated to see effect on DV
EV’s are controlled for - matched pairs design eg
Ppts are randomly allocated to conditions
Ppts experience something for the purpose of the study
Field experiment
Carried out in natural environment
Realistic - more ecological validity
EV’s can’t be controlled for
Quasi experiment
Where the IV occurs naturally or is already established but can’t be manipulated (gender)
Observation
Observing behaviour and then recording it
Structured observation
Where a researchers makes a structure on the observation to meet its aim
Unstructured observation
Researchers records everything that happens
Naturalistic observation
Carried out in the real world
Controlled observation
Controls al factors which might affect behaviour
Participant observation
Where the observers are part of, or are pretending to be part of the group they are observing
Non participant observation
Where the observer isn’t a member of the group being studied
Overt observation
When participants know they are being observed
Covert observation
Ppts don’t know they are being observed
Self-report
Where ppts provide data about themselves
Interview
Ppts are asked questions face to face and their responses are recorded
Structured interview
Where the same set of questions is asked to each ppt in the same order
Semi structured interview
Interviewer has a list of questions but ppts can ask for clarification of particular answers or responses
Unstructed interview
When the researcher asks random questions
Questionnaire
Sets of questions answered by ppts
Structured questionnaire
Contains closed questions
Semi structured questionnaire
Contains open and closed questions
Unstructured questionnaire
Contains open questions
Correlational studies
Researcher tests to see if two variables are related
Positive correlation
As one variable increases, the other one does too
Negative correlation
As one variable increases, the other one decreases
No correlation
No relationship between the variables
Correlation coefficient
The strength of a correlation
IV
aspect of experiment which is manipulated to see effect on behaviour
DV
The measure of behaviour in an experiment
Design
The procedure used to control the influence of participant variables in an experiment
Extraneous variables
An undesirable variable which might affect the relationship between the IV and the DV
Conditions
The situation under which an experiment is undertaken
Controls
Aspects of the research which are kept the same for each condition
Standardised procedure
A procedure which has controls to ensure each ppt experiences the same thing
Ecological validity
Where the research is true to life
Demand characteristics
Cues to the research aim
Internal validity
When researcher is measuring what it intended to measure
Confounding variables
Extraneous variables that haven’t been controlled for
Social desirability bias
Ppts try and look good in front of the researcher
Leading questions
Questions which lead ppts to answer in a certain way
Qualitative data
Data in the form of words
Quantitative data
Data in the form of numbers
Open questions
Allows respondents to respond how they like
Closed questions
Gives the respondent a fixed range of responses to choose fro,
Experiment
Tests taken in controlled conditions in order to investigate the effect of the IV on the DV
Strengths of a laboratory experiment
High internal validity as EV’s are controlled for
Standardised instructions so everyone is treated the same - can be repeated to check for reliability
Weaknesses of a laboratory experiment
Low ecological validity as in artificial setting
Demand characteristics are likely so ppts might act differently
Strengths of a field experiment
High ecological validity
Less demand characteristics as ppts don’t know they are in a study
Behaviour is likely to be true
Weaknesses of a field experiment
Low internal validity as more likely to be EVs
Lack of informed consent
Lack of control so hard to say if it was the IV actually influencing behaviour
Strengths of a quasi experiment
They can be used to study real world issues
Behaviour is accurate as ppts are in their artificial setting
Weaknesses of a quasi experiment
EV’s are hard to control for
Hard to repeat
No control over participant variables
Similarities between lab and field experiment
Establish a cause and effect relationship
Useful in psychological research
IV is manipulated to see effect on DV
Differences between lab and field experiment
High/low ecological validity
carried out in real world/controlled settings
High internal validity/low internal validity
Control over EV’s/no control over EV’s
Similarities between field and quasi experiment
High ecological validity
EV’s are hard to control for
Hard to repeat
Differences between field and quasi
IV is manipulated/IV isn’t manipulated
Field isn’t very controlled
Differences between lab and quasi
Lab IV is manipulated Low EV EV's are controlled for Can be repeated Quasi Can't be repeated IV already exists
Advantage of naturalistic observation
Can see normal realistic behaviour
Disadvantage of naturalistic observation
Lack of control means other things may be influencing behaviour
Disadvantage of a controlled observation
Situation is artificial/fake so behaviour might be affected
Advantage of controlled observation
Very controlled so less chance of EV’s
Advantage of participant observation
Good point of view for your observations
Good insight into the experience yourself
Disadvantage of participant observation
Presence may change ppts behaviour
Researcher could become too involved with the group so might be bias
Advantage of non participant observation
Researcher wouldn’t be bias
Disadvantage of non-participant observation
Wouldn’t have the same level of insight as you would if you were involved
Advantage of unstructured observation
Get a lot of data as researcher records everything
Disadvantage of unstructured observation
Difficult to summarise and make comparisons
Too much going on so observation isn’t successful
Advantage of structured observation
Comparisons can be made across each observation and trends can be seen
Disadvantage of structured observation
Once you start writing down observations, you might miss something
Advantage of covert observation
See natural behaviour so data is valid
Disadvantage of covert observation
Ethical issues arise as researcher doesn’t have consent
Advantage of overt
Participants have given consent so it is ethical
Disadvantage of overt
Ppts might respond to demand characteristics or social desirability bias
Advantage of questionnaires
Enable a big amount of data to be gathered from a large sample very quickly
Disadvantage of questionnaires
Questions may be misunderstood so researchers need to spend time wording questions
Advantage of structured interview
Easy to gather quantitative data so results can be compared
Disadvantage of structured interview
Ppts can’t explain their answers fully
Lack of EV as not a natural activity
Advantage of unstructed interview
Has EV as it is more like a conversation
Disadvantage of unstructured interview
Data is hard to summarise as so much is discussed so hard to analyse
Advantage of semi structured interview
Both types of data is collected
Ppts may feel like it is more trustworthy
Advantages of Correlational investigations
Allows researchers to measure a relationship between variables which can’t be measured using an experiment
Useful when testing for reliability as can be repeated
Quick and easy
Disadvantages of Correlational investigations
Correlation doesn’t mean cause, just cos 2 variables are correlated doesn’t mean that one of them caused the other to change - doesn’t show cause an effect
Case studies
Research which focuses on one individual or a small group of people
Advantages of case studies
Useful for gaining In depth eyesight into unusual behaviour
Disadvantages of case studies
Can’t be generalised to the wider population
