Research Methods (AS) PAPER 1 Flashcards
Explain the difference between the aims of a study and a hypothesis
Aims is what the researcher intends on finding out whilst hypothesis is a testable statement about the relationship between the variables
Explain what is meant by operationalisation
ensuring the variables are in a clear form that can easily be tested.
Explain why standardisation is important in research procedures
it makes sure that each participant did the exact same thing in each condition
What does IV and DV do
IV - changes (manipulated)
DV - measured
Briefly explain why it is important to control extraneous variable in a study
they might be important enough to give alternative explanations for the effects of the study
Differentiate between extraneous and confounding variables
extraneous is any type of variable that you are not investigating that can impact the DV but confounding variables is a type of extraneous variable and can impact both IV and DV
Explain what a pilot study is and how improvements can be made
A small scale trial run of the study to test any aspects of the design, with a veiw to making improvements. improvements can be made by finding out if people respond to directions from someone based on there outfit, change IV
distinguish between non directional and directional hypothesis and why a researcher would rather choose non directional
non directional states that there is a difference between the two groups but does not state the direction of the difference
directional states the difference and direction of difference between the two groups
researcher would prefer non directional if they are researching a new area that hasnt been studied yet
Explain repeated measures design, a limitation of it and how to deal with the limitation
repeated measures design is when all participants recieve all levels of the IV (ppts do a memory test with the TV on then a week later do a similar test with the TV off)
limitation - order effect
- ppts might get bored of same study and do worse
- ppts have practice and are less nervous so might do better
how to deal - counterbalancing
- divide ppts into 2 groups
- take part in each condition twice
Explain independent groups design, a limitation of it and how to deal with the limitation
independent groups design is when ppts are placed in separate groups, and each group does one level of the IV (group A does the task with the TV on and group B does the task with no TV)
limitation - participant variables
- one group might have better memory recall
how to deal - randomly allocate
- names in hat
Explain matched pairs design, a limitation of it and how to deal with the limitation
matched pair design is when you match participants on key characteristics to affect the performance of there DV. one member goes to group A and the other member goes to group B
limitation - time consuming
how to deal - conduct a pilot study to identify key variables that might be important when matching
identify two differences between lab and feild experiments
1) lab is carried out in a controlled setting e.g a lab whilst feild is carried out outside a lab
2) lab has low ecological validty whilst feild has high ecological validity
explain one similarity between lab and feild experiments
they both manipulate the IV to measure the effect on the DV
Briefly explain what is meant by quasi and natural experiements
quasi - IV is naturally manipulating
natural - IV is not manipulated
Explain what is meant by demand characteristics
a cue that helps participant work out what the research expects to find
Explain what is meant by investigator effects
anything that the investigator does that has an effect on the participants performance
How might a researcher deal with the effects of demand characteristics
deception, hide the purpose of the study from the participant
Explain the difference between a population and a sample
population - group of people the researcher is intrested in
sample - a group of already selected ppts
explain a limitation in opportunity sampling
opportunity smaple is recruiting the first person you see, you cant get a variety of people as it is drawn from a small part of the population
explain what is meant by generalisation
applying the findings of a particular study to the population
give one limitation of using volunteer sampling
volunteer bias, they might be highly motivated to be helpful with time on there hands, or if they need the money
explain one way psychologists have dealt with ethical issues
deception - participants should be fully debriefed after the study, informing them of the tru nature of the study
One difference between naturalistic and controlled observation
naturalistic - observation carried out in a natural setting
controlled - observed under organisation of researcher
Explain the difference between event and time sampling
event - records of the amount of times a behaviour is repeated.
time - observer records behaviour in a given time frame
Explain one difference between a structured and unstructured interview
structured - questions are already decided in advance
unstructured - interviwers can ask follow up qs
Explain one difference between a questionnaire and an interveiw
questionnaire - data collected through written questions
interveiw - data collected face to face interactions
Difference between closed and opened questions
closed - possible answers is fixed e.g yes/no
open - provide written response
Identify and briefly explain 2 factors that are important in questionnaire construction
sequence of the questions - start of easy and end with the harder qs
pilot study - questions can be tested on a small group and can be refined later
Identify and briefly explain 2 factors that are important in the design of interveiws
non verbal communications - nodding and leaning forward
listening skills - not interrupt to often and have encouraging phrases
explain what is meant by zero and negative correlation
zero correlations - variables are not linked
negative correlations - one co variable increases the other one decreses
Identify one measure of central tendancy and explain how to calculate it for a set of data
mean - add up all the data values and divide it by the number of data items
Identify one measure of dispersion and explain how to calculate it for a set of data
Range -the distance between top and bottom plus 1
Explain why it may be better to know the standard deviation of a data set rather than the range
more accurate at presenting dispersion
Explain quantitive and qualitative data
quentitative is numerical and closed ended questions whilst qualitative is open ended questions
distinguish between primary and secondary data
primary data is data you collect yourself
secondary data is data collected by someone else
explain when a sign test should be used
test of difference, looking at related design (matched pairs/repeated measures) and nominal data
outline one example of how psychological research has been used to benefit the economy
Atachment - the importance of emotional care during childhood to promote healthy adult population
Explain the difference between overt and covert observations
overt is when ppts know there behviour is being studied whilst covert is observing someone without there knowledge
explain one limitation of meta analysis
research designs in different studies may vary, studies are not truly compatible.
discuss features of science
(People That Hate Fucking Really Old Earlobes)
- PARADIGM - Kuhn, shared set of assumptions and methods within a scientific discipline
- PARADIGM SHIFT-Kuhn, scientific revolution where you question the accepted paradigm
THEORY CONSTRUCTION - gathering an explanation and evidence for the causes of behaviour
- HYPOTHESIS TESTING - producing statements to be tested
- FALSIFIABILITY - Popper, theory cannot be considered scientific unless it has possiblity of being proved untrue - EXAMPLE freuds psychodynamic theory of unconcious cannot be tested, lacks falsifiability, may not be considered scientific
- REPLICABILITY - scientific findings can be replicated by other researchers
- OBJECTIVITY - researchers must not let personal opinion bias data or ppts - most objective is lab experiments
- EMPIRICAL METHOD - objectivity is the basis of empirical method, gathering evidence through direct observations
