Research Methods (AS) PAPER 1

Question 1

Explain the difference between the aims of a study and a hypothesis

Answer 1

Aims is what the researcher intends on finding out whilst hypothesis is a testable statement about the relationship between the variables

Question 2

Explain what is meant by operationalisation

Answer 2

ensuring the variables are in a clear form that can easily be tested.

Question 3

Explain why standardisation is important in research procedures

Answer 3

it makes sure that each participant did the exact same thing in each condition

Question 4

What does IV and DV do

Answer 4

IV - changes (manipulated)
DV - measured

Question 5

Briefly explain why it is important to control extraneous variable in a study

Answer 5

they might be important enough to give alternative explanations for the effects of the study

Question 6

Differentiate between extraneous and confounding variables

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Explain what a pilot study is and how improvements can be made

Answer 7

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

Question 8

distinguish between non directional and directional hypothesis and why a researcher would rather choose non directional

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Explain repeated measures design, a limitation of it and how to deal with the limitation

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Explain independent groups design, a limitation of it and how to deal with the limitation

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Explain matched pairs design, a limitation of it and how to deal with the limitation

Answer 11

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

Question 12

identify two differences between lab and feild experiments

Answer 12

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

Question 13

explain one similarity between lab and feild experiments

Answer 13

they both manipulate the IV to measure the effect on the DV

Question 14

Briefly explain what is meant by quasi and natural experiements

Answer 14

quasi - IV is naturally manipulating
natural - IV is not manipulated

Question 15

Explain what is meant by demand characteristics

Answer 15

a cue that helps participant work out what the research expects to find

Question 16

Explain what is meant by investigator effects

Answer 16

anything that the investigator does that has an effect on the participants performance

Question 17

How might a researcher deal with the effects of demand characteristics

Answer 17

deception, hide the purpose of the study from the participant

Question 18

Explain the difference between a population and a sample

Answer 18

population - group of people the researcher is intrested in
sample - a group of already selected ppts

Question 19

explain a limitation in opportunity sampling

Answer 19

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

Question 20

explain what is meant by generalisation

Answer 20

applying the findings of a particular study to the population

Question 21

give one limitation of using volunteer sampling

Answer 21

volunteer bias, they might be highly motivated to be helpful with time on there hands, or if they need the money

Question 22

explain one way psychologists have dealt with ethical issues

Answer 22

deception - participants should be fully debriefed after the study, informing them of the tru nature of the study

Question 23

One difference between naturalistic and controlled observation

Answer 23

naturalistic - observation carried out in a natural setting
controlled - observed under organisation of researcher

Question 24

Explain the difference between event and time sampling

Answer 24

event - records of the amount of times a behaviour is repeated.
time - observer records behaviour in a given time frame

Question 25

Explain one difference between a structured and unstructured interview

Answer 25

structured - questions are already decided in advance
unstructured - interviwers can ask follow up qs

Question 26

Explain one difference between a questionnaire and an interveiw

Answer 26

questionnaire - data collected through written questions
interveiw - data collected face to face interactions

Question 27

Difference between closed and opened questions

Answer 27

closed - possible answers is fixed e.g yes/no
open - provide written response

Question 28

Identify and briefly explain 2 factors that are important in questionnaire construction

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Identify and briefly explain 2 factors that are important in the design of interveiws

Answer 29

non verbal communications - nodding and leaning forward
listening skills - not interrupt to often and have encouraging phrases

Question 30

explain what is meant by zero and negative correlation

Answer 30

zero correlations - variables are not linked
negative correlations - one co variable increases the other one decreses

Question 31

Identify one measure of central tendancy and explain how to calculate it for a set of data

Answer 31

mean - add up all the data values and divide it by the number of data items

Question 32

Identify one measure of dispersion and explain how to calculate it for a set of data

Answer 32

Range -the distance between top and bottom plus 1

Question 33

Explain why it may be better to know the standard deviation of a data set rather than the range

Answer 33

more accurate at presenting dispersion

Question 34

Explain quantitive and qualitative data

Answer 34

quentitative is numerical and closed ended questions whilst qualitative is open ended questions

Question 35

distinguish between primary and secondary data

Answer 35

primary data is data you collect yourself
secondary data is data collected by someone else

Question 36

explain when a sign test should be used

Answer 36

test of difference, looking at related design (matched pairs/repeated measures) and nominal data

Question 37

outline one example of how psychological research has been used to benefit the economy

Answer 37

Atachment - the importance of emotional care during childhood to promote healthy adult population

Question 38

Explain the difference between overt and covert observations

Answer 38

overt is when ppts know there behviour is being studied whilst covert is observing someone without there knowledge

Question 39

explain one limitation of meta analysis

Answer 39

research designs in different studies may vary, studies are not truly compatible.

Question 40

discuss features of science

Answer 40

(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