RESEARCH METHODS (definitions) - Year 1 Flashcards
aim
a statement of what the researcher(s) intend to find out in a research study
debriefing
a post-interview technique - informing participants of the true nature of the study
ethical issues
concern questions of right and wrong within a study
extraneous variables
a variable that does not vary systematically with the IV and therefore does not act as an alternative IV but may have an effect on the DV (e.g. setting, illnesses)
hypothesis
an operationalised statement about the assumed relationship between variables (in an experiment)
independent variable
something directly manipulated by an experimenter in order to test its affects on another variable (DV)
dependent variable
the measured variable
informed consent
participants must be given information concerning the nature and purpose of the research and their role - so that they can make an informed decision about whether to participate
operationalise
making sure that variables are in a form that can be easily tested (e.g. ‘educational attainment’ needs to be specified, it might be operationalised as ‘GCSE grade in maths’)
standard procedures
a set of procedures that are the same for all participants in order to be able to repeat the study, including standardised instructions
confounding variable
a variable that is not the IV but DOES vary systematically with the IV. changes in the DV may be due to confounding variable rather than IV, rendering the result meaningless
control
refers to a variable that is held constant or regulated by the researcher (e.g. control group)
external validity
the degree to which a research finding can be generalised: to other settings (ecological, population, historical validity)
ecological validity
the extent to which a finding can be generalised to other settings
population validitiy
the degree to which a finding can be generalised to other groups of people
historical validity
the extent to which findings can be generalised over time
internal validity
if a result was due to the experimental manipulation rather than other factors (such as confounding/ extraneous variables)
mundane realism
how a study mirrors the real world - the research environment is realistic compared to the real world
validity
whether an observed effect (findings) is an accurate/ genuine one
confederate
an individual in a study who is not a real participant and has been instructed how to behave by the investigator
directional hypothesis
states the direction of the predicted difference in the hypothesis (e.g. girls watch 10 hours more week than boys)
non-directional hypothesis
a hypothesis that simply predicts there will be a difference between the two conditions/groups studied (e.g. girls and boys will watch a different amount of tv per week)
pilot study
a trial run of a study (small-scale) to test any aspects of the design, with a view to making improvements
counterbalancing
an experimental technique used to overcome order effects when using a repeated measures design - ensures each condition is tested first/second in equal amounts
experimental design
a set of procedures used to control the influence of factors (such as participant variables) in an experiment
independent groups design
ppts allocated to 2+ groups representing different levels of the IV
matched pairs design
pairs of ppts are matched in terms of key variables such as age or IQ. one member of the pair is allocated to one of the conditions and the second is allocated to the other
order effect
an extraneous variable arising from the order in which conditions are presented in a repeated measures design (e.g. a fatigue effect)
random allocation
allocating ppts to experimental groups/conditions using random techniques (e.g. random number generator)
repeated measures design
each ppt takes part in every condition under test (each level of IV)
field experiment
experiment conducted outside a laboratory (ppts usually unaware) - the IV is still manipulated by experimenter
laboratory experiment
experiment carried out in a controlled setting (e.g. a laboratory)
natural experiment
the experimenter has not manipulated the IV directly - but measures the DV
quasi experiment
studies that are ‘almost’ experiments - the IV is a condition that already exists, experimenter records effect on a DV (e.g. how people age)
demand characteristics
a cue that makes ppts unconsciously aware of the aims of a study or helps ppt work out what the researcher expects to find
investigator effects
aspects of an investigator that encourages/ discourages behaviours from ppts (e.g. attractiveness or views)
single blind design
ppts are not aware of research aims and/or which condition of experiment they are recieving
double blind design
both ppt and person conducting experiment are ‘blind’ to the aims and/or hypotheses
bias
a systematic distortion
generalisation
applying the findings of a study to the population (and if it can be)
opportunity sample
a sample of ppts gained by selecting people who are most easily accessible at time of study (e.g. whilst coming out of a library)
random sample
a sample of ppts chosen by using a random technique so that there’s an equal chance of each being selected (e.g. random number generator)
sampling
the method used to select ppts (such as random, opportunity or volunteer)
systematic sample
a sample obtained by selecting every ‘n’th person (where ‘n’ is a number)
volunteer bias
a form of sampling bias because volunteer ppts have special characteristics (like being more motivated for example)
volunteer sample
a sample of ppts relying solely on volunteers
confidentiality
the communication of personal information from one person to another (keeping ppts information protected)
deception
a ppt is not told the true aims of a study (and thus cannot give truly informed consent)
privacy
a person’s right to control the information about themselves
protection from harm
during a research study, ppts should not experience negative physical or psychological affects - down to the researcher to prevent these
right to withdraw
ppts can stop participating in a study if they are uncomfortable in any way - especially important in cases where they cannot give fully informed consent
cost-benefit analysis
a systematic approach to estimating the negatives and positives of research
ethical guidelines (code of conduct)
a set of principles designed to help professionals behave honestly and with integrity
ethics committee
a group of people within a research institution that must approve a study before it begins
presumptive consent
a method of dealing with lack of informed consent or deception, by asking a group if people who are similar to the ppts if they would agree to take part in the study (e.g. asking a parent if their infant can take part)
controlled observation
form of investigation where behaviour is observed but under conditions where certain variables have been organised by the researcher
covert observations
observing people without their knowledge
inter-observer reliability
the extent to which there is agreement between two or more observers involved in observations of behaviour
naturalistic observation
an observation carried out in an everyday setting (investigator does not interfere, only observes)
non-participant observation
the observer is seperate from the people being observed
observer bias
observers’ expectations affect what they see or hear - reducing validity of study
overt observation
observational studies where ppts are aware their behavior is being studied
participant observation
observations made by someone who is also participating in the activity being observed, which may affect their objectivity
behavioural categories
dividing a target behaviour (e.g. stress/ aggression) into a subset of specific behaviours
event sampling
a count is kept of the number of times a certain behaviour (event) happens - observational technique
structured observation
researcher uses various systems to organise observations (e.g. behavioural categories, sampling procedures)
time sampling
observer records behaviours in a given time frame (e.g. how often an individual picks up a pen in a 3 minute time frame)
interviewer bias
the effect of an interviewer’s expectations, communicated unconsciously, on a ppt’s behaviour
social desirability bias
ppts answering questions in a way that makes themselves look better
structured interview
questions are set beforehand
unstructured interview
interview only has general aims (maybe some questions) and lets interviewee’s answers guide questions
quantitative data
numerical data
qualitative data
non-numerical data
co-variable
the two measured variables in a correlational analysis, variables must be continuous (e.g. age and height - as children age they get taller)
continuous variable
variable that can take on any value within a range (e.g. liking football on a scale of 1-10 rather than which team they support)
correlation
the association between two variables
zero correlation
two correlations are not linked at all
positive correlation
two variables increase together
negative correlation
as one co-variable increases, the other decreases
correlation coefficient
a number between -1 and +1 referring to a correlation on a graph
(how related the findings are, e.g. +1 the line would be perfectly straight and -1 the findings are completely scattered)
curvilinear correlation
a non-linear relationship between co-variables
intervening variable
a variable that comes between two variables, which is used to explain the association between the two variables (e.g. more ice cream sales due to heat of day)
linear correlation
correlation defined by a straight line
content analysis
observational study which analyses qualitative data - behaviour goes straight into written or visual (etc) form (e.g. tv shows, diaries)
effect size
the strength of the relationship between two variables (in measured form)
meta-analysis
a statistic that represents a great number of findings of studies related to a topic
histogram
similar chart to bar graph but the size of the bars must be proportional to frequencies represented - and no gaps between<img></img>
negative skewed distribution
most scores are bunched to the right of a graph
normal distribution
symmetrical ‘bell-shaped’ distribution on a graph - scores are clustered at the mid point
positive skewed distribution
most scores are bunched to the left of the graph
primary data
information observed/ collected from direct, first-hand experience
secondary data
information used in a research study that was collected by someone else/ for another purpose
one-tailed test
form of test used with a directional hypothesis (sign test)
two-tailed test
form of test used with non-directional hypothesis (sign test)
probability (p)
a numerical measure of the likelihood or chance that certain events will occur (sign test)
sign test
a statistical test to determine the significance of a sample of related items of data (a study)
