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Psychology > Research Methods Emily > Flashcards

Research Methods Emily Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a case study?

A

A unique detailed study of one particular individual or group

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2
Q

What does a researcher focus on in a case study?

A

One specific aspect of behaviour, collecting qualitative data

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3
Q

What are 2 examples of case studies on individuals?

A

Genie ‘wild child’ - effects of privation
Phineas Gage - metal rod through head

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4
Q

What are 2 examples of case studies on events?

A

London riots 2011 - mob behaviour
Jonestown - cult leader got 900 followers to commit suicide

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5
Q

How is data gathered in case studies?

A

Family members, social services, educational services, medical records, interviews, observations, questionnaires, experiments

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6
Q

What are 2 strengths of case studies?

A

Detailed data collected - may identify things other studies have overlooked.
Allow research into areas not ethically possible to create

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7
Q

What are 2 weaknesses of case studies?

A

Difficult/nearly impossible to replicate - so not reliable.
Difficult to generalise to wider population because the people/person in the study may be very different

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8
Q

What is a correlation?

A

A statistical technique that can tell us if there is a relationship between 2 continuous variables (co-variables)

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9
Q

What are the 3 differences between experiments and correlations?

A

Experiment - difference between 2 conditions, researcher manipulates IV, cause and effect
Correlation - relationship between 2 co-variables, no manipulation of IV, no cause and effect

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10
Q

What are the 2 pieces of information that can be obtained from a correlation?

A

The direction and the strength of the relationship/correlation

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11
Q

How is the strength of a correlation measured?

A

A value between -1 and 1 called the correlation coefficient
Weaker = close to 0
Stronger = close to 1 or -1
None = 0

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12
Q

What does the direction of a correlation mean?

A

Whether it is positive or negative

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13
Q

What happens in a positive correlation?

A

As x increases, y also increases

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14
Q

What happens in a negative correlation?

A

As x increases, y decreases

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15
Q

What are 2 strengths of correlations?

A

Allows research into unknown areas to see how the variables are related before doing an experiment.
Allows research when an experiment would be unethical

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16
Q

What are 2 weaknesses of correlations?

A

Cannot determine cause and effect - possible third variable.
Only identify linear relationships

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17
Q

What is a questionnaire?

A

A set of written questions designed to collect information from participants on their views and opinions on one or more topics, involving a large sample without the researcher present

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18
Q

What are the 4 important things to consider when constructing a questionnaire?

A

Instructions must be clear and simple.
Questions must be clear and simple.
Questions should be relevant and ethical.
Researchers should conduct a pilot study

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19
Q

What is an open question?

A

A question which allows the participant to answer in their own words and their responses are not restricted - they produce qualitative data

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20
Q

What is a closed question?

A

A question which provides the participant with a choice of responses and they are asked to select the answer which best represents their view/situation - mostly produce quantitative data

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21
Q

What is a strength of open questions?

A

Produce rich detailed data which is more likely to reflects a participant’s true feelings/beliefs

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22
Q

What 3 are weaknesses of open questions?

A

Difficult to analyse answers.
Time consuming.
Not suitable for those unable to express e.g. children, people who can’t write

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23
Q

What are 2 strengths of closed questions?

A

Easy to statistically analyse answers.
Standardised

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24
Q

What are 3 weaknesses of closed questions?

A

May not be accurate.
Lacks detail.
Can’t clarify/explain their answers

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25
Q

What are the 3 kinds of closed questions?

A

Likert scales.
Rating scales.
Fixed choice questions

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26
Q

What are Likert scales?

A

Indicate the extent to which they agree with a statement.
5 points on the scale (sometimes the middle is omitted)

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27
Q

How are other rating scales different from Likert scales?

A

Likert are 5 points, rating scales can have any amount

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28
Q

What are 3 strengths of questionnaires?

A

Large amounts of data collected quickly.
Less investigator bias.
Less time-consuming

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29
Q

What are 2 weaknesses of questionnaires?

A

Social desirability bias.
Biased sample - certain types of people are more likely to complete questionnaires

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30
Q

What is a self-report method?

A

Any method in which a person is asked to state or explain their own feelings/opinions/behaviours/experiences on a given topic

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31
Q

What is an interview?

A

Participants verbally answering a series of questions in real time, either face to face or over the phone

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32
Q

What are 3 weaknesses of interviews in general?

A

Smaller sample.
Social desirability bias.
Training required

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33
Q

What are the 3 types of interviews?

A

Structured, semi-structured, unstructured

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34
Q

What defines a structured interview?

A

Pre-prepared questions in a fixed order (can be open or closed questions)

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35
Q

What are 2 strengths of structured interviews?

A

Standardised - so its easier to replicate, and less interviewer bias.
Less time-consuming (than unstructured interviews) - interviewer needs less training, interviews shorter and quicker to analyse data

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36
Q

What is a weakness of structured interviews?

A

Not possible to ask follow-up questions to unexpected answers - restricts amount of useful data that can be collected

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37
Q

What defines a semi-structured interview?

A

Some pre-set questions which can then be developed (can be open or closed questions, often closed to begin with, then follow up questions are open)

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38
Q

Which interview type is also called a clinical interview?

A

Semi-structured

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39
Q

What are 3 strengths of semi-structured interviews?

A

Flexible.
Large amount of detail can be collected.
Good rapport can be established

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40
Q

What are 2 weaknesses of semi-structured interviews?

A

Time-consuming - require training.
Comparison is difficult

41
Q

What defines an unstructured interview?

A

More flexible ‘conversation type’ format.
No rigid set of questions.
Aims to gather as much information as possible

42
Q

What are 2 strengths of unstructured interviews?

A

Good rapport can be established - so might respond more openly/honestly, so data more accurate/valid.
Can obtain detailed information - could provide new insight for new areas to research

43
Q

What are 2 weaknesses of unstructured interviews?

A

Interpretation of data can be subjective - so data difficult to analyse.
More time-consuming than structured interviews - require more training, data analysis and interview takes longer

44
Q

What are the 6 things to consider in the design of interviews? (and what they should be/mean)

A

Interviews questions - clear, relevant, ethical
Instructions - clear, unambiguous
Interviewer bias - treat all participants the same, standardising reduces it
Appearance of the interviewer - can influence how comfortable participant feels
Recording data - take notes now or later
Pilot study - gather information on any changes that need to be made regarding the 5 other things

45
Q

What is quantitative data?

A

Information that is numerical, can be represented in graphs, tables, and charts

46
Q

What is quantitative data represented by in experiments?

A

The dependant variable

47
Q

How is quantitative data achieved in questionnaires?

A

Closed questions

48
Q

What represents quantitative data in a structured observation?

A

The tally of behaviours

49
Q

What are 3 strengths of quantitative data?

A

Easier to analyse.
Objective.
Can be replicated

50
Q

What is a weakness of quantitative data?

A

Participants may be forced to choose a particular response which can lead to meaningless, inaccurate conclusions

51
Q

What is qualitative data?

A

Detailed information in language form, can then be changed into quantitative

52
Q

How is qualitative data achieved in questionnaires?

A

Open questions

53
Q

What will produce qualitative data in unstructured interviews?

A

The notes

54
Q

What will produce qualitative data in unstructured observations?

A

The detailed written account of behaviours observed

55
Q

What are 3 strengths of qualitative data?

A

Participants not forced to choose a response, so it’s more likely to reflect their true feelings/behaviours, so conclusions are likely to be accurate and meaningful.
Allows for ambiguities.
Rich source of information

56
Q

What are 4 weaknesses of qualitative data?

A

Time-consuming.
Subjective.
Difficult to replicate.
More difficult to analyse

57
Q

What is primary data?

A

Information collected by the researcher directly from the participants for the purposes of the study

58
Q

How is primary data obtained?

A

Questionnaires, observations, interviews, experiments

59
Q

What is secondary data?

A

Information collected by another researcher, not directly from the participants, not specific to the study

60
Q

How is secondary data obtained?

A

Websites, journals, books, official statistics, the media, employee records, previous studies

61
Q

What is a strength of primary dta?

A

Since it is collected specifically for the study, it will be wholly relevant

62
Q

What is a weakness of primary data?

A

Time-consuming and expensive

63
Q

What is a strength of secondary data?

A

Quick to obtain and inexpensive

64
Q

What are 3 weaknesses of secondary data

A

Data may not be wholly relevant.
Might have mistakes.
Might be outdated

65
Q

What is descriptive statistics?

A

The use of graphs, tables, and summary statistics to identify trends and analyse sets of data

66
Q

What are the measures of central tendency?

A

Mean, median, and mode

67
Q

What do measures of central tendency show?

A

An average score for a set of data

68
Q

How do you find the mean?

A

Add all the values, divide by the number of values

69
Q

When is the mean most appropriate to use?

A

When there’s continuous data (e.g. time, speed, temperature)

70
Q

What is a strength of using the mean?

A

Most sensitive as it uses all scores, so it’s representative of all the scores

71
Q

What is a weakness of using the mean?

A

Easily distorted by extreme values and so becomes unrepresentative

72
Q

How do you find the median?

A

Arrange the data in order, the median is the middle value.
If there’s an even number of values, add the 2 values in the middle and divide by 2

73
Q

What is a strength of using the median?

A

Not affected by extreme scores

74
Q

What is a weakness of using the median?

A

Does not take all the data into account so may be unrepresentative

75
Q

How do you find the mode?

A

It is the most common value, there may be multiple, or none

76
Q

When is the mode most appropriate to use?

A

When there’s category data (e.g. number of smokers of a certain brand, favourite newspaper)

77
Q

What are 2 strengths of using the mode?

A

Not affected by extreme scores.
Unlike the mean and median, it can be used for all types of data

78
Q

What are 2 weaknesses of using the mode?

A

Not very useful when there are many or no modes.
Does not take all the data into account so may be unrepresentative

79
Q

What are the measures of dispersion?

A

Range and standard deviation

80
Q

What do measures of dispersion show?

A

How the values in a set of data are spread out

81
Q

How do you find the range?

A

The highest value minus the lowest value plus 1

82
Q

When is the range most appropriate to use?

A

Alongside/with the median

83
Q

What are 3 strengths of using the range?

A

Gives a basic indication of the spread of the scores.
Can be calculated on most types of data.
Easy to calculate

84
Q

What are 2 weaknesses of using the range?

A

Distorted by extreme scores.
Doesn’t indicate how grouped around the mean the scores are - doesn’t show much about the dispersion

85
Q

What does a high standard deviation mean?

A

There is a wide spread of scores

86
Q

What does a low standard deviation mean?

A

The scores are close together

87
Q

On a normal distribution, what percentage fall within 1 standard deviation from the middle (above and below)?

A

68.26%

88
Q

On a normal distribution, what percentage fall within 2 standard deviations from the middle (above and below)?

A

95.44%

89
Q

What is a strength of standard deviation?

A

The most accurate measure of dispersion - because it takes into account every value

90
Q

What is a weakness of standard deviation?

A

Can still be distorted by extreme values, but much less than the range

91
Q

How do you convert percentages to decimals?

A

Divide by 100 (or use calculator)

92
Q

How do you convert decimals to percentages?

A

Multiply by 100 (or use calculator)

93
Q

How do you convert a fractions to percentages?

A

Multiply by 100 (or use calculator)

94
Q

How do you convert percentages to fractions?

A

Divide by 100, then simplify (or use calculator)

95
Q

What are graphs used for?

A

Summarising the results and show any trends/patterns at a glance

96
Q

What do line graphs show?

A

Information which is connected in some way (e.g. over time)

97
Q

What do pie charts show?

A

Numerical proportion

98
Q

What do bar charts show?

A

The frequencies of non-continuous data

99
Q

What do histograms show?

A

Continuous data

Psychology (14 decks)

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