research methods in psychology Flashcards
what is an aim
a general statement of what the researcher intendeds to study
what is a hypothesis
a statement that states the relationship between the variables to be investigated
what is a directional hypothesis
clear difference between the two conditions or people
what is a non-directional hypothesis
there is a difference but doesn’t state what difference there is
what is the independent variable
variable that the researcher changes or manipulates
what is the dependent variable
the variable that the researcher measures
what is operationalisation
clearly defining variables in terms of how they can be measured
what are extraneous variables
any variable other than the IV that might effect the DV if not controlled
what are confounding variables
other variables that have an effect on the DV that makes the DV uncertain
what are demand characteristics
any cue from the researcher where the participants try to act accordingly
what are the investigator effects
any effect of the investigators behaviour on the DV
what is randomisation
the use of chance in order to control the investigation to reduce the effects of bias
what is standardisation
using the same formalised procedures and instructions for all pts
what are the different experimental designs
independent groups
repeated measures
matched pairs
what are the types of experiments
lab
field
natural
quasi
what are the strengths of using a lab experiment
high internal validity
control over variables
replicable
what are the strengths of a field experiment
high mundane realism
high external validity
what are the strengths of a natural experiment
high external validity
real-life application
what are the strengths of the independent groups design
order effects
what are the strengths of a quasi experiment
controlled conditions
strengths of a lab
what are the strengths of a repeated measures design
participant variables are controlled
what are the strengths of the matched pairs design
order effects and demand characteristics are low
what are the limitations of the lab experiment
lack generalisability
low external validity
demand characteristics
low mundane realism
what are the limitations of the field experiment
costly
low control over extraneous variables
ethical issues (consent)
what are the limitations of the natural experiment
low generalisability
unable to establish cause and effect
what are the limitations of the quasi experiment
confounding variables
can’t establish cause and effect
what are the limitations of the independent group design
less economical
what are the limitations of the repeated measures design
order effects
confounding variables
demand characteristics
what are the limitations if the matched pairs design
order effects
demand characteristics
time-consuming and costly (less economical)
types of sampling
random
systematic
stratified
opportunity
volunteer
what are the strengths of the random sample
free from researcher bias
researcher has no influence over selection of pts
what are the strengths of systematic sampling
avoids researcher bias
fairly representative
what are the strengths of the stratified sample
acids researcher bias
representative
what are the strengths of the opportunity sample
convenient
saves time and money
what are the strengths of volunteer sample
minimal imput
less-time consuming
what are the weaknesses of the random sample
time-consuming
pts may refuse
difficult to obtain list of target population
what are the weaknesses of the satisfied sample
cannot reflect all the ways individuals are different
what are the weaknesses of the opportunity sample
unrepresentative of the target population
researcher bias
what are the weaknesses of the volunteer sample
volunteer bias
ethical issues in psychological studies
informed consent
deception
protection from harm
privacy and confidentiality
ways of dealing with ethical issues
BPS code of conduct
consent letter
debrief
anonymity
what is a pilot study
a small-scale trial run of the actual investigation
what is a single-blind procedure
participants are not told the aim of the study at the beginning but the researcher knows
what is a double-blind procedure
both the researcher and pts don’t know the aim but a third party knows the aim
types of observations
naturalistic and controlled
covert and overt
partipant and non-participant
what are the strengths of a naturalistic observation
high external validity
what are the strengths of the controlled observation
low extraneous variables
replicable
what are the strengths of the covert observation
high validity
natural
what are the strengths of the overt observation
ethically acceptable
what are the strengths of the participant observation
increased insight to pts
increased validity
what are the strengths of the non-participant observation
non-objective
what are the limitations of the naturalistic observation
difficult to replicate
uncontrolled extranous variables
what are the limitations of the controlled observation
cannot be easily applied to real life situations
what are the limitations of the covert observation
unethical
what are the limitations of the overt observation
demand characteristics
what are the limitations of the participant observation
low objectivity
what are the limitations of the non-participant observation
lose insight to pts
what is an unstructured observation
researcher writes down everything they see
what is a structured observation
the reearchers quanitfies their obseervations by using pre-determined behaviours and sampling methods.
what is a behavioural checklist
breaking target behviour into a set of behavioural categories
what is event sampling
coutning the number of times a particular behaviour occus in a taget group or individual
what is time sampling
recording behaviour within a pre-established time frame
what are the advantags of an unstructures observation
rich in detail
insight to pts view and life
what are the weaknesses of structured interviews
observer bias
objectivity
what are the dvantages of structured observations
easier and systematic to carry out and gather data
easy to compare and analyse data
what are the weaknesses of time sampling
unrepresentative of behaviour througout th whole period
missing out of information or behaviour
types of questions in an questionnaire
open and closed
types of interviews
structured
unstructured
semi-structured
advantages of questionnaires
cost-effective
completed without the researcher beng involved
straighforward to analyse
weaknesses of quesitonnaires
not always truthful
demand characteristics
social desireability bias
acquiscence bias
advantages of structured interviews
replicable
advantages of unstructured interviews
flexible
insight to the pts
suficient rapport with pts
what are the weaknesses of a structured interview
canno elaborate on points, miss out on information
what are the weaknesses of unstructured interviews
sit through irrelevant information
colnclusions difficult to draw
social desireability bias
different ways to design a questionnaire
liekrt scales
rating scales
fixed choice option
what shouldn’t be used to write good questions for interviews and observations
jargon
emotive language
leading questions
double negatives
double-barrelled questions
types of correlation
positive
negative
zero
advantages of correllations
precise quantifiable measure of variables
starting point to see if the study would be work investigating
quick and economical
weaknesses of correlations
cannot establish cause and effect
third variable problems
what is qualitative data
detailed, worded data
what is quantitative data
numerical data
what is primary data
researchers own data that didn’t exist before
what is secondary data
pre-existing data
what is the advantage of qualitative data
rich in detail
greater external validity
insight to pts worldview
what is the advantage of quantitative data
simple to analyse
easy comparisons
what is the advantage of primary data
authentic data
generalisable
what is the advantage of secondary data
inexpensive
easily accessed
what is the disadvantage of qualitative data
difficult to analyse
data hard to identify
subjective interpretations
bias
what is the disadvantage of quantitative data
narrower in scope
application in real-life
what is the disadvantage of primary data
more time and effort
careful planning, preparation and rescources
what is the disadvantage of secondary data
out-dated or incomplete information
data might not mmet needs of investigation
what is the mean
all numbers added together and divided by the amount of scores
what is the median
middle value of in-order numbers
what is the mode
the most frequently occuring number
what is the range
the biigest number take away the smallest
what is standard deviation
sophisiactd measure of dispersion in a set of scores
types of displays of quanitative data
bar chart
scattergram
normal distribution
skewed ditribuition
what is normal ditribution
a symmetrical spread of prequency data that forms a bell-shaped pattern
what is skewed distribution
a spread of frequency data that is not symmetrical
what is the sign test
a statistical test used to analyse the difference in scores between related items
main aims of peer review
allocate research funding
validate the quality and relevance of research
amendments or improvements need to be made.
what are the limitations of peer review
anonymity
publication bias
burying ground-breaking research.
