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Psychology > Research Methods: Key Terms > Flashcards

Research Methods: Key Terms Flashcards

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1
Q

Case Studies

A

an in depth investigation often of a single individual, event or small group

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2
Q

Interval Data

A

numerical data that is ordered and in objective units

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3
Q

Ordinal Data

A

numerical data that is ordered but subjective, difference between items need not be the same

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4
Q

Nominal Data

A

data separated into categories

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5
Q

Standard Deviation

A

measure of spread of data around mean, calculates average distance from mean of all scores

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6
Q

Correlation Coefficients

A

a numerical representation of a correlation, range from -1 (strong negative correlation) to +1 (strong positive correlation)

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7
Q

Covariables

A

the variables that are measured in a correlation

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8
Q

Correlation

A

the measurement of a relationship between 2 or more variables shows a relationship not the causation

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9
Q

Interviewer Bias

A

where expectations or opinions of interviewer interferes with judgement of interviewee

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10
Q

Self Report Techniques

A

research methods in which ps give info about themselves (without researcher interference)

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11
Q

Social Desirability Bias

A

participants answer qs in a manner that will be viewed favourably by others

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12
Q

Structured Interview

A

made up of pre determined set of qs asked in fixed order, standardised

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13
Q

Investigator Effects

A

when the investigator directly or indirectly has an effect on a ps performance

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14
Q

Demand Characteristics

A

when a subject picks up cues during an experiment therefore possibly affecting + altering the results

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15
Q

Mundane Realism

A

whether or not task ps are asked to do represent something they would experience and do in real life

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16
Q

Internal Validity

A

concerns things that go on whithin a study that may affect accuracy

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17
Q

Ecological Validity

A

concerns whether results can be generalised to other settings

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18
Q

Temporal Validity

A

concerns whether results can be generalised to other times

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19
Q

Population Validity

A

concerns whether results can be generalised to other people

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20
Q

External Validity

A

concerns whether results can be generalised to different situations

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21
Q

Quasi Experiment

A

IV is naturally occuring + is impossible to manipulate, cant be randomly assigned to experimental + control groups

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22
Q

Natural Experiment

A

conducted when not possible, ethically or practically, to manipulate IV. DV can be tested in a lab

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23
Q

Field Experiment

A

controlled experiment conducted outside a lab, IV is manipulated but difficult to control extraneous + confounding variables, ps unaware, cause + effect inferred

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24
Q

Lab Experiment

A

an experiment carried out in a controlled setting, ps are aware, variables carefully controlled, artificial materials, cause + effect are established

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25
Q

Volunteer Sampling

A

advertise in newspaper/notice board or internet, variety of ps, volunteer bias: have more time, are helpful, need money

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26
Q

Systematic Sampling

A

using predetermined system to select participants, same number has to be applied consistently unbiased, only truly unbiased if use random method to come up with number

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27
Q

Stratified Sampling

A

subgroups are identified within a population and participants are obtained from each strata in proportion to their occurence in the population, selection using random, representative, time consuming

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28
Q

Opportunity Sampling

A

select people who are most easily available, easy, biased

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29
Q

Random Sampling

A

random technique, every member of target population has equal chance, may take time

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30
Q

Confounding Variable

A

variables that arent IV but varies systematically with IV, can stop from establishing cause + effect

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31
Q

Extraneous Variable

A

variables that change other than IV and are quite difficult to control, they make it difficult to detect a significant effect

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32
Q

Pilot Study

A

small scale practice run of study to identify problems in design, method or analysis

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33
Q

Standardisation

A

everything said must be scripted in advance to ensure fairness across conditions

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34
Q

Matched Pairs Design

A

two equal groups used, one for each condition with the ps matched based on key variables

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35
Q

Repeated Measures Design

A

only one group of ps is used for both conditions of the experiment

36
Q

Independent Groups Design

A

a separate group of ps for each condition of the experiment

37
Q

Experimental Design

A

how the ps are picked to stop other things interfering with results

38
Q

Null Hypothesis

A

states that there will be no difference between the 2 conditions in the experiment

39
Q

Non Directional Hypothesis

A

a hypothesis that states there would be a difference between the 2 conditions but wouldnt specify the direction it would go

40
Q

Directional Hypothesis

A

a hypothesis that indicates which direction the results will go

41
Q

Operationalism

A

strictly defining the variables into measurable factors

42
Q

Dependent Variable (DV)

A

what you measure in an experiment

43
Q

Independent Variable (IV)

A

what you change in an experiment

44
Q

Aim

A

starts with ‘to investigate/to establish’

45
Q

Cost Benefit Analysis

A

a balance between the best interests of the ps and the value of the research

46
Q

Controlled Observation

A

behaviour is observed under conditions where certain variables have been organised by the researcher

47
Q

Naturalistic Observation

A

it takes place in an everyday setting with no interference

48
Q

Overt Observation

A

the ps are aware they are being studied

49
Q

Covert Observation

A

it is kept secret from the ps that they are being studied

50
Q

Participant Observation

A

the observations are being made by someone who is also participating in the activity being observed

51
Q

Non-Participant Observation

A

the observer is separate from the people being observed

52
Q

Reporting Psychological Investigations: Title

A
  • concise and informative
  • contains variables and researcher names
53
Q

Reporting Psychological Investigations: Abstract

A
  • summary (150-200 words) of the entire report
  • first thing in the report
  • some detail of the aims, procedure, findings and conslusion
54
Q

Reporting Psychological Investigations: Introduction

A
  • review of background studies in the same area
  • includes aims and hypothesis
  • short essay
55
Q

Reporting Psychological Investigations: Method

A
  • mention experimental design, population, sample, sampling method, equipment, procedure, ethics
56
Q

Reporting Psychological Investigations: Results

A
  • contains descriptive and inferential statistics
57
Q

Reporting Psychological Investigations: Discussion

A
  • summary of the results and small explanation
  • relationship of results to background research
  • evaluation of the investigation (methodological critique)
  • suggestions for future research
  • implications for psychological theory and real life
58
Q

Reporting Psychological Investigations: References

A
  • list of all the sources and where to find original articles
59
Q

Reporting Psychological Investigations: Appendices

A
  • material that would overload the report eg raw data or research tool
60
Q

Descriptive Statistics

A

provide overview of trends in the form of a graph, table or chart

61
Q

Inferential Statistics

A

show if the results obtained are significant eg sign test

62
Q

Meta-Analysis

A

a researcher looks at the findings from a number of different studies and produces a statistic to represent the overall effect

63
Q

Content Analysis

A

a kind of observational study in which behaviour is observed indirectly in written or verbal material such as interviews, conversations, books, diaries or TV programmes

64
Q

Thematic Analysis

A

identifying emerging facts that we identify during ad after analysing the data

65
Q

p Value

A
  • the probability that the obtained results are due to chance
  • anywhere between 0 and 1
  • 1 means it’s very likely that they were down to chance
  • 0 means that it’s unlikely
66
Q

What to do with the null hypothesis when you have p

A
  • if p is less than the significance level you reject the null hypothesis
  • if p is more than the significance level you accept the null hypothesis
67
Q

Type I Error

A
  • a false positive
  • falsely rejecting the null hypothesis
  • the probablity of the type I error is the significance level
68
Q

Type II Error

A
  • a false negative
  • falsely accepting the null hypothesis
69
Q

4 Stages of Statistical Testing

A

1) set a significance level
2) obtain data
3) calculate p
4) reject/accept null hypothesis

70
Q

The Normal Significance Level and Why

A
  • 5%
  • it balances the probability of a type I error and a type II error occurring
  • 95% sure the results didn’t happen by chance
71
Q

What Happens When Significance Level is Too Low

A
  • test is too stringent
  • too difficult to acheive significance
  • overlooks true effects because they didn’t achieve significance
72
Q

What Happens When Significance Level is Too High

A
  • test is too lenient
  • too easy to achieve significance
  • detects true differences where in actual fact the results are due to chance
73
Q

Face Validity

A
  • an intuitive assessment of whether the test actually measures what it sets out to measure
  • the degree to which an experiment assesses the aims stated at the beginning
74
Q

Concurrent Validity

A
  • whether or not a test correlates with a previously validated test
  • the extent of which 2 experiments agree with eachother
  • must have a correlation of above +0.8 to have high concurrent validity
75
Q

Lie Scale

A
  • asks the same question in different ways at different times in the questionnaire to see whether a participants answers are consistent
  • if they are consistent then it’s valid
76
Q

Interpretive Validity

A
  • ask the participants if they agree with the interpretation of the outcome/results made by the researcher
  • if they agree then it’s valid
77
Q

Purpose of Inferential Statistics

A

allow us to make inference/decision about whether to accept or reject the null hypothesis

78
Q

Objectivity

A

not affected by expectations or bias

79
Q

Empirical Method

A

method of investigation that relies on direct observation or testing

80
Q

Replicability

A

the repeatability of a procedure and/or outcome of a study

81
Q

Falsifiability

A

the possibility that a statement or hypothesis can be proven wrong

82
Q

Theory Construction

A

a collection of general principles that explain observations and facts

83
Q

Hypothesis Testing

A

the process of testing the validity of a theory by testing the predictions that it makes

84
Q

Paradigms and Paradigm Shifts

A

a shared set of assumptions about the subject matter of a discipline and the methods approprtiate to its study

85
Q

7 Features of Science

A

1) objectivity
2) empirical method
3) replicability
4) falsifiability
5) theory construction
6) hypothesis testing
7) paradigms and paradigm shifts

Psychology (25 decks)

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