Research Methods - Key Terms Flashcards
Aim
The stated objectives of the investigator when carrying out the research study in question.
Analysis and interpretation of correlational data
The statistical assessment of data sets to determine whether or not and to which degree they are co-related.
Analysis and interpretation of qualitative data
The objective assessment of subjective information such as an interview.
Bar charts
A graphic representation of frequency data but the categories do not have to be continuous.
Behavioural categories
Dividing a target behaviour such as attachment into a subset of behaviours(stranger anxieties, separation protest) and then using a behaviour checklist, in order to make an objective.
Case studies
A research method that involves the detailed study of an individual or a single institution or event.
Confounding variables
These variables confuse the measurement of the dependent variable, because they vary systematically with the independent variable, so changes in the dependent variable may be due to the confounding variable rather than the experimenter’s manipulations of the independent variable.
Content analysis
A kind of observational study in which behaviour is observed indirectly in written or verbal material such as interviews, conversations etc. Behaviour is categorised and statistically assessed.
Control group
The group of participants who receive no treatment and act as a comparison to the experimental group to study any effects of the treatment.
Control of extraneous variables
Variables that are controlled or regulated by the investigator in order to prevent them confounding the results.
Correlations
Testing a hypothesis by seeing whether or not there is a statistical association between two variables to determine whether or not and to what degree they are co-related.
Correlational coefficient
A number that expresses the extent to which two variables are statistically related.
Counterbalancing
An experimental technique used to overcome order effects.
Demand characteristics
Features of an experiment which help participants to work out what is expected of them and lead them to behave in certain predictable ways.
Dependent variable
Measured in the study.
Directional hypothesis
A prediction that there will be a difference or correlation between two variables.
Double blind:
A procedure used to minimise demand characteristics in which neither the participants nor the investigator are aware of the research hypothesis and thus have no expectations of the outcome.
Ecological (external) validity
The validity or worth of the research outside the research situation itself and more precisely, the extent to which the findings are generalisable in other situations.
Ethics committee
A group of people in an institution (e.g university) who must decide whether or not a proposed piece of research conforms to ethical guidelines.
Ethical guidelines
Concrete statements of ethical principle designed to guide practicing psychologists that carry weight with accrediting professional bodies.
Ethical issues and dealing with ethical issues
A conflict between the researchers’ stated interests (aims and objectives of the investigation) and the rights of the participants.
Ethical issue #1 - Informed consent
Participants must be given sufficient information regarding research objectives in order to decide whether they wish to take part or not.
Ethical issue #2 - Deception
Where participants are not told the truth regarding the investigation aims and thus are unable to give informed consent.
Ethical issue #3 - Withdrawal
Participants should have the right to leave at any point in the research if they no longer wish to continue.
Ethical issue #4 - Protection from harm
Participants must be protected to the extent that they are no more at risk of physical or psychological injury than normal.
Ethical issue #5 - Confidentiality
A participant’s right to have person information protected.
Ethical issue #6 - Privacy
A participant’s right to control the flow of personal information about themselves.
Experimental hypothesis
The hypothesis written to prior to conducting an experiment, it usually specifies the independent and dependent variables.
Experimental realism
The extent to which participants become involved in a experiment and become less influenced by cues about how to behave.
External validity
The degree to which a research finding can be generalised to other settings (ecological) and to other groups of people (population validity) over time (temporal validity).
Extraneous variables
These variables are nuisance variables that cloud the accurate measurement or observation of research data, such as background noise.
Event sampling
A kind of observational technique in which a count is kept of the number of times a particular behaviour or event is observed.
Field experiment
A studying which the experimental method is used in a naturalistic setting or situation.
Frequency polygons
A graph showing the frequencies with which different scores are obtained by participants in a study.
Independent measures design
A research design where a group of different participants are used for each condition (e.g. Group A learns on list and Group B learns another list).
Independent variable
The variable which is manipulated by the experimenter in order to see whether or not these manipulations effect the dependent variable.
Internal validity
Whether the study has tested what it set out to test. The degree to which the observed effect was due to the experimental manipulation rather than other factors such as extraneous variables.
Inter-observer reliability
The extent to which two independent observers agree on their observations.
Interview
A ‘face to face’ research method in which the participant answers a series of questions addressed by the interviewer.
Investigator effects
Direct and indirect effects that an investigator’s expectations on the response of a participant might have, sometimes referred to as experimenter expectancy effect and researcher bias.
Laboratory experiment
An experiment conducted in a laboratory setting or other contrived setting away from the participants’ normal environments.
Matched pairs design
A research design that matches participants on a one-to-one basis rather than as a whole group.
Measures of central tendency
Any means of representing the mid-point of a set of data, such as the mean, median and mode.
Measures of dispersion
Any means of expressing the spread of the data, such as a range or standard deviation.
Meta-analysis
A statistical analysis based on the review of the results of a number of different studies in the same research area.
Mundane realism
Refers to what extent a study mirrors the real world. The task participants undertake in an experiment may be very like experiences in the real world.
Natural experiment
A type of experiment where use is made of naturally occurring variables (e.g. gender).
Naturalistic observations
An unobtrusive observational study conducted in a natural setting.
Non-directional hypothesis
A prediction that there will be a difference in a correlation between two variables, but no statement about the direction of this difference.
Null hypothesis
A hypothesis that states that any findings are due to chance factors and do not reflect a true difference, effect or relationship.
Observer bias
In observational studies, there is the danger that observers might only ‘see’ that which they anticipate seeing. This reduces the validity of observations.
Observational techniques
These non-experimental methods may involve controlled observations or naturalistic observations.
Operationalisation of variables
Defining all variables in such a way that it is easy to measure them.
Opportunity sampling
Participants are selected because they happen to be available when the research is being conducted, not because they are representative of the target population.
Order effects
In a repeated measures design, extraneous variables arising from the order in which conditions are presented.
Peer review
The practice of using independent experts to assess the quality and validity of scientific research and academic reports.
Pilot studies and aims of piloting
A smaller preliminary study before the main study that is conducted with the aim to check out standardisation procedures and general design before investing time and money in the major study.
Presumptive consent
A method of dealing with lack of informed consent or deception by asking people who are similar to prospective participants whether they would agree to take part in a study. If they raise no objection, it is assumed that prospective participants would do likewise and the study proceeds on these grounds without prior consent.
Primary data
Information observed or collected from first-hand experience.
Qualitative data
Data that expresses the ‘quality’ of things – descriptions, words, meanings, pictures – qualitative data is non-numerical.
Quantitative data
Numerical data that represents the quantity of something.
Questionnaire survey
A self report method requiring written answers in response to a series of standard questions.
Random allocation
Placing participants in different experimental conditions on a random basis.
Random sampling
Selecting participants on a random basis (e.g. using numbers from a hat). Thus every participant has an equal chance of being selected.
Randomisation
Allocating participants to experimental groups or conditions using random techniques.
Reliability
The extent to which a method of measurement or test produces consistent or the same findings.
Repeated measures design
A research design where the same participants are used for all conditions in the experiment.
Scattergrams
Two-dimensional representation of all the participants’ scores in a correlational study.
Sampling
The process of choosing a group of participants, who may not be a representative selection of the population.
Secondary data
Information used in research studies collected by someone else for another purpose, for example, the government data on crime figures in a study on aggression or historical information about the holocaust in social influence research.
Single blind
A type of research design in which the participant is not aware of the research aims or of which condition of the experiment they are in. This is done to reduce demand characteristics.
Social desirability bias
A tendency for participants to answer questions or to behave in a way that will present them in the best light.
Standardisation
The process by which tests on key measures (IQ) standard instructions and procedures are devised to be used with all participants in psychological research.
Stratified sampling
Groups of participants selected according to their frequency in the target population as a whole in order to obtain a representative sample.
Systematic sampling
A method of obtaining a representative sample by selecting every fifth or tenth person. This can be a random sample.
Target population
This is the group of people that the researcher is interested in and from whom the sample is drawn and about whom generalisations may be made on the grounds of the research.
Thematic analysis
A kind of qualitative analysis used by psychologists which allows them to identify recurring themes in the material being scrutinised.
Time sampling
An observational technique in which the observer records behaviours in a given time frame. E.g. noting what a target individual is doing every 15 seconds.
Validity
The soundness of the measurement tool, the extent to which it measures something which is real or valid.
Volunteer sampling
Selecting participants on a voluntary basis. Thus participants may not be a representative of the target population.
