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psychology year 1 > research methods key words > Flashcards

research methods key words Flashcards

1
Q

what is an aim?

A

the researchers area of interest- what they are looking at

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2
Q

what is a bar chart?

A

a graph that shows the data in the form of categories that the researcher wishes to compare

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3
Q

what are behaviour categories?

A

key behaviours or collections of behaviours that the researcher conducting the observation will pay attention to an observe

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4
Q

what is a case study?

A

in depth investigation of a single person group or event where data are gathered from a variety of sources and by using several different methods e.g observations and interviews

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5
Q

what is a case study?

A

in depth investigation of a single person group or event where data are gathered from a variety of sourcescw

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5
Q

what are closed questions?

A

questions where there are fixed choices of responses e.g yes/no. They generate quantitative data

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5
Q

what are co variables?

A

the variables investigated in a correlation

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6
Q

what is concurrent validity?

A

comparing a new test with another test of the same thing to see if they produce similar results. If they do then the new test has concurrent validity

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7
Q

what is confidentially?

A

unless agreed beforehand, ppts have the right to expect that all data collected during a research study will remain confidential and anonymous

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8
Q

what are confounding variables?

A

an extraneous variable that varies systematically with the IV so we cannot be sure of the true source if the change to the DV

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9
Q

what is content analysis?

A

technique used to analyse qualitative data which involves coding the written data into categories- converting qualitiatve data into quantitative data quantitative data

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10
Q

what is a control group?

A

a group that is treated normally and gives us a measure of how people behave when they are not exposed to the experimental treatment

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11
Q

what is a controlled observation?

A

an observation study where the researchers control some variables often taking place in a laboratory setting

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12
Q

what is a correlational analysis?

A

a mathematical technique where the researcher looks to see whether scores for two covariables are related

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13
Q

what is counterbalancing?

A

a way of trying to control for order effects in a repeated measure design e.g. half the participants do condition A followed by B and the other half do B followed by A

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14
Q

what is a covert observation?

A

also known as an undisclosed observation as the ppts don’t know their behaviour is being observed

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15
Q

what is critical value?

A

the value that a test statistic must reach in order for the hypothesis to be correct

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16
Q

what is debriefing?

A

After completing the research the true aim is revealed to the ppt. Aim of debriefing= turn the person to the state s/he was in before they took part

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17
Q

what is deception?

A

involves misleading ppts about the purpose of the study

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18
Q

what is demand characteristics?

A

occurs when ppts try to make sense of the research situation they are in and try to guess the purpose of the research or try to present themselves in a good way

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19
Q

what is a dependent variable?

A

the variable that is measured to tell you the outcome

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20
Q

what are descriptive statistics?

A

analysis of data that helps describe show or summarise data in a meaningful way

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21
Q

what is a directional hypothesis?

A

a one tailed hypothesis that states the direction of the difference or relationship, eg. boys are more helpful than girls

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22
Q

what is a dispersion measure?

A

a dispersion measure shows how a set of data is spread out examples are the range and the standard deviation

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23
what is a double blind control?
ppts are not told the true purpose of the research, and the experimenter is also blind to at least some aspects of the research design
24
what is ecological validity?
the extent to which the findings of a research study are able to be generalised to real life setting
25
what are ethical guidelines?
these are provided by the BPS they are rules by which all psychologists should operate, including those carrying out the research
26
what are ethical issues?
there are 3 main ethical issues that occur in psychological research- deception, lack of informed consent, and lack of protection of ppts
27
what is evaluation apprehension?
ppts behaviour is distorted as they fear being judged by observers
28
what is event sampling?
a target behaviour is identified and the observer records it every time it occurs
29
what is an experimental group?
the group that received the experimental treatment, e.g sleep derivation
30
what is external validity?
whether it's possible to generalise the results beyond the experimental setting
31
what is an extraneous variable
variables that if not controlled may affect the DV and produce a false impression that an IV has produced changes when it hasn't
32
what is face validity
simple way if assessing whether a test measures what it claims to measure which is concerned with face value e.g does an IQ test look like it tests intelligence
33
what is a field experiment
an experiment that takes place in a natural setting where the experimenter manipulates the IV and measures the DV
34
what is a histogram?
a graph that is used for continuous data. There should be no space between the bars because the data is continous
35
what is a hypothesis?
a formal statement or prediction of what the researcher expects to find. It needs to be testable
36
what is an independent groups design?
an experimental design where each ppt only takes part in one condition or the IV
37
what is an independent variable?
the variable that the experimenter manipulates
38
what is inferential statistics?
ways of analysing data using statical tests that allow the researcher to make conclusions about whether a hypothesis was supported by the results
39
what is informed consent?
psychologists should ensure all ppts are helped to fully understand all aspects of the research before the agree to take part
40
what is inter observer reliability?
the extent to which two or more observers are observing and recording behaviour in the same way
41
what is internal validity
in relation to experiments whether the results were due to the manipulation of the IV rather than other factors such as extraneous variables or demand characteristics
42
what is interval level data
data measured in fixed units with equal distance between points on the scale
43
what is investigator effects?
these result from the effects of a researchers behaviour and characteristics on an investigation
44
what is a laboratory experiment
an experiment that takes place in a controlled environment where the experimenter manipulates the IV and measures the DV
45
what is a match paired design
an experimental design where pairs of ppts are matched on important characteristics and one member allocated to each condition of the IV
46
what is the mean?
measure of central tendency calculated by adding all the scores in a set of data together and dividing by the total number of scores
47
what is the measure of central tendency?
a measurement of data that indicates where the middle of the information lies e.g. mean mode median
48
what is the median?
measure of central tendency calculated by arranging scores in a set of data from lowest to highest and finding the middle score
49
what is a meta analysis
a technique where rather than conducting new research with participants the researchers examine the results of several studies that have already been conducted
50
what is the mode?
measure of central tendency which is the most frequently occurring score in a set of data
51
what is a natural experiment?
an experiment where the change in the IV already exists rather than being manipulated by the experimenter
52
what is a naturalistic observation?
an observation study conducted in the environment where the behaviour would normally occur
53
what is a negative correlation?
a relationship exists between two covariables where as one increases the other decreases
54
what is a nominal level data?
frequency count data that consists of the number of ppts falling into categories (e.g 7 people passed their driving lesson first time, 6 didn't)
55
what is a non directional hypothesis?
a two tailed hypothesis that doesn't predict the direction of the difference or relationship (e.g boys and girls are different in terms of happiness)
56
what is a normal distribution?
an arrangement of data that is symmetrical and forms a bell shaped pattern where the mean mode and median all fall in the centre at the highest peak
57
what is an observed value?
the value that you have obtained from conducting your statistical test
58
what is an observer bias?
occurs when the observers know the aims of the study or the hypothesis and allow this knowledge to influence there observations
59
what are open questions?
questions where there is no fixed response and ppts can give any answer they like. They generate qualitative data
60
what are operationalising variables?
This means clearly describing the variables (IV and DV) in terms of how they will be manipulated (IV) or measured (DV)
61
what is opportunity sampling?
a sampling technique where ppts are chosen bc they are easily available
62
what are order effects?
order effects can occur in a repeated measures design and refers to how the positioning of tasks influences the outcome e.g practice effect or boredom effect on second task
63
what is ordinal level data?
data that is capable of being out into rank order (e.g ratings for attractiveness)
64
what is an overt observation?
also known as a disclosed observation as the ppts given their permission for their behaviour to be observed
65
what is ppt observation?
observation study where the researcher actually joins the group or takes part in the situation they are observing
66
what is peer review?
before going to publication a research report is sent other psychologists who are knowledgeable in the research topic for them to review the study and check for any problems
67
what is peer review?
before going to publication a research report is sent other psychologists who are knowledgeable in the re
67
what is peer review?
before going to publication a research report is sent other psychologists who are knowledgeable in the re
68
what is a pilot study?
a small scale study conducted to ensure the method will work according to
69
what is a positive correlation?
a relationship exists between two covariables where as one increases so does the other
70
what is presumptive consent?
asking a group of people from the same target population as the sample whether they would agree to take part in such a study if yes then presume the sample would
71
what is primary data?
information that the researcher has collected him/herself for a specific purpose e.g data from an experiment or observation
72
what is prior general consent?
before ppts are recruited they are asked whether they are prepared to take part in research where they
73
what is probability?
how likely something is to happen- can be expressed as a number (0.5) or as a %
74
what is protection of ppts?
ppts should be protected from physical or mental health including stress, risk of harm must be no greater than that to which they are exposed in everyday life
75
what is qualitative data?
descriptive information that is expressed in words
76
what is quantitative data?
information that can be measured and written down with numbers
77
what is a quasi experiment?
an experiment often conducted in controlled conditions where the IV simply exists so there can be no random allocation to the conditions
78
what is a questionnaire?
a set of written questions that ppts fill in themselves
79
what is random sampling?
a sampling technique where everyone in the target population has an equal chance of being selected
80
what is randomisation?
refers to the practice of using chance methods (e.g flipping a coin to allocate ppts to the conditions of an investigation)
81
what is the range?
a measure of dispersion which involves subtracting the lowest score from the highest score in a set of data
82
what is reliability?
whether something is consistent. In the case of a study, whether its replicable
83
what is a repeated measures design?
an experimental design where each ppts take part in both/ all conditions of the IV
84
what is a representative sample?
a sample that closely matched the target population as a whole in terms of key variables and characteristics
85
what is retrospective consent?
once the true nature of the research has been revealed ppts should be given the right to withdraw their data if they're not happy
86
what is the right to withdraw?
ppts should be aware that they can leave the study at any time even if they have been paid to take part
87
what is a sample?
a group of people that are drawn from the target population to take part in a research investigation
88
what is a scattergram?
used to plot correlations where each pair of values is plotted against each other to see if there is a relationship between them
89
what is secondary data?
information that someone else has collected e.g the work of other psychologists or government statistics
90
what is a semi structured interview?
interview that has some predetermined questions but the interviewer can develop others in response to answers given by the ppt
91
what is a sign test?
a statistical test used to analyse the direction of differences in scores between the same or matched pairs of subjects under two experimental conditions
92
what is a single blind control?
ppts aren't told the true purpose of the research
93
what is a skewed distribution?
an arrangement of data that isn't symmetrical as data is clustered to one end of the distribution
94
what is social desirability bias?
ppts behaviour is distorted as they modify this in order to be seen in a positive light
95
what is standard deviation?
a measure of the average spread of scores around the mean. The greater the standard deviation the more spread out the scores are
96
what are standardised instructions?
the instructions given to each ppt are kept identical to help prevent experimental bias
97
what are standardised procedures?
in every step of the research all the ppts are treated in exactly the same way and so all have the same experience
98
what is a stratified sample?
a sampling technique where groups of ppts are selected in proportion to their frequency in the target population
99
what is a structured interview?
interview where the questions are fixed and the interviewer reads them out and records the responses
100
what is a structured observation?
an observation study using predetermined coding scheme to record the ppts behaviour
101
what is a systematic sample?
a sampling technique where each nth person in a list of target population is selected
102
what is a target population?
the group that the researchers draws the sample from and wants to be able to generalise the findings to
103
what is temporal validity?
refers to how likely it is that the time period when a study was conducted has influenced the findings and whether they can be generalised to other periods in time
104
what is test retest reliability?
involves presenting the same ppts with the same test or questionnaire on two separate occasions and seeing whether there is a positive correlation between the two
105
what is thematic analysis
a method for analysing qualitative data which involves identifying, analysing and reporting patterns within the data
106
what is time sampling?
a way of sampling the behaviour that is being observed by recording what happens in a series of fixed time intervals
107
what is type 1 error
a false positive. where you accepts the alternative/ experimental hypothesis when it is false
108
what is type 2 error?
it's a false negative. Where you accept the null hypothesis when it's false
109
what is an unstructured interview?
also known as a clinical interview, there are no fixed questions just general aims and it's more like a conversation
110
what is an unstructured observation?
observation where there is no checklist so every behaviour seen is written down in as much detail as possible
111
what is validity?
whether something is true- measures what it sets out to measure
112
what is a volunteer sample?
a sampling technique where ppts put themselves forward to take part in research often by answering an advertisement.

psychology year 1 (8 decks)

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