research methods - non-experimental methods Flashcards
what are observations?
watching participants and recording their behaviour
why are observational techniques non-experimental?
they have no IV and DV and don’t attempt to establish cause and effect
what is a naturalistic observation?
watching and recording behaviour in a natural situation where the researcher does not influence the situation of participants in any way
strength & weakness of a naturalistic study:
strength - high ecological validity as the environment is normal
weakness - difficult to replicate
what is a controlled observation?
watching and recording behaviour in an environment which has been regulated and controlled by the researcher (eg: lab)
strengths and weaknesses of controlled observations:
strengths - easy to replicate (work can be verified)
weaknesses - low ecological validity (lacks mundane realism)
what is an overt observation?
when participants are made aware that their behaviour is being watched and recorded, regardless of the setting in which they are being observed
what is a covert observation?
when participants are not aware that their behaviour is being watched and recorded
issues with covert observations
participants will not have given their informed consent to take
can using a CCTV recording be covert?
yes
strengths and weaknesses of overt observations:
strengths - more ethical
weaknesses - behaviour changes when observed
strengths of covert observations:
-behaviour is more natural
-less demand characteristics
-less observer effects
weaknesses of covert observations:
-less ethical
-can only observe where you expect to be observed
what is a participant observation?
-the observer is part of the group being observed
-the observer watches the behaviour from within the social situation being studied, acting as one of the group and even interacting with the group being observed
strengths and weaknesses of a participant observation:
strengths - closer to everything that’s going on (deeper understanding of the behaviour)
weaknesses - less objective (the researcher may become too involved | eg: zimbardo)
what are behavioural categories?
dividing a target behaviour (such as stress, aggression or affection) into a subset of specific, observable behaviours
why are behavioural categories used?
in order to produce a structured record of what a researcher sees (or hears
examples of behavioural categories for affection:
‘hugging, kissing, holding hands’
what must behavioural categories be?
clearly ‘operationalised’ and must cover all possible ways the behaviour may occur
how are behavioural categories recorded?
-a table is made that has headings of each behavioural category and frequency
-the researcher can then observe the behaviour by standing in a relevant position and tick the box when each behaviour is shown
benefits of behaviour categories?
-allow observers to tally observations into pre-arranged groupings
-using categories provides clear focus for the researcher
-categories allow for more objective / scientific data recording
-categories provide data that is easier to quantify / analyse
what is observer bias?
when an observer’s expectations influence what they sees/hear/records
ways to record behaviour:
-videos
-1 through 10 scale
-tally
-in the spot notes
observer bias when a scale is used:
if a scale is used, a biased. observer may award a higher score to one party even when the same behavior is used
what is an observational design?
how you will conduct the observation
what is an observational technique?
(+ examples)
the type of observation
(eg: naturalistic, covert)
what is observational sampling?
selecting which behaviours to observe and record
complications with observational selection:
-when should you observe behaviour and how long for?
-it can be very useful to continuously record every instance of a behaviour in as much detail as possible
-however, in many situations, this is not possible as there would be too much data to record
what can be done to remedy the fact that it is difficult to record all behavior at all times?
more systematic sampling procedure can be used
what is event sampling?
continuously watching a certain behaviour (or ‘event’) and counting the number of times that event occurs in a target individual or group
when is event sampling useful?
when a target behaviour or event is quite infrequent and could be missed by time sampling
strengths of event sampling:
-does not miss important behaviour
-good for infrequent behaviours
weaknesses of event sampling:
if there is complex/lots of behaviour, some may be missed due to overwhelming events
what is time sampling?
watching and recording behaviour at specific time intervals (instead of continuously recording)
examples of time sampling:
observing behaviour every 30 seconds
strengths of time sampling:
-useful when a target behaviour or event is quite complex and data needs reducing
weaknesses of time sampling:
might miss important behaviours
↳ not as representative as findings might not represent behaviour as a whole
define reliability:
how consistent a measuring tool is
when can a measure be described as reliable?
if a measure can be repeated (same results can be obtained at different times)
methods of measuring things in psychology:
psychological tests, observations, questionnaires
what are the two ways of assessing reliability?
-test re-test
-inter-observer reliability
what is a test re-test?
-the person completes the test and are then given the same test again on a different occasion
-some time is left in between (to make sure they can’t remember their answers, but not too long that their attitude/behaviour etc. has changed
how is a test-re test analysed & which results make a test reliable?
2 results of a test re-test are correlated and analysed using a statistical test
-if this produces a correlation coefficient and if it’s 0.8 or higher, we can say the tool has test-retest reliability
what is an inter-observer reliability?
-if there is more than 1 observer, they must try to ensure they are interpreting events in the same way
-a small scale pilot study is done first to consider the behavioural categories they might have, and to make sure they are applying them in the same way
-the observers then observe the behaviours at the same time
why is it important make sure that all observers interpret the events in the same way?
to avoid/reduce subjective interpretations
what is done with the observation results?
-the results from the 2 observers are then are correlated and analysed using a statistical test
-if this produces a correlation coefficient and if it’s 0.8 or higher, we can say observation has inter-observer reliability
how is the reliability of an experiment maintained during a test re-test?
-lab experiments can be considered reliable as the researcher can control many of the variables that may affect the outcome
-the more controlled, the more likely it is it can be replicated
-as long as pps are tested under exactly the same conditions as last time, the same results should be found
how can the reliability of a questionnaire be improved after a test re-test?
-if the test-rest correlation is LOWER than 0.8, then some of the questions (items) may be changed or completely removed
e.g: a question might be interpreted in different ways by different people and therefore needs rewording (closed question needed)
how can the reliability of an observation be improved?
making sure behavioural categories have been operationalised (behaviours should not overlap)
how to improve reliability of quantitative methods:
-used the same trained interviewer & use structured interviews to avoid leading questions
what is a structured observation?
behaviour is coded using behavioural categories
strength of a structured observation:
higher levels of interobserver reliability
weakness of a structured observation:
less rich data can lack internal validity as researchers miss important behaviours
what is an unstructured observation?
every instance of behaviour is recorded and described
strength of an unstructured observation:
rich data leads to greater internal validity
weakness of an unstructured observation:
rich data leads to greater internal validity
what are the self-report techniques?
questionnaires & interviews (structured and unstructured)
what are questionnaires?
a type of ‘self-report’ technique, where participants provide information relating to their thoughts, feelings and behaviours
(they can be designed in different ways)
what can questionnarobe comprised of?
open questions, closed questions or both
what are open questions?
allow participants to answer however they wish, there is no fixed number of responses to select from
what sort of data do open questions produce?
qualitative data, responses provide rich and detailed data
strength of open questionnaires:
there is less chance of researcher bias, since the participant can answer the questions in their own words, without input from the researcher providing a set number of responses
weakness of open questionnaires:
participants may answer in a socially desirable way, where they try to portray themselves in the best possible light to the researcher
what are closed questions?
they restrict the participant to a predetermined set of responses
what data do closed questions generate?
quantitative data
what are the different types of closed questions?
-checklist
-likert response scale
-ranking scale
what is a checklist?
participants tick the answer(s) that apply to them.m
what is a likert response scale?
participants rate on a scale their the
views/opinions on a question
what is a ranking scale?
participants place a list of items in their preferred order.
strengths of closed questions:
-quantitative data (easy to analyse results statistically or graphically)
↳ direct comparisons
limitations of closed question questionnaires:
-researcher is unable to pursue and explore responses that are of particular interest
-often produce a response bias (this can happen because the participant doesn’t take the time to read all the questions properly)
factors that should be considered when designing questionnaires:
-keep the terminology simple and clear.
-keep it as short as possible.
-do not use leading questions
-pilot and modify the questionnaire.
factors that should be considered when designing questionnaires:
-keep the terminology simple and clear.
-keep it as short as possible.
-do not use leading questions
-pilot and modify the questionnaire.
what is an interview?
-type of self report technique which predominantly takes place fade to face but can also happen over the phone
how many interview designs are they and what are they?
three:
-structured interviews
-unstructured interviews
-semi-structured interviews
what happens to responses of an interview?
responses are usually recorded, with the use of an interview schedule that the interviewer completes and/or audio or video recording, with the informed consent of the interviewee(s)
what are structured interviews?
questions are decided on in advance and they are asked in exactly the same order for each interviewee taking part
what are structured interviews?
questions are decided on in advance and they are asked in exactly the same order for each interviewee taking part
strengths of structured interviews:
1) quantitative data is easier to statistically analyse
↳ direct comparisons can be made between groups of individuals, the researcher can look for patterns and trends in the
2) the questions are standardised and asked in the same sequence every time to all participants
↳ the interview is easily replicable to test for reliability
limitations of structured interviews:
over the course of running several interviews following the same schedule with different participants, investigator effects may play a role
what is an unstructured interview?
it is conducted more like a conversation, with the interviewer only facilitating the discussion rather than asking set questions
data of an unstructured interview:
rich, qualitative data
how are answers of an unstructured interview kept?
-answers will usually be audio or video recorded, as to write them all down as quickly as they were spoken would be impossible for the interviewer, and would also spoil the relaxed atmosphere of the unstructured interview
strengths of unstructured interviews:
1) increase the validity of findings
↳ significantly reduces the possibility of investigator effects
↳ open question schedule means that the investigator does not control the direction of the conversation to meet their own preconceived agenda
2) reduced demand characteristics
↳ Participants can justify their answers in their own words with opinions rather than trying to guess the aim of the study through any clues given
3) generate large quantities of rich and interesting qualitative data → allows the interviewer to fully understand complex human behaviour
limitations of unstructured interviews:
1) more time consuming and costly ( trained psychologist needed)
2) statistical analysis can be challenging, as the data collected is qualitative, making it more difficult to identify patterns and trends without undergoing a content analysis first
what are semi-structured interviews?
comprise of mostly prepared questions that can be supplemented with additional questions as seen fit by the interviewer at the time
which data is produced by semi-structure interviews?
rich, qualitative data
strengths of semi-structured interviews:
1) increases the validity of findings
open questions in semistructured interviews may encourage the participant to be honest in their answers, thus reducing social desirability bias as participants are able to justify their answers in their own words with opinions
2) generates rich and interesting qualitative data → provides a unique insight into explaining human behaviour
limitations of semi-structured interviews:
1) the interviewer still retains control over the semi-structured interview schedule compared to an unstructured interview, which can result in investigator effects which can affect the behaviour of the participants negatively
2) analysis of the data produced can be more difficult, time consuming and expensive to conduct
