research methods part 1 Flashcards
what is the scientific process ?
a process that allows us to get closer to understanding the world around us
what is the general order of the scientific process ?
1- decide on the issue/ what to research
2- decide on specific aim/ hypothesis
3- design a way to test hypothesis
4- carry out the study
5- analyse the results and draw conclusions
6- evaluate study
what r the 4 sins for research methods ?
scientific
objective
controlled
repeatable
what r 3 methods for research methods ?
experiments
observations
self-report technique
what r 3 types of experiments ?
lab
field
natural
what r 3 types of observations ?
natural and controlled
participant and non. pp
overt and covert
what r the 3 types of self-report techniques ?
questionnaires
interviews
structured and unstructured
what is validity ?
referee to how ‘real’ or accurate something is
why is ethics important ?
as the potential for causing damage to someone psychologically is far greater than any other science
British psychological society has set up guidelines that dictate what should be considered whilst conducting research on humans or animals
why do we use statistical analysis ?
it is done in order to understand what results what actually mean
as psychologist have to analysis there research findings otherwise it is pointless
what 2 types of statistics tell us if the results r significant or not ?
descriptive statistics
inferential statsisitcs
what is an aim ?
a general statement about what you are investigating
what is an hypothesis ?
a testable statement that you will set out to test
it must be written in away that means you can gather evidence to support or refute it
what is a directional/ one-tailed hypothesis ?
predicts which direction the results will go in
eg) older ppl will be able to recall less words from ma list that a younger person
what is a non-directional/ two-tailed hypothesis ?
it doesn’t state a direction
it just states one variable will affect another
eg) there will be a difference in the ability of older and younger people to recall words from a list
what is a null hypothesis?
simply states that there will be no difference or correlation
when do you use a directional hypothesis ?
when there is research finding from previous studies that suggest outcomes
when do you use a non-directional hypothesis ?
when no previous research of findings are contradictory for previous research
what is an independent variable ?
something the researcher manipulates/changes
eg) age of participant
what is a dependent variable ?
what the researcher measures
eg) number of words recalled from a list
what is operationalise ?
this means to make something (a variable ) measurable
what factor should be the only one to affect the DV ?
IV
what should happen if other things can affect the DV ?
they should be taken out or controlled
what is 4 other factors that can affect experiments ?
extraneous variables
confounding variables
demand characteristics
investiagtor effects
what is extraneous variables ?
variables that could affect the DV
these are essentially nuisance varaiblew that would want to minimise and therefore control
doesn’t vary systematically w the IV
eg) participant variables- intelligence
or situational variables- noise
what are confounding variables ?
any variable other than the IV that could affect the DV
CVs change systematically w the IV
eg) discovered after the experiment and have impacted the results- all pps in an experiment have better memories in 1 group than the other
what are demand characteristics?
any cue from the researcher or research situation which may mean the pps ‘work out’ what the purpose of the investigation is
what does demand characteristics result in ?
participant reactivity
what is participant reactivity ?
means that they change their beahviour
eg) participant may try please researcher but what they guessed is expected
or screw you effect when attempt to intentionally mess up the results to destroy the credibility of the study
what are humans curious about when enter a research situation ?
their surroundings
they immediately try to make sense of what is happening even if you don’t realise you are doing it you are
what is investiagtor effects ?
any effect of the investigator’s behaviour/ appearance (conscious or unconscious) on the DV
eg) can occur intentionally or unintentionally- by smiling or being more/less encouraging or varying joe instructions are given to pps
what r 2 ways to minimise the affects on the experiments ?
randomisation
standardisation
what is standardisation ?
using exactly the same format/procedures/instructions for all pps in studies
what are the 3 experimental design ?
independent groups design
repeated measures design
matched pairs design
what is a independent group design ?
the groups/conditions are completely independent of each other
pps are randomly allocated to each group/ condition
each group does only one condition of experiment
what r the strengths of independent groups design ?
order effects not a problem as only take part under 1 condition
what is the weakness for independent groups design ?
- individual differences between pps
- confunding variables as different pps
- more pps needed so more time consuming
what is the repeated measure design ?
each pp completes all conditions of the experiment
what is the strength of the repeated measure design ?
individual differences and pps variables are controlled
as the same pps do both conditions
fewer pps needed than others as they repeat the condition in other experiments
what are the weaknesses of the repeated measure design ?
the order in which the conditions can affect results
may get bored/ tired/ practise effect or demand characteristics
use counterbalancing to try and overcome order effects
what is matched pairs design ?
the pps in each group are carefully matched on important variables/ characteristics that are relevant to the study
eg) IQ, social class, gender
then for each matched pair one goes into condition A and one into condition B
this is repeated for each pair
what is a strength for matched pairs design ?
order effects not a problem as they take part in one condition only
what is a matched pairs design weakness ?
time consuming
difficult to gather
less economical t than other designs
even when matched carefully we can’t control for every single variable
even MZ twins will be slightly difference in their behaviour
how can u overcome the limitation of experimental design ?
counterbalancing
what is counterbalancing ?
a technique used to attempt to overcome to problem of order effects
which occurs in repeated measures design
what is an example of counterbalancing ?
if u have 40 pp
condition A is w music
condition B is w no music
20 pps do A then B
20 pps do B then A
this is the ABBA technique
what is a lab experiment ?
IV is manipulated to see the effects on the DV
conducted in a highly controlled environment
what is r the strengths of lab experiments ? (4 points)
high control
allowed us to draw conclusions that the IV caused a change in the DV
have high internal validity
replication is possible because high levels of contorl
why is replication good ?
as can check the validity of the results and ensure they are not just a “one off”
what are the weaknesses of lab experiments ?
lack generalizability as the environment is artificial and not everyday life
usually know there being tested so demand characteristics
lack of mundane realism
what is low external validity ?
that pps may behave in unusual ways and therefore their behaviour can’t be applied beyond the lab setting
what is a field experiment ?
IV is manipulated but in a more natural setting
what is the strengths of field experiemnts ?
higher mundane realism because the tasks tend to be more like what they would in everyday life so more realistic behaviour
often don’t know being studied so more natural ( high external validity )
what are the weaknesses of field experiments ?
less controlled means higher chance of extraneous variables affecting the DV so makes it slightly more difficult to establish cause and effect
replication not possible
ethical issues are a problem as informed consent and privacy
what is a natural experiment ?
the IV isn’t manipulated by the researcher
it simply has happened and would have occurred whether or not the researcher would have been there
the researcher takes adv of pre existing IV
can be performed in a lab
what are the strengths of a natural experiment ?
provide opportunities for studies that would otherwise not be possible to research mainly due to ethical reasons
high external validly as real life situations w no manipulation
what are the weaknesses of a natural experiment?
natural occurring events happen rarely so limits the scope of the research
rare events mean it’s difficult to generalise findings to other similar situations
pps can’t be randomly allocated to conditions which means we can be less sure of whether it was a IV affecting the DV
what is an quasi experiment ?
they have an IV that is based on an existing difference between ppl
what is a strength for quasi experiment ?
same as lab experiments
what is the weaknesses for quasi experiments ?
same as natural
what is internal validity ?
refers to how controlled the study is
if we have controlled as many EVs as possible it will have HIGH INTERNAL VALIDITY
what is external validity ?
refers to the degree to which research findings can be generalised to the wider population
what r the 3 types of external validity ?
ecological validity
population validity
historical validity
what is population validity ?
other types of people
what is historical validity ?
over different period of time
what is ecological valdity ?
other settings
what is mundane realism ?
the task in the experiment lacks mundane realism if it is u like real life
what is generalisable ?
the extent to which findings from a study can be generalised or extended to the those in natural settings
what is a single blind experiment ?
this is when the pps are not told the true aim of the research
this is an attempt to control for the confusing variable of demand characteristics
what is a double blind experiment ?
when pps don’t know the truth aim and the researcher doesn’t either
helps reduce demand characteristics and investigators effects
what is an experimental group ?
this is the group which have the IV altered in some way
what is a control grouo ?
a group which doesn’t have the IV altered in some way
what are pilot studies ?
a practice run of the real study done on a small scale
involves pps to test it and make sure it runs smoothly
why are pilot studies done ?
to save time and money being wasted on research that is going to be useless
and often changes design so runs smoother
what is an ethical issue ?
it arises when a conflict or dilemma exists between and pps rights and the researchers needs to gain valuable and meaningful findings
what is a BPS ?
is a professional body that has a code of ethics which includes ethical guidelines
researchers have an obligation to follow these guidelines to ensure that all pps are treated with respect and will come to no significant harm during the research process
what are the 4 major ethical issues ?
informed consent
deception
privacy and confidentiality
protection from harm
what is informed consent ?
-they should know what they are getting themselves in for before the study begins
-they should know the aims before the start
-should know they have the right to withdraw at anypoint even if paid
how do u deal w consent ?
-should be issued w a consent letter
-it should detail all relevant info that might affect the decision if they wanna participate
what r 3 other ways to gain consent ?
presumptive consent
prior general consent
retrospective consent
what is presumptive consent ?
-a similar group to that being studied is asked if they would take part and if the study would be deemed ‘acceptable’
- if agreed it is presumed that the group being studied would also
what is prior general consent ?
pps give their permission to take part in a number of different studies including the use of deception
what is retrospective consent ?
pps are asked to give their consent after having taken part in the study during the debrif
what is the most common other way to gain consent ?
retrospective
why is it other ways to gain consent ?
as sometimes if they r given an exact letter then it can get demand characteristics and this way is around it
what is deception ?
- it is linked to informed consent
- means deliberately withholding info or lying to pps about the aim of the study
when may deception be ok and can only be used ?
if it doesn’t cause distress
when there is no alternative
how do you deal with deception ?
give a full debrief
what does a full debrief of a study include ?
-true aim
-any other details like conditions
-should be told what the data will be used for
-must be given right to withhold data and not be included in results
what is offered if pps have natural concerns about their performance behaviour ?
counselling
what is privacy and confidentially ?
- pps have the right to control info about themselves
- shouldn’t be studied in places that they would consider an invasion of privacy
- if privacy invaded then confidentially should be protected
- names should never be used
what 2 things may be used instead of names
- initials
- a pseudonym
as names should never be used
what must happen is personal details are held ?
must be protected
do psychologists usually record personal details ?
no they don’t
why don’t they record personal details ?
to maintain anonymity
they do this w no record of personal details or referred to as initials or numbers
what is protection from harm ?
- pps should be protected from physical and psychological harm
what are examples of psychological harm ?
embarrassment
humiliated
feel inadequate
placed used u due stress or pressure
what is cost benefit analysis ?
an ethics commute would weight the costs if the research compares to the benefits the research would bring
what is an example of a benefit of a study ?
ground breaking findings
what is a cost from a study ?
could have damaging effects on an individual
reputation of psychology on a whole
