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research methods part 2 Flashcards

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1
Q

what 2 things do psychological investigations need to work ?

A

people
animals

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2
Q

what is a population ?

A

a group of people who are the focus of the researchers interest
a sample is taken from this

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3
Q

what is a sample ?

A

a group of people who take part in a research study
it is drawn from the target population
they try to make the sample represent the target population

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4
Q

what do they tend to want to do with the findings ?

A

generalise the findings to the wider population

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5
Q

why do they use sampling techniques ?

A

as isn’t possible to test everyone in the target population
want a technique to represent the population as a whole

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6
Q

is is difficult to get a truly representative sample ?

A

yes

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7
Q

what are the 5 types of sampling ?

A

random
systematic
stratified
opportunity
volunteer

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8
Q

what is random sampling ?

A

a sample in every member of the population has an equal chance of being chosen

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9
Q

what are examples of random sampling of how it may be done ?

A

get a list of everyone in population
give all a number
add into a random computer generator
randomly generate the amount u want in ur sample
or
write names on lollypop sticks

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10
Q

what are strengths of random sampling ?

A

-free from researcher bias
- more representative of target population

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11
Q

what are weaknesses of random sampling ?

A

-complete list of target population is difficult to obtains
- people selected may refuse to take part

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12
Q

what is systematic sampling ?

A

sampling frame is made
an organised list of the people in the target population

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13
Q

what is an example of systematic sampling and how it may be done ?

A

every nth term number of the target population is selected

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14
Q

what are the strength of systematic sampling ?

A

-avoids researcher bias
-fairly representative

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15
Q

what are the weaknesses of systematic sampling ?

A

can take time to conduct

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16
Q

what is stratified sampling ?

A

it is sophisticated form of sampling
hardly ever used
sample is a direct reflection of the sub-groups in the population

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17
Q

what is an example of stratified sampling or how it may be done ?

A

identify the strata that makes up the population
the proportion needed for sampling to be representative are worked out

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18
Q

what are the strengths of stratified sampling ?

A

-avoids researcher bias
- representative sample

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19
Q

what are the weaknesses stratified sampling ?

A

identified strata cant reflect all the ways the people are different

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20
Q

what is opportunity sampling ?

A

most used
consists of taking the sample from people who are available at the time of the study is carried out and fit the criteria

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21
Q

what is an example of opportunity sampling and how it is done ?

A

approach people in public and ask if they are willing

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22
Q

what is a strength of opportunity sampling ?

A

convenient as saves time

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23
Q

what are the weakness of opportunity sampling ?

A

-unrepresentative sample
-researcher has complete control over the selection

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24
Q

what is volunteer sampling ?

A

also known as selected sampling
consists of pps becoming part of a study because they volunteer when asked or in response to an advert

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25
Q

what is an example of volunteer sampling and how it is done ?

A

place an advert or newspaper, magazine or on a notice board asking people to volunteer

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26
Q

what is a strength of volunteer sampling ?

A

easy as least time consuming out of

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27
Q

what is a weakness of volunteer sampling ?

A

volunteer bias as asking for volunteers tends to attract a particular type of people

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28
Q

what are observations ?

A

they allow researches to observe individuals behaviour, in a number of different settings

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29
Q

what is a natural observation ?

A

it is carried out in an everyday setting
observer doesn’t interfere or change any variables
just observe the behaviour in question

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30
Q

what is a controlled observation ?

A

certain variables have been controlled by the observer
controlled conditions

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31
Q

what is a covert observation ?

A

observing people without them knowing
this is to avoid them changing their behaviour

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32
Q

what is an overt observation ?

A

pps are aware they are being observed
this can lead to demand characteristics

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33
Q

what is a participant observation ?

A

observations are made by a person who has become part of the group being observed

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34
Q

what is a non-participant observation ?

A

the observer is separate from the groups being observed and doesn’t become involved

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35
Q

what is a strength of naturalistic observation ?

A

high external validity
- as findings can be generalised

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36
Q

what is a weakness of naturalistic observations ?

A

lack of control over the research
- so can’t replicate the findings

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37
Q

what is a strength to controlled observation?

A

extraneous variables
- maybe less of a factor so replication if the observation becomes easier

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38
Q

what is a weaknesses of a controlled observation ?

A

can’t be readily applied to real life

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39
Q

what is a strength for covert observations ?

A

behaviour is natural
- increases validity

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40
Q

what is a weaknesses of covert observation ?

A

ethics
- as people may not of wanted to be observed

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41
Q

what is a strength of overt observation ?

A

more ethically acceptable
- as the pps are aware

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42
Q

what is a weakness of overt observation ?

A

knowledge of knowing so significant influence on characteristics

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43
Q

what is a strength of participant observation ?

A

increased insight
- as the researcher experience it in the same way
- increases validity

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44
Q

what is a weakness of pps observation ?

A

they can identify w the pps too much so be objective
- may forget there the researcher and be naive

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45
Q

what is a strength of non pps observation ?

A

maintains an objective psychology logical distance
- less danger of nativity

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46
Q

what is a weakness of non pps observation ?

A

lose the valuable insights
- researcher is too far removed from the ppl there studying

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47
Q

what is unstructured observation ?

A

simply write down everything they see
- gives lots of rich, detailed information
- only possible with small groups of pps

48
Q

what is a more structured approach ?

A

researcher quantify a their observations
- they produce a pre-determined list of catergories

49
Q

when should target behaviour be decided ?

A

decided and defined before the study takes place

50
Q

why must behavioural categories be clearly defined ?

A

as often more than one researcher
- need to make sure all identifying the same thing

51
Q

why is it better to have more than one observer ?

A

one in their own may miss some important details
and may end up with biased observations if not

52
Q

what way should data me recorded ?

A

objectively and unbiased

53
Q

why do observers need to be trained beforehand ?

A

to ensure that they have inter rater reliability

54
Q

what does training the observers include ?

A
  • should be familiar w the behavioural categories
  • do a pilot study to check the categories are appropriate/ not missing anything/ clearly defined
  • compare the data they have found and discuss any differences in interpretation
  • do the real observation
  • analyse the data and correlate the findings to get a final figure
55
Q

what is continuous recording ?

A

a feature of instructed observations where detailed notes are recorded
really difficult to do and rarely practical

56
Q

what is event sampling ?

A

counting the number of times a certain number behaviour (events) occurs in a target individual (s)

57
Q

what is time sampling ?

A

recording behaviours in a given time frame

58
Q

what is strength of structured observation ?

A
  • make recording of data easier and more systematic
  • produces quantitive data and this makes data easier to analyse and compare
59
Q

what is a weakness of structured observations ?

A

the observation can loose some ‘meaning’ if all we have are numbers

60
Q

what is a strength of u structured observation ?

A

produce qualitative data so the data is rich and detailed

61
Q

what is a weakness of unstructured observations ?

A

-qualitative data is harder to record and analyse
- lack of behavioural categories mean some important ones may be missed

62
Q

what is a strength of behavioural categories ?

A

makes data more structured and objective

63
Q

what are weaknesses of behavioural categories ?

A
  • isn’t always easy to make them measurable
  • some categories can be unexpected so can be missed off
  • categories need to be distinctive and not overlap at all
64
Q

what is strength for event sampling ?

A

useful if the behaviour doesn’t happen very often

65
Q

what is a strength to time sampling ?

A

reduces the number of observations that need to be done

66
Q

what is a weaknesses to time sampling ?

A

might result in an unrepresentative observations

67
Q

what is a questionnaires ?

A
  • a type of self-report technique
    -they involve respondent answering a set of written questions about something that the psychologist is interested in
  • mixture of open and closed questions
68
Q

what is an open question ?

A

cant be answered with yes or no or statically
long response

69
Q

what is a close question ?

A

a question that can be answered w a yes or no
short response

70
Q

what variable may questionnaires be used to assess ?

A

dependent variables

71
Q

what principles need to be followed for good questionnaires ?

A
  • not ambiguous or worded in a confusing way (no jargon)
  • shouldn’t be biased or using emotive language
  • no leading questions
  • usually do a pilot study first
  • don’t use double negatives
72
Q

what is an interview ?

A

involve direct verbal questioning of the pps by the researcher
- they ask pps face to face
- vary in the amount of structure

73
Q

what are the different types of structures in interviews ?

A

structured
unstructured
semi- structured

74
Q

what is structured interviews ?

A

-have set or pre- determined questions
- used same questions for all pps
- don’t change along the way

75
Q

what is an unstructured interviews ?

A
  • have less structure
  • new questions developed as the interview questioning
  • researcher asks questions depending on answers
  • a bit like a conversation
76
Q

what is a semi- structured interview ?

A
  • many interviews tend too
  • bit like a job interview
  • set questions
  • but interviewee can ask questions if they wish and it’s appropriate
77
Q

what principles do good interviews follow ?

A
  • us a interview schedule
  • try to avoid interviewer bias
  • decide if group or one-to-one interview
    -start w neutral questions to build up rapport
    -remember ethical issues
78
Q

what are strengths of questionnaires ?

A
  • cost effective-gather large amount quickly
  • researcher doesn’t need to be involved during completion
  • straight forward to analyse if closed questions used-as fixed answers so easy to compare
  • easy to replicate as a standard set of questions-as standard questions
79
Q

what are weaknesses of questionnaires ?

A
  • answers may not always be truthful- as keen to show themselves in a positive light
  • often produce response bias
80
Q

what is an interview schedule ?

A

the list of questions that are going to be asked

81
Q

what is a strength for structured interviews ?

A

easy to replicate as standard set of questions

82
Q

what is a weakness of structured interviews ?

A
  • cant deviate from the questions
    so if researcher interested in a response cant find out more about
83
Q

what are strengths for unstructured interviews ?

A
  • more flexible so can gain insight to interviewees mind
    -produce qualitative data so more rich detail
84
Q

what are weaknesses for unstructured interviews ?

A
  • analysing data is difficult and time consuming as takes to long to go through all responses
    -risk of social desirability bias but interviewer should but smart to build a honest rapport
85
Q

what is a strength for semi- structured interviews ?

A

more flexible than structured so allows for exploration in answers

86
Q

what is a weaknesses for semi-structured interviews ?

A

can be difficult to analyse due to the range of questions included

87
Q

what is response bias ?

A

respondents tend to answer in a similar way

88
Q

what is social desirability bias ?

A

respondents are keen to show themselves in a positive light so they lie in their answers

89
Q

what does a correlation illustrate ?

A

the direction and strength of a relationship between 2 or more co-variables

90
Q

what is a co-variable ?

A

a thing being measured

91
Q

what is a positive correlation ?

A

when high values of one variable are associated with high values of the other
eg) hotter weather is more ice cream sold

92
Q

what is a negative correlation ?

A

this is when high values of one variable are associated with low valuables of another
eg) hotter weather means less hot drinks

93
Q

what is a no correlation ?

A

there is no relationship between the 2 variables
eg) the number of freckles you have and shoe size

94
Q

what are the strengths of correlation ?

A
  • give precise and quantifiable measure of how things are related
  • can asses patterns
  • quick and economical as don’t need to manipulate variables
  • can involve using secondary data
    -can be used when it would be impractical or ethical to manipulate the variable
  • can be repeated again to check reliability
95
Q

what is the weaknesses of correlations ?

A
  • no manipulation of variables so cant say 1 variable caused the other so cant establish the effect
  • cant establish direction of causality
  • may be other variables intervening that can affect the results
96
Q

what does correlation coefficient mean ?

A
97
Q

what does intervening variables mean ?

A
  • sometimes known as the 3rd variable
  • variables that aren’t being studied
  • can come between the variables being studied
98
Q

why cant correlations have a casual relationship ?

A
  • but correlations cant establish them as there isn’t a IV
  • as there are 2 co-variables
  • experiments have an IV and a DV
99
Q

what is a casual relationship ?

A

having a cause and a effect

100
Q

what is quantitative data ?

A

data in form of numbers
- this is particularly useful for measuring the strengths of relationship between various factors

101
Q

what is are advantages of quantitative data ?

A
  • broader study as involves greater number of pps
  • research can be replicated as standard
  • easily analysed and applied with other studies
  • personal bias easily avoided
102
Q

what are the disadvantages of quantitative data ?

A
  • results are limited as provide numerical descriptions not detailed
  • allows for pre set answers so wont reflect pps actual feelings
103
Q

what is qualitative data ?

A

all data that isn’t in a form of numbers
- type of data which often provided richer and more in depth picture of social life than quan

104
Q

what are the advantages of qualitative data ?

A
  • depth and detail so deeper recording of attitudes, feelings and behaviours
  • can create a detailed picture as why ppl act certain ways
  • created openness encouraging people to expand on their responses so can open topics that weren’t initially covered
105
Q

what are the disadvantages of of qualitative data ?

A
  • fewer ppl in the study as more time consuming
  • less easy to generalise as smaller sample size
    -dependent on skills of the researcher as they conduct it eg) interviews
106
Q

what is primary data ?

A

information that wasn’t present before the research began
- been generated by the researcher

107
Q

what is an advantage for primary data ?

A
  • can conduct research in the way it is needed specifically for the topic to be studied
108
Q

what are the disadvantage of primary data ?

A
  • take time to produce
    -usually only a small sample so difficult to generalise
109
Q

what is secondary data ?

A

refers to data that already exists

110
Q

what are the advantages of secondary data ?

A
  • qual sec sources are very useful at providing rich detail
  • cheap
  • easy to access
111
Q

what are the disadvantages of secondary data ?

A
  • need to approach w caution
  • can be issues w the authenticity, credibility and representativeness
112
Q

what is meta- analysis ?

A
  • uses secondary data
  • process where a large number of studies that have all investigated the same research topics using the methods are combined
    eg) strange situation by von Ijendoorm and kroonberg
113
Q

what is a quan. approach on meta-analysis ?

A

perform a statistical analysis of the combined data

114
Q

what is a qual. approach to meta-analysis ?

A

just discuss findings and conclusions

115
Q

what are the advantages of meta-analysis ?

A
  • allow us to view data with much more confidence
    -as can be applied across a wider population
116
Q

what are the disadvantages of meta-analysis ?

A

publication bias
- only the studies that support the hypothesis are looked at and the rest are left out

117
Q

what is publication bias ?

A

selective publication of research studies based on their results

psychology (13 decks)

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