research methods part 2

Question 1

what is an observation?

Answer 1

experimenters will observe behaviour and record it they will look for patterns in behaviour

Question 2

what are the advantages of an observation?

Answer 2

what people say they do then what they actually do is often different so observations give us a different take on behaviour than other methods

Question 3

what are the disadvantages of observations?

Answer 3

observers may ‘see’ what they expect to see (researcher bias)
observations cant provide information about what people think or feel

Question 4

what is behavioural categories?

Answer 4

it separates a continuous stream of action into components the categories are arranged in a list with a code called a coding frame

Question 5

what are the advantages of behavioural categories?

Answer 5

it helps enable systematic observations to be made so information isn’t over looked

Question 6

what are the disadvantages of behavioural categories?

Answer 6

they may not cover all possibilities so some may not be recorded which will lower validity
poorly designed coding will also reduce reliability

Question 7

what is event sampling?

Answer 7

this is whemmn you draw up a list of behavioural categories then they count how many times they are ibserved over a specicif time period

Question 8

what is time sampling?

Answer 8

this is where you record behaviour at specific intervals like 5 seconds or 5 minutes or you can take a sample at diffrent times of they day or months

Question 9

what are the advantages of time and event sampling?

Answer 9

both methods help make the task more manageable because it avoids them having to record everything
time allowed to track time related changes in behaviour

Question 10

what are the disadvantages of time and event sampling?

Answer 10

some behaviours may be missed reducing validity
it may nit be representative

Question 11

what is a controlled observation?

Answer 11

it is structured and certain things in the environment are controlled meaning some variables are manipulated by the researcher

Question 12

what are the advantages of controlled observations?

Answer 12

a controlled environment allows focus on a particular aspect of behaviour

Question 13

what a disadvantage of controlled observations?

Answer 13

the environment may feel unnatural and participants behaviour may change reducing validity

Question 14

what is a naturalistic observation?

Answer 14

unstructured everything is left as normal

Question 15

what are the advantages of a naturalistic observation?

Answer 15

its a realistic environment with spontaneous behaviour which mean it will have a high ecological validity

Question 16

what is a structured observation?

Answer 16

a system is used to restrict and organise the collection of information

Question 17

what are the advantages of a structured observation?

Answer 17

improves inter-rater reliability because the observer can be more consistent

Question 18

what are the disadvantages of structured observation?

Answer 18

observers may ‘see’ ;hear’ what they expect to see or hear

Question 19

what is an unstructured observation?

Answer 19

observer records all relevant behaviour and has no system

Question 20

what are the advantages of an unstructured observation?

Answer 20

it is useful when the behaviour which is being studied is largely unpredictable
used in initial investigation’s (pilot study )

Question 21

what are the disadvantages of an unstructured observation?

Answer 21

behaviours recorded are often the most eye catching but may not be the most important or relevant

Question 22

what are non participant observations?

Answer 22

the observer is not a participant in behaviour being observed

Question 23

what are the advantages of non participant observations?

Answer 23

increased objectivity because of psychology and also physical distance

Question 24

what are the disadvantages of non participant variables?

Answer 24

the observer may misinterpret the communications within the group because they are an outsider this can reduces the validity

Question 25

what is participant observations?

Answer 25

observer is participant in the behaviour being observed

Question 26

what is an advantage of participant observations?

Answer 26

likely to provide special insights into inside behaviour
able to monitor and record behaviour in close detail

Question 27

what are the disadvantages of participant observation?

Answer 27

objectivity reduced - observer bias
more difficult to record an monitor behaviour

Question 28

what is covert observations?

Answer 28

observations made without participants knowledge

Question 29

what are the advantages of covert observations?

Answer 29

participants behave more naturally because there not aware there being observed

Question 30

what are the disadvantages of covert observations?

Answer 30

raises ethical issues about observation because of deception and invasion of privacy

Question 31

what are overt observations?

Answer 31

participants are aware there being observed

Question 32

what are the advantages of overt observations?

Answer 32

avoids lack of informed consent because participants decide whether they want to do it or not

Question 33

what are the disadvantages of overt observations?

Answer 33

if participants know they’re being observed there likely to alter there behaviour - observer effect

Question 34

what is an experiment?

Answer 34

a research method which demonstrates casual relationship
they all have an iv and dv

Question 35

what is an independent variables?

Answer 35

it is a factor directly manipulated by the experimenter in order to observe the effect of this variation on the dv
there at least 2 levels of IV

Question 36

what is operationalisation?

Answer 36

variables need to be operationalised in a way they can easily be tested

Question 37

what is a dependant variables?

Answer 37

is whats measured by the experimenter to assess the effects of the IV

Question 38

what is an alternative hypotheses?

Answer 38

it is a statement about the relationship between variable e.g IV and DV
it should include both levels of IV
it should be precise and testable

Question 39

whats a one tailed (directional) hypothesis?

Answer 39

it states the direction of the difference in the hypothesis

Question 40

what is a two tailed (non directional) hypothesis?

Answer 40

it just states that there is a diffrence

Question 41

what is a null hypothesis?

Answer 41

a statement of no difference

Question 42

what is a repeated measure design?

Answer 42

each participant takes part in every condition under test

Question 43

whats an independent measure design?

Answer 43

participants are only tested once in either condition

Question 44

what is an advantage of repeated measures design?

Answer 44

there will be a good control of participant variables
fewer participants needed because they do all conditions

Question 45

what are the disadvantages of repeated measure design?

Answer 45

you will risk order effects because participant’s will be re tested and may become bored -you can stop this by counter balancing
condition a might be easier than condition b

Question 46

what are the advantages of independent measures?

Answer 46

avoids order effects because participants are only tested once
it avoids participants guessing the aim of the study

Question 47

what are the disadvantages of independent measures design?

Answer 47

theres no control of participant variables-can be dealt with random allocation
you will need more participants

Question 48

what is a matched pair design?

Answer 48

participants with key similar variables are paired - one is in group a the other is in group b

Question 49

what are the advantages of a matched pair design?

Answer 49

acts as a control for participant variables because of matching
avoids order effects

Question 50

what are the disadvantages of a matched pair design?

Answer 50

its time consuming to match participants on key variables
may nit control all variables because you can only match on known variables but there could be others that are important

Question 51

what are demand characteristics?

Answer 51

where participants change there behaviour because they have worked out what the experiment is about and want to give experimenters the results they want