research methods part 2 Flashcards
what is an observation?
experimenters will observe behaviour and record it they will look for patterns in behaviour
what are the advantages of an observation?
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
what are the disadvantages of observations?
observers may ‘see’ what they expect to see (researcher bias)
observations cant provide information about what people think or feel
what is behavioural categories?
it separates a continuous stream of action into components the categories are arranged in a list with a code called a coding frame
what are the advantages of behavioural categories?
it helps enable systematic observations to be made so information isn’t over looked
what are the disadvantages of behavioural categories?
they may not cover all possibilities so some may not be recorded which will lower validity
poorly designed coding will also reduce reliability
what is event sampling?
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
what is time sampling?
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
what are the advantages of time and event sampling?
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
what are the disadvantages of time and event sampling?
some behaviours may be missed reducing validity
it may nit be representative
what is a controlled observation?
it is structured and certain things in the environment are controlled meaning some variables are manipulated by the researcher
what are the advantages of controlled observations?
a controlled environment allows focus on a particular aspect of behaviour
what a disadvantage of controlled observations?
the environment may feel unnatural and participants behaviour may change reducing validity
what is a naturalistic observation?
unstructured everything is left as normal
what are the advantages of a naturalistic observation?
its a realistic environment with spontaneous behaviour which mean it will have a high ecological validity
what is a structured observation?
a system is used to restrict and organise the collection of information
what are the advantages of a structured observation?
improves inter-rater reliability because the observer can be more consistent
what are the disadvantages of structured observation?
observers may ‘see’ ;hear’ what they expect to see or hear
what is an unstructured observation?
observer records all relevant behaviour and has no system
what are the advantages of an unstructured observation?
it is useful when the behaviour which is being studied is largely unpredictable
used in initial investigation’s (pilot study )
what are the disadvantages of an unstructured observation?
behaviours recorded are often the most eye catching but may not be the most important or relevant
what are non participant observations?
the observer is not a participant in behaviour being observed
what are the advantages of non participant observations?
increased objectivity because of psychology and also physical distance
what are the disadvantages of non participant variables?
the observer may misinterpret the communications within the group because they are an outsider this can reduces the validity
what is participant observations?
observer is participant in the behaviour being observed
what is an advantage of participant observations?
likely to provide special insights into inside behaviour
able to monitor and record behaviour in close detail
what are the disadvantages of participant observation?
objectivity reduced - observer bias
more difficult to record an monitor behaviour
what is covert observations?
observations made without participants knowledge
what are the advantages of covert observations?
participants behave more naturally because there not aware there being observed
what are the disadvantages of covert observations?
raises ethical issues about observation because of deception and invasion of privacy
what are overt observations?
participants are aware there being observed
what are the advantages of overt observations?
avoids lack of informed consent because participants decide whether they want to do it or not
what are the disadvantages of overt observations?
if participants know they’re being observed there likely to alter there behaviour - observer effect
what is an experiment?
a research method which demonstrates casual relationship
they all have an iv and dv
what is an independent variables?
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
what is operationalisation?
variables need to be operationalised in a way they can easily be tested
what is a dependant variables?
is whats measured by the experimenter to assess the effects of the IV
what is an alternative hypotheses?
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
whats a one tailed (directional) hypothesis?
it states the direction of the difference in the hypothesis
what is a two tailed (non directional) hypothesis?
it just states that there is a diffrence
what is a null hypothesis?
a statement of no difference
what is a repeated measure design?
each participant takes part in every condition under test
whats an independent measure design?
participants are only tested once in either condition
what is an advantage of repeated measures design?
there will be a good control of participant variables
fewer participants needed because they do all conditions
what are the disadvantages of repeated measure design?
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
what are the advantages of independent measures?
avoids order effects because participants are only tested once
it avoids participants guessing the aim of the study
what are the disadvantages of independent measures design?
theres no control of participant variables-can be dealt with random allocation
you will need more participants
what is a matched pair design?
participants with key similar variables are paired - one is in group a the other is in group b
what are the advantages of a matched pair design?
acts as a control for participant variables because of matching
avoids order effects
what are the disadvantages of a matched pair design?
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
what are demand characteristics?
where participants change there behaviour because they have worked out what the experiment is about and want to give experimenters the results they want
