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Psychology > Research Methods part 2 > Flashcards

Research Methods part 2 Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a laboratory experiment?

A

an experiment carried out in a controlled setting,

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2
Q

What is a field experiment

A

a controlled experiment conducted outside a laboratory, the iv is still manipulated by the experimenter therefore casual relationships can be demonstrated

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3
Q

advantages and disadvantages of laboratory experiments

A

+ high internal validity as they have good control over all variables - the change in the DV is more likely due to the manipulation of the IV
- low ecological validity as participants are aware they are being studied so will behave differently and the tasks are more artificial

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4
Q

advantages and disadvantages of field experiments

A
  • lower internal validity - more difficult to control extraneous variables and confounding variables
    + higher external validity as they have more mundane realism
    + participants are unaware that they are being studied therefore there behaviour is more natural and they are less likely to respond from cues from the investigator
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5
Q

What is a natural experiment

A

a research method in to which experimenter has not manipulated the iv directly, the IV would vary whether or not the researcher was interested and they would record the results of the dv

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6
Q

What is a Quasi-experiment?

A

studies that are almost experiments but the independent variable is not something that varies at all but a condition that exists, the researcher records the effect on the dv

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7
Q

give an example of a Quasi-experiment?

A

gender differences

age

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8
Q

what are the advantages and disadvantages of a natural experiment

A

+ allows research where the iv cant be manipulated for ethical or practical reasons
+ allows researches to study real problems such as the effects of a disaster on health
- cannot demonstrate casual relationships because IV is not directly manipulated
- random allocation not possible therefore there may be confounding variables that cannot be controlled lowering internal validity

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9
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a quasi-experiment?

A

+ allows comparisons between types of people

  • can only be used where conditions vary naturally
  • participants may be aware that they are being studied thus reducing internal validity
  • the dependent variable may be an artificial task reducing ecological value
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10
Q

what is an opportunity sample method and what are the strengths and weaknesses

A

this is when you recruit people who are the most convinenet or most available
+ easiest as takes less time to find the participants
- biased as sample drawn from small part of the population

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11
Q

what is an random sample sample method and what are the strengths and weaknesses

A

producing a sample of participants by using random techniques
+ unbiased all members of target population have a chance of getting selected
- need to have a list of all memebers of the population then contact them this could take time

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12
Q

what is an stratified sample method and what are the strengths and weaknesses

A

subgroups within a population are identified, the participants are chosen from each of the strata in proportion to their occurrence in the population, the selection from the strata is done using a random technique
+ more representative
- time consuming to identify all the groups

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13
Q

what is an systematic sample method and what are the strengths and weaknesses

A

a predetermined system to select participants such as selecting every 2nd person, the numerical interval is applied consistently
+ unbiased as participants selected using an objective system
- not truly unbiased unless you select a number using a random, method and start with this person

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14
Q

what is an volunteer sample method and what are the strengths and weaknesses

A

advertise in a newspapaer or on the noticeboard
+ gives access to a variety to participants
- sample is biased as participants are more likely to be highly motivated and have extra time on their hands

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15
Q

describe the lottery method

A
  1. obtain a list of all the people in the population
  2. put all the names in a lottery barrel
  3. select the number of names required
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16
Q

describe the random number table

A
  1. every member of the population is given a number
    2, the starting position in the table is determined blindly be placing you finger anywhere
  2. if the population is less than 100 you only need 2 digit numbers so read table 2 digits at a time
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17
Q

describe random number generators

A
  1. every member of the population has a number

2. use calculator or electronic hat

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18
Q

what is a sample bias

A

in fact that even though all samples try to reduce bias they are eventually all disorted

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19
Q

what is a volunteer bias

A

a form of sampling bias because volunteer participants have special characteristics such as being highly motivated

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20
Q

what are the ethical issues

A
  • informed consent
  • deception
  • right to withdraw
  • protection from physical and psychological harm
  • confidentiality
  • privacy
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21
Q

described informed consent

A
  • means revealing true aims of the study, causes demand characteristics as they may guess the aim of the study
  • should be told what they will be required to do in the study so that they can make an informed decision about whether they wish to participate
  • does not mean they can completely let themselves in
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22
Q

describe decpetion

A
  • necessary to deceive participants about true aim otherwise they may alter there own behaviour making the study meaningless
  • deception is unethical
  • should not deception unless necessary
  • can lead to people to see psychologists as untrustworthy
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23
Q

right to withdraw

A
  • participants do leave the trial and it can cause bias and effect the outcome of the study, it is more bias because those who have been stayed are likely to be more obedient
  • right to withdraw is important as if the participant begins to feel uncomfortable and distressed they should be able to withdraw
  • actual experience may be different to what they consented to
  • withdraw is compromised by payment or reward
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24
Q

protection from physical and psychological harm

A
  • questions may involve a degree of distress to participants
  • difficult to predict the outcome of certain procedures therefore guarantees protection from harm
  • nothing should happen to them that causes harm
  • physical - getting them to drink or smoke
  • psychological - making them feel inadequate or embarrassing
  • considered ok if the participants would effect them in real life
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25
Q

confidentiality

A
  • may be difficult when wishing to publish the findings
  • it may be obvious who has been involved in the study for example the study took place with patients in a particular hospitals
  • data protection act makes confidentiality a legal right, only acceptable if published in a way that does not identify the participants
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26
Q

privacy

A
  • may be difficult to avoid invasion of privacy when studying participants without their awareness
  • people do not expect to be observed by others in certain situations - sitting at home compared to sitting on a bench in a park
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27
Q

Name types of observation

A
  • naturalistic and controlled observation
  • overt and covert observation
  • participant and non-participant observation
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28
Q

Describe naturalistic observation

A

in a situation where everything has been left to normal,

e.g. watching an infant in a natural environment

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29
Q

Describe controlled observation

A

some variables in the environment are regulated by the researcher it reduces the naturalness of the environment and the naturalness of the behaviour being studied

  • make take place in a laboratory
  • controlled observation allows the researcher to investigate the effects of certain behaviour
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30
Q

Describe Overt observation

A
  • this is when the person is aware that they are being watched
  • both naturalistic and controlled observation
  • try to be unobtrusive as possible - use one way mirrors to make it as natural as possible
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31
Q

Describe a covert observation

A
  • participants do not have any knowledge of being observer they may be informed afterwards
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32
Q

Describe participant observation

A
  • observer is part of the group being observed, this may happen in both covert and overt
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33
Q

Describe non participant observation

A
  • this is merely watching or listening to the behaviour of others and acts as a non-participant, the observer from a distance des not interact with the people being observed
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34
Q

Evaluate natural and controlled observation

A

Naturalistic
- gives us a realist picture of natural spontaneous behaviour therefore it is likely to be high in ecological validity
- little control of other things - situational variables
Controlled
- an observer can focus on particular aspects of behaviour but control comes at the cost of the environment may not behave similarly

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35
Q

Evaluate Overt and Covert observation

A
  • covert - unaware and behaviour is natural - ethical issues is acceptable to observe people in a public place but not a private one
36
Q

Evaluation participant and non participant observation

A
  • non participant - more objective

- participant - special insight

37
Q

describe unstructured observations

A

researcher records all relevant behaviour but has no system, the most obvious behaviour is that there is too much to record, the behaviour that is recorded is most visible or eye-catching to the observer, but these may not be necessarily be the most important or relevant behaviours
- used in pilot study or when the behaviours might be recorded using a structured system

38
Q

Describe the structured observations

A
  • observational techniques aim to be objective and rigorous

- organise observations do this by behavioural categories and sampling procedures

39
Q

Describe behavioural categories

A
  • need to break stream of behaviour into different behavioural categories
  • need to operationalisation
    Behavioural categories should
  • be objective
  • cover all possible components of behaviour and avoid a waste basket category
  • be mutually exclusive - should not have too mark two categories at one time
40
Q

Describe sampling procedures

A
  • should record every instance of behaviour in much detail as possible
  • Event sampling - counting the number of times a certain behaviour occurs in a target individual or individuals for example how many times a person smiles in a 10 minute period
  • Time sampling - recording behaviour in a given time frame, noting what a target individual is doing every 30 seconds or some other time interval
41
Q

Describe Questionnaires

A
  • permit researcher to discover what people think and feel
  • can be objective and scientific way of conducting research but this involved more than just thinking up some questions
  • questions are always pre-determined
42
Q

Describe structured interview

A
  • has a pre-determined questions,
  • its essentially a questionnaire that is delivered face to face
  • no deviation from original questions
43
Q

Describe Unstructured interview

A
  • less structure
  • new questions are developed during the course of the interview
  • interviewer may begin with general aims and a few pre-determined questions but subsequent questions on the basis on the answers that are given
44
Q

evaluation of self report techniques

A
  • allow us to see what people think and feel
  • socially desirability
  • don’t know what they think and feel so there answers lacks validity
  • sample may be unrepresentative
45
Q

evaluation of questionnaire

A
  • they are easy
  • take time
  • can be distributed to large number of people cheaply and easily
  • more willing to give information that in an questionnaire
  • reduces social desirability
  • data only filled in by people who can read and right
  • willing to spend filling them in therefore the sample is bias
46
Q

Evaluation of structured interview

A
  • easily repeated as questions are the same
  • interviewe behaves differently on different occasions or different interviewes behave differently therefore it has a low reliability
  • interviewers expectations may influence the answer that the interviewee gives
47
Q

Evaluation of unstructured interview

A
  • more detailed can be obtained
  • more skill to do
  • some questions may lack objectively
  • makes unstructured interviews more expensive to produce as they have to have specialist interviewers
  • interviewers expectations may influence the answer that the interviewee gives
48
Q

How do you right good questions

A
  • clarity - questions need to written in a way that the reader understands what is being asked, no ambiguity such as double negatives, or double barrelled questions
  • bias - any bias might lead to the respondent more likely to be giving a particular answer, they prefer to give answers that make them looking more attractive
  • analysis - need to be written so answers are easily analysed, these are called open questions or they are written in a way were there are fixed answers such as closed questions such as a yes or no answer
  • closed questions are easy to analysis but they might make the person select answers that don’t represent there feelings
49
Q

How do you write a good questionnaire

A
  • filler questions - some irrelevant questions to distract the responded from the main purpose of the study
  • sequence for the questions - best to start with the easy ones, saving questions that might make someone feel anxious or defensive until the respondent has relaxed
  • use stratified sampling
  • pilot study - tested on a small group of people then refine the questions
50
Q

Evaluation of closed questions

A
  • limited range of answers and produce quantitative data
  • both aspects of closed questions make the answers easier to analyse
  • may be forced to select answers that don’t represent their real thoughts and behaviours
  • data collected lacks validity
  • may select I don’t know therefore not informative
51
Q

Evaluation of open questions

A
  • increases amount of detail of information collected
  • open questions can provide unexpected answers allows researchers to gain insight into peoples feelings and attitudes
  • less literate might find open questions difficult
  • produce qualitative data - more difficult to summarise as there is a wide range of responses, more difficult to draw conclusions
52
Q

Structure of interviews

A
  • recording the interview - might take notes throughout the whole interview, this will interfere with there listening skills and effect what the respondent says, if the respondent sees the interviewer not writing things down it might think that they said something that was not valuable
  • the effect of the interview - increases the amount of information provided than n a questionnaire, non verbal communication - sitting with arms crossed and frowning communicates disapproval or disinterest whereas leaning forward and nodding may encourage the respondent to speak, listening skills - should know when and how to speak, not interrupt to often
  • questioning skills in an unstructured interview - special skills and the kind of follow up questions that are needed and to avoid repeating questions better to ask more focused questions
53
Q

what is demand charactertics

A
  • participants want to be helpful so therefore they pay attention to cues in the experimental situation that may guide their behaviour
  • participants dont behave like they normally would
54
Q

describe investigator effects

A
  • these are any cues from an invetigator that encourage certain behaviours which might lead to a fulfilemnt of the investigators expectations, such cues act as extraneous or confounding variables
  • males are more pleasant to female participants then male - Rosenthal
  • indirect investigator effects
  • such as investigator expeiemnetal design effect
  • investigator may operationalie the measurement of variables in such a way that hte desired result is more likely or may limit the duration of the study for the same reason
55
Q

How do you deal with demand characterstics and invetigator effects

A

single blind design
- single blind design the participant is not aware of the research aims and or of which condition of the experiment they are receiving, this prevents the participant from seeking cues about the aims and reacting to them
double blind design
- double blind both the participant and the person conducting the experiment are blind to the aims and or hypotheses, therefore the person conducting the investigation is less likely to produce cues about what they expect
experimental realism
- if the researcher makes an experimental task sufficiently engaging the participant pays attention to the task and not the fact that there being observed

56
Q

stratigies to deal with ethical issues

A
  • ethical guidelines
  • cost benefit anaylsis
  • ethics committe
  • punishment
57
Q

ethical guidelines

A
  • BPS regularly updates its ethical guidelines
  • the intention is to tell psychologists which behaviours are not acceptable and to give guidance on how to deal with ethical dilemmas
58
Q

cost benefit analysis

A
  • judge the costs of doing research against the benefits
  • costs and benefits may be judged from participants point of view where we might list distress and loss of time versus payment for participants and feeling of having contributed to scietific research
  • or judge from society as a whole and consider the value in improving someones life
59
Q

ethics committees

A
  • most instituiotns where research takes place have an ethics committe which must approve any study before it begins
  • looks at all possible ethical issues raised in any research proposal and how the researcher suggests they will be dealt with
  • wieghs up pros and cons
60
Q

punishment

A
  • if psychologists behave in an unethical manner than the BPS reviews the research and may decide to bar the person from practising as a psychologists, not a legal matter
61
Q

describe evaluation on ethical guidelines

A
  • rules and sanctions approach is inevitable rather general because of the virtual impossibility of covering every conceivable situation that the researcher could encounter
  • Canadians take a different approach, they present a series of hypothetical dilemmas and invite psychologists to discuss these - strength is that it encourages debate whereas the BPS and APA approach tends to close off discussions about what is right and wrong because the answers are provided
  • guidelines remove the individual researcher of any responsibility because they can say that they were following the guidelines
62
Q

describe evaluation on cost-benefit analysis

A
  • problem with a cost benefit anaylsis is that it is difficult to predict both costs and benefits prior to the study
  • Diana Baumrind argiued that the cost-benefit approach solves nothing because you simply exchange one set of dilemmas for another
  • Baumrind also argued that the cost -benefit apporach could be said to legitimise unethical practises for example it suggests that deception and harm are acceptable in many situations provided the benefits are high enough
63
Q

How to deal with informed consent

A
  • sign a documment and formally indicate their agreement
  • gain presumptive consent
  • offer right to withdraw
  • if participant is given full information about a study then this invalidates the purpose of the study
  • if researchers have obtained infromed consent then this does not gaurantee that participants really do understand what they have let themselves in for
  • presumptive cosnent is a problem becuase it is what people expect that they will or will not mind can be different from actually experiencing it
64
Q

How to deal with deception

A
  • need for deception should be approved by an ethics committee, weighing up benefits against costs
  • participants should fully be debriefed after - tell them the true nature of the project and be offered the opportunity to discuss any concerns that they may have
  • cost benefit are flawed because they involve subjective judgements and the costs are not always apparent until after the study
  • debriefing cant turn the clock back
65
Q

How to deal with the right to withdraw

A
  • should be informed that they have the right to withdraw
  • feel that they shouldnt withdraw because it will spoil the study
  • they are paid and feel not able to withdraw
66
Q

How to deal with protection from harm

A
  • avoid any risks greater than experienced in everyday life
  • stop if it is expected to do harm
  • harm may not be apparent and only judged later in hindsight
67
Q

How to deal with confidentiality

A
  • not record the names and only use numbers or false names
  • sometimes possible to work out who the participants were using information that has been provided for example the geographical location of the school thereofre confidentiality may not be possible
68
Q

How to deal with privacy

A
  • do not study anyone without there informed consent unless it is in a public place and public behaviour
  • no universal agreement about what constitutes a public place
69
Q

what are the levels of measurement

A
  • nominal
  • interval
  • ordinal
  • ratio
70
Q

what are the measures of central tendency

A

mean
median
mode

71
Q

nominal

A

data are in separate categories

72
Q

ordinal

A

data is ordered in some way

73
Q

interval

A

data are measured using units of equal intervals
- many psychological studies use plastic interval scales where the intervals are arbitrarily determined and therefore we cant know certain intervals between the numbers

74
Q

ratio

A

true 0 point as in most measures of physical quantities

75
Q

mean

A
  • ratio
  • interval
  • called arithmetic mean because it involves an arithmetic calculation
76
Q

median

A
  • ordinal
  • ratio
  • interval
  • if even number there will be two central values
77
Q

mode

A
  • nominal - category that has the highest frequency count
  • interval - data occurs most frequently
  • ordinal - data occurs most frequently
78
Q

range

A
  • method of describing data, if we just used the mean the data would appear the same
79
Q

standard deviation

A
  • method of calculating dispersion

- average distance between each data item above and below the mean

80
Q

what are the measures of dispersion

A
  • range

- standard deviation

81
Q

evaluate mean

A
  • most sensitive measure of central tendency because it takes into account the exact distance between all the values of all data
  • easily disorted by extreme values
  • cannot be used with nominal data
82
Q

evaluate the mode

A
  • unaffected by extreme values more useful for discrete data
  • not useful when there are several modes
83
Q

evaluate the median

A
  • not affected by extreme scores so can be useful

- not as sentiive as the mean

84
Q

evaluate the range

A
  • easy to calculate,
  • affected by extereme values
  • fails to take into account the distribution of the numbers for example it doesnt indicate whether most numbers are closley grouped around the mean or spread out evenly
85
Q

evaluate the standard deviation

A
  • standard deviation is a precise measure of dispersion because it takes all the exact values into account
  • not difficult to calculate
  • may hide some of the charactstics of the data sets

Psychology (37 decks)

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