Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Year 1 Psychology > Research Methods - Planning research > Flashcards

Research Methods - Planning research Flashcards

All AS and A2 research methods on the AQA psychology specification are covered as part of this deck

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
AP® Psychology flashcards Psychology 101 flashcards GRE® Psychology flashcards
1
Q

Qualitative data

A

Expressed in words, in depth-non numerical (thoughts, feelings etc).

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Quantitative data

A

Numerical data

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Primary data

A

Obtained first hand by the researcher for the purpose of the current study

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Secondary Data

A

Information already collected by others or already in existence so pre-dates current project

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

An ‘aim’ in research is…

A

A general statement of what the researcher wants to investigate

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

A hypothesis is

A

A clear testable statement that states a relationship or effect between variables

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

A one tailed hypothesis is

A

Directional - it predicts the direction of the outcome (e.g. which group will perform better)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

A two tailed hypothsis is

A

Non directional - it predicts there will be a difference/relationship but not in which direction

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

When do researchers tend to use a directional hypothesis?

A

When there is previous research on the topic

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

When do researchers tend to use a non-directional hypothesis?

A

When there is no previous research or it is contradictory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Independent variable

A

the variable that the researcher MANIPULATES or that changes naturally (the cause)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Dependent variable

A

the variable the researcher MEASURES (the effect)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What is meant by ‘levels of the IV’

A

The experimental conditions participants are in e.g. if the IV is Amount of Caffeine the levels may be ‘Caffeine’ and ‘No Caffeine’

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is the term for clearly defining your variables in terms of how they can be measured?

A

Operationalisation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is the ‘baseline’ condition called in an experiment?

A

Control group

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

An extraneous variable is

A

A variable outside of the IV which has the capability to affect the DV if not controlled

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

How is an extraneous variable different to a confounding variable?

A

EVs dont systematically vary with the DV so have the capability to affect the DV is not controlled. CVs do vary with the IV so it’s impossible to tell if this has affected the DV or not! It has confounded our results!

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Participants react to cues from the researcher/environment and this is known as

A

Participant reactivity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

These are cues from the research regarding the AIM which lead to the potential of participants changing their behaviour.

A

Demand characteristics

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What are the behavioural consequences of demand characteristics?

A

The please-U effect (over-perform to please the researcher) or the screw-U effect (underperform to sabotage the research).

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

The investigator may (consciously or unconsciously) affect the participant’s behaviour, this is known as…

A

Investigator effects

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

A method to control the effects of bias when designing materials and deciding the order of experimental conditions

A

Randomisation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

A method of controlling for investigator effects by keeping all procedures the same for each participant

A

Standardisation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

A control method where the participant is not aware of the research aims to prevent demand characteristics

A

Single blind procedure

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

A control method where the participant is not aware of the research aims to prevent demand characteristics and the researcher is not aware of the aims to prevent researcher bias

A

Double Blind Procedure

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

What is meant by order effects?

A

Performance in a second set of conditions is improved (practice effect) or worsened (fatigue/boredom effect) compared to the first

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

How might you control for order effects?

A

Counterbalancing or use an independent measures design

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

What is counterbalancing?

A

the ABBA technique - participants complete the conditions in different order to spread out order effects.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

How can you control participant variables?

A

Repeated measures design, matched pairs design, random allocation to conditions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

What is meant by the ‘population’

A

A group of people who are the focus of the research from which the sample are drawn

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

The group of people who take part in the research and are presumed to represent a larger target population are called…

A

Sample

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

The methods used to collect your sample are collectively known as

A

Sampling techniques

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

What is meant by a random sample?

A

All members of the target population have an equal chance of being selected for the sample

34
Q

How is a random sample collected?

A
  • Get a complete list of all names of people in the target population
  • assign each name a number
  • use a lottery method to select X amount (picking from a hat, computer method)
35
Q

1 Strength and 1 weakness of random sampling

A

+ potentially unbiases due to the laws of chance = increase internal validity
- time consuming and could still be unrepresentative particularly is some refuse to take part (then its more like a volunteer sample)

36
Q

What is systematic sampling?

A

Selecting every nth person in a population

37
Q

How is a systematic sample collected?

A
  • Create a sampling frame (organised list of everyone in the population e.g. alphabetical)
  • Choose a sampling system (every 3rd or 5th for example)
  • start your sampling from a random point
38
Q

1 Strength and 1 weakness of systematic sampling

A

+ Objective as the researcher has no influence over participant selection
- time consuming and if participants refuse it becomes biased like a volunteer sample

39
Q

What is stratified sampling?

A

Where the composition of a sample matches the composition of a population based on its subgroups (or strata)

40
Q

How is a stratified sample collected?

A
  • Identify the strata (or sub groups)
  • Work out the representative proportions of each strata for the sample
  • Use random sampling to select the number needed in each strata
41
Q

1 Strength and 1 weakness of Stratified Sampling

A

+ representative as it reflects the proportions of the population
- cannot represent all differences so can’t get a completely accurate representation of the population

42
Q

What is opportunity sampling?

A

The sample is made up of anyone is is willing and available at the time of the research

43
Q

How is an opportunity sample collected?

A

The research would ask anyone who is around at the time of the study if they would take part

44
Q

1 Strength and 1 weakness of opportunity sampling

A

+ quick and convenient
- unrepresentative sample as participants may have something in common if they’re all free and available at that time and also open to researcher bias as they choose the participants.

45
Q

What is a volunteer sample?

A

Participants self-select i.e. volunteer to take part in response to an advert

46
Q

How is volunteer sampling conducted?

A

The researcher places an advert in a relevant place (poster, newspaper or magazine, online) and waits for responses

47
Q

1 Strength and 1 weakness of volunteer sampling

A
  • easy and not time consuming on the part of the researcher
  • sample suffers from volunteer bias
48
Q

What is meant by generalisability?

A

The extent to which the findings of research using a sample can be broadly applied to the population

49
Q

Who is responsible for creation of ethical guidelines?

A

BPS (British Psychological Society)

50
Q

Name the 4 major principles of the ethics code

A
  • Respect
  • Responsibility
  • Competence
  • Integrity
51
Q

What method would an ethics committee use in determining if a piece of research is ethically acceptable?

A

Cost- benefit analysis (does the benefit of the research outweigh the costs?)

52
Q

What is meant by informed consent?

A

Participants are aware of the aims and procedures of the research and their right to withdraw (without penalty) as well as how their data will be used before deciding to take part in the study

53
Q

How do you get informed consent?

A

Issue a consent letter/brief with all relevant information that participants can sign (parents sign if under 16)

54
Q

What is meant by deception?

A

Deliberately misleading participants about the true nature of the study (aims, procedures or nature of confederates) meaning you don’t obtain informed consent

55
Q

What is meant by protection from harm?

A

Participants should not, as a consequence of their participation, be placed at a greater risk of physical or psychological harm than in daily life. Participants should have the right to withdraw if they feel so as part of their protection from harm.

56
Q

If you have deceived/exposed participants to harm - what should researchers do?

A
  • Full Debrief (including reveling the true nature of the study and how the data will be used)
  • Provide the right to withdraw/withhold data
  • Offer counselling if relevant
57
Q

What is meant by confidentiality?

A

Having the right to control your own information (right to privacy) so participants’ data should not be personally identifiable (should be anonymous or coded) nor should institutions/locations be named and should be stored in line with the data protection act.

58
Q

What is meant by a pilot study?

A

A small scale version of the research conducted prior to the main study.

59
Q

What is the aim of pilot studies?

A

Check materials/procedures and review before the larger scale study

60
Q

Name the term: refers to consistency, i.e. the ability to get the same results. If a study is repeated using the same method, design and measurements, and the same results are obtained

A

Reliability

61
Q

Name the term: the extent to which a particular measure used in an investigation (e.g. a questionnaire or test administered) is consistent within itself

A

Internal reliability

62
Q

Name the term: the extent to which the results of a measure are consistent from one use to another

A

External reliability

63
Q

Explain how the split half method tests reliability

A

You would compare the scores from the two halves using a correlational analysis

64
Q

Explain how the test-retest method tests reliability

A

Complete a task twice on two different occasions cores from the 2 tasks (the test and the retest) are compared using correlational analysis

65
Q

Explain how you would establish inter-observer reliability

A

Two observers would carry out the test separately and then the observers’ sores would be analysed using a correlation

66
Q

What score on a correlation would indicate reliability

A

0.8 or above

67
Q

How do you increase reliability?

A
  • Operationalising variables
  • Pilot studies
  • Standardisation
68
Q

Name the term: concerns accuracy; the degree to which something overall measures what it intends to

A

Validity

69
Q

Name the term: concerns whether the research is accurate in itself, and whether the researcher has measured what they intended

A

Internal validity

70
Q

Name the term: whether the results are still accurate in other settings

A

External validity

71
Q

Name the term: The extent to which a measure, at ‘face value’, looks like it is measuring what it intends to

A

Face validity

72
Q

Name the term: correlating scores on a new test of unknown validity with another test that is known to be valid and trusted to check for accuracy

A

Concurrent validity

73
Q

Name the term: the extent to which the results are considered an accurate representation of other people

A

Population validity

74
Q

Name the term: the extent to which results are considered accurate outside the research setting

A

Ecological validity

75
Q

Name the term: the extent to which results are considered accurate across time

A

Temporal Validity

76
Q

Name the term: refers to the view that gathering data and evidence from experience (sensory information) is central to the scientific method, rather than simply relying upon our
own viewpoints.

A

empiricism

77
Q

Name the term: the extent to which research or materials/procedures are able to be repeated

A

replicability

78
Q

Name the term: not open to interpretation - using critical distance to analyse information rather than subjectivity

A

objectivity

79
Q

Name the term: - a set of shared assumptions and agreed methods within a scientific discipline (these may change)

A

paradigms and paradigm shifts

80
Q

Name the term: the opportunity to refute a claim and prove it as false

A

falsifiability

Year 1 Psychology (9 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions