Research Methods - Scientific processes

Question 1

What is an aim of a study?

Answer 1

The aim of a study is what the purpose is of a piece of research. For example- to investigate if age affects memory.

Question 2

What is a hypothesis?

Answer 2

The prediction of what the results will be.

This can be directional, in which the expected effect of a variable is stated, or non-directional, where a difference is predicted, but not the nature of the difference.

Question 3

What is a null hypothesis?

Answer 3

Predicts that there will be no difference between the conditions.
For example ‘there will be no difference between young and older people in performance on a memory test’.

Question 4

What is the independent variable?

Answer 4

The variable manipulated or changed by the researcher

Question 5

What is the dependent variable?

Answer 5

The variable that is being measured or tested in an experiment

Question 6

What does operationalising variables mean?

Answer 6

When a variable is defined by the researcher and a way of measuring that variable is developed for the research.

For example, ‘Age’ (the IV) could be operationalised as ‘participants between 20 and 25 years of age and participants between 60 and 65 years of age’.

‘Memory ability’ (the DV) could be operationalised as ‘the score on a test of memory’ or ‘the number of words successfully recalled’.

Question 7

What are extraneous variables?

Answer 7

Variables other than the IV which may have an effect on the DV if not controlled for.

For example, in the memory experiment, the intelligence and motivation levels of the participants may have an impact on their score on the memory test. The researcher should take steps to minimise the impact of these, for example by giving participants an IQ test beforehand and eliminating any particularly high or low scores from the sample.

Question 8

What are confounding variables?

Answer 8

Variables other than the IV that have (or almost certainly have) had an effect on the DV. We know they have had an effect because they vary systematically with the IV.

For example, in the memory experiment, if all of the young participants are given the memory test at 9am, and all of the older participants are given the test at 7pm, the time of day has acted as a confounding variable, as it has varied systematically with the IV. Therefore, any difference in the results of the two groups may be due to the difference in time of day, rather than the difference in age. The effect of this can be reduced or eliminated by testing both age groups at the same time of day.

Question 9

What are demand charachteristics?

Answer 9

These are clues which participants respond to when in an experimental situation, in which they try to guess the aim or intended outcome of a study and therefore change their behaviour accordingly.
They are a form of participant reactivity (people not behaving naturally as they know they are being studied). The effect of these can be reduced by not revealing the aim of the study to the participants, or by using an independent measures design, so that participants only take part in one of the experimental conditions.
For example, if participants are told the aim of the memory study, the young participants may try really hard on the memory test, as they may guess that this is the predicted outcome of the study. They act in ways that they think will please the experimenter. Alternatively, the older participants may try really hard on the test in order to prove the prediction wrong. Either way, the participants do not act naturally, so reducing the validity (correctness) of the results.

Question 10

What are experimenter effects?

Answer 10

These are any unwanted influences that the investigator/experimenter communicates to the participants which affects their behaviour. For example, being more encouraging towards the young participants in the memory test, as this is the expected result. These can be minimised by the use of standardised instructions, or the double-blind procedure.

Question 11

What is randomisation?

Answer 11

This is a way of controlling for the effects of extraneous/confounding variables. Allocating participants to tasks, selecting samples of participants, and so on, should be left to chance as far as possible, to reduce the investigator’s influence on a study.

Question 12

What is standardisation?

Answer 12

This is where the experience of an experiment is (as far as possible) kept identical for every participant, for example using standardised instructions. This reduces the effect of extraneous/confounding variables.

Question 13

What is a single vs double-blind procedure?

Answer 13

The single-blind procedure is when the participant does not know the aim of the study. This helps reduce the possibility of demand characteristics from affecting the results.

Double-blind is when the investigator who deals with the participants also does not know the aim of the study. This helps reduce the chance of investigator effects, as the investigator will not unconsciously communicate the aim to the participants.

Question 14

What are control groups?

Answer 14

These are used for the purpose of comparison, often when testing the effects of a drug, for example.
One group of participants (the ‘experimental group’) will be given the real drug, another group a placebo (fake drug).
This can allow the researcher to directly compare the results of the two groups. If the experimental group improves then it is likely that this is because of the drug.

Question 15

What is the population in a study?

Answer 15

The population is the target group of people the researcher is studying (e.g. ‘males in their 20s’).

Question 16

What is the sample in a study?

Answer 16

The sample is the group of people selected to take part in the study, drawn from the target population.

Question 17

What is a random sample?

Answer 17

Each member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected. For example, using a random name or number generator, or picking names out of a hat.

Question 18

Advantages of random sampling

Answer 18

It is widely accepted that since each member has the same probability of being selected, there is a reasonable chance of achieving a representative sample.

Question 19

Disadvantages of random sampling

Answer 19

Small minority groups within your target group may distort results, even with a random sampling technique.

It can be impractical (or not possible) to use a completely random technique, e.g. the target group may be too large to assign numbers to.

Question 20

What is systematic sampling?

Answer 20

A participant is selected in a systematic way, for example, selecting every 10th person from the electoral roll. This is decided through a sampling frame, where a list of the target population is put in order.

Question 21

Advantages of systematic sampling

Answer 21

Assuming the list order has been randomised, this method offers an unbiased chance of gaining a representative sample.

Question 22

Disadvantages of systematic sampling

Answer 22

If the list has been assembled in any other way, bias may be present. For example if every fourth person in the list was male, you would have only males in your sample.

Question 23

What is a stratified sample?

Answer 23

The make-up of the sample reflects the make-up of the target population. For example, if studying teachers, as there are more female than male teachers, there should be more female participants. If 60% of teachers are female, this means that in a sample of 20, there should be 12 female and 8 male teachers. Once these quotas are identified, the participants to fill them are selected at random from the target population.

Question 24

Advantages of stratified sampling

Answer 24

• Random techniques are used, so the researcher can’t influence the selection.
• The sample produced is representative of the target population, as it has been designed to be so.

Question 25

Disadvantages of stratified sampling

Answer 25

It is hard to represent all the ways in which people are different.

Takes a lot of time & effort.

Question 26

What is opportunity sampling?

Answer 26

Participants are selected from whoever is most easily available. For example, standing in the street one afternoon and approaching passers-by to see if they want to take part.

Question 27

Advantages of opportunity sampling

Answer 27

This method is easy and inexpensive to carry out.

Question 28

Disadvantages of opportunity sampling

Answer 28

There is a high chance of obtaining an unrepresentative sample, as large groups of the population have no chance of being involved.

Also the researcher controls which participants are selected, which could lead to bias.

Question 29

What is volunteer sampling?

Answer 29

Participants put themselves forward to take part in a study. For example, a newspaper or internet advert is placed asking for volunteers, and people respond agreeing to take part.

Question 30

Advantages of volunteer sampling

Answer 30

This is easy and convenient for the researcher

Question 31

Disadvantages of volunteer sampling

Answer 31

It is open to volunteer bias, whereby only certain types of people (the type that put themselves forward) take part. This reduces the representativeness of the sample.

Question 32

What are pilot studies?

Answer 32

These are small-scale trial runs of an experiment. The purpose is to check that the procedure works smoothly and that there are no misconceptions. Any problems can be addressed and the procedures amended for the real study.

Question 33

What is meant by experimental design?

Answer 33

This refers to how participants are allocated to experimental conditions.

Question 34

What is independent groups design?

Answer 34

There are different participants in each condition. This would be appropriate for the memory experiment, as the participants need to be different ages in each condition.

Question 35

Advantages of independent groups design

Answer 35

• Participants are less likely to guess the aim of the study
• There are no order effects- effects arising from having completed two tasks, for example becoming more practised and doing better in the second condition, or getting bored/fatigued and doing worse in the second condition

Question 36

Disadvantages of independent groups design

Answer 36

• There may be differences between the two groups of people- e.g. intelligence, age, gender, which may cause differences in the results (participant variables).
• Twice as many participants are needed.

Question 37

What is repeated measures design?

Answer 37

One group of participants completes both/all of the conditions of the experiment.

For example, to test the effect of listening to music on problem-solving ability, participants are given problems to solve whilst listening to music, then another set of problems to solve in silence.

Question 38

Advantages of repeated measures design

Answer 38

There are no participant variables between the conditions.

Fewer participants are needed.

Question 39

Disadvantages of repeated measures design

Answer 39

There are order effects which may influence the results. This can be addressed by counterbalancing - half the participants do one task followed by the second (A followed by B) and the other does the opposite (B followed by A).

Also, participants may work out the aim of the study, like in the music example, and may change their behaviour.

Question 40

What is matched pairs design?

Answer 40

Similar to independent groups, but participants are ‘matched’ on qualities relevant to the experiment.

For example, in the music study, one participant is allocated to the ‘music’ condition, and another who is similar in terms of age, IQ and occupation is allocated to the ‘silence’ condition. This involves pre-testing participants on certain measures in order to match them up.

Question 41

Advantages of matched pairs design

Answer 41

Order effects and demand characteristics are less likely to have an impact

Participant variables are reduced

Question 42

Disadvantages of matched pairs design

Answer 42

Participants can never be matched perfectly, so there might still be some participant variables.

Matched pairs is the most time-consuming and expensive design to use.

Question 43

What does the BPS do?

Answer 43

The British Psychological Society (BPS) issues ethical guidelines which researchers must adhere to. If they do not, they may lose their job and the ability to practise as a psychologist. `

Question 44

What is informed consent?

Answer 44

Making participants aware of the aims and purposes of a study, so that they can agree to take part in the full knowledge of what the research is about and what they are letting themselves in for.

This would include informing the participant that they have the right to withdraw from the study at any point (any payments made for taking part must still be given in cases of withdrawal).
It may be that gaining full informed consent is not possible before the study, as it would render the results meaningless (for example, the Asch study into conformity).

Question 45

How do researchers deal with gaining informed consent?

Answer 45

Participants are given information outlining every detail of the study, before they agree to take part. If they are under 16, parental consent must be sought.

If full informed consent cannot be gained, researchers could gain presumptive consent (getting a group of people similar to the participants to say if they would consent to take part in the study- if they say yes, it can be presumed the participants would also have agreed); prior general consent (participants give ‘general permission’ to take part in a number of studies, some involving deception); or retrospective consent (participants give full informed consent via a debrief at the end of the study, at which point they can ask to withdraw their results).

Question 46

What is meant by deception?

Answer 46

Deliberately lying to, or misleading the participants, is deception. If deception has occurred, participants cannot give informed consent. Deception may be necessary in some cases for an experiment to work (for example, not telling the participant that other people in the study are confederates. The deception should not be too severe, however.

Question 47

How is the issue of deception dealt with?

Answer 47

Participants should be fully debriefed, where the aims of the study, deceptions, and reasons for any deception are revealed. At this stage, participants should be given the right to withhold their data.

Question 48

What is meant by protection from harm?

Answer 48

Participants should be protected from physical or psychological harm in a study. The risk of harm should be no greater than in everyday life (for example, in the Strange Situation, although the babies were distressed at being separated from the caregiver, this is something which would happen in their everyday lives). If participants feel uncomfortable in a study, they have the right to withdraw from it.

Question 49

How is protection from harm dealt with?

Answer 49

In the debriefing, participants should be reassured about their performance in the study, and offered counselling if appropriate.

Question 50

What does privacy refer to in research?

Answer 50

Privacy refers to not invading people’s personal lives as part of the study- observing people in a park is acceptable, as it is a public place and people would expect to be looked at. Observing someone through their bedroom window is not acceptable.

Question 51

What does confidentiality refer to in research?

Answer 51

Confidentiality is having any personal data, such as names, or information that could lead to the participant being identified, kept hidden.

Question 52

How is confidentiality dealt with in research?

Answer 52

Participants can be referred to by number rather than name, or by the use of initials (such as KF). In the debrief, participants are reassured that their personal information will be kept confidential.

Question 53

What is peer review in psychological research?

Answer 53

Peer review is used to assess the quality of research conducted by psychologists (and any other scientists) in terms of its validity and reliability. This is done to ensure that any published findings of research are trustworthy and of a high quality.

Question 54

How does peer review work?

Answer 54

A small group of experts will scrutinise the research and how it was conducted, in order to ensure that the findings and conclusions are genuine. The reviewers will be anonymous and unknown to the researcher. The aims of peer review are to validate the quality of research in terms of accuracy, to allocate research funding, for example deciding if a grant should be awarded to a research body, and to suggest amendments or improvements before research is published.

Question 55

Disadvantages of peer reviews

Answer 55

Sometimes, reviewers may use the process to ‘settle old scores’, for example refusing to publish research by a psychologist who may have criticised them in the past. This reduces the objectivity of the process.

The ‘file drawer phenomenon’ means that there is a bias towards publishing statistically significant results of studies, and ignoring or not publishing results of studies which find so significance. This means a false impression is created of a research area, as ten studies finding no positive result are not published, and the one that does, does get published.

Question 56

Outline what is meant by the economy

Answer 56

‘The economy’ relates to anything that affects prosperity, for example employment rates and effectiveness of workers, tax revenues, the spending of income on public services, and so on.

Question 57

How can psychological research have implications for the economy?

Answer 57

For example attachment research has shown the importance of the role of the father, meaning that today it is recognised that both parents are equally capable of raising the child. This has implications in terms of shared parental leave, and the sharing of childcare duties at home so both parents are able to work. ‘Implications’ therefore, often refers to:

• The time spent working/number of days off sick
• The amount of tax revenue that can be raised
• The pressure on public services such as the NHS

Question 58

What is meant by reliability?

Answer 58

Reliability is a measure of consistency- producing the same results over and over again.
For example, a pair of scales should, if weighing the same thing, show the same reading each time. Any change in the reading would be due to a change in the object being weighed.
In psychological research, reliability refers to the consistency of results from a study. If the same method is used and the same results are produced, the study can be said to be reliable.

Question 59

What is the test-retest method of assessing reliability?

Answer 59

This simply means giving participants the same questionnaire, or the same tasks in an experiment, on more than one occasion.

As the participants are the same, the results gained should be the same as well.
Enough time must pass between the test and the retest so that the participant will not easily remember what they did the first time around.

Once completed, the participant’s scores can be correlated and a statistical test can be done to check the degree of similarity. If there is a significant positive correlation (a coefficient of +.80 or more) the study is likely to be reliable.

Question 60

What is the inter-observer method of assessing reliability?

Answer 60

At least two observers record the same behaviours using the same behavioural categories. The results of the observers are correlated and a statistical test can be done to see if there is a significant relationship. If there is, the reliability of the observation is likely to be good. This technique can also be used for content analyses and interviews (inter-interviewer reliability).

Question 61

How can the reliability of experiments be improved?

Answer 61

The reliability of experiments can be improved by controlling the conditions of the experiment as far as possible, so that complete replication is possible. This would include publishing full details of the method and materials used, using standardised instructions, and so on.

Question 62

How can the reliability of observations be improved?

Answer 62

Behavioural categories need to be fully operationalised (measurable/observable), should not overlap with each other- for example, ‘hitting’ and ‘striking’ would be too similar- and all possible behaviours should be covered. This makes the categories as objective as possible, and less open to individual interpretation.

Question 63

How can the reliability of questionnaires be improved?

Answer 63

These can be improved by using the test-retest method. If reliability is low, the questionnaire should be modified by amending or removing questions (for example if they are unclear), before using the test-retest method again to see if it has improved.

Question 64

How can the reliability of interviews be improved?

Answer 64

Using the same interviewer each time will enhance reliability. Alternatively, the questions should not be leading or ambiguous. Structured interviews are much more likely to be reliable than unstructured interviews.

Question 65

What does validity refer to?

Answer 65

Validity refers to whether the psychological study truly measured what it intended (or claimed) to measure, and whether the results are a true reflection of behaviour in other contexts- in other words, how far they can be generalised.

Question 66

What is meant by internal validity?

Answer 66

This is related to what actually happens in a study; whether the study measured what it intended to measure. In terms of an experiment it refers to whether the independent variable really has had an effect on the dependent variable, or whether the dependent variable was caused by some other extraneous or confounding variable.

Question 67

What does external validity refer to?

Answer 67

This refers to whether the findings of a study really can be generalised beyond the present study.

Question 68

What are the three types of external validity?

Answer 68

• Population validity
• Ecological validity
• Temporal validity

Question 69

What is meant by population validity?

Answer 69

The extent to which the findings can be generalised to other populations of people.

For example, Asch’s conformity experiment only tested American men, so people from other cultures and females may have acted in a different way.

Question 70

What is meant by ecological validity?

Answer 70

The extent to which the findings can be generalised to other situations outside of the research study. Often this means considering whether the study represents behaviour in a more natural setting.

For example, Asch’s study used a task (judging line lengths) which is very unlike anything that would occur in everyday life, so the task lacked mundane realism. Therefore, the ecological validity of the study is lowered.

Question 71

What is meant by temporal validity?

Answer 71

The extent to which the findings can be generalised to other time periods.

For example, Asch’s study took place in 1950s USA, which can be argued to be a more conformist time generally due to the fear of communism (and people being secret communists or Russian spies) which was rife during the Cold War. Therefore, people may have been much more concerned with fitting in than they would be today, for instance.

Question 72

What are the assessments of validity?

Answer 72

• Face validity
• Concurrent validity

Question 73

What is face validity?

Answer 73

Looking at the test or questionnaire and deciding, at face value, if it measures what it intends to measure.

Question 74

What is concurrent validity?

Answer 74

This is where the results of a test are compared with another existing, well-established test which measures the same thing, such as an IQ test for intelligence. If there is a strong positive correlation (above +0.8) between the participant’s scores on the two tests, then the test is likely to be valid.

Question 75

How would you improve validity in an experiment?

Answer 75

Experiments: using a control group to compare the results of the experimental group to can improve validity. For example, a drug is tested by using participants who take the drug, and those that take a placebo. If the experimental group’s results are different to the control group, the IV is likely to have changed the DV.

Observations: covert observations are likely to be high in validity.

Questionnaires: keeping results anonymous increases the chances that the participant will answer truthfully.

Qualitative methods: case studies and interviews (particularly unstructured ones) are thought to have higher ecological validity, as they more accurately reflect the richness and complexity of the human experience. The researcher must take care to clearly report any findings so that they are free from bias. Including direct quotes is an example of how this can be done.

Question 76

What is meant by objectivity and the empirical method?

Answer 76

Psychologists should aim to be objective in their work. This means not letting their personal biases affect the results of studies. The research method which tends to be the most objective is the laboratory experiment, as the impact of variables is closely controlled. The empirical method refers to using observable evidence to draw conclusions and propose theories.

Question 77

What is meant by replicability?

Answer 77

This is the ability to repeat psychological studies in order to check that the findings are reliable. This is an important aspect of science, as it means that the findings can be repeated at different times, in different places, with different participants. If similar results are seen each time, the results are generalizable, and the validity is strengthened.

Question 78

What is meant by falsifiability?

Answer 78

The philosopher Karl Popper (1934) argued that in order for a theory to be truly scientific, it must be falsifiable- in other words, be possible to be proved wrong. It is very difficult to prove that something is true but it is possible to prove something is false. Popper used the example of swans. If the theory is that all swans are white, then no amount of observations of white swans would ‘prove’ this, as there might be a black swan out there that hasn’t been observed. Therefore, the researcher should try to find the black swan. If one is found, the theory is false, and would need to be modified. Theories which survive repeated attempts to prove it wrong can be accepted as being very likely to be true. They can never be fully ‘proved’, which is why researchers would not say that the results of a study ‘prove that’ a theory is correct.

Question 79

Outline theory construction and hypothesis testing

Answer 79

A theory is a set of general laws or rules to explain events or behaviours. A theory might be put forward about a particular aspect of behaviour, such as memory, social influence or attachment behaviour. This forms the basis of a hypothesis- a testable prediction of what will happen in a research study investigating the theory. Once the study is conducted, the hypothesis can be accepted or rejected, leading to acceptance of the theory or modification of the theory. This process is known as deduction.

Question 80

Outline what is meant by a paradigm and a paradigm shift

Answer 80

A paradigm is a particular set of assumptions or a generally accepted way of thinking within a subject or discipline such as science. Philosopher Thomas Kuhn (1962) suggested that psychology and other social sciences are not scientific, as they do not possess a single paradigm- they have a number of competing assumptions (for example, the various approaches to psychology each emphasise a different explanation of human behaviour). Subjects such as biology on the other hand do have an accepted set of assumptions, which according to Kuhn makes them truly scientific. Kuhn also said that every so often a paradigm shift takes place, where a new way of thinking takes over. This happens once enough evidence emerges to challenge the current paradigm. An example of a paradigm shift would be when Einstein’s theory of relativity changed the accepted assumptions within physics.

Question 81

Why might psychology be argued to have a paradigm?

Answer 81

It could be argued that, despite Kuhn’s views, psychology does have a paradigm- for example, the acceptance of the scientific method to test theories- and has gone through paradigm shifts- for example Wundt’s structuralism, to behaviourism, to the cognitive neuroscience model being dominant in the subject. In addition, science itself is characterised by internal conflict, so may not have a paradigm of its own.

Question 82

Outline the sections of a scientific report

Answer 82

Title: this will determine who reads the full report. It should be as concise as possible, yet at the same time it should be informative.
Abstract: a brief (150-200 words) summary of the report. If a psychologist finds the title to be useful the next step is for them to read the abstract. This is a concise summary of the study covering the aims/hypothesis, method/procedure, results and conclusions.
Introduction: designed to introduce the reader to the topic area and background to the study.
Method: this section will describe how the study was conducted. It should have enough information to allow for replication.
Results: will report the findings of the study clearly and accurately.
Discussion: this section begins with a summary of the findings of the results before going on to offer explanations of the behaviours observed and may also consider the implications of the research and make suggestions for further research.
References/Bibliography: The format is: Author (Year). Title of Book. Place: Publisher
Appendices: comprised of a copy of all resources/materials used within the study, raw data and statistical calculations.

Question 83

Outline what is meant by quantatative data

Answer 83

Quantitative data is data in the form of numbers.

This includes number scores, rankings, tally marks, percentages, statistical measures and various types of graphs.

The main advantage of quantitative data for psychologists is that it is objective - numbers mean the same thing to everyone and you don’t need to interpret them personally; this makes quantitative data very reliable and highly scientific.

It is good for making comparisons.

However, it is reductionist. For example, two respondents could fill out a questionnaire completely differently but get the same overall score.
In an observation, tallying the number of times a behaviour took place gives researchers a frequency score but it doesn’t tell you what the behaviour was like (serious or playful? successful or unsuccessful? enthusiastic or half-hearted?) or why the person acted as they did

Question 84

Outline what is meant by qualitative data

Answer 84

Qualitative research collects non-numerical data such as words, images, and sounds. The focus is on exploring subjective experiences, opinions, and attitudes, often through observation and interviews.

Qualitative research aims to produce rich and detailed descriptions of the phenomenon being studied, and to uncover new insights and meanings.

e.g. interviews, observations.

Because of the time and costs involved, qualitative designs do not generally draw samples from large-scale data sets.
The problem of adequate validity or reliability is a major criticism. Because of the subjective nature of qualitative data and its origin in single contexts, it is difficult to apply conventional standards of reliability and validity.

Because of close researcher involvement, the researcher gains an insider’s view of the field. This allows the researcher to find issues that are often missed (such as subtleties and complexities) by the scientific, more positivistic inquiries.
Qualitative descriptions can be important in suggesting possible relationships, causes, effects, and dynamic processes.

Question 85

Outline the measures of central tendency

Answer 85

• Mean
• Mode
• Median

Question 86

Outline the measures of dispersion

Answer 86

range and standard deviation

Question 87

What is a skewed distribution?

Answer 87

A skewed distribution is one where frequency data is not spread evenly (i.e. normally distributed); the data is clustered at one end. Data that is positively skewed has a long tail that extends to the right. Data that is negatively skewed have a long tail that extends to the left.

Question 88

When would you use a bar chart?

Answer 88

When data is divided into categories (discrete)

Question 89

When should you use a bar chart?

Answer 89

When data is divided into categories (discrete)

Question 90

When would you use a scattergram?

Answer 90

When looking for a relationship between two variables.
Shows you the strength and direction of the relationship.

Question 91

When would you use a histogram?

Answer 91

When there is continuous data e.g. weight
Bars touch each other.