Research methods - Techniques

Question 1

What are the 4 experimental methods?

Answer 1

Laboratory experiment
Field experiment
Natural experiment
Quasi experiment

Question 2

What is a laboratory experiment?

Answer 2

The IV is manipulated in a controlled environment.

Question 3

What is a field experiment?

Answer 3

The IV is still manipulated but it is carried out in the real life place.

Question 4

What is a natural experiment?

Answer 4

An experiment where the difference in IV would have happened even if the researcher had not been there.

Question 5

What is a quasi experiment?

Answer 5

The IV is not manipulated, it is something that the person just is and cannot be manipulated or changed by the experimenter.

Question 6

What are the strengths of a laboratory experiment?

Answer 6

Can show cause and effect
Creates accurate measurements due to the control
Can be replicated really easily

Question 7

What are the weaknesses of a laboratory experiment?

Answer 7

Low similarity to real-life situations
Tasks are artificial
Aware being studied due to the artificial setting (may act differently)
Total control of all variables is never possible.

Question 8

What are the strengths of a field experiment?

Answer 8

High similarity to real life
Can show cause and effect because the IV is manipulated
Participants may be unaware and won’t act differently

Question 9

What are the weaknesses of a field experiment?

Answer 9

Less control over extraneous variables
Participants don’t always know they’re taking part - unethical
Harder to replicate as the environment is not controlled

Question 10

What are the strengths of a natural experiment?

Answer 10

Ethical - IV is not manipulated
Practical
More applicable to real life (naturally occurring IV)

Question 11

What are the weaknesses of a natural experiment?

Answer 11

Can’t show cause and effect because researcher has not manipulated the IV
Less control over extraneous variables
A desired event may only happen rarely, making opportunities for research less common

Question 12

What are the strengths of a quasi experiment?

Answer 12

Ethical
Practical
More applicable to real life (naturally occurring IV)
Experimental tasks often carried out in controlled environments so some studies will share some strengths of lab experiments

Question 13

What are the weaknesses of a quasi experiment?

Answer 13

Can’t show cause and effect because researcher has not manipulated the IV
Less control over extraneous variables
It may be difficult to find participants that have the correct IV required

Question 14

What are the 3 distinctions of observations?

Answer 14

Naturalistic/controlled
Overt/covert
Participant/non-participant

Question 15

Why do we use self-reports?

Answer 15

To capture feelings, thoughts and beliefs that are not observable.

Question 16

What are the strengths of a self-report?

Answer 16

• We can capture thoughts and feelings which we can’t observe.
• Standardised questionnaires and structured interviews allow easy replication. (High reliability)
• Practical questionnaires in particular allow large quantities of data to be collected quickly.

Question 17

What are the limitations of a self-report?

Answer 17

• Subjective, people may interpret the questions or answer choices differently (low reliability)
• Truthfulness is an issue. Interviewer bias and social desirability bias makes it hard to gauge truthfulness (low validity)

Question 18

What are the strengths of interviews?

Answer 18

• Unstructured or semi-structured interviews allow flexibility and ask further questions

Question 19

What are the weakness of interviews?

Answer 19

• Strong social desirability bias because it is face to face with researcher and the interviewee wants to appeal to the researcher
• Not time efficient: only one person can be interviewed by one interviewer at a time
• Investigator bias: may contain leading questions

Question 20

What are the strengths of questionnaires?

Answer 20

• Less social desirability bias than interviews

- Time efficient: can have thousands answered at the same time, lots of data collected

Question 21

What are the weaknesses of questionnaires?

Answer 21

• No flexibility, questionnaire is already created so no chance for further questions
• Investigator bias: may contain leading questions
• Doesn’t provide detailed data
• Subjective questions or answer choices: people interpret them differently