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Psychology > Research Methods Year 1 > Flashcards

Research Methods Year 1 Flashcards

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1
Q

What is an experimental method ?

A

A scientific method that involves the manipulation of variables to determine cause and effect.

However, establishing this is not easy + requires researchers to conduct studies that are classified as ‘true experiments’.

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2
Q

What is a true experiment ?

A

There is a control condition + an experimental condition.

participants are randomly assigned to these conditions so the researcher can make fair comparisons between both groups.

The researcher manipulates the IV to test its effect on the DV.
everything else is kept the same (control variable).

If there is a change in the results, the IV caused the change in the DV (cause + effect)

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3
Q

What is the IV ?

A

Independent variable.

A variable that is manipulated by the researcher, or changes naturally.

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4
Q

What is the DV ?

A

Dependent variable.

The variable that is measured by the researcher. Any effect on the DV should be caused by changes in the IV.

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5
Q

What is the DV ?

A

Dependent variable.

The variable that is measured by the researcher. Any effect on the DV should be caused by changes in the IV.

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6
Q

How can we test the effect of the IV ?

A
  1. The control condition
  2. The experimental condition
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7
Q

What is the control condition ?

A

a baseline measure of behaviour without experimental treatment.

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8
Q

What is the experimental condition ?

A

One where there has been researcher manipulation.

The researcher is keen to see if a difference in behaviour has occurred.

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9
Q

What is operationalisation ?

A

Clearly defining variables so they can be measured.

E.g. intelligence, social anxiety…

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10
Q

What is an aim ?

A

A general statement of what the researcher intends to investigate (the purpose of the study).

They are developed from theories.

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11
Q

What is a hypothesis ?

A

A testable statement predicting the outcome of the study which is made at the start of the study.

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12
Q

What are the 2 types of hypotheses ?

A
  1. Alternate/experimental hypothesis
  2. Null hypothesis
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13
Q

What is the null hypothesis ?

A

Predicts that there will be no difference/relationship.

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14
Q

What is an alternate/experimental hypothesis ?

A

Predicts a difference/relationship and can be directional or non directional

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15
Q

What is a directional hypothesis ? (Or one tailed hypothesis)

A

The researcher makes it clear what sort of difference that may be seen between the 2 conditions.

The hypothesis may use the words like ‘less’ ‘more’ ‘higher’ ‘lower’

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16
Q

What is a non directional hypothesis ? (Or a two tailed hypothesis)

A

When there has been no previous research to suggest what direction the research will go in, or the previous findings have been contradictory.

The researcher states ‘there will be a difference’ or ‘there will be a relationship’ between the 2 conditions.

The direction of the outcome isn’t mentioned.

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17
Q

What are the 5 steps to writing an experimental hypothesis ?

A
  1. Identify the IV and the DV
  2. How is the IV manipulated e.g. what are the levels of the IV? (Compare)
  3. How has the DV been measured exactly? Operationalise the DV.
  4. Should the hypothesis be one tailed or two tailed?
  5. Write your hypothesis- Put all the information together.
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18
Q

Template for a non directional hypothesis :

A

There will be a difference in (DV) , measured by (OPERATIONALISED DV) for participants who (IV - CONDITION 1) compared to those who (IV - CONDITION 2).

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19
Q

How do you write a 1 tailed hypothesis + template for it :

A

Follow steps I-3, then you will identify in step 4 that previous research has been conducted that has demonstrated the direction the researcher is likely to go in.
+ compare the groups.

Participants who (IV - CONDITION 1) will be more/less (OPERATIONALISED DV) than participants who (IV - CONDITION 2)

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20
Q

What is a correlational hypothesis ?

A

this looks at a relationship between two co-variables.

there is no IV or DV in a correlation.

it can still be directional or non-directional.

the co-variables must still be clearly operationalised.

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21
Q

template for a correlational hypothesis ?

A

there will be a correlation between (co variable I) and (co variable 2)

non directional : there will be a correlation…

directional : there will be a positive/negative correlation…

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22
Q

What are the 4 types of experiments ?

A
  1. Laboratory experiments
  2. Field experiments
  3. Natural experiments
  4. Quasi-experiments
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23
Q

What are laboratory experiments ?

A

experiments that are conducted in a highly controlled setting, usually a research laboratory where participants are aware of being observed and part of a study.

the researcher manipulates the IV + records the effects of the DV.

participants can be randomly allocated to conditions (so considered a ‘true’ experiment)

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24
Q

what are the advantages of a lab experiment ?

A
  1. High control over extraneous variables meaning cause and effect can be established.
  2. Replication is possible due to the high level of control. This means results can be checked for reliability.
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25
Q

what are the disadvantages of a lab experiment ?

A
  1. Participants are often aware of being tested - possible demand characteristics.
  2. Artificial environment means it may lack generalisability.
  3. Investigator effects may occur (unless it is a double blind experiment- this is when both the participant and the researcher conducting the experiment does not know the aims of the investiaation)
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26
Q

what is a field experiment ?

A

the researcher still manipulates the IV and records the effects on the DV but the experiment is conducted in a real life setting (natural)

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27
Q

what are the advantages of field experiments ?

A
  1. High ecological validity due to being conducted in a real-life setting.
  2. Behaviour is likely to be more valid & authentic (less demand characteristics).
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28
Q

what are the disadvantages of field experiments ?

A
  1. There is less control over extraneous variables (these will be different depending on the experiment).
  2. It is difficult to replicate them completely because they tend to be less controlled.
  3. Possible ethical issues if participants are unaware they’re being studied.
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29
Q

what is a natural experiment ?

A

the researcher takes advantage of a naturally occurring IV and the effect it has on the DV.

the experimenter has not manipulated the IV directly; the IV would vary naturally whether or not the researcher was interested.

the researcher cannot randomly allocate participants to conditions and/or has no control over the IV. this is not a ‘true’ experiment.

it is the IV that is natural, not necessarily the setting.

30
Q

what are the advantages of natural experiments ?

A
  1. Provides opportunities for research that may not be otherwise conducted due to practical /ethical reasons
  2. They have high external validity because they involve the study of real-life.
31
Q

what are the disadvantages of natural experiments ?

A
  1. A naturally occurring event may happen, rarely limiting generalisation to other situations.
  2. Participants may not be randomly, allocated to conditions.
32
Q

what is an example of a natural experiment ?

A

Romanian Orphan studies (Attachment topic)

IV = adoption before or after the age of 6 months (naturally occurring/varying)

33
Q

What are quasi experiments ?

A

Studies that are ‘almost experiments. The IV is not something that varies at all - it is simply a difference between people that exists.

The researcher records the effects of this ‘quasi-IV’ on the DV.

The researcher cannot randomly allocate participants to conditions and/or has no control over the IV.
This is also not a ‘true’ experiment.

The IV is naturally occurring.
the DV may be measured in a laboratory.

e.g. a study of gender where males and females are compared.

34
Q

what are the advantages of quasi experiments ?

A
  1. Carried out under controlled conditions
  2. High control over extraneous variables meaning cause and effect can be established.
  3. Replication is possible due to the high level of control. This also means results can be checked for reliability.
35
Q

what are the disadvantages of quasi experiments ?

A
  1. Participants are aware of being tested - possible demand characteristics.
  2. Participants cannot be randomly allocated so there may be confounding variables.
36
Q

What is an extraneous variable ?

A

Any variable, other than the IV, that may have an effect on the DV if it is not controlled.

These variables can come from the participant (e.g. age, intelligence), the experimental situation (e.g. noise levels, temperature) or the experimenter (e.g. personality, appearance or conduct of the researcher)

37
Q

What are confounding variables ?

A

Any variable, other that the IV, that has not been controlled so do affect the DV.

Therefore, we can’t be sure of the true reason for the changes to the DV/difference found.

38
Q

What are demand characteristics ?

A

Participants are not ‘passive in experiments and they may work out what is going on and change their behaviour to please the experimenter or even act negatively.

They occur when a participant may receive a ‘cue from the researcher or the situation and so the participant changes their behaviour as a result.

39
Q

What are investigator effects ?

A

Any effects of the investigator’s behaviour (conscious or unconscious) on the research outcome (DV).

This may include everything from the design of the study, to the selection of and interaction with the participants during the research process.

40
Q

What are 2 ways to reduce extraneous/confounding variables ?

A
  1. Randomisation
  2. Standardisation
41
Q

What is randomisation ?

A

the use of ‘chance’ in order to control for the effects of bias.

i.e. in a memory experiment that may involve participants recalling words from a list.
The order of the list should be randomly generated so that the position of each word is not decided by the experimenter.

42
Q

What is standardisation ?

A

using the same procedures for all participants, such as the same environment, instructions and experience.

43
Q

What are reliability and validity used for?

A

to assess how good a piece of research is.

they can affect the credibility of research findings.

44
Q

What is validity ?

A

Validity refers to how accurate and representative the results are.

Or

The degree to which something measures what it claims to.

45
Q

What are the 2 types of validity ?

A
  1. Internal
  2. External
46
Q

What is internal validity ?

A

whether the results are due to the manipulation of the IV and not affected by confounding variables.

47
Q

What is external validity ?

A

The extent to which the results can be generalised to other settings.

48
Q

What are the 2 types of external validity ?

A
  1. Temporal validity
  2. Ecological validity
49
Q

What is temporal validity ?

A

how well we can generalise the results across different periods of time

50
Q

What is ecological validity ?

A

whether the experimental results can be generalised to other settings, particularly from artificial/controlled settings to real life environments

51
Q

What is reliability ?

A

how consistent the results are.

it can be improved by developing consistent forms of measurement.

52
Q

What are the 2 types of reliability ?

A
  1. Internal reliability
  2. External reliability
53
Q

What is internal reliability ?

A

the extent to which a test is consistent within itself.

E.g. if someone was completing a questionnaire measuring high levels of obedience they should have the same score on each question on the questionnaire for it be considered to have internal reliability.

54
Q

What is external reliability ?

A

the extent to which a test is consistent over time.

E.g. if someone achieved 120 on the IQ test, if they were tested again in say 8 months time, we would expect them to achieve the same result. This would show the test to have external reliability.

55
Q

What is inter-observer reliability ?

A

the extent to which 2 or more observers are in agreement on the behaviours they observe.

we check for inter-rater reliability by correlating the 2 (or more) sets of observations to see if they correlate positively. If their correlation is +0.8 or above we would conclude that inter-observer reliability is high and that they have consistently observed the same behaviours.

56
Q

What is an experimental design ?

A

how the participants in an experiment will be used.

57
Q

What are the 3 types of experimental design ?

A
  1. Independent groups
  2. Repeated measures
  3. Matched pairs
58
Q

What are independent groups ?

A

When 2 separate groups of participants experience 2 different conditions of the experiment.

59
Q

What are the strengths of the independent group design ?

A
  1. Order effects are avoided
  2. There are less likely to be demand characteristics as participants only take part in 1 condition of the experiment and are therefore less likely to pick up on cues.
60
Q

What are the limitations of the independent group design ?

A
  1. Individual differences between groups, otherwise called “participant variables”, may affect the results.
    To deal with this, random allocation is used.
  2. A larger amount of participants are needed in this experimental design.
61
Q

What are repeated groups ?

A

When all participants take part in both conditions.

62
Q

What are the strengths of repeated groups ?

A
  1. Participant variable problems are avoided because all participants take part in both conditions.
    Therefore, it doesn’t matter if they have different IQs or memory abilities because they are kept constant through both conditions.
  2. This requires fewer participants because the same group is re-used.
63
Q

What are the limitations of repeated groups ?

A
  1. Order effects are very likely to occur; participants may become bored, aware of aims or tired because they carry out a task twice.
    They would need to control for this by using counterbalancing
  2. Demand characteristics are more likely to occur because participants have been exposed to both conditions of the experiment and therefore may pick up on cues or figure out the aim of the experiment.
  3. The researcher will need to ensure they have different test materials for condition 1 and 2.
    For example, they would not be able to use the same list of words in a memory test in both conditions. To control for this they have to use a different set of words but make sure they are of similar difficulty.
64
Q

How do you deal with order effects ?

A

Counterbalancing

65
Q

What is counterbalancing ?

A

It is an attempt to deal with order effects in which half the participants take part in condition A and then B, and the other half take part in condition B and then A. (ABBA technique).

This doesn’t prevent order effects, but attempts to balance out the effects of order between conditions.

66
Q

What are order effects ?

A

when participants become aware of or bored with an experimental procedure.

67
Q

What are matched pairs ?

A

Pairs of participants are first matched on a key variable/s (i.e. IQ).
Then, one member is assigned to condition A and the other assigned to condition B.

68
Q

What are the strength of matched pairs ?

A
  1. The issue of participant variables is greatly reduced.
  2. Order effects are totally avoided.
  3. Demand characteristics less likely.
69
Q

What are the limitations of matched pairs ?

A
  1. It is impossible to match people exactly on every characteristic.
  2. It is very time-consuming to find lots of people that match each other so closely.
70
Q

Give an example of using matched pairs design in psychological research :

A

Bandura et al. investigated the effect of observing aggressive and non-aggressive role models on children’s behaviour. Would they imitate the aggression they had seen?

In order to control for naturally occurring aggression levels in the children (so it would not confound the DV) he got the children’s parents and teachers to rate their aggression on a 1-5 scale.

He then matched the children on their aggression levels so each condition had the same number of highly aggressive children (5), medium aggression (4-2), and non aggressive children (1).

Psychology (9 decks)

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