Research Methods - Year 12 Flashcards
What Are Experimental Methods?
These are basically types of experiments that can be conducted,
In a posh way: they attempt to find a cause and effect relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable,
They also want to measure the extent of this effect.
Four Types Of Experimental Method?
(Four types of experiments that can be conducted):
Laboratory experiments,
Field experiment,
Natural experiment,
Quasi experiment.
Lab Experiments?
- Test effect of the IV on the DV,
- Controls as many variables as possible,
- Can be in any environment as long as it is controlled.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Lab Experiments?
Advantages:
- High degree of control,
- Replication is easy,
- Cause and effect can be determined easily,
Disadvantages:
- Variables are difficult to control,
- Low ecological validity,
- Demand characteristics,
- Low external validity.
Natural Experiments?
- IV occurs naturally, it is not manipulated by the experimenter,
- Could be an earthquake.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Natural Experiments?
Advantages:
- More representative,
- No demand characteristics,
- Real life makes it generalisable,
- High ecological validity,
- High external validity.
Disadvantages:
- Harder to replicate,
- Rime consuming and expensive,
- Difficult to replicate.
Field Experiments?
- Experiment performed in the real world rather than a lab.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Field Experiments?
Advantages:
- High ecological validity,
- Real life so generalisable,
- No demand characteristics,
- Results are more realistic,
Disadvantages:
- Environments may differ,
- Harder to control variables,
- Harder to replicate,
- Ethical issues.
Quasi Experiments?
- When you group individuals into separate groups.
E.g. cannot randomly allocate participants.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Quasi Experiments?
If the quasi experiment is controlled, the advantages and disadvantages are the same as LAB,
If the quasi experiment is not controlled then the advantages and disadvantages are the same as NATURAL.
Controlled - Advantages: - High degree of control, - Replication is easy, - Cause and effect can be determined easily,
Disadvantages:
- Variables are difficult to control,
- Low ecological validity,
- Demand characteristics,
- Low external validity.
Uncontrolled - Advantages: - More representative, - No demand characteristics, - Real life makes it generalisable, - High ecological validity, - High external validity.
Disadvantages:
- Harder to replicate,
- Rime consuming and expensive,
- Difficult to replicate.
Observational Techniques?
Simply: these are ways a psychologist can observe an experiment.
- Covert or overt,
- Participant or non-participant,
- Naturalistic or controlled,
- Structured or unstructured.
Covert Observations?
- Also known as ‘undisclosed’,
- Observing people without their knowledge,
- Participants might be informed after the study observation has taken place.
Evaluating Covert Observations?
Strength,
- Investigator effects are less likely because the investigator is hidden.
- Less chance the investigator will impact the study directly or indirectly,
- Less chance of demand characteristics occurring from participants,
- Participants behaviour is more representative of their every day behaviour.
Weakness,
- Ethical issues associated with the covert method,
- Participants are not aware they are taking part in a study and therefore cannot give fully informed consent nor exercise their right to withdraw,
- However, it is perfectly acceptable to observe human behaviour in a public place (e.g. shopping centre).
- Internal validity is good.
Overt Observations?
Is an observational technique where the observations are ‘open’ and the participants know/are aware that they are being observed.
E.g. filming or joking a class and informing the other students that you are carrying out an observation.
Evaluating Overt Observations?
Strength,
- The overt method is often more ethical.
- The participants are aware that their behaviour is being observed for the purposes of an investigation.
- It is possible for the participants to give consent. This also allows participants to exercise their right to withdraw themselves from the investigation.
Weakness,
- Investigator affects that reduce the internal validity. - It is possible for a bias to occur whereby what the investigator influences the behaviour of the participants in a way that was not intended.
- The participants may change their behaviour through demand characteristics and act in accordance with their perception of the research aims.
- This reduces the internal validity of the observation.
Participant Observations?
In a participant observation, the person who is conducting the observation also takes part in the activity being observed.
It can be either covert (a group member quietly observing the others without their knowledge) or overt (a group member using a camera to record the other members with their full knowledge.
Evaluating Participant Observations?
Strength,
- The Researcher can obtain in-depth data.
- The observer is in close proximity to the participants, so they are able to gain a unique insight into the phenomenon on in question.
- They are also unlikely to overlook any behaviour that, as an external observer, would be missed.
- This means that a comprehensive understanding of human behaviour can be achieved using this method of observation.
Weakness,
- Possibility of investigator effects and the impact of the researcher on the other participants behaviour.
- The participants may change their behaviour through demand characteristics and act in accordance with their perception of the research aims.
- Consequently, natural behaviour is not being observed, that’s reducing the internal validity of the observation because the investigator is a participant.
Non-Participant Observations?
In a non-participant observation, the person who was conducting the observation does not participate in the activity being observed.
This type of observation is quite common in educational settings, as in teacher evaluations, for example, when an observer sits in the corner of the room and watch is the lesson.
The aim is for the observer to be as an unobtrusive as possible and not engage with any of the activities happening.
Evaluating Non-Participant Observations?
Strength,
- Investigator effects are less likely compared to a participant observation.
- The researcher is often observing at a distance from the participants and in some situations, not visible to them at all.
- The behaviour of the investigator is unlikely to have a negative impact on the behaviour of the participants.
- This means that behaviour observed is more likely to be representative of natural and an altered human behaviour.
Weakness,
- Due to a lack of proximity to the participant behaviour being studied, the researcher might miss behaviours of interest.
- This means that unique insights which contribute to their understanding of the human behaviour being observed will be overlooked because of not being involved personally.
Naturalistic Observations?
Is an observation carried out in an un-altered setting in which the observer does not interfere in any way and merely observes the behaviour in question as it happens normally.
An example of this would be an observer observation carried out in a shopping centre as people go about their daily business.
Evaluating Naturalistic Observations?
Strength,
- A higher level of ecological validly can be achieved.
- In an observation of this type, the researcher records naturally occurring behaviour in the original environment in which it originally occurs. This means that the behaviour being recorded is likely to be more representative of every day activities and reflect spontaneous actions that sometimes occur incidentally.
Weakness,
- There are issues of gaining reliability with naturalistic observations. Since observations of this kind record behaviours which are occurring naturally as they unfold, it is difficult, if not impossible, for the exact same conditions to be replicated.
- Consequently, the test re-test method of checking reliability cannot be used with this type of observational design, as the researcher is not in control of variables.
(Basically, it lacks replicability).
Controlled Observations?
A controlled observation is conducted under strict conditions, such as in an observation room or lab setting, where extraneous variables (such as time, noise, temperature and visual distractions) can be controlled to avoid interference with the behaviour being observed.
Sometimes one way mirrors can be used. If participants know they are being observed, this is an overt method which is most commonly the case for controlled observations.
Evaluating Controlled Observations?
Strength,
- They can be replicated to check for reliability since the conditions are very controlled.
Weakness,
- Lower level of external validity.
- The high level of control creates an unnatural feeling. The participants behaviour may alter in response - meaning that the observation is no longer representing real life occurrences causing the ecological validity of the findings to be questionable.
Structured Observations?
In structured observations, the researcher uses coded schedules according to a previously agreed formula to document the behaviour and organise data into behavioural categories.
A behavioural category is when psychologists must decide which specific behaviours should be examined. This involves breaking the target behaviour (e.g. aggression) into components that can be observed and measured (e.g, hitting + kicking).