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Resersch Methods Flashcards

1
Q

What is an aim

A

What the researcher intends to investigate

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2
Q

What is a hypothesis

A

A statement that the researcher believes to be true
Can be directional- changed are stated
Non- directional- doesn’t state direction

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3
Q

What is an experimental method

A

Researcher cause the IV to change and record the effect of the IV on the DV

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4
Q

Blind studies

A

Single blind- participants don’t know aims
Double blind- participants and researcher don’t know aims

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5
Q

Experimental methods

A

Independent groups- 1 condition each
Repeated measures- Do all conditions
Matched pairs- matched on variable

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6
Q

Types of experiment

A

Lab- controlled environment
Field- natural setting but IV is manipulated
Natural- no manipulation of IV, would have varied anyway
Quasi- IV based on pre existing differences so cannot randomly allocate

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7
Q

Sampling methods

A

Opportunity- those available and willing
Volunteer- participants select themselves
Random- everyone in the target population has a chance of being selected
Systematic- selected using a pattern
Stratified- representative of target population

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8
Q

Ethical issues

A

D- deception
R- right to withdraw
I- informed consent
P- protect from harm
P- privacy and confidentiality

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9
Q

Types of correlation

A

Positive
Negative
Zero

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10
Q

Evaluation of correlation

A

+ useful starting point for research
+ less time consuming than experiments
- no cause and effect
- methods used to measure variables may be flawed

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11
Q

Observational techniques

A

Naturalistic- takes place in normal setting .
Controlled- control of variables
Covert- don’t know being studied
Overt- know being studied
Participant- researcher become part of the group they are studying
Non participant- researcher remain separate from group

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12
Q

Observational designs

A

Behavioural categories- target behaviour should be broken up into observable categories
Time sampling- observations made at regular intervals
Event sampling- behaviours recorded every time they occur

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13
Q

Self report techniques

A

Questionnaires- preset list of written questions to which a participant responds
interviews- interactions between interviewer and interviewee

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14
Q

Design of questionaries

A

Closed questions- respondent has limited choices ( yes or no questions)
Open questions- respondent provides answers in words

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15
Q

Types of data

A

Quantitative- numerical data
Qualitative- non numerical data
Primary data- first hand collected data expressed in words
Secondary data- collected by someone other than the researcher e.g taken from journal articles
Meta analysis- a types of secondary data that combines data from a large number of studies

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16
Q

Measures of central tendency’s

A

Mean
Mode
Median

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17
Q

Measures of dispersion

A

Range
Standard deviation- the average spread around the mean, the larger the standard deviation then more spread out the data are

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18
Q

Representation of quantitative data

A

Tables- raw scores displayed in columns and rows
Bar charts- height of each column represents the frequency of that item
Histogram- bars touch each other
Line graph- the line shows how something changes
Scattergram- used for correlational analysis, dots

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19
Q

Distributions

A

Normal distribution- symmetrical bell shaped curve
Mean median and mode at mid point of curve
Negative skew- most distribution concentrated to right of graph
Positive skew- most of distribution concentrated to left of graph

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20
Q

Significance

A

The difference between the two sets is greater than what would have occurred by chance

21
Q

Significance level

22
Q

What do we need to know to find the critical value

A

The significance level
Number of participants
Whether the hypothesis is direction or non- directional

23
Q

Sign test calculations

A

Find number of + and -
S is the least frequent sign
S< critical value

24
Q

What is peer review

A

Before publication, all aspects of the investigation are scrutinized by experts

25
Aims of peer review
Allocate research funding Validation of quality and relevance Improvements and amendments suggested
26
Case studies
Analysis of unusual individuals or events Produces qualitative data Tend to take place over a long period of time
27
Content analysis
Type of observational research in which people are studied indirectly via the communications they have produced Aim is to summarize and describe communications in a systematic way so that conclusion can be drawn
28
Coding in content analysis
This is the initial stage Categorizes the information into meaningful units
29
Thematic analysis and qualitative data
Thematic analysis is a form of content analysis but the outcome is qualitative Identifies themes A theme refers to any idea that is recurrent in other words
30
Evaluation of case studied
+ rich in detail +Contributes to our understanding of typical functioning - small sample size - low validity
31
Evaluation of content analysis
+ more ethical than some psychological research + no issues with obtaining consent + can produce qualitative and quantitative data - researcher bias - lack of objectivity
32
Reliability
Measure of consistency Test- retest (complete Same test again) Inter- observer reliability (pilot studied, multiple observers) Measuring reliability ( correlation coefficient)
33
Improving reliability
Questionnaires (replace open questions with closed questions) Interviews (use the same interviewer, train interviewer, use structured interview) Observations (operationalise behavioral categories) Experiments (standardised procedure)
34
Types of validity
Internal (effects observed are due to manipulation of iv) External (generalizing to other settings) Temporal (whether the study holds true over time)
35
Improving validity
Experiments (control group, standardise procedure, use single/ double blind procedures) Questionnaires (lie scale) Observations (covert, behavioral categories)
36
Levels of measurement
Nominal (categorical) Ordinal (ordered) Interval (numerical scales that include units of equal size)
37
What is a null hypothesis
States there is no difference between conditions
38
What is a type 1 error
When the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative hypothesis is accepted when it should have been the other way around
39
What is a type 2 error
When the null hypothesis is accepted and the alternative hypothesis is rejected when it should be the other way round
40
Sections of a scientific report
Abstract- short summary that includes all the elements of the study Introduction- review of the general research detailing relevant theorists etc Method- sufficient detail so other researched are able to precisely replicate the study . Design . Sample . Materials .ethics Results- summarises key findings Discussion- summarises results, limitations and implications Referencing- full detail of materials sourced
41
What is a paradigm
A shared set of assumptions and methods
42
Does psychology have a paradigm
Social sciences such as psychology lack a universally accepted paradigm
43
What is a paradigm shift
A handful of researchers begin to question the accepted paradigm which eventually gathers popularity and pace
44
Examples of paradigm shift
The change from Newtonian paradigm in physics towards Einstein s theory of relativity
45
Theory construction
Occurs through gathering evidence via direct observation Should be scientifically tested Should suggest a number of possible hypothesis
46
Falsifiability
Popper Good science can potentially be be falsified (proven false)
47
Replicability
If the scientific theory is to be trusted the findings from it must be shown to be repeatable across contexts
48
Objectivity
Researchers must strive for to maintain objectivity as part of an investigation They must keep a critical distance during research

Research Methods (2 decks)

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