RM: Non Experimental

Question 1

Define a controlled observation (2)

Answer 1

The conditions are manipulated by the researcher (1st MARK). This type of observation may be carried out in a laboratory type situation (artificial environment) e.g. Ainsworth (2nd MARK)

Question 2

Define naturalistic observation (2)

Answer 2

Watching natural behaviour in a natural environment where the target behaviour would normally occur. (1st MARK) No intervention or manipulation of variables e.g. aggression in playground (2nd MARK)

Question 3

AO3 strengths for controlled observations

Answer 3

High in reliability as the environment is controlled and standardised (contextualise e.g what has been controlled?) so the observation can be easily repeated to check for consistent results, Therefore, the controlled observation will gain more respect from other professionals and members of the public.

Question 4

AO3 limitations of controlled observations

Answer 4

Low in ecological validity as the observation takes place in a controlled/artificial setting (contextualise e.g. what is this controlled setting?) which does not reflect real life. Therefore, it is more difficult to generalise the results beyond the setting of the observation which lowers the external validity of the research.

ONLY USE THE TERM DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS & HELP/HINDER IF PPTS ARE OVER 10 YEARS OLD: More prone to demand characteristics as ppts are more likely to know they are being watched (contextualise e.g. what has been controlled or is artificial) therefore they are likely to change their natural behaviour and may help or hinder the research based on clues given off by the observer or environment. Therefore this could lower the internal validity.

Question 5

AO3 strengths for naturalistic observation

Answer 5

ONLY USE THE TERM DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS & HELP/HINDER IF PPTS ARE OVER 10 YEARS OLD: Less prone to demand characteristics as people are less likely to know they are being watched (contextualise e.g. be specific about what natural setting they are in, where the target behaviour (say what it is) would normally occur) therefore they are unlikely to change their natural behaviour, and are less likely to help or hinder the research increasing the internal validity of the observation.

High ecological validity as the observation takes place in a natural setting (contextualise e.g. what is the natural setting) therefore it is easier to generalise the results (contextualise e.g what are they researching?) beyond the setting of the observation to other similar settings increasing the external validity of the research.

Question 6

AO3 limitations of naturalistic observation

Answer 6

Low in reliability as they are being observed in a natural environment (contextualise e.g. be specific about what natural setting they are in and what is not being controlled) therefore very difficult to replicate the observation in the exact same conditions to achieve consistent results.

This could create an ethical issue of lack of informed consent as people may not be aware they are being observed due to being observed in their natural setting (contextualise setting) therefore have not given their consent to take part. If they become aware they may wish to withdraw their data from the study.

Question 7

Define overt observation (2)

Answer 7

Participants are aware their behaviour is being observed, so will be aware of the purpose of the research. (1st MARK)
Observer is clearly visible to participant (2nd MARK)

Question 8

AO3 strengths for overt observation

Answer 8

More ethically appropriate than a covert observation as participants know they are being observed (contextualise e.g. how do you know the observation is overt? Refer to scenario), so the ppts can give consent for their data to be used

Question 9

AO3 limitations for overt observation

Answer 9

ONLY USE THE TERM DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS & HELP/HINDER IF PPTS ARE OVER 10 YEARS OLD: More prone to demand characteristics as ppts are more likely to know they are being watched (contextualise e.g. how do you know the research is overt? Refer to scenario) therefore ppts are likely to change their natural behaviour and may help or hinder the research based on clues given off by the observer or environment. Therefore this could lower the internal validity.

Question 10

AO3 strengths for covert observations

Answer 10

ONLY USE THE TERM DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS & HELP/HINDER IF PPTS ARE OVER 10 YEARS OLD: Less prone to demand characteristics as people are less likely to know they are being watched (contextualise e.g. how do you know the research is covert? Refer to scenario) therefore they are unlikely to change their natural behaviour, and are less likely to help or hinder the research increasing the internal validity of the observation

Question 11

AO3 limitations for covert observation

Answer 11

Participants are unaware they are being studied (contextualise e.g. how do you know the research is covert?) raising ethical issues such as lack of informed consent and invasion of privacy that would need to be resolved. When ppts are informed they may become upset and choose to withdraw their data.

Question 12

Define participant observation (2)

Answer 12

The researcher is involved with the group (1 mark)
Data collected whilst being part of a group or situation e.g. joining a cult or football hooligans (2nd mark)

Question 13

Define non participant observation (2)

Answer 13

The researcher is not involved with the group (1 mark) Data collected from distance e.g. video camera (2nd mark

Question 14

AO3 strength for participant observation

Answer 14

The observer can gain an in-depth understanding of the group’s behaviour as they are part of the group (contextualise e.g. how do you know? Refer to the scenario) and so will not miss important aspects e.g. feelings and motivations (contextualise here too if you can to what specific behavior they are observing). Therefore, this increases the overall internal validity of the observation

Question 15

AO3 limitation for participant observation

Answer 15

There is increased chance of researcher bias as the observer is part of the group (contextualise how you know by referring to the scenario). This decreases the objectivity of the observation as the researcher’s own thoughts and behaviours may impact the observation and therefore lower the internal validity research.

Question 16

AO3 strength of non participant observation

Answer 16

There is reduced chance of researcher bias as the observer is not part of the group (contextualise how you know by referring to the scenario). This increases the objectivity of the observation as the researcher’s own thoughts and behaviours are less likely to impact the observation and therefore the overall internal validity research.

Question 17

AO3 limitation of non-participant observation

Answer 17

The observer is less likely to gain an in-depth understanding of the group’s behaviour as they are not part of the group (contextualise e.g. how do you know? Refer to the scenario) and so may miss important aspects e.g. feelings and motivations (contextualise here too if you can to what specific behavior they are observing). Therefore, this lowers the overall internal validity of the observation

Question 18

What are the two ways behaviour sampling techniques

Answer 18

Event sampling and time sampling

Question 19

What is event sampling

Answer 19

The observer decides on specific events (behaviour categories) relevant to the investigation. These relevant events (behaviour categories) are recorded every time they happen within a set period of time. For example, when observing aggression at a football match, recording a tally every single time they see an aggressive act occur within the full time period (90 minutes)

Question 20

AO3 for event sampling

Answer 20

One strength of event sampling is that it is useful when behaviour happens infrequently as the ppts are watched over a period of time and the behaviour category is recorded every time it occurs so researchers are less likely to miss behaviours, unlike time sampling, in which if the behaviour happens infrequently, it may be missed.

However, a limitation of event sampling is that if the behaviour being observed is complex/happens very often the observer may miss some behaviours as they cannot tally in time, unlike time sampling, in which the researcher only tallies at set time intervals and is therefore less likely to miss these behaviours.

Question 21

What is time sampling

Answer 21

Tallying behaviours at a set time interval e.g. every two minutes.
To explain in more detail, recording what behaviour is shown at every two minute time interval, over a one hour period e.g. this would mean the researcher would tally 30 behaviours within the hour.

Question 22

AO3 for time sampling

Answer 22

A strength of time sampling is that it reduces the amount of time the observers have to observe behaviours for, as they only observe in set time intervals. However, as the researchers are only observing at set time intervals the behaviours tallied may not be representative of the observation as a whole.

Question 23

Ways to assess reliability of observations

Answer 23

Inter-observer reliability

1. The reliability of the observation can be checked by using TWO OBSERVERS
2. The two observers would create and be trained on how to use the behaviour categories. (for example….)
3. Two observers would then conduct the observation separately - watch exactly the same behaviour (contextualise – what behaviour are they measuring in the scenario?) for the same amount of time (contextualise – does the scenario give a time length?) but independently record their observations.
4. The tallies from the two observers should be compared and correlated using an appropriate stats test.
5. A strong positive correlation of +0.8 shows high reliability

Question 24

Improving reliability

Answer 24

operationalising means to be specific and clear when defining any behaviour categories. (1) So
that they are easier to measure (2).

Why is it important?

If behaviour categories are vague (not operationalised) then it would not be possible for two more observers to conduct the same observation to check for consistent results (reliability) as they may not be looking for the exact same behaviours.

Operationalising increases reliability as if variables are operationalised the other researchers can conduct the same observation in the same way to check for consistent results as they know exactly what they are looking for.

Question 25

Additional ways to improve reliability others than operationalisation

Answer 25

Having two observers
Provide training
Filming observation

Question 26

Improving validity

Answer 26

Ensure behaviour categories are operationalised
Observers are trained in how to use behaviour categories
Cover observation as ppts behaviour are more likely to be natural

Question 27

What is a self report (3)

Answer 27

• participants give information to the researcher to provide details on thoughts/feelings/behaviour (1)
• It involves the participants responding to questions in a questionnaire or interview (2)
• The questions in the questionnaire can be open questions (which allow participants to respond in detail) or closed questions (which require a one word response). The questions in the interview can be structured or unstructured. (3)

Question 28

Briefly describe what a questionnaire is

Answer 28

• Questionnaires form part of surveys, which involves asking a large sample of people for information
  on a specific topic.
• Involves a pre-set list of written questions or items to which the participant responds
• The purpose of surveys is to get a good representation of the target population using a large sample – therefore making it able to generalise results to the rest of the population.

Question 29

AO3 Strengths of using questionnaire

Answer 29

• They can tackle sensitive issues such as homosexuality (or contextualise to scenario if the issue being investigated is sensitive) – as Ppts data can remain anonymous, by the researcher not asking for their name. This means ppts answers may be more likely to be honest as ppts may be happier to disclose sensitive information when they are anonymous. Increasing the internal validity. (unlike an interview, where the researcher is present and the ppt may not feel comfortable answering sensitive questions truthfully face to face, reducing the internal validity).
• Reduction of investigator effects as the researcher does not have to be present whilst the ppts completes the questionnaire. Therefore researcher’s response to the participant’s answer is not visible and their characteristics will not influence the participant’s answers. (unlike an interview, where the researcher has to be present, therefore this increases the internal validity of the questionnaire).
• Can be given to a large quantity of people as the researcher does not have to be present when the ppts complete the questionnaire. Increasing the generalisability of the findings. (unlike an interview, where the researcher has to be present for each interview, limiting the amount of people the research can be conducted on, therefore increasing the external validity of questionnaires)

Question 30

AO3 weakness of using questionnaire

Answer 30

A weakness of questionnaires is that they could lead to social desirability bias – this is where people may lie to present themselves in the best possible light. (E.g. asking a mother is her child aggressive – they will say no, contextualise to scenario here, what is the ppt likely to lie about?). Therefore lowering the internal validity of the research. Whereas in an interview the researcher is present and it often takes place face to face which may reduce the participants socially desirable responses as they may find it more difficult to lie face to face. However, this could be minimised by making the questionnaire anonymous.

• A further weakness is misinterpretation of questions. For example a ppt may not understand a question and as the researcher is not present, they cannot ask for clarification meaning they could leave the question or give invalid information. Moreover, the researcher could misinterpret/not understand the ppts answer and again cannot ask for clarification, lowering the internal validity. (Unlike in an interview, where the researcher is present so the ppt/researcher can ask for clarification, increasing the internal validity).

Question 31

Types of questions in a questionnaire

Answer 31

Open questions - These are questions which Ppts can answer using their own words. They can express their views of their own behaviour and responses tend to include greater detail. Often gain qualitative data

Closed questions - These are questions which mean that Ppts responses are fixed for example ‘yes’ or ‘no’ or rating scales. Often gain quantitative data

Question 32

Strengths and weaknesses of using open questions

Answer 32

Strength: Provides in-depth, rich detailed data which provides greater understanding of the content/behaviour in question

Weakness: Open to researcher bias as participant’s responses will be open to the subjective interpretation of the researcher.

Question 33

Strengths and weaknesses of closed questions

Answer 33

Strength: Easier to analyse and collate the data allowing comparisons to be made between groups of people enabling conclusions to be made about behaviour.

Weakness: Lacks depth and insight into behaviour in question, therefore the answers could lack validity.

Could be open to response bias where ppts reply in a similar way, e.g. always ticking ‘yes’ or answering at the same favoured end of a rating scale, lowering internal validity.

Question 34

Briefly describe what an interview is

Answer 34

A method for asking questions – in a face to face nature, sometimes it can also be over the phone or computer such as through skype. (1 mark) There are two types of interview structured and unstructured (2nd mark)
Good for gathering detailed information (qualitative data)

Question 35

What is a structured interview

Answer 35

-All of the questions are pre-set before the interviews are carried out.
- Less likely to deviate from the topic
- Every interviewee will be asked the same questions in exactly the same order
- The interviewer cannot ask any extra questions based on information provided
by the participant.

Question 36

Strength and weakness of structured interview

Answer 36

Strength: All participants get the same questions meaning that it is possible to compare responses and identify trends and patterns much more easily about (contextualise e.g. refer to the behaviour being studied from scenario) UNLIKE unstructured interview where Ppts get different questions, therefore it’s hard to make comparisons.

Weakness: The researcher cannot deviate from the pre-set questions meaning they cannot follow up on new lines of enquiry. This may mean they do not get a full understanding of behaviour (contextualise e.g. refer to the behaviour being studied from scenario) UNLIKE in an unstructured interview where questions can be developed based on reponses from previous questions.

Question 37

What is an unstructured interview

Answer 37

• May contain a topic area for discussion but no set questions so each interviewee gets different questions.
• The questions are based on the responses of the interviewee so the interviewer can discuss interesting points made by the interviewee.
• The questions that are asked are more likely to be open questions.

Question 38

Strengths and weaknesses of using unstructured interview

Answer 38

Strength: The researcher can allow the person to go into more depth with their responses as questions are based on the responses of the interviewer. This means that they can gain a fuller understanding of the Ppts behaviour (contextualise e.g. refer to the behaviour being studied from scenario UNLIKE a structured interview where participants only answer a set list of questions where there is no deviation, increasing the internal validity of an unstructured interview.

Weakness: it can be hard to identify patterns and trends as all participants are asked different questions (contextualise: What will the questions investigate?) making the responses harder to analyse and make comparisons between Ppts UNLIKE a structured interview where all Ppts answer the same questions.

Much more difficult to replicate an unstructured interview as each ppt is asked different questions (contextualise: What will the questions be investigating?) based upon their responses UNLIKE a structured interview which has a standardised set of questions and can be repeated many times. This lowers the reliability of an unstructured interview.

Question 39

Overall AO3 for interviews

Answer 39

Interviews are more time consuming and expensive as the questions are asked face to face and so require a 1:1 with a researcher unlike a questionnaire which are less time consuming and expensive as they can be given to lots of Ppts to complete and does not take as much time as the researcher does not need to be present.

Prone to investigator effects. As the researcher needs to be present, their behaviours (for example how they respond to a ppt’s answer) or appearance (for example their gender) could influence the participants to respond in a certain way, therefore affecting the outcome of the study and lowering the internal validity. Unlike a questionnaire, where the researcher does not need to be present and therefore less prone to investigator effects.

As the researcher is present during an interview, the ppts can ask for clarification if they do not understand a question or the researcher could ask for clarification if they do not understand a response, therefore improving the internal validity of the research, unlike in a questionnaire where the researcher is not present and therefore clarification cannot be established, lowering the internal validity.

Question 40

Define investigator effects

Answer 40

When the researcher’s behaviour/characteristics either consciously or unconsciously influences the outcome of the research.(1) For example, the researcher’s gender or tone of voice may influence how the participant responds in the self report.(1)

Question 41

How can investigator effects be controlled

Answer 41

• Train experimenters to use a neutral tone of voice in the way they greet ppts or ask questions
• Ensure the researcher is the same gender as the participants
• Provide a standardised script for the researchers to use so that they are asking questions or giving instructions in the same way
• IF the researcher is aware of the aims of the study, get another interviewer to conduct the self report who is unaware of the aims.

Question 42

Ways to assess reliability of self report

Answer 42

1. Participants are given a questionnaire or interview to complete
2. The same participants are then asked the same questions after a time delay e.g. two weeks.
3. Compare the data on a scattergraph to describe the correlation.
4. Then correlate the results from each questionnaire or interview using stats test.
5. A strong positive correlation of above +0.8 shows high reliability

Question 43

What is a correlation (2)

Answer 43

A correlation shows a link/relationship between variables. (1) These are known as co-variable one and co variable two.
There is no IV and DV and therefore, no manipulation of variables by the researcher (1)

Question 44

Explain what is meant by the term correlation coefficient (2)

Answer 44

A correlation coefficient is a result (number) from a correlation statistical test which tells us how strong or weak a correlation is. They range from -1 (a strong negative correlation) to +1 (a strong positive correlation), the closer to 0, the weaker the correlation/relationship.

Question 45

Non directional hypothesis for correlation

Answer 45

There will be a significant relationship between (operationalised co-variable 1) and (operationalised co-variable 2).

Question 46

Directional hypothesis for correlation

Answer 46

There will be a significant positive OR negative relationship between (operationalised co-variable
1) and (operationalised co-variable 2).

Question 47

What is the difference between a correlation and an experiment (4 marks)

Answer 47

In an experiment the researcher is looking for a difference between condition. The researcher controls/manipulates the IV and measures the effect on the DV. It is possible to establish cause and effect between IV and DV.

Whereas

A correlation shows a relationship between two co-variables there is no manipulation by the
researcher and a cause and effect cannot be established.

Question 48

AO3 strengths of correlations

Answer 48

There is no manipulation of the variables so it is appropriate to use when studying sensitive issues that may raise ethical issues or when it would be inappropriate to manipulate a situation (contextualise: What would be unethical to manipulate in your scenario? e.g. is there a relationship between addiction and stress?) whereas in an experiment it would be impractical and unethical to investigate a cause and effect.

Correlations are often used as a starting point to assess possible patterns. If a relationship is found between the two variables it could be suggested that we can predict one variable may impact on the other. Therefore this may aid further experimental research into the topic or save time and money if no relationship is found before researchers commit to an experimental study.

Question 49

AO3 limitations for correlations

Answer 49

It is difficult to establish cause and effect between the two variables as only a relationship is found between the two variables (contextualise: state which covariables are being investigated). Therefore other intervening variables could have been responsible for the relationship found (contextualise: such as what? Name another intervening variable which might impact the relationship) which lowers the internal validity.

Correlations can be misinterpreted by the media and society when a link has been found between two variables. Some may assume a conclusion can be made about the causes for the relationship which can then be misused by the public to support or contradict an argument.

Question 50

Define what is meant by a case study (3)

Answer 50

An in-depth study conducted into one group or one person. They can be over a long period of time and are often used alongside other techniques e.g. interviews, observations, questionnaires or a combination of all these, which produce indepth qualitative data.(1)
They can also use experiments and psychological testing producing quantitative data, alongside the qualitative data gathered.(1)
Case studies may involve gathering data from the individual being studied but also from family and friends of the individual as well.(1)

Question 51

AO3 strengths of using case studies

Answer 51

Case studies offer rich, detaied insights into unusual forms of behaviour that would otherwise be difficult to manipulate in an experimental setting, e.g. when investigating the effects of brain damage or memory loss. Therefore increasing our understanding of complex behaviour.

Case studies can generate further hypotheses for future study as a single anomaly found from an indepth case study can lead to a revision of an entire theory. This is a strength as it increases the scientific process of inquiry.

Question 52

AO3 limitations of using case study

Answer 52

Low population validity as it only conducted on one person or small group (contextualise to scenario, who is the individual or small group being studied?). Therefore it will difficult to generalise the findings to the target population (contextualise, who would it be difficult to generalise to and why?) lowering the external validity.

Case studies often rely on retrospective data e.g. personal accounts from the individuals past or from family and friends. These accounts may be prone to inaccuracy and memory decay. Therefore lowering the internal validity of the case study.