Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

psychology > RM: Scientific Processes (L5-11) > Flashcards

RM: Scientific Processes (L5-11) Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
Psychology 101 flashcards AP® Psychology flashcards
1
Q

What is an aim?

A
  • a precise statement about the purpose of the study and what it intends to find out
  • should include what is being studied and what
    the study is trying to achieve
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is a hypothesis?

A
  • a specific, testable statement about the expected
    outcome of a study
  • the hypothesis should also be operationalised
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is the first part of a hypothesis that needs addressing?

A
  • whether or not the study predicts causation or correlation
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is correlation?

A
  • when the researcher predicts a relationship between two variables (co-variables) being investigated
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is causation?

A
  • when the researcher predicts a difference in the DV because of the manipulation of an IV
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What are significant differences?

A
  • differences in the DV resulting from manipulation of the IV are known as significant differences
  • this is if it has been statistically shown using inferential statistics that the differences are highly unlikely to be due to chance
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What are the 2 hypotheses in a study?

A
  • null
  • alternative
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is a null hypothesis?

A
  • states that the IV will have no effect on the DV
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What is an alternative hypothesis?

A
  • predicts that the IV will have an effect on
    the DV
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What 2 categories are there for an alternative hypothesis?

A
  • non directional, two tailed
  • directional, one tailed
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What is a non directional + directional hypothesis?

A
  • nd, DOES NOT state the direction of the
    predicted differences between conditions
  • d, DOES state the direction of the predicted
    difference between conditions
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What determines whether to use a nd or d hypothesis?

A
  • based on whether there is previous research in
    the field
  • if there is, we use a directional hypothesis
  • if not, we use a non-directional hypothesis
  • this is because previous research will enable
    us to predict which direction the results are likely to go in
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What to remember when writing a hypothesis?

A
  • test of causation or correlation?
  • null, non-directional or directional hypothesis?
  • in the correct tense?
  • have all the variables been included?
  • have all the variables been operationalised?
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What are pilot studies?

A
  • small-scale investigations conducted before research
  • useful because they can help to identify whether there needs to be any modifications in the design of the planned study
  • they also help to determine whether it would be feasible and worthwhile to conduct a full scale study
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is a target population?

A
  • used to describe the group who researchers are studying and want to generalise their results to
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What are sampling techniques used for?

A
  • to obtain a sample of the target population
  • essential to avoid studying entire target populations, which would take loo tong and be too expensive
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

A sample should be…

A
  • representative of the population from which it is drawn
  • so that the findings of the study can be generalised to the target population
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What is random sampling?

A
  • when every member of the target population has the same chance of being selected
  • easiest way to do this is to place all names from the target population in a hat and draw out the sample required
19
Q

+ve and -ve of random sampling:

A

+ likely to be representative and therefore results can be generalised to the target population
- sometimes difficult to get full details of a target population from which to select a sample
- not all members of the target population who are selected to take part will be available or willing to take part, making the sample unrepresentative

20
Q

What is systematic sampling?

A
  • sampling technique where participants are selected by taking every Nth person from a list
21
Q

+ve and -ve of systematic sampling:

A

+ far simpler than random sampling
- process of selection can interact with a hidden periodic trait within the target population, if the sampling technique coincides with the periodicity of the trait, the sampling technique will no longer be representative

22
Q

What is stratified sampling?

A
  • involves classifying the target population into
    categories
  • then randomly choosing a sample that consists of participants from each category in the same proportions as they appear in the target population
23
Q

+ve and -ve of stratified sampling:

A

+ all groups within a target pop are included, so the sample should be representative of the target population
+ takes into consideration proportion
- can be very time consuming as the categories have to be identified and calculated
- if you do not have details of all the people in your target population you would struggle to conduct a stratified sample

24
Q

What is opportunity sampling?

A
  • involves selecting participants who are readily
    available and willing to take part
25
Q

+ve and -ve of opportunity sampling:

A

+ easiest and most practical method of ensuring large samples
- high chance that the sample will not be representative of the target population
- sometimes people feel obliged to take part in
research even when they do not really want to, this is unethical

26
Q

What is volunteer sampling?

A
  • involves people self-selecting to participate in a
    study
  • researcher will usually advertise for people to take part in their research
27
Q

+ve and -ve of volunteering sampling:

A

+ can be a useful way of finding specific people to take part in particular areas of research
- volunteer bias, certain type of individuals (people who are more confident/helpful/curious) tend to volunteer for research, means that there is a very high chance that the sample obtained will be unrepresentative

28
Q

What is the experimental design of a study?

A
  • how the participants are assigned
    to different conditions
29
Q

3 main types of experimental designs?

A
  • independent groups
  • repeated measures
  • matched pairs
30
Q

What is the independent groups design?

A
  • different ps are used in each of the conditions
  • so each group of participants is independent from one another
  • ps are usually randomly allocated to each condition to balance out any participant variables
31
Q

+ve independent groups design:

A
  • order effects will not occur as there are different ps in each condition
  • order effects are when the sequence in which
    ps take part in conditions influences their performance or behaviour
  • e.g. in a memory test participants may get better with practice
  • ps may also get tired or bored or fatigued when being asked to take part in more than one condition
    = chance of demand characteristics is reduced as ps do only one condition each and so have less chance to guess the purpose of the study
  • same task/materials can be used in both conditions as ps are always naïve to the task
32
Q

-ve independent groups design:

A
  • more ps are needed for this experimental design
    = always a chance that the different results between the two conditions are due to participant variables rather than manipulation of the independent variable (IV)
33
Q

What is the repeated measures design?

A
  • each participant is tested in all
    conditions of the experiment
34
Q

+ve repeated measures design:

A
  • as the same people are measured in all conditions there are no participant variables between the conditions
    = half as many ps are needed compared to an independent groups design
35
Q

-ve repeated measures design:

A
  • order effects may affect the results
  • one way to avoid this is counterbalancing, this is when half the participants do condition A first and condition B second and the other half of the participants do condition B first and condition A second
  • counterbalancing does not eliminate order
    effects, which will be present because there are two separate tasks to be completed by each person
  • but counterbalancing controls the
    impact of order effects (practice, fatigue or boredom) and allows order effects to be distributed evenly across both conditions
    = demand characteristics are more likely to occur as ps are involved in the entire study
  • design takes more time, especially if a time gap between different conditions is required
36
Q

What is the matched pairs design?

A
  • different participants are used in all of
    the conditions, just as with the independent groups design
  • however, ps in the two groups are matched on characteristics important for that study
  • such as age, gender, level of education etc.
  • identical twins are often used in matched pairs designs
37
Q

+ve matched pairs design:

A
  • less risk of order effects
    = less risk of demand characteristics.
  • participant variables are unlikely as the groups have been closely matched
38
Q

-ve matched pairs design:

A
  • twice as many participants are required compared with a repeated measures design
    = matching process is incredibly difficult; even two closely matched individuals have different levels of motivation and fatigue at any given
    time
  • matching process in incredibly time consuming
39
Q

In order to ensure that a study has validity…

A
  • extraneous variables must be controlled for to prevent them from becoming confounding variables
40
Q

What are participant variables?

A
  • characteristics of the participants which may affect the dependent variable (DV)
  • e.g. intelligence, age, gender, personality etc
41
Q

How can participant variables be overcome?

A
  • appropriate experimental design can help to try and overcome these types of EV
  • matched pairs and repeated measures can help to avoid participant variables
  • but repeated measures can lead to order effects, so counterbalancing should
    be used to avoid this
  • random allocation of participants to conditions (e.g. by drawing names out of a hat) when using independent groups should also ensure that groups are not biased
  • but random allocation is not possible for a quasi-experiment
42
Q

What is the process of random allocation (participant variables) ?

A
  • involves all the participants being
    identified either by name or number
  • names/numbers are put in a container (e.g. a hat) or into a computer
  • assign alternate names/numbers
    drawn to Condition 1 then Condition 2 and so on until there are the required number in each condition
  • or set the parameters on the computer for two groups to be randomly generated
43
Q

What are environmental variables?

A
  • factors in the env where the experiment is conducted that could affect the DV
  • e.g. temperature, time of day, lighting, noise etc
  • the answer to this is standardisation (i.e. making sure that all the
    conditions, materials, and instructions are the same for all participants)

psychology (21 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions