Science Inquiry skills

Question 1

Role of ethical guideline

Answer 1

Justice - will a study fairly recruit participants and not exploit them
Beneficence - minimises any harm and justifies any necessary harm

Question 2

Role of ethics committees

Answer 2

Approval and monitoring of conduct of psychology reseach in accordance with guidelines

Question 3

Ethical Guidelines

Answer 3

Very Intelligent Dudes Can Do Pretty Well
1. Voluntary participation
2. Informed consent
3. Deception
4. Confidentiality
5. Debriefing
6. Privacy + Protection from harm
7. Withdrawal rights

Question 4

Animal Protocols - Replacement

Answer 4

Full replacement - not using animals at all and finding alternatives such as training mannequins or computer models
Partial replacement - using animals but without any physical requirements of the animal e.g. animal embryo or animal derived tissue

Question 5

Animal protocols - Reduction

Answer 5

Aiming to obtain comparable data while simultaneously reducing the number of animals studies
can be achieved through good experimental design or sharing resources between studies

Question 6

Animal protocols - Refinement

Answer 6

Modification of procedures to limit pain + distress on the animals
e.g. using anaesthetic or humane handling

Question 7

Study example - Aim

Answer 7

Finding optimal sleep levels for adult wellbeing

Question 8

Study example - Research question

Answer 8

How does the amount of sleep an adult get affect their wellbeing?

Question 9

Study example - Variables

Answer 9

IV: Amount of sleep
DV: Happiness scale
Confounding: other life aspects, gender, mental health, activity levels

Question 10

Study example - hypothesis

Answer 10

If adults receive more sleep than they will be happier the following day compared if they lack sleep

Question 11

Experimental study

Answer 11

Manipulating a IV to measure a DV while attempting to maintain as many other variables constant as possible
Strengths - Best evidence of causality
Weaknesses - can be hard to generalise out of a lab setting
-some complex things that involve more variables
cannot be tested

Question 12

Correlational study

Answer 12

A set of questions given to the sample to obtain information
Strengths - quick and cheap to get results
- lots of data
- can easily compare demographics
Weaknesses -no causality
-can be time consuming to prepare
-social desirability bias perhaps

Question 13

Case study

Answer 13

An in depth study on one or few individuals usually with a distinct abnormality
Strengths - lots of in depth data
- good insight into specific areas

Weaknesses - Extremely difficult to generalise
- no causality
- potential observer bias

Question 14

Observational Study

Answer 14

Analysing a sample without any manipulation of variables
Strength - can provide insight into areas where it may be unethical to manipulate variables
Weaknesses - No causality
- potential observer bias

Question 15

Longitudinal study

Answer 15

Continues measuring of the same sample over a long period of time
Strengths - provides insight into changes over time
- provides evidence for causality
Weaknesses - Expensive
- takes a long time to receive results

Question 16

Cross sectional study

Answer 16

Type of correlational study to assess the relationship between variables at a specific point in time, providing a snapshot of the population.
Strengths - quick and cheap
- lots of data
Weaknesses - effect is indeterminable even if it appears evident
- reporter bias - people lie

Question 17

Selection of participants

Answer 17

Once sample is obtained - selection of participants in groups should be random

Question 18

Single blind

Answer 18

Not informing the participants what group they are in to avoid demand characteristics effecting results - a form of deception though

Question 19

Validity

Answer 19

Does the study successfully measure what it is aiming to measure

Question 20

Reliability

Answer 20

Can the study be successfully reproduced to get the same results under the same conditions

Question 21

Evaluation

Answer 21

Requires:
Validity
Reliability
Generalisability
Relevant improvements
Ethical implications