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Psychology: Research Methods > Section 2: Scientific Processes > Flashcards

Section 2: Scientific Processes Flashcards

1
Q

What distinguishes experimental methods from the other methods?

A

All experiments have: IV, DV, cause and effect relationship. The aim is to establish the cause and effect relationships between the IV and the DV.

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2
Q

Independent Variable

A

The variable in an experiment which is manipulated by the researcher. This is done to see if it has any effect on the DV.

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3
Q

Dependant variable

A

The variable in an experiment which is observed/measured by the researcher. This is done to see if it has been affected by the changes made to the IV

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4
Q

Extraneous variable

A

Any variable other than the IV that might have an effect on the DV if it is not controlled. As part of designing any study, researchers should try to identify all possible EVs and attempt to control them.

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5
Q

4 types of extraneous variables

A

Participant variables
Investigator effects
Environmental variables
Demand characteristics

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6
Q

Participant variables

A

any individual characteristics or traits of the participants (other than the IV) that might affect the DV and unfairly influence the results.

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7
Q

Examples of participant variables

A

age, gender, personality, mood, intelligence

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8
Q

Investigator effects

A

Any cues or behaviour from the investigator (other than the IV) that may encourage certain behaviours in the participant, and which may allow the researcher’s expectations to unfairly influence the results, causing inaccurate results.

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9
Q

examples of investigator effects

A

words used/instructions given
tone of voice
body language
individual/physical characteristics (age/gender)

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10
Q

environment variables

A

any aspect of the research environment or situation (other than the IV) that might unfairly influence the results.

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11
Q

examples of environmental variables

A

noise, lighting, temperature, weather, time of day

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12
Q

demand characteristics

A

any cues that reveal the aims of the study to the participants. if participants become aware that they are being studied, these cues may help them to work out the aim of the study and cause them to change their behaviour, giving inaccurate results

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13
Q

negative effects of demand characteristic

A

‘please you effect’ : may try to please the researcher by giving them the result they want

‘screw you effect’ : may try to ‘ruin’ the experiment and the results

may be more self conscious if they know they are being tested/observed

  • results wont reflect natural behaviour: low internal validity
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14
Q

examples of demand characteristics

A

participants working out/guessing the aim of the study due to cues given

leaving questions that reveal the aim of the experiment

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15
Q

2 key ways of controlling variables to ensure accurate results

A

standardisation

randomisation

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16
Q

standardisation

A

standardising research means putting in place controls to ensure every aspect of the research is the same for all participants and meets a consistent standard.

includes a standardised environment, standardised procedures, and standardised instructions.

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17
Q

how to standardise environment

A

using a laboratory to ensure every aspect of the environment is controlled

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18
Q

how to standardise procedures

A

using the same research methods

using the same timings

using the same materials

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19
Q

how to standardise instructions

A

read from a script or prerecord the instructions (same for all)

use the same researcher to give instructions

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20
Q

randomisation

A

ensuring all research choices are randomly selected by chance (eg using a random number generator) rather than being determined by the researcher. This is done to avoid researcher bias.

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21
Q

examples of randomisation

A

using a random name/number generator

random allocation of participants to different conditions

putting task sequences together randomly (eg a list of words) instead of the researcher putting them in a chosen order

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22
Q

how to control participant variables

A
  • randomisation: random allocation of participants to different conditions
  • experimental design: change to a repeated measures or matched pairs design if appropriate
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23
Q

how to control investigator effects

A

standardisation: give the same instructions to all participants (scripted/prerecorded), use the same researcher for all participants

randomisation: random allocation of participants to conditions to avoid researcher bias

single or double blind trial to avoid researcher bias

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24
Q

how to control environmental variables

A

standardisation: standardised environment (eg using a laboratory to control all environmental variables)

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25
Q

confounding variable

A

any extraneous variable that is not controlled and therefore may have ‘spoiled’ (confounded) the results.

This is because it is no longer clear if any change in the DV was caused by the IV or the confounding variable.

If a study has confounding variables then it’s results are invalid (inaccurate)

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26
Q

validity

A

the accuracy of the research and it’s findings

the extent to which an observed effect is genuine

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27
Q

two main types of validity

A

internal and external validity

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28
Q

internal validity

A

whether or not the research measured what it intended to measure

how successful the study has been in controlling extraneous and confounding variables

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29
Q

external validity

A

whether or not the research findings can be generalised to the outside world

whether the research is representative of people, places, and times in the real-world.

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30
Q

three types of external validity

A

ecological validity

population validity

temporal validity

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31
Q

ecological validity

A

a form of external validity that refers to whether or not research findings can be generalised to real life settings or situations

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32
Q

population validity

A

a form of external validity that refers to whether or not research findings can be generalised to other people in the target population

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33
Q

temporal validity

A

a form of external validity that refers to whether or not research findings can be generalised to other historical times and eras (such as from a long time ago to the current day)

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34
Q

high internal validity

A

EVs and CVs were successfully controlled and the IV did cause the change in the DV (measured what it intended to measure)

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35
Q

low internal validity

A

EVs and CVs were not successfully controlled and therefore may have affected the findings. any change in the DV may have been caused by something other than the IV (bad because it didn’t measure what it intended to measure)

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36
Q

high external validity

A

external validity will increase the more you conduct the study in different settings, with different people, and at different times to produce the same findings

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37
Q

low external validity

A

external validity will decrease the less you conduct the study in different settings, with different people, and at different times if the same findings are not produced

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38
Q

reliability

A

consistency of the measurement/findings

the results of a research are reliable if, when the same measurement or study is replicated, similar/the same results are produced

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39
Q

how to test reliability of a study

A

test-retest method

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40
Q

test-retest method

A

running the study once and then doing exactly the same study again using exactly the same participants and conditions. if the same/similar results, the research is reliable.

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41
Q

pilot study

A

a small-scale trial run of a research study that takes place before the full-scale research project begins.

They usually use a smaller number of participants who can be questioned afterwards about their experience.

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42
Q

aims of pilot study (piloting)

A

to check that the research/study works as it is intended to, and that there are no extraneous variables that may affect the results, and that it is practical. Any problems can then be rectified before running the full scale study

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43
Q

how are pilot studies useful

A

answering:

do participants understand the instructions?

are the materials and timings appropriate?

how was the participants’ experience (demand characteristics)?

have variables been operationalised successfully?

any problems can be rectified before the full scale study begins

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44
Q

how can pilot studies help to see if participants understand the instructions

A

participants can be asked if the instructions were clear ( or in a question are if the questions were clear)

if they understood what they were required to do

if the questions/instructions meant the same thing to all participants

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45
Q

how can a pilot study help to see if materials and timings were appropriate?

A

eg in a memory recall research:
- can check whether words are clear for the age group/ability of the participants
- whether the list contains the right amount of words,numbers,images etc
- whether pictures used are clear
- whether time shown for is appropriate

eg in an interview or question are research:
- helpful to try out questions in advance and remove any that were confusing or ambiguous

ensure participants have the right amount of time to do complete what they are supposed to

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46
Q

how can a pilot study identify demand characteristics

A

asking participants about their experience of taking part: whether they guessed/figured out the aim of the study and therefore changed their behaviour

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47
Q

how can a pilot study help to check if variables were sufficiently operationalised?

A

may help to highlight more behaviours not previously outlined

(eg studying children’s aggression: how many times the hit/kicked, the PS may include biting etc)

allow researcher to identify and operationalise all variables in order to maximise internal validity

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48
Q

aim

A

a general statement about what the researcher intends to study: the aim states the purpose of the study.

eg “Aim: to investigate the effects of noise on memory”

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49
Q

hypothesis

A

a precise and testable statement that states the expected relationship between variables.

‘Operationalisation’ is a key part of making this statement precise and testable.

If the findings support the hypothesis then it can be accepted, but if not it must be rejected.

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50
Q

difference between aims and hypotheses

A

an aim is a general statement about what the researcher intends to study that doesn’t precisely define variables

whereas

a hypothesis is a more precise and testable statement that clearly defines variables and the expected relationship between them

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51
Q

three types of hypotheses

A

directional
non-directional
null

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52
Q

directional hypothesis

A

a hypothesis that not only started that there will be an effect but also states which way the effect will go.

(eg: saying it will be higher/lower than another condition)

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53
Q

justification of directional hypotheses

A

psychologists use directional hypotheses when past research suggests that the findings will go in a particular direction

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54
Q

non-directional hypothesis

A

a hypothesis that simply states that there will be an effect but doesn’t state which way the effect will go.

(eg: saying that there will be a difference between conditions but not saying which group will score higher/lower)

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55
Q

justification for non-directional hypotheses

A

psychologists use it when past research is absent (no previous research in the area) or mixed/unclear

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56
Q

null hypothesis

A

states that there will be no significant difference: the IV has no effect on the DV

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57
Q

template for directional hypothesis

A

participants that (IV1) will (DV) (more/less/greater/smaller/quicker/slower) than (IV2)

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58
Q

template for non directional hypotheses

A

there will be a significant difference between participants that (IV1) compared to participants that (IV2) in terms of (DV)

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59
Q

template for null hypotheses

A

there will be no significant difference between participants that (IV1) compared to participants that (IV2) in terms of (DV)

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60
Q

operationalisation

A

the process of clearly defining variables
to make them testable ands measurable

this is how variables are ‘put into operation’

eg, rather than stating intelligence state IQ score

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61
Q

social desirability

A

participants behaving or responding dishonestly to present themselves in a more favourable light

often happens in self-report research such as interviews when asked personal questions

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62
Q

population

A

the population refers to the large group of individuals who share specific characteristics that a researcher is interested in studying

in psychology the population does not refer to the general population and therefore it is referred to as the target population, as it refers to a particular subset of the general population

eg, year 12 students at a particular college
eg, teenage boys in britain

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63
Q

why is it necessary to select a sample out of a population

A

populations are usually too large to study as a whole (too expensive, time consuming, inefficient) so we select a sample that is representative of everyone in it

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64
Q

difference between population and sample

A

a population is a large group of individuals who share specific characteristics that the researcher is interested in studying whereas a sample is participants who are selected from the target population, that is representative of a smaller group of a target population

65
Q

sample

A

a group of the target population that is selected for a study.

ideally, the sample drawn will be representative of the target population so that generalisation of findings becomes possible, giving the research high population validity

66
Q

generalisation

A

the extent to which findings from a specific sample can be applied to the population.

this is made possible if the sample is representative of the population.

67
Q

general issue with sampling

A

finding a sample that is representative of the population so that generalisation of findings is possible and it has high population validity is often difficult to achieve in practice, and most sampling techniques involve some degree of bias

68
Q

bias (sampling)

A

in terms of sampling, this refers to under-representing or over-representing certain groups within the sample.

for example, too many younger people or too few males

69
Q

types of sampling techniques

A
  • opportunity sampling
  • volunteer (self-selected) sampling
  • systematic sampling
  • random sampling
  • stratified sampling
70
Q

opportunity sampling

A

opportunity sampling involves selecting anyone who is willing and available to take part at the time.

for example, approaching people in the street.

this is the most common sampling technique used in psychological research and often results in students being used since most research takes place within universities.

71
Q

opportunity sampling: advantage

A

P: quick, convenient and economical
E: means it does not require the level of planning and preparation that many other sampling methods require
E: eg, a study into stress levels during shopping can simply involve a researcher approaching shoppers at a shopping centre rather than having to pre-identify participants
L: leads to less delays in the research process and less money spent

72
Q

opportunity sampling: disadvantage

A

P: can be biased and unrepresentative
E: means the ppts that happen to be available at the time of the study may not represent everyone in the target population
E: eg, if a study is conducted in the middle of the working day, the sample may only include people who work reduced hours or the unemployed and not full-time workers. also, researchers may avoid people they don’t like the look of (researcher bias)
L: means the sample may be biased and cannot be generalised to everyone, lowering population validity

73
Q

volunteer (self-selected) sampling

A

volunteer sampling involved selecting individuals who have put themselves forward to take part in research

as ppts put themselves forward it is sometimes also referred to as a ‘self-selected’ sample

researchers may place adverts in newspapers or posters or on a university notice board

74
Q

volunteer sampling: advantage

A

P: quick, convenient, and economical
E: means it doesn’t require the level of planning and preparation that many other sampling methods require to identify ppts
E: eg, a researcher studying memory can advertise for ppts and the ppts should present themselves
L: there are less delays in the research process and less money spent

75
Q

volunteer sampling: disadvantage

A

P: can be biased and unrepresentative
E: volunteers tend to be a certain type of person
E: eg, they tend to be more confident and motivated than most
L: the sample may be biased (volunteer bias) and the findings cannot be generalised to everyone, lowering population validity

76
Q

systematic sampling

A

systematic sampling involves selecting every nth member of the target population

this involves obtaining a list of names of everyone in the target population (eg. the school register or database of members) organised in some way (eg alphabetical order) and choosing, for example, every 5th name m

77
Q

systematic sampling: advantage

A

P: avoids researcher bias
E: researcher has no influence over who is chosen as it is simply who happens to be in certain positions in a list that are selected
E: eg, picking whoever is in every 5th position on an alphabetical list prevents them from only choosing people they think will help support their hypothesis
L: the research is less biased, more objective and less open to abuse or researcher influence

78
Q

systematic sampling: disadvantage

A

P: not guaranteed to be representative
E: every nth name on a list could, by chance, lead to only a certain type of person being selected
E: eg, every nth name could be made even though there are just as many females on the list. furthermore, there is still an element of bias involved as not everyone has an equal chance of being selected as people with names at the start of the register, eg, are unlikely to be selected
L: findings cannot be generalised to everyone, lowering population validity

79
Q

random sampling

A

random sampling is where everyone in the target population has an equal chance of being selected

firstly, you must obtain a list of everyone in the target population (eg the school register or a database of members)

secondly, all names are assigned a number

third, the sample is generated through some lottery method (eg equal pieces of paper in a hat or bowl drawn at random or a computer-based randomiser)

80
Q

random sampling: advantage

A

P: avoids researcher bias
E: means the researcher has no influence over who is being selected
E: eg, picking names from a hat prevents them from only choosing people they think will help support their hypothesis
L: random samples are less biased, more objective, and less open to abuse or researcher influence

81
Q

random sampling: disadvantage

A

P: not guaranteed to be representative
E: means that drawing names randomly from a hat could still, by chance, lead to only a certain type of person being selected
E: eg, every name drawn could be male even though there are just as many females names in the hat
L: the findings cannot be generalised to everyone, lowering population validity

82
Q

stratified sampling

A

stratified sampling invilved selecting a sample that reflects the proportions of people in different subgroups according to their frequency within the population

for example, if 40% of the target population are male, then 40% of the sample should be male

  1. obtain a list of all names in the target population
  2. researcher identifies the different subgroups that make up the population
  3. researcher works out the proportions needed to make the sample representative (eg 40% of the population are male)
  4. ppts from each subgroup are chosen randomly (eg putting the names of all the males in one hand and the females in another and selecting the right proportions from each hat)
83
Q

stratified sampling: advantage

A

P: highly representative
E: not only avoids researcher bias but also ensures all subgroups are proportionally represented in the sample
E: picking names from hats prevents the researcher from only choosing people they think will help support their hypothesis but also focus on subgroups means the process isn’t left entirely to chance to represent all types of people
L: it is likely to be more representative than other sampling techniques

84
Q

stratified sampling: disadvantage

A

P: time consuming and inconvenient
E: takes a great deal of planning to identify relevant subgroups and count frequencies within each subgroup prior to starting the random selection process
E: eg, none of this level of planning is necessary with opportunity of volunteer samples
L: more delays in the research process and more money spent

85
Q

experimental design

A

experimental design refers to the way in which ppts are allocated to the different conditions in an experiment (experimental condition and control condition)

86
Q

types of experimental design

A
  • repeated measures
  • independent groups
  • matched pairs
87
Q

repeated measures design

A

all ppts take part in all conditions: one group of pots completes one condition and then the same group completes the next condition.

for example, if you were testing the effect of noise on memory, the group of ppts could be tested in noisy conditions (condition A) in the morning and the same group tested in silent conditions (condition B) in the afternoon

88
Q

repeated measures design: advantages

A

P: no participant variables
E: no individual differences between the ppts in each condition
E: eg, ppts in condition A will not differ in any way from ppts in condition B bc they are the same ppts
L: increases internal validity of the research

P: requires half the number of ppts as other designs
E: less pots are needed compared to independent groups or matched pairs designs to achieve the same amount of data
E: eg, to achieve 10 ppts in each condition, only 10 ppts are needed in total compared to 20 ppts being needed for other designs
L: stufies using this design do not have to recruit as many ppts which is cheaper and less time-consuming

89
Q

repeated measures design: disadvantages

A

P: suffers from order effects
E: the order ppts complete the diff conditions may affect their performance
E: eg, ppts may do better in the second test bc they have alr had practice at the task (practice effect) or may do worse bc they are bored w doing the same task again (boredom effect)
L: lowers internal validity

P: high demand characteristics
E: ppts have more of a chance of guessing the aim of the experiment which may affect their behaviour
E: eg, completing a memory task in noisy conditions then silence, ppts may work out the aim of the experiment and change their behaviour accordingly
L: reduces the internal validity

90
Q

independant groups design

A

ppts are places into separate (independent) groups

each group completes one condition of the experiment only

we then compare the performance (dependant variable) of each group

eg, if you were testing the effects of noise on memory you would l have one set of ppts being studied in noisy conditions (condition A) and the other in silent conditions (condition B)

91
Q

independant groups design: advantages

A

P: doesn’t suffer from order effects
E: order pots complete the different conditions doenst affect performance bc ppts only complete one condition
E: eg, ppts will not do better (practice effect) or worse (boredom effect) in the second task bc they only complete one task
L: increases internal validity

P: low demand characteristics
E: ppts have less of a chance of guessing the aim of the experiment
E: eg, as ppts only take part in one condition they are not necessarily aware of the research expectations so their behaviour is less likely to change to fit these expectations
L: increases the study’s internal validity

92
Q

independant groups design: disadvantages

A

P: low degree of control over participant variables
E: might be individual differences between the ppts in each condition that haven’t been controlled and could unfairly influence the results
E: eg, ppts in CA may be, on average, much more intelligent than those in CB
L: decreases the internal validity and may confound the results

P: requires twice as many ppts as a repeated measure design
E: more ppts are needed w this design to achieve the same amount of data
E: eg, to achieve 10 ppts in each condition, 20 ppts are needed in total compared to only 10 being needed for a repeated measures design
L: studies using this design have to recruit more ppts which is more expensive and more time-consuming

93
Q

matched pairs design

A

matched pairs design involves different ppts being used in each condition

however, the ppts are matched into pairs based on important characteristics that may influence the results (eg age, gender)

one of each pair then takes part in CA and one in CB

for example, for every young male in CA there is a paired young male in CB

94
Q

matched pairs design: advantages

A

P: doesn’t suffer from order effects
E: order pots complete the different conditions doenst affect performance bc ppts only complete one condition
E: eg, ppts will not do better (practice effect) or worse (boredom effect) in the second task bc they only complete one task
L: increases internal validity

P: low demand characteristics
E: ppts have less of a chance of guessing the aim of the experiment
E: eg, as ppts only take part in one condition they are not necessarily aware of the research expectations so their behaviour is less likely to change to fit these expectations
L: increases the study’s internal validity

95
Q

matched pairs design: disadvantages

A

P: less degree of control over participant variables than repeated measures
E: although ppts have been matches on important criteria to control ppt variables more than an independent groups design, there is still more of a chance of individual differences between ppts in each condition than a repeated measures design, which could unfairly influence the results
E: eg, ppts in CA may be, on average, much more intelligent than those in CB
L: decreases the internal validity and may confound the results

P: requires twice as many ppts as a repeated measure design
E: more ppts are needed w this design to achieve the same amount of data
E: eg, to achieve 10 ppts in each condition, 20 ppts are needed in total compared to only 10 being needed for a repeated measures design
L: studies using this design have to recruit more ppts which is more expensive and more time-consuming

96
Q

ways to overcome issues with experimental design

A
  • random allocation (independent groups)
  • counterbalancing (repeated measures)
97
Q

random allocation

A

one way of controlling researcher bias in an independent groups design is random allocation of ppts to conditions

this involves assigning all of the pots a number and randomly selecting numbers (random number generator or drawing out of a hat) so that, for example, every other number goes in CA

this should help to reduce issues of bias and help control participant variables

98
Q

counterbalancing

A

one way of controlling order effects in a repeated measures design is counterbalancing

this involves half of the ppts starting in CA followed by CB, and the other half starting in CB followed by CA (referred to as ‘ABBA’)

this balances out the problem of order effects as it means it is not always the same condition performing better due to practice or worse due to boredom

99
Q

what is an ethical issue

A

ethical issues refer to the conflicts about what is acceptable in research

researchers have a responsibility to protect the rights and best interests of the participants they study by conducting their research in an ethical manner

any research which does not protect the ppts rights in this way may be said to raise ethical issues

100
Q

types of ethical issue

A
  • deception
  • lack of informed consent
  • lack of protection from harm
  • lack of right to withdraw
  • lack of confidentiality
101
Q

deception

A

deception is an ethical issue that occurs when ppts are deliberately misled about the true nature of a study

eg, telling them it is a study of one thing when it is actually a study of something else

this is an issue bc informed consent can’t be gained since ppts don’t know what they are truly consenting to

it may cause the ppt to become distrustful of psychology studies in the future

102
Q

how to deal w deception

A

debriefing the ppts

this involves telling the ppts the true nature of the research study after it has taken place

this ensures they don’t leave in any confusion and can be given the chance to withdraw their data (retrospective withdrawal)

103
Q

lack of informed consent

A

informed consent involves revealing the true aims and purpose of the research before giving them the choice of agreeing (consenting) or refusing to participate in the research

there are many situations where giving informed consent is impossible, for example, when:
- deception is being used
- ppts are unaware that they are part of research such as some field experiments or covert observations
- ppts may be unable to fully understand the nature of the study and make a balanced choice (eg if they are children or have a severe psychological condition)

failure to gain true informed consent may cause ppts to be distrustful of psychology studies in the future

104
Q

how to deal with lack of informed consent

A

using ‘presumptive consent’

this is where you tell ppl from the same target population what the study involves and ask if they would have been happy to take part even without informed consent, before the study

if they agree, we can ‘presume’ that the real ppts would too as they should be a representative group

105
Q

lack of protection from harm

A

protection from harm refers to a researcher’s responsibility to ensure ppts come to no more harm than they would in every day life

harm can refer to physical and psychological harm

psychological harm might include anxiety, distress or embarrassment

the researchers should aim to ensure that the ppts leave the experiment in the and state as they arrived

106
Q

how to deal with lack of protection from harm

A

using an ‘ethical committee’: a group of experts in the area who can decide whether or not the harm in the planned study is too great

if research goes ahead and harm only then becomes clear, ppts have the right to withdraw or the researcher can abandon the study to prevent further harm

107
Q

lack of right to withdraw

A

right to withdraw means ppts must be made aware at all points in an investigation that it is their right to leave the study at any time they choose

this may be before the study has started, during the study, or after the study (if they choose to have all of their data removed afterwards as a part of ‘reterospective withdrawal’)

108
Q

how to deal with lack of right to withdraw

A

researcher should remind ppts before, during and after the study that they have the right to withdraw from the research by either physically leaving or having their data withdrawn (retrospective withdrawal)

109
Q

lack of confidentiality

A

confidentiality means that ppts have the right for their data to remain anonymous

personal details (eg their name) should not be given away during the investigation or afterwards, on publication of the research report

this includes keeping the names of ppts confidential as well as any information which might allow others to identify that individual (eg details of their career, age, or photographs)

110
Q

how to deal with lack of confidentiality

A

use pseudonyms (fake names) such as ‘participant A’ when referring to them in the research

111
Q

forms of giving instructions to participants

A
  • consent forms
  • debriefs
  • standardised instructions
112
Q

how to write a consent form

A
  • thank the pot for their involvement
  • inform them of the true aims of the study (or false aims of being deceived)
  • exactly what they will be doing
  • how long it might take
  • outline any ethical considerations (eg right to withdraw and right to confidentiality)
  • ask them to sign and date the consent form to confirm agreement to participate
113
Q

how to write a debrief

A
  • thank ppt for participating
  • explain they have made a valuable contribution to this area of research
  • explain the true aims of the study and if appropriate, an explanation of why it was necessary to mislead them initially
  • if there was more than one condition, give details of what ppts in the other condition did
  • outline any ethical considerations (eg right to withdraw their data, right to confidentiality, gaining informed consent if they were initially misled)
  • ask if they have any questions
114
Q

how to write standardised instructions

A
  • clear and full details on the task they need to complete
  • how long it will take
  • outline ethical considerations (eg right to withdraw and right to confidentiality)
  • ask if they have any questions
115
Q

who deals with ethical issues

A

British Psychological Society

116
Q

BPS ethical guidelines

A

BPS code of ethics are the rules or guidelines that all researchers in Britain must follow when designing and conducting psychological studies

  1. Deception: ppts should be fully debriefed after the study including giving the chance to discuss concerns, ask questions and the right to withdraw their data (retrospective consent)
  2. Informed consent: where consent is not possible, an alternative should be used (presumptive consent)
  3. Protection from harm: avoid risk greater than everyday life, allow pots to withdraw if harm becomes too much and researchers should stop the study if the researcher suspects harm
  4. Right to withdraw: ppts should be informed before, during and after the study of their right to leave or have their data withdrawn (reterospective withdrawal)
  5. Confidentiality: researchers should not reveal aspects of ppts identity when discussing and reporting in their research
117
Q

limitations of using deception/debriefing

A
  • after the debrief ppts may choose to have their data withdrawn which could skew the results
  • debrief may be too late if there has already been deception and psychological harm (eg feeling embarrassed, etc)
118
Q

limitations of using presumptive consent

A
  • individual differences: may not generalise
  • informed consent cannot always be offered so deception may be needed
119
Q

limitations of guidelines on protection from harm

A
  • harm caused may be permanent/long-term
  • psychological harm may not always be obvious compared to physical harm
120
Q

limitations of ethical guidelines on right to withdraw

A
  • researcher may avoid reminding them in order to continue w their study
  • ppts may feel obliged and pressured to take part as though they have not choice but to participate
  • if ppts do withdraw it could skew the results
121
Q

limitations of ethical guidelines on right to withdraw confidentiality

A
  • even by using pseudonyms, findings can still make the ppts identifiable
  • some personal details may be relevant to the study (eg age) and need to be disclosed
122
Q

failure to comply with the BPS code of ethics

A

failure to comply with the BPS code of ethics, whilst not resulting in prosecution, could restrict future research and result in the removal of the name of the ‘offending’ psychologist from the professional register of chartered psychologists

123
Q

observational sampling

A

selecting which behaviours to observe and record

124
Q

types of observational sampling

A

event sampling

time sampling

125
Q

event sampling

A

continuously watching a certain behaviour (or event) and counting the number of times that event occurs in a target individual or group

ensures no behaviours are kissers and generates a great deal is data for analysis

eg, event sampling of socialisation in children may involve counting the number of times they talk to another child during playtime

126
Q

event sampling: strengths

A

P: doesn’t overlook important behaviour
E: this is bc behaviour is watched and recorded during the entirety of event so no behaviours are missed
E: eg, event sampling of socialisation in children may involve counting the number of times they talk to another child during playtime
L: is more accurate, detailed and generates a great deal of data for analysis

127
Q

event sampling: limitations

A

P: may suffer from observer bias
E: observers expectations may influence what the researcher sees, hears or the data that they record
E: eg, eg, expecting boys to be more aggressive than girls may lead a researcher to spend more time looking for aggression in boys and be more likely to interpret their behaviour as aggressive even if that isn’t the case
L: this makes the observation less objective and reduces the internal validity of the research findings

128
Q

time sampling

A

watching and recording behaviour at specific time intervals (as opposed to continuously recording)

for instance, recording what the target individual or group are doing every 30 seconds or every minute

eg, observing the behaviour of students in a library may involve making a ‘sweep’ of the library every 30 minutes to record specific behaviours (eg how many are using a computer or books)

129
Q

time sampling: strengths

A

P: reduces observer bias
E: observers expectations are less likely to influence what the researcher sees, hears or the data that they record because they are only observing for limited intervals
E: eg, even if an observer expects boys to be more aggressive than girls they are less able to spend more time looking for aggression in boys and less likely to interpret their behaviour as aggressive even if that isn’t the case
L: this makes the observation more objective and increase the internal validity of the research findings

130
Q

time sampling: limitations

A

P: may overlook important behaviour
E: this is bc behaviour is only watched and recorded for specific time intervals so some behaviours may be missed
E: eg, time sampling of socialisation in children may involve counting the number of times they are talking to another child every 10 minutes, rather than for the entirety of playtime
L: less accurate and detailed and generates less data for analysis compared to event sampling

131
Q

when might event sampling be useful compared to when time sampling may be useful

A

event sampling is useful when a target behaviour or event is quite infrequent and could be missed by time sampling whereas time sampling may be useful when a target behaviour id event is quite complex and data needs reducing

time sampling may also be better used in participant observations to reduce the observer bias

132
Q

how are behaviours recorded in observations

A

behavioural categories (behavioural checklist)

133
Q

behavioural categories

A

dividing a target behaviour (such as stress, aggression or affection) ingo a subset of specific, observable behaviours.

eg, ‘aggression’ may be broken down into ‘punching’ ‘kicking’ ‘shouting’

these categories must be clearly operationalised (clearly defined and made measurable) and must cover all the possible ways the behaviour may occur

a pilot study may be used to ensure all behaviours are covered and clearly defined

134
Q

A word on ecological validity

A

the concept of ecological validity is often misunderstood because students think it is about the ‘naturalness’ of the study where a more natural setting automatically means the study must have high ecological validity. however, this isn’t quite true.

the key feature to consider is the dependant variable (DV) and how real-to-life or artificial this is.

for example, Rutter et al’s study of Romanian orphans often seems quite high in ecological validity because the IV (whether the children were adopted before or after 6 months of age) was not controlled by the researchers and was real life. however, one DV in this study was intellectual development which was assessed using IQ tests. such tests are conducted in a controlled environment and may be quite ‘artificial’ measures of intelligence.

equally, Godden and Baddeley’s study of context-dependent forgetting using deep-sea divers who had to learn a list of words either in land or underwater might seem high in ecological validity as it was not conducted in a laboratory and was instead conducted ‘outside’ in the ‘real-world’. however, as the DV involved learning and recalling word lists, this was an artificial way to test memory and therefore may not represent real-life memory.

135
Q

A word on temporal validity

A

temporal validity is the issue of whether findings from a particular study, or concepts weighing a particular theory, hold true over time.

for example, critics have suggested that high rates of conformity within the original Asch experiments were a product of a particularly conformist era in American history (as demonstrated when Perrin and Spencer failed to replicate these effects in Britain 30 years later)

136
Q

ways of assessing validity

A
  • face validity
  • concurrent validity
137
Q

explain face validity

A

a basic form of validity which refers to whether a test or measurement looks like it is measuring what the researcher intended to measure

in other words, assessing whether test items appear ‘on the face of it’ to measure what the test claims to measure

this can be done by simply ‘eyeballing’ the measuring instrument or by passing it to an expert to check

for example, you could assess a stress questionnaire for face validity by checking that all the questions look like they are obviously related to stress

138
Q

explain concurrent validity

A

the extent to which a test or measurement produces similar findings to a recognised and more established test of the same topic

in other words, assessing whether the current measurement produces results that are similar (or equivalent) to a previously validated measurement of the same variable(s)

this can be done by giving ppts both measures (eg. questionnaires) at the same time and then comparing their scores

for example, you could assess a new IQ test for concurrent validity by comparing the results from that threat with the results the same ppts got on an older, more established IQ test to see if the two scores correlate strongly (i.e. are similar)

139
Q

improving validity: poor face validity

A

if any questions on a test or questionnaire are judged as having poor face validity (i.e. they don’t look like they are measuring what they are intending to measure) then the questions should be removed, revisited, and/or rewritten so they relate more clearly and obviously to the topic being measured

140
Q

improving validity: low concurrent validity

A

if any questions on a test or questionnaire have low concurrent validity (i.e. scores or responses do not correlate with those on the more established test of the same topic) then the questions should be removed, revisited, and/or rewritten so they can be tested or checked for concurrent validity again

141
Q

improving validity: low internal/external validity

A

improvements should come from changing the methods, techniques and designs used to conduct the research

142
Q

improving validity: participant variables

A
  • use a stratified sample to represent the target population proportionally -> high population validity
  • use a matched pairs design
143
Q

improving validity: a field experiment affected by environmental variables

A
  • change to a laboratory experiment/setting -> control environmental variables -> reduce confounding variables
144
Q

improving validity: investigator effects

A
  • standardised questions and instructions, can use a script or pre-recording so it’s the same for all ppts
  • use a single or double blind trial
145
Q

improving validity: demand characteristics

A
  • use lack of informed consent so that ppts don’t know they are being studied
  • use deception (give a false aim)
146
Q

improving validity: order effects

A

use counterbalancing (ABBA)

147
Q

improving validity: a laboratory experiment that lacks ecological validity

A

change to a field experiment in a natural/real-life setting

148
Q

improving validity: sample lacks population validity

A

make the sample more varied (random or stratified sampling)

149
Q

improving validity: low temporal validity

A

replicate the research to see if the results are still the same and update the theory

150
Q

ways of assessing reliability

A
  • test-retest reliability
  • inter-observer reliability
    • inter-eater reliability
151
Q

explain test-retest reliability

A

the extent to which the same test or measurement, given to the same ppts on two separate occasions produces the same results

in other words, the same ppts are tested and then retested a second time in the same way to see if their scores correlate strongly

usually there is a short interval between tests, such as a week or two, so that ppts don’t remember their answers but also this interval should not be so long that their opinions or abilities may have changed

for example, giving a set of ppts an IQ test and then repeating the same IQ test with the same ppts two weeks later before comparing the scores from the two occasions to see if they are correlates

as well as tests and questionnaires, this assessment can also be used to check the reliability of interviews

152
Q

explain inter-observer reliability

A

the extent to which there is agreement between two (or more) observers involved in observations of a behaviour

in other words, it refers to whether different observers watching the same event independently collect scores that correlate strongly

for example, two observers might independently count the number of aggressive acts shown by a group of schoolchildren in a playground using the same behavioural categories before comparing results to see if they are consistent (i.e. whether they both counted 4 punches and 2 kicks)

when the scores from both observers are correlated, a correlation co-efficient can be calculated

a result of 0.8 or more suggests high inter-observer reliability

153
Q

explain inter-rater reliability

A

The level of agreement in scores on a measure between different raters or observers rating the same target.

Two researchers can both do the same content analysis using the same categories before comparing results

High interrater reliability suggests the ratings are objective and not overly influenced by rater subjectivity or bias.

154
Q

improving reliability: low inter-observer reliability

A

(1) it may be that the behavioural categories were not operationalised clearly enough.

for example, if one observer interpreted an action as a ‘punch’ whilst one interpreted the same behaviour as a ‘push’

these categories can be removed, revised, and/or rewritten to ensure greater precision and clarity and less overlap between categories before running the test again

(2) it may be that some it may be that some observers just need more practice using the behavioural categories so they can respond more quickly

155
Q

improving reliability: low test-retest reliability

A

(1) it may be that test items or questions were ambiguous (not clear enough) resulting in ppts giving different answers each time they respond

for example, the question ‘what are your thoughts about dieting?’ night leas some ppts to interpret this as asking for factual information, and provide the facts they know about dieting, whereas others might think the question was more about emotions and respond with their own feelings about their experiences with dieting

these test items or questions need to be removed, revised, and/or rewritten to ensure greater precision and clarity before running the test again

(2) it may be that the test items or questions were overly complex or too broad, covering too many issues

to improve reliability, questions may be revised and rewritten to simplify them

furthermore, open questions (where there is more room for (mis)interpretation) can be replaced by closed, fixed choice alternatives

(3) it may be that the test is conducted slightly differently each time

for example, if it is conducted by different researchers or in different conditions

to improve this, researchers must work hard to ensure all aspects of a study are standardised (eg. using the same researcher and ensuring all aspects of the environment and procedure are kept the same each time a test is run)

156
Q

using correlations to assess validity and reliability:
strong positive correlation

A

the data represents that the co-variables have been accurately tested and the findings are consistent

we can accurately and consistently state that as one co-variable increases, so to does the other co-variable

157
Q

using correlations to assess validity and reliability:
strong negative correlation

A

the data represents that the co-variables have been accurately tested and the findings are consistent

we can accurately and consistently state that as one co-variable increases, the other co-variable decreases

158
Q

using correlations to assess validity and reliability:
zero correlation

A

the findings were not consistent or accurate as there is no relationship between co-variables

OR

we can accurately and consistently state that there is no relationship between co-variables

Psychology: Research Methods (3 decks)

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