SIS (science inquiry skills) Flashcards
Define thoughts?
thoughts are internal responses and cannot be directly seen or measured
Define feelings?
feelings are internal responses and cannot be directly seen or measured
define behaviours?
- any observable action made
- it can’t be seen and measured
what is a psychiatrist?
- There is a qualified medical doctor who has obtained additional qualifications to specialise in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental illness and emotions.
what is a psychologist?
is the study of thoughts, feelings and behaviours and the factors that influence these. they work with people who are experiencing a problem with which they need assistance
what are the differences between a psychiatrist and a psychologist?
- qualifications
-types of mental health problem treated
-service and treatments they provide (eg a psychiatrist can provide medication)
examples of therapy psychologist provide?
depression
anxiety
relationship
family
stress
What type of approach does Psychology use?
Psychology uses a scientific approach to conducting research to provide valid (accurate) and reliable (consistent) conclusions.
What is the scientific method?
The systematic approach for planning, conducting and reporting research that involves collecting empirical evidence.
Is psychology a science?
Yes, psychology uses a scientific approach to conducting research to produce valid (accurate) and reliable (consistent) conclusions.
What is pseudoscience?
a collection of beliefs or practices mistakenly regarded as being based on scientific method. (fake science)
What is Empirical data?
Evidence collected through the scientific method based on observation and/or experimentation
What is anecdotal data?
Evidence collected in a casual or informal manner and relying heavily entirely on personal experience.
What is the Biopsychosocial Approach?
The approach explains how biological, psychological and social factors combine to influence us.
What are examples of biological biopsychosocial factors?
Genetics
Hormones
Drugs
Brain structure
Personality traits
What are examples of Psychological biopsychosocial factors?
Prior Learning
Memories
Perception
Cognition (way of thinking)
What are examples of Social biopsychosocial factors?
Family background
Cultural traditions
Peer group
Stereotypes
What are the three different types of investigation designs?
Experimental
Observation
Qualitative
When performing an experiment with a group , how would you split it?
2 groups (controlled group and treatment group)
What is the controlled group
Exposed to the control conditions, where the IV is not present
What is the treatment group?
Exposed to the experimental conditions, where the IV is present
What are independent samples?
The sample is randomly allocated to one condition of the independent variable
What are repeated measures?
The sample of participants received each condition/ variation of the independent variable
What are the advantages of experimental designs?
-Independent variable can be controlled
-Extraneous variables can be eliminated
-Possible to determine cause and effect relationship
-Cause of strict conditions and control, experimenter can replicate to check results
What are the disadvantages of experimental designs?
-Eliminations of extraneous variables is not always possible
-Experimental situation may not relate to real world
-Not always ethical or possible to assign people to groups and experiment on them
What is observational designs
- Researcher observers pre existing groups and records behaviour as it occurs
-Study occurs in a field (natural setting) or in a lab
-The aim is to describe behaviour without trying to establish cause and effect relationship
What is naturalistic observation
Takes place in a natural setting
Can also perform observations in lab
What is Participants observation
This is when the researcher is part of the group being observed or non-participants observation (not part of the group being watched)
What are the advantages of naturalistic observation
Allows investigation of things that would be unethical, impossible or too expensive under experimental designs
What are the disadvantages of naturalistic observation
-Can’t infer strong cause and effects
-Cannot replicate findings as same setting won’t occur naturally again
-Does Not allow generalisations of findings to the general population
What is qualitative designs?
It is an effective method when meaning/ experiences/explanations are being investigated
What is an example of qualitative designs?
Interviews with employees to find out about factors in the work place
What type of questions are typically asked?
Researchers typically becomes part of the study, interaction with the participants as they collect data through open ended questions
How qualitative data/ design helpful?
It provides deeper and a richer understanding
What factors are difficult to control in qualitative designs?
- Personal biases of the researcher
- Participants responding in ways they believe they should
What are the two different ,methods that can be used when conducting a qualitative design?
Focus group
Delphi technique
What is a focus group?
It is a group interview with around 4-8 people
How does focus groups collect data?
Obtains data through discussions between participants
Qualitative (focus groups)Participants are encouraged to…
Talk to one another
Ask questions, exchange personal experiences and points of view
How does interacting with other people help the qualitative experiment?
Interacting with others in groups situation can help participants to explore and clarify their own view
What is not always possible during the qualitative data collection?
One on one interviews
What type of questions do researchers use?
Researchers tend to us open ended questions and encourage the participants to discuss issues of importance
What are the session like in focus groups?
They are relaxed and in a comfortable setting
What are the advantages to focus groups?
More convenient than one on one interviews
Rich data
inexpensive
What are the disadvantages to focus groups?
People might not feel comfortable expressing opinions
few can dominate the discussion
interviewer bias
Cant establish bias
What is the delphi technique
Its used to gather information about a research question
Psychiatrists and psychologists working with teens (experts being specialists, paramedics, youth works, police and parents)
What are some downsides to the delphi technique
It can be difficult to gather experts together
Diversity of opinions may be so great that to reach consensus(agreement) may be very time consuming
What are the 7 steps of the delphi technique?
Recruit experts
Construct and distribute questionnaire
1st circulation of questions
Collection and categorisation of results
2nd circulation of questionnaire
Collection of results
Summing of findings
What are the advantages of the delphi technique?
- People are free to express their own opinions die to confidentiality and anonymity
- Greater pool of expertise
- Cheap to conduct
What are the disadvantages of the delphi techniques?
Researchers bias
Does Not allow for generalisation
May force conses
What are different ways to collect data
Objective quantitative data
Subjective quantitative data
Qualitative data
What is quantitative data?
Numerical info about quantity
thoughts , feelings and behaviour can be described in quantitative terms
What is quantitative data advantages?
Restricted data
Easier to summarise or interpret
What is quantitative data limitations?
Restricted focus does not allow participants to explain their responses
What is Qualitative data?
-Info about the ‘qualities’ being studied
-May be description, words, picture, text.
-Describes a person;s thoughts, feelings and behaviours
-Collected as written or verbal statements and recorded by digital
What and the advantages of Qualitative data?
Deeper understanding of participants
Large amount of detailed data
What and the limitations of Qualitative data
More difficult to control
Personal bias in interpreting data
What is objective data?
- The measurement of a participants response that can be directly observed and verified
- Objective data are considered to be free from any bias on the part of the researcher
What is subjective data?
- It is based on self-reports provided by participants
-The data are determined by the research participants
-The researcher cannot directly verify, therefore cannot be certain that the data is accurate
-Relies on honesty
What is validity?
It is the test that measures what it intends to do. The study produces results that accurately measures the behaviour that it claims too
validity=?
Accuracy (but you can have validity without accuracy)
What is reliability?
The consistency fo the results obtained. If conducted an experiment on a group of participants and repeated it again with a similar group under the same conditions, you should except the same results or very similar results
reliability=?
Consistency, repeatability (but you can have reliability without Consistency, repeatability )
what is the placebo effect?
The placebo effect is when a person’s physical or mental health appears to improve after taking a placebo or ‘dummy’ treatment
what are ethics
Ethics examines the rational justification for our moral judgments; it studies what is morally right or wrong, just or unjust
what are the two measurement of central tendency?
mean and medium
what is the mean?
The mean is the sum of all values divided by the total number of values.
what is the medium
The median is the value in the middle of a data set
which is better if there is an outlier? mean or medium
The median is usually preferred in these situations because the value of the mean can be distorted by the outliers.
what is measures of variability
Measures of variability are statistical measures that provide information about the spread or dispersion of a set of data points. Two common measures of variability are the standard deviation (SD) and the range.
what are the two mesures of variability
- standard deviation
-range
explain standard deviation
The standard deviation is a measure of how much the individual data points in a dataset vary from the mean (average) of the dataset. It provides a quantitative measure of the dispersion of the data points.
Explain range
The range is the simplest measure of variability and represents the difference between the maximum and minimum values in a dataset.
what are the seven steps of the delphi technique
- recuit experts
- construct and distribute questions
3.1st circulation of questions - collection and categorisations of results
- 2nd circulation of questions
- collection of results
- summary of findings
