Statistics

Question 1

Give a strength of quantitative data

Answer 1

STRENGTH
P)Quantitative data is more simple to analyse E)which allows comparison to be drawn between groups of data and patterns and trends to be established.
E) This means that it may be easier to make conclusions about behaviour (give context: what behaviours are they looking at). WHEREAS, qualitative data is wordy and more difficult to statistically summarise and therefore, comparisons within data are hard to identify.

Question 2

Give a weakness of quantitative data

Answer 2

WEAKNESS
P)Quantitative data lacks depth and meaning to behaviour especially when it is complex as E)it prevents ppts from being able to develop their thoughts, feelings and opinions on a given subject (contextualise: what subject or behaviour is being investigated).
E)Therefore quantitative data may lack vital detail which reduces the internal validity of the data
WHEREAS, qualitative data is rich in detail and can provide a greater understanding of human behaviour.

Question 3

Give a strength for qualitative data

Answer 3

P)Qualitative data provides rich detail and depth,
E)which allows ppts to develop their thoughts and feeling on a given subject.
E)This provides a greater understanding of the behaviour being studied (contextualise: what is the behaviour being studied in the scenario?),
whereas, quantitative data lacks depth and meaning as the data is only numerical.

Question 4

Give a weakness for qualitative data

Answer 4

P)Qualitative data is harder to analyse
E)as it is difficult to summarise statistically to establish patterns, trends.
E)This opens the data up to potential researcher bias as the analysis is based upon their own subjective interpretations of the data (contextualise: what is the data? what are they investigating?).
Whereas quantitative data can be analysed statistically to provide patterns and trends which may make it easier to make objective conclusions about behaviour,

Question 5

Strength of primary data

Answer 5

P)Primary data is collected first-hand from the participant specifically for the aim of the research
E)which allows researchers to specifically target the information that they require and organise and experiment in a way that suits them and their aim (contextualise: what is the aim of their research?)
E)This increases the overall internal validity of the data.
Whereas secondary data might not meet the researcher’s direct needs, suggesting it may be less useful.

Question 6

Weakness of primary data

Answer 6

P)Primary data is conducted by the researcher themselves
E)which involves time and effort to obtain the data as well as analyse the findings (contextualise: what is it that they will be analysing?) E.G what topic are they researching?)
Whereas secondary data is easily accessed and requires minimal effort to obtain reducing the time and cost taken to complete the research

Question 7

Strength of secondary data

Answer 7

P)Secondary data is easily accessed and requires minimal effort to obtain.
E)The researcher might find that information that he/she wants to collect already exists (context: to investigate? refer to the scenario) E)therefore there is no need to collect primary data.
Whereas primary data is conducted by the researcher themselves which requires effort and time to obtain the data as well as analyse their findings.

Question 8

Weakness of secondary data

Answer 8

P)Secondary data may be poor quality or have inaccuracies.
E) It may appear to be valuable at first but could be outdated (temporal validity, not relevant to time) or incomplete and might not meet the direct needs of the researcher (context: who is investigating? refer to the aim from the scenario).
Whereas primary data is collected first hand from ppts and specifically for the aim of the research which increases the overall internal validity of the research.

Question 9

Give a strength of a meta-analysis

Type of secondary data

Answer 9

P)Meta-analysis gather data from a number of studies
E)which allows us to view data with much more confidence and
E) increase the generalisability of the findings across much larger populations.

Question 10

Give a weakness of a meta-analysis

Type of secondary data

Answer 10

P)Meta-analysis may be prone to publication bias
E) as the researcher may not select all relevant studies
E) choosing to leave out those studies with negative or non-significant results.
L)Therefore the data from the meta-analysis will be biased because it only represents some of the relevant data and incorrect conclusions are drawn.

Question 11

Strength of thematic+content analysis

Answer 11

P)It is easy to assess the reliability of the findings and conclusions
E) because other researchers can access the materials and use the coding system to ensure findings are consistent (inter-rater reliability)

Question 12

Weakness of thematic+content analysis

Answer 12

P)Has potential researcher bias
E)as the content that confirms the researchers hypothesis is more likely to be identified and recorded to the content that contradicts their aims and expectations.
E)This lowers the internal validity of the analysis.

CA- However many modern analysis (researchers) are aware of their own biases and often make reference to these in their own reports.

Question 13

MCT
Advantage of the MODE

Answer 13

easy to calculate Less prone to
distortion by extreme (freak)
values as it does not take all
data in to account UNLIKE the
mean which is highly influenced
by extreme scores as it takes all
data in to account

Question 14

MCT
Disadvantage of the MODE

Answer 14

does not take account of all
scores so may be less accurate
UNLIKE mean which takes all
data into account.
Moreover, the mode may not be
useful if there is more than one
mode in a data set

Question 15

MCT
Advantage of the MEDIAN

Answer 15

Easy to calculate Not affected
by extreme (freak) values
UNLIKE the mean which is highly
influenced by extreme scores as
it takes all data into account.

Question 16

MCT
Disadvantage of the MEDIAN

Answer 16

Not as sensitive as mean as
does not use all scores meaning
less useful results

Question 17

MCT
Advantage of the MEAN

Answer 17

most accurate and sensitive
measure of central tendency as
uses all data sets UNLIKE the
median which does not take
account of all data

Question 18

MCT
Disadvantage of the MEAN

Answer 18

Affected by extreme (freak)
scores as it takes all scores into
account which can result in
misleading interpretation of
results.

Question 19

Measure of Dispersion
Advantage of the RANGE

Answer 19

Easy to and quick to calculate as it
only uses 2 pieces of data to
calculate unlike the standard
deviation which is more complicated
and time-consuming to calculate

Question 20

Measure of Dispersion
Disadvantage of the RANGE

Answer 20

Can be distorted by extreme
(freak) scores, as it only takes
in to account the highest and
lowest scores, so an
inaccurate range could be
achieved.

Question 21

Measure of Dispersion
Advantage of Standard Deviations

Answer 21

Most precise/sensitive measure of
dispersion as uses all scores in
calculation making it a more
accurate measure of dispersion than
the range, which only looks at the
smallest and largest data.

SD is less easily distorted by
extreme values. As it takes into
account the distance of each score
from the mean, not just the distance
from the highest and lowest score
(like the range).

Question 22

Measures of Dispersion
Disadvantage of standard deviations

Answer 22

More complicated and time
consuming to calculate
UNLIKE range which is quick
and easy

Question 23

Features of a Science - Evaluation
LIMITATION~REDUCTIONIST

Answer 23

P)One limitation of conducting objective research when establishing Psychology as a science is that it can lead to a reductionist viewpoint.
E)This is often a problem as we are simplifying behaviour down into simple basic units, for example simplifying OCD to simple basic units such as a mutated SERT gene which has been identified by objective methods such as gene mapping.
E) This neglecting a holistic approach which will take into account a variety of factors to explain behaviour such as culture and socio-economic background.
L)Therefore, when conducting objective research we fail to gain a full understanding of human behaviour in context.

Question 24

Features of a Science - Evaluation
strength~ practical application

Answer 24

P)A strength of using replicable (change to another feature you have outlined in AO1) research in Psychology can lead to practical applications.
E) If a researcher uses replicable procedures for example when Skinner investigated reinforcement with rats, the rats were placed in a controlled environment.
E)This means the research can be replicated under the same conditions which increases the credibility of the research. This can help to develop practical applications such as token economy systems for people suffering with Schizophrenia to help manage their symptoms.
L)Therefore showing features of a science is an important part of applied Psychology.

Question 25

Features of a Science - Evaluation
limitation~ falsification

Answer 25

P)One limitation when considering if Psychology follows all features of a science is that some approaches/theories cannot be falsified.
E) For example, Freud in the Psychodynamic approach created the idea of 5 psychosexual stages that children must progress through to have a ‘normal development’.
E)However, this theory cannot be falsified as there is no possible way to test if this idea is true or false due to the unscientific nature of studying the unconscious.
L)Therefore not all areas of Psychology can be considered a science due to their unscientific methods, lowering the credibility of Psychology as a science.