thing

Question 1

What is qualitative data with examples?

Answer 1

data representing information and concepts that are NOT represented by numbers.

Qualitative data often involves methods such as interviews, focus groups, observations, or analysis of texts and documents.

Question 2

One strength and one weakness of qualitative data

Answer 2

One strength of qualitative data is its ability to provide rich, detailed, and in-depth information about the research topic.

One weakness of qualitative data is that it can be time-consuming and resource intensive. Collecting and analysing qualitative data requires significant investment in terms of time, effort, and expertise.

Question 3

What is quantitative data?

Answer 3

Quantitative data is data that is represented using numbers.

Question 4

One strength and one weakness of quantitative data

Answer 4

One strength of quantitative data is its ability to provide precise and objective measurements. Quantitative data is based on numerical values and can be easily analysed using statistical techniques.

One weakness of quantitative data is its potential for oversimplification and lack of contextual understanding. Quantitative data focuses on numerical measurements, which may overlook the + of the research topic. It may fail to capture the subjective experiences, motivations, and nuances that qualitative methods can provide

Question 5

What is Primary Research?

Answer 5

Primary Research involves the first-hand collection and analysis of data by researchers, rather than relying on existing data or sources. Primary research methods commonly include surveys, interviews, observations, experiments, or focus groups.

Question 6

Give one strength and one weakness of Primary Research

Answer 6

One advantage of primary research is the opportunity to gather data that is tailored to the specific research needs and researcher bias can be controlled for. Researchers have control over the design and implementation of data collection methods, allowing them to obtain precise and targeted information.

One disadvantage of primary research is that it can be time-consuming and costly. Primary research often requires substantial resources in terms of time, effort, and budget. It involves various tasks such as: recruiting participants, conducting data collection and interpreting results.

Question 7

What is Secondary Research?

Answer 7

Secondary research refers to the process of gathering and analysing existing data and information that has been previously collected by other researchers or organizations.

Question 8

Give one strength and one weakness of Secondary Research

Answer 8

One advantage of secondary research is its cost-effectiveness and time-efficiency. Since the data already exists, researchers can save time and resources by accessing and analysing existing information.

One disadvantage of secondary research is the potential lack of control over the quality and reliability of the data. Researchers rely on the accuracy, validity, and completeness of the data collected by others, which may vary across different sources. The data may have been collected for different purposes or using different methodologies, making it challenging to ensure consistency or compatibility.

Question 9

What is Internal validity?

Answer 9

Internal validity: Refers to the extent to which a study accurately measures the causal relationship between variables and minimizes confounding factors or alternative explanations within the research design.

Question 10

What is external validity?

Answer 10

External validity: Refers to the generalizability of research findings beyond the specific context or sample used in the study e.g., to other populations, settings, or situations, and the real-world applicability and relevance of the research.

Question 11

What is historical validity?

Answer 11

Historical validity: It involves assessing the extent to which the historical data used in the research is reliable, unbiased, and accurately reflects the past context or time period being investigated.

Question 12

What is population validity?

Answer 12

Population validity: Refers to the degree to which the findings of a study can be generalized to the broader population from which the sample was drawn.

Question 13

What is ecological validity?

Answer 13

Ecological validity: Refers to the extent to which the findings of a study can be generalized to the real-world or naturalistic settings.

Question 14

What is face validity?

Answer 14

Face validity: Face validity is simply whether the test appears (at face value) to measure what it claims to. This is the least sophisticated measure of validity.

Question 15

What is predictive validity?

Answer 15

Predictive validity This is the degree to which a test accurately predicts a criterion that will occur in the future.

Question 16

What is Mundane Realism?

Answer 16

• Mundane realism - the extent to which an experimental situation resembles a real-life situation or event.

Question 17

What is a Standardised procedure

Answer 17

• Standardised procedures – An experiment which follows a set procedure.

Question 18

What are demand characteristics

Answer 18

• Demand characteristics – Parts of the study which could result in the participants being able to guess what the experiment is about and changing their behaviour to appear desirable rather than acting naturally.

Question 19

What are participant variables

Answer 19

• Participant variables – Variables which may affect a study determined by the participant such as height, weight, intelligence, amount of sleep ect.

Question 20

What are Operationalisations

Answer 20

• Operationalisation - Operationalization means turning abstract concepts into measurable observations. For example IV, and DV

Question 21

What is meant by ‘researcher bias’

Answer 21

• Researcher bias - Researcher bias occurs when the researcher’s beliefs or expectations influence the research design or data collection process.

Question 22

What is meant by ‘confounding variables’

Answer 22

• Confounding variables – Extraneous variables in the study which go on to impact the results as a result.

Question 23

What is meant by ‘extraneous variables’

Answer 23

Variables in a study that are not being measured or manipulated by the researcher but affect the results (DV) of ALL participants’ behaviour equally.

Question 24

What is meant by a ‘biased sample group’

Answer 24

Biased sample groups – The sample of an experiment not matching an overall population.

Question 25

What is meant by a ‘Internal reliability’

Answer 25

Internal reliability is ensuring that you are measuring what you set out to measure for example: all the questions on a survey, test, or personality scale are measuring the same thing. For example, if designing a test on geometry, then all questions on the test should be about geometry.

Question 26

What is meant by a ‘external reliability’

Answer 26

External reliability refers to the extent to which a measure varies from one use to another. E.G: Does tutoring improve just English scores or maths scores as well.

Question 27

What are the three tests of reliability and how are they done?

Answer 27

• Split half method - The split-half method is a technique used to assess the internal consistency of a measurement scale or test. It involves splitting the items or questions of the scale into two halves and comparing the scores obtained from each half.
• Inter-rater - Inter-rater reliability refers to the consistency or agreement between two or more raters or observers when assessing or scoring the same set of data or stimuli.
• Test retest – Participants are tested. And then tested again some time later to see if the results are similar.

Question 28

What factors effect reliability of research

Answer 28

• Standardised procedures
• Operationalising variables
• Inter-rater reliability
• Control of confounding & extraneous variables

Question 29

What is online research?

Answer 29

Research that takes place over the internet such as an online questionnaire.

Question 30

Give a strength and a weakness of Online Research

Answer 30

Strength: Allows greater population validity as anyone anywhere in the world can contribute to the research.

Weakness: The potential for sampling bias and lack of representativeness. Online research relies on self-selected participants who are willing to participate or have access to the internet, which may introduce sampling biases and limit the generalizability of the findings to the broader population.

Question 31

What is Laboratory research?

Answer 31

Laboratory research – Research that happens in a controlled environment.

Question 32

Give a strength and a weakness of Laboratory Research

Answer 32

Strength: Allows for greater control of extraneous variables as they will use a standardised procedure.

Weakness: Lab experiments often lack mundane realism as the procedure is often not something that would occur in day-to-day life.

Question 33

What is Field research?

Answer 33

Field research – Research that happens in a naturalistic environment.

Question 34

Give a strength and a weakness of Field Research

Answer 34

Strength - High external validity. Field experiments are conducted in real-world settings, such as natural environments, workplaces, or communities, allowing researchers to study phenomena in their natural context.

Weakness – Lack of control over extraneous variables such as environmental factors. Maybe the day is extremely windy or hot for instance.

Question 35

What is a ‘pilot study’ and why is it used?

Answer 35

A pilot study in psychology is like a practice run or a small-scale version of a larger research project. It’s done to test out the methods and procedures that will be used in the main study.

Researchers conduct a pilot study to see if their ideas work, to identify any problems or flaws in their methods, and to make adjustments before they start their actual research. It helps them figure out if their study design is feasible and if they need to make any changes before diving into the full study.

Question 36

Strength and Weakness of pilot studies in psychological research

Answer 36

One strength of pilot studies in psychology is that they allow researchers to identify and address potential issues or challenges before conducting the main study. By conducting a small-scale pilot study, researchers can test and refine their research design, procedures, and measures.

One weakness of pilot studies is that the small sample size used in these studies may limit the generalizability of the findings. Pilot studies typically involve a smaller number of participants compared to the main study. While this sample size is sufficient for the purpose of testing the research procedures, it may not accurately represent the target population of interest. Therefore, any conclusions drawn from the pilot study should be interpreted cautiously and may not be applicable to the larger population.

Question 37

What are the British Pyschological Socienty (BPS) guidelines?

Answer 37

• Informed consent (knowing they are participating)
• Right to withdraw
• Deception
• Protection from harm (physical or psychological)
• Confidentiality (not publishing names of participants)
• Privacy
• Debrief (end of study)
• Working with animals
• Vulnerable participants

Question 38

What is an ‘ethical comittee’

Answer 38

Ethics committees are normally found in Universities or any places that do research. Their role is to approve the design of research before the researcher completes the research, they are likely to use ethical guidelines
like those published by the BPS to assess if the research proposal is ethical or not.

If they don’t approve first time, they may ask the psychologist to make changes to their research design, or it may not allow them to conduct their research if their proposal has too many ethical issues. Ethics committees are normally made up of researchers and lay people

Question 39

What are the three types of consent used to help nullify possible ethical issues?

Answer 39

Prior-general consent
Presumptive consent
Gatekeeper consent

Question 40

What is presumptive consent?

Answer 40

Presumptive consent - Presumptive consent is a concept used in research ethics that allows for the inclusion of individuals in a study without obtaining explicit individual consent, based on the assumption that they would likely consent if they were given the opportunity. This is typically gathered by asking participants who are ‘similar’ (in age, sex location etc,) if they would be okay with participating and generalising that to the participants in the study.

Question 41

What is Prior-general consent?

Answer 41

Prior general consent - “Prior general consent” refers to a form of consent obtained from individuals in advance, allowing their data to be used for future research purposes without requiring specific consent for each subsequent study. It is also known as “broad consent” or “blanket consent.”

Question 42

What is Gatekeeper consent?

Answer 42

Gatekeeper consent - Gatekeeper consent refers to the process of obtaining permission or consent from a person or entity who has the authority over a particular group or population of individuals. In research, gatekeeper consent involves seeking permission from an individual or organization who acts as a gatekeeper to gain access to potential research participants.

Question 43

What must be done if research is conducted on children (under 18?)

Answer 43

A parent or other legally appointed guardian must provide consent on behalf of the child to participate in research if they are aged under 18 years old.

Question 44

What is meant by a ‘cost benefit analysis’ ?

Answer 44

Cost benefit analysis – Does the research have such good societal importance that its worth potentially compromising some ethical issues? These cost benefit analysis must be done to decide if the research is really worth doing in some cases.

Question 45

What is a ‘sample’

Answer 45

Sample: subset of a population of interest that is selected for study with the aim of making inferences to the population.

Question 46

What is a ‘target population’

Answer 46

Target population: the population that a study is intended to research and to which generalizations from samples are to be made. Also called reference population.

Question 47

What are all the types of sampling techniques (7 types)

Answer 47

Random
Quota
Systematic
Stratified
Volunteer
Snowball
Opportunity

Question 48

What is a ‘random sample’ and what is one strength and one weakness of this sampling technique?

Answer 48

Random - This method gives every member of the target group an equal chance of being selected for the sample.

Strengths: No bias as everyone has an equal chance of being selected.

Weaknesses: Must already have a list of target population and contact them individually which may take a lot of time. No guarantee they will want to participate either.

Question 49

What is a ‘Quota’ and what is one strength and one weakness of this sampling technique?

Answer 49

Quota – Same as stratified as subgroups matched to target population. Only difference is participants from the subgroups are NOT randomly selected.

Question 50

What is a ‘Systematic’ and what is one strength and one weakness of this sampling technique?

Answer 50

Systematic – a system is created to choose participants such as every 4th name on a register.

Strengths: Unbiased and objective way of selecting participants.

Weaknesses: Not truly random.

Question 51

What is a ‘Stratified’ sampling and what is one strength and one weakness of this sampling technique?

Answer 51

Stratified – A sample of participants are randomly selected by identifying subgroups and matching them to the amount in a target population (for instance 50/50 men and women) then randomly choosing participants out of these subgroups to participate.

Strengths: Highly representative of overall population.

Weaknesses: Takes an extremely long period of time to set up all the subgroups ect.

Question 52

What is a ‘volunteer sample’ and what is one strength and one weakness of this sampling technique?

Answer 52

Volunteer Sample – Participants volunteer to participate through usually seeing an advertisement.

Strengths: This often achieves a large sample size through reaching a wide audience, for example with online advertisements.

Weaknesses: Those who respond to the call for volunteers may all display similar characteristic.

Question 53

What is a ‘snowball sample’ and what is one strength and one weakness of this sampling technique?

Answer 53

Snowball Sample – Participants recruit other participants to join the study.

Strength: Saves a lot of time as the researcher doesn’t have to gather as many participants himself.

Weakness: Not representative as it will favour social people with more friends.

Question 54

What is a ‘opportunity sample’ and what is one strength and one weakness of this sampling technique?

Answer 54

Opportunity Sample – Selects people who are available at the time of the study.
Strength – Saves a lot of time as you can use the first suitable participants.

Weakness – Not representative as it favours people who have more time e.g. unemployed people.

Question 55

What are independent groups, matched pairs and repeated measures examples of?

Answer 55

Experimental Designs

Question 56

What is meant by a ‘Independent groups design’ and name one weakness of this design

Answer 56

• Independent groups – where each group only participates in one of the conditions. For example. In an experiment seeing if men or women are faster. Obviously, the men can only compete in the men’s category.

Doesn’t account for participant variables / differences as the participants only take place in one of the conditions.

Question 57

What is meant by a ‘repeated measures design’ and name one weakness of this design

Answer 57

• Repeated measures where each group participates in both of the conditions. For example. Seeing if people run faster after a red bull or water. The group runs after water then the week after runs after red bull.

Doesn’t account for practise element. People might naturally do better on the 2nd condition as they have done the task once already.

Question 58

What is meant by a ‘matched pairs design’ and name one weakness of this design

Answer 58

• Matched pairs are where participants are matched on characteristics that are believed to affect performance. For instance, height, weight, age, iq. Ect.

Can be EXTREMELY time consuming to find participants who fit all the necessary characteristics. And its impossible to match them fully due to participant variables such as amount of sleep.

Question 59

What is one way to help negate the practise element of repeated measures?

Answer 59

Counterbalancing is when in a repeated measures we account for the practise element. There are two ways of dealing with this:

AB BA method involves having 2 groups who participate in both conditions. One starting in condition A first and B second. And the other group starting with B and doing A after.

ABBA involves one group, but each participant takes part in the same condition twice.

Question 60

What is meant by ‘Order effects’

Answer 60

Order effects – In a repeated measures design an extraneous variable arises from the order in which tasks are presented due to the element of practise.

Question 61

What is meant by a ‘Structured Observation’ ?

Answer 61

Structured observations aim to be objective. This is done by creating systems or organise behaviour. Main ways to structure observations are by using behavioural categories or sampling procedures (event or time sampling)

Question 62

What is meant by a ‘Unstructured Observation’ ?

Answer 62

This is when the observer has no system of recording behaviour and instead just records all behaviour they see as relevant to the study.

Obvious disadvantage is the amount of behaviour can become extremely overwhelming. It also can suffer from bias as it will favour behaviours that are the most eye-catching rather than the most relevant.

Question 63

What is meant by a ‘Behavioural Catagories’ ?

Answer 63

Behavioural categories – Dividing a target population such as stress or aggression into a subset of specific and operationalised behaviours.

Question 64

What is meant by a ‘Covert observation’ ?

Answer 64

Covert Observation – When a researcher is observing participants who do not know they are being observed / research.

Question 65

What is meant by ‘Event sampling’ ?

Answer 65

Event sampling is a method of recording behaviour in an observation. The researcher records how many times a particular event occurs

Question 66

What is meant by ‘inter-observer observation’ ?

Answer 66

Inter-observer observations – The rate of agreement between 2 or more researchers when observing a behaviour.

Question 67

What is meant by ‘Observer Bias’ ?

Answer 67

Observer Bias – An observers expectations going in may subconsciously alter what they see or hear.

Question 68

What is meant by ‘Participant observation’ ?

Answer 68

Participant observation. – A research method where the researcher takes on the role of a participant whilst observing other participants’ behaviour around them

Question 69

What is meant by ‘Social desierability Bias’ ?

Answer 69

Social desirability bias – The affect of people altering their behaviour to appear desirable in research.

Question 70

What is meant by ‘Time Sampling’ ?

Answer 70

Time sampling. – An observational technique where observers record behaviours in a given time frame such as noting what an individual is doing every 30 seconds.

Question 71

Evaluate observational studies

Answer 71

One weakness of observational studies is that they can suffer from observational bias which makes it very difficult to be objective. This means the researcher’s expectations of what they want or are expecting to see may influence how they actually interpret what happens which could potentially compromise the internal validity.

However, these affect’s can be reduced by using observational techniques such as inter-observer reliability where multiple observers look at the same behaviour and record it.

Question 72

Evaluate Participant observations

Answer 72

One strength of Participant observations is that by the researcher taking part in the activity, they can provide useful insight into behaviours that wouldn’t be able to be recorded otherwise.

However, one weakness of participant observations is that they are usually overt, this means they are susceptible to extraneous variables such as social desirability bias where participants change their behaviour to appeal and looking desirable in the study.

Question 73

Evaluate Non-Participant observations

Answer 73

One strength of non-Participant observations is that they are typically covert, this means the participants do not know they are being studied meaning their behaviour will be natural and not influenced by factors such as demand characteristics.

However, one weakness of non-participant observations is that covertly recording the behaviour of unknowing participants breaks the BPS ethical guidelines of informed consent.

Question 74

What is a case study?

Answer 74

A case study is a research method that involves an in-depth and detailed examination of a specific individual, group, or situation.
It is a qualitative research approach that aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of the complexities and unique aspects of the case being studied.

In a case study, researchers collect and analyse various types of data, such as interviews, observations, documents, and archival records, to develop a holistic and rich description of the case. The focus is often on exploring individual experiences, behaviours, processes, or phenomena within their real-life context.

Question 75

Evaluate the use of Case Studies in psychological research

Answer 75

One strength of case studies is their ability to provide detailed and nuanced insights into complex phenomena. Case studies allow researchers to delve deeply into a specific case and explore intricate details that may not be captured by other research methods. They can provide a more comprehensive understanding of individual experiences, processes, or unique circumstances that may not be easily captured through quantitative or experimental methods. Case studies are particularly useful when studying rare or unique cases where it may be difficult to generalize findings to a larger population.

However, a weakness of case studies is the potential lack of generalizability. Due to their in-depth and focused nature on usually very unique or specific cases, the findings of a case study may not be readily applicable to other individuals, groups, or situations. The limited sample size and specific context of the case may restrict the generalizability of the findings beyond the specific case being studied.

Additionally, case studies may be susceptible to researcher bias or subjectivity in data analysis, and interpretation, which can impact the objectivity and reliability of the findings.

Question 76

What do questionnaires and interviews fall under the category of?

Answer 76

Self-Report techniques

Question 77

Describe and Evaluate Questionnaires

Answer 77

Questionnaire – a set of written questions designed to collect data about a topic.

Strength – Can be used to collect a lot of data in a short period of time cheaply and quickly allowing for a larger sample of participants.

Weakness – Very subject to social desirability bias. People may not be truthful in their answers and instead answer in a way to appear socially desirable.

Question 78

Describe and Evaluate semi-structured interviews

Answer 78

A semi structured interview also has pre-determined questions however, the researcher can deviate from the original questions and instead ask follow-up questions based on the participants responses.

Strength - more detail can be obtained as the researcher can ask follow-up questions and gain greater detail.

Weakness - requires more interviewer skill making the research less replicable. A weakness of all interview methods is that it is highly time consuming and works better for case studies than gathering large amounts of data about a specific topic.

Question 79

Describe and Evaluate structured interviews

Answer 79

A structured interview has pre-determined questions. Meaning it is effectively a face-to-face questionnaire. The researcher cannot deviate from the questions in anyway to remain fully structured.

Strength – Extremely replicable as it uses a standardised procedure.

Weakness – Conversation is not natural and free-flowing which may cause participants to be more cautious of what to say and withhold information.

Question 80

Describe and Evaluate unstructured interviews

Answer 80

An Unstructured interview has no pre-determined questions and will just ask questions that come to them on the spot.

Strength – Conversations are free-flowing and natural which make people feel more comfortable and therefore give more detail in their answers.

Weakness – Unreplaceable, time consuming and often requires a lot of interviewer skill to effectively execute.

Question 81

What are the five types of validity?

Answer 81

Face Validity
Content Validity
Concurrent Validity
Construct validity
Predictive Validity

Question 82

What is Face Validity?

Answer 82

Face Validity – how much at face-value the research measures what it intended to measure.

Question 83

What is Content Validity?

Answer 83

Content Validity – Looks at the method of measurement and deciding whether it measures the intended content such as all the key aspects of a topic and not just one.

Question 84

What is Concurrent Validity?

Answer 84

Concurrent Validity – Uses two different measures and see if the results match.

Question 85

What is Construct Validity?

Answer 85

Construct validity – Measures if the questions are relevant to the topic at hand.

Question 86

What is Predictive Validity?

Answer 86

Predictive Validity – Do the scores on a test predict what you would expect them to predict. E.G People who score high on stress questionnaires have higher blood pressure.

Question 87

What is meant by ‘Positive Response Bias’ ?

Answer 87

Positive response bias, refers to a tendency in which individuals consistently provide positive or affirmative responses to items or questions, regardless of their true beliefs or experiences. It is a type of response bias that can affect self-report measures or surveys.

Question 88

What is a correlational hypothesis

Answer 88

A correlational hypothesis states the expected association between the co-variables.

Question 89

What is one weakness of a correlational hypothesis

Answer 89

Correlational studies do not account for the fact that third/extraneous variables might account for the relationship between concern and recycling, and hence the result may be invalid.

Question 90

Give what type of correlational hypothesis is given in the following statements:

As people get older, they get more beautiful’

As people get older, they get less beautiful’

Age and beauty are correlated’

Age and beauty are not correlated’

Answer 90

1) Positive correlation, directional hypothesis

2) Negative hypothesis, directional hypothesis

3) positive or negative directional hypothesis

4) No correlation. Null hypothesis.

Question 91

What is a correlation coefficient

Answer 91

A correlation coefficient is a number between +1 and -1 showing how strong a correlation is.
+1 perfect positive correlation.
-1 perfect negative correlation.
0 no correlation.

Question 92

What is Normal distribution

Answer 92

Normal distribution refers to the average for instance, if you got the exact number of the average shoe size of all adults. The average person will either be slightly below or slightly above this number. This is recorded in normal distribution

Question 93

In a graph of correlation which measures of central tendency go in the highest, lowest and middle point?

Answer 93

Highest: Mode
Median: Median
Lowest: Mean

Question 94

What are all the sections of a pyschological report in order (7 things)

Answer 94

Abstract
Intro
Methodology
Results
Discussion
Reference
Appendices:

Question 95

What is covered in the ABSTRACT section of a phychological report

Answer 95

Abstract: The abstract is a concise summary of the main points of the report. It provides an overview of the research question or purpose, the methodology used, the key findings, and the main conclusions.

Question 96

What is covered in the INTRODUCTION section of a psychological report

Answer 96

Introduction: The introduction section introduces the topic or research question, provides background information, previous research, and outlines the purpose and objectives of the study.

Question 97

What is covered in the METHODOLOGY section of a psychological report

Answer 97

Methodology: The methodology section describes the research design, participants, data collection methods, and procedures used in the study. It explains how the data were collected and analysed, including details about the sample, measures or instruments used, and any statistical analyses performed. This section should provide sufficient information for others to replicate the study.

Question 98

What is covered in the RESULTS section of a psychological report

Answer 98

Results: The results section presents the findings of the study in a clear and organized manner. It includes the analysis of data and the presentation of quantitative or qualitative results. The results section often utilizes tables, graphs, or charts to illustrate the data and statistical analyses. It should report the main findings, significant patterns, relationships, or trends observed, and any statistical tests or measures of effect size.

Question 99

What is covered in the DISCUSSION section of a psychological report

Answer 99

Discussion: The discussion section interprets and analyses the results in the context of the research question and objectives. It explains the implications of the findings, compares them to existing literature, and discusses their limitations and strengths. The discussion may also address any unexpected or contradictory results and propose future directions for research.

Question 100

What is covered in the REFERENCES section of a psychological report

Answer 100

References: The references section lists all the sources cited within the report, such as books, journal articles, or other relevant publications.

Question 101

What is covered in the APPENDICES section of a psychological report

Answer 101

Appendices: The appendices section includes any supplementary material that is relevant to the report but not included in the main body. This can include additional tables, questionnaires, interview transcripts, or other supporting documentation that enhances the understanding of the research.

Question 102

What are the four different types of data?

Answer 102

Nominal
Ordinal
Interval
Ratio

Question 103

What is Nominal data?

Answer 103

Nominal: Nominal data is a non-numerical categorical data type where the values represent different categories or groups without any inherent order or numerical meaning.

Examples of nominal data include gender and eye colour.

It is the only non-numerical data type

Question 104

What is Ordinal data?

Answer 104

Ordinal: Ordinal data is a categorical data type that has a natural order or ranking between the categories. The categories are assigned a rank or position based on some characteristic or attribute. However, the intervals between the ranks may not be equal.

Examples of ordinal data include movie score rating out of 10.

Question 105

What is Interval data?

Answer 105

Interval: Interval data is a numerical data type where the values are measured on a scale with equal intervals between them. It does not have a true zero point, meaning that the value of zero does not represent the absence of the measured attribute.

An Example of interval data is temperature

Question 106

What is Ratio data?

Answer 106

Ratio: Ratio data is a numerical data type that has a true zero point, meaning that zero represents the absence or complete lack of the measured attribute. It has equal intervals between values and allows for meaningful ratios and comparisons.

Examples of ratio data include weight, height, time in seconds, or number of correct answers on a test.

Question 107

What is the Mean and give a strength and a weakness of using it

Answer 107

Mean – Adding up all data and dividing by the number of data items. Ratio, Interval
Strength – Considers all data values.
Weakness – Significantly skewed by extreme values.

Question 108

What is the Mode and give a strength and a weakness of using it

Answer 108

Mode – Most common data item. Only type than can be used for Nominal as it does not need to use numbers.

Strength - Not affected by extreme scores.
Weakness – Not useful is there are several modes.

Question 109

What is the Median and give a strength and a weakness of using it

Answer 109

Median – Middle value in ordered list.

Strength – Not affected by extreme scores.
Weakness – Doesn’t consider exact values of all the data.

Question 110

Describe how to calculate Standard Deviation

Answer 110

Step 1: Find the mean of the data
Step 2: Subtract the mean from each score.
Step 3: Square each deviation.
Step 4: Add the squared deviations.
Step 5: Divide the sum by the number of scores.
Step 6: Take the square root of the result from Step 5.

Question 111

Describe when Spearman’s Row would be used

Answer 111

Test of association
The observed value has to be equal or greater than the critical value to be significant.
Uses numerical data only.

Question 112

Describe when Chi-Squared would be used

Answer 112

Test of Difference
Used for non-numerical data
Independent groups design
The observed value has to be equal or greater than the critical value to be significant

Question 113

Describe when Man-Whitney U would be used

Answer 113

Mann-Whitney U -
Test of Difference
The observed value has to be equal or less than the critical value to be significant.
Used in independent groups design
uses data involving numbers (more than nominal)

Question 114

Describe when Wilcoxon matched pairs would be used

Answer 114

Wilcoxon -
Test of Difference
The observed value has to be equal or less than the critical value to be significant.
Used for repeated measures
Numerical data (higher than nominal data)

Question 115

Describe when Sign-test would be used

Answer 115

Sign test

The observed value has to be equal or less than the critical value to be significant.
Used in repeated measures
involving data without numbers. (non-numerical)

Question 116

What are the 14 key facts of the methodology of Kohlberg?

Answer 116

1. 75 American Boys
2. Longitudinal Study
3. 10-16 at start
4. 22-28 at end
5. Self-Report method
6. Qualitative Interviews
7. Opportunity Sample
8. Investigated Moral development
9. Cross-Cultural
   10 Mexico
10. Turkey
11. Great-Britain
    13.Canada
    14.Taiwan

Question 117

What was the procedure of Kohlberg

Answer 117

To assess the participants moral thinking Kohlberg created 9 moral dilemmas which created two moral issues they must decide between.

One is ethical but results in a negative outcome for instance.
The other is unethical but results in a more positive outcome.
(Killing a baby to save people)

The boys were re-interviewed every 3 years recording common themes in their answer in order for Kohlberg to gage how our moral thinking changes as we get older.

Question 118

What was the Moral Dilemma given?

Answer 118

Should Heinz steal the drug?

If Heinz doesn’t love his wife, should he still steal the drug.

If it was not his wife but instead a stranger should Heinz still steal the drug?

Question 119

What were the findings of Kohlberg’s Research?

Answer 119

Kohlberg found that younger children think at the preconventional level and as they get older their reasons for moral decisions become less focused on themselves and instead doing good for other people in the stages of conventional and postconventional.

The results in Mexico and Taiwan were the same but the development was slightly slower.

Question 120

What did Kohlberg conclude about his research?

Answer 120

Kohlberg concluded that the key features of moral development are that:

Stages are invariant and universal meaning everyone goes through the same stages in the same order.

Each new stage represents a more profound form of moral understanding resulting in a more logically consistent and mature form of understanding.

Question 121

What is the Methodology of Milgram (7 key facts)

Answer 121

Study was conducted in a laboratory.

40 males between 20 and 50 years old.

Volunteer Sample from newspaper advertisement.

Paid £4.50 for participation.

The men believed that they were to participate in a study of memory and learning (the study was actually studying levels of obedience).

The educational levels of the men also varied from one who had not finished elementary school, to those who had doctorates and degrees.

The study was a controlled observation that took place in a lab at Yale University.

Question 122

What was the first stage of the procedure of milgram?

Answer 122

To start, naive participants were introduced to another participant, Mr Wallace (a confederate). Participants drew slips to decide who would play the role of the teacher and learner (Participants card always ended up as the teacher as the draw was rigged – both slips had ‘teacher’ on)

Question 123

What was the second stage of the procedure of milgram?

Answer 123

Immediately after the draw, the teacher and learner were taken to an adjacent room and the learner was strapped to an ‘electric chair’. 4. Instructions Milgram gave to Mr Wallace (confederate) – he was told to give approximately three wrong answers to every correct one. Mr Wallace was also told to make set responses:

Question 124

What was the third stage of the procedure of milgram?

Answer 124

The participant / teacher was then taken to an adjoining room which had a shock machine in. The shock machine had 30 switches starting at ‘slight shock’ (15 volts) all the way up to ‘XXX’ (450 volts).

Question 125

What was the fourth stage of the procedure of milgram?

Answer 125

The ‘experimenter’ (a man in a grey coat) acted as the authority figure and gave the teacher a sample shock to demonstrate that the machine was real. The experimenter remained in the same room as the teacher (participant).

Question 126

What were the instructions given to the teacher (PP)

Answer 126

he was told to administer a shock when the learner gave a wrong answer and to increase the voltage each time.

Question 127

What were the instructions given to the experimenter

Answer 127

Instructions Milgram gave to experimenter – he was told to respond to any hesitation from the teacher with four standard prods: * Please continue. * The experiment requires you to continue. * It’s absolutely essential that you continue. * You have no other choice; you must go on.

Question 128

What happened after the research was completed?

Answer 128

After the research was completed, the teacher was thoroughly debriefed, which included the experimenter reuniting the teacher and learner. They were then interviewed about their experience.

Question 129

What were the findings of Milgram?

Answer 129

all of the real participants went to at least 300 volts and 65% continued until the full 450 volts.

There were a number of signs of extreme tension displayed by 14 participants. These were things such as:
- nervous laughter and smiling
- sweating
- stuttering
- biting their lip
- digging their fingernails into their flesh.

Question 130

4 points of Validity of Milgram (3 strengths, 1 weakness)

Answer 130

• The obedience task completed in the research isn’t typical of obedience in everyday life, it is more typical of ‘extreme obedience’ situations such as genocide.
• The sample in the original study is 40 males so these results may not be applicable to females (only male PP’s)
• The sample had a variety of ages, occupations and educational backgrounds, so may be quite representative of males in the local area.
• Milgram’s own experiences may have led to researcher bias in his interpretation of behaviours.

Question 131

What is a peer review in psychological research?

Answer 131

Peer review in psychology refers to the process of subjecting research articles, studies, or papers to evaluation by experts in the same field before they are published. The purpose of peer review is to ensure that the research meets high standards of scientific rigor and contributes to the existing knowledge in the field.

Question 132

Describe the process of peer review.

Answer 132

1. Researcher submits article to journal.
2. Journal assessed by editor of journal.
3. If accepted by editor, article is sent to reviewers (who is also an expert in the
   field).
4. Reviewers are normally kept anonymous from the article’s author.
5. Reviewers submit their comments to the editor.
6. Editor may reject the article or return it to the author to make revisions.
7. Revised article is re-submitted to editor for publication.

Question 133

What are three reasons why peer review is important in research?

Answer 133

1) Quality control: Peer review helps maintain the quality and integrity of research in psychology. It ensures that studies undergo scrutiny from experts who can identify potential flaws, biases, or errors in the research design, methodology, analysis, or interpretation.

2) Validation and credibility: When a study successfully passes through the peer review process and gets published in a reputable journal, it indicates that the research has undergone rigorous evaluation by experts in the field. This adds to the confidence and trust in the findings for both researchers and the broader scientific community.

3) Promotes rigorous scrutiny of research methodologies and data analysis. This critical examination helps identify potential weaknesses, inconsistencies, or limitations in the research, which can be addressed and improved before publication.

Question 134

What is a weakness of Peer Review

Answer 134

Weakness of Peer Review: One weakness of peer review is the potential for bias or subjectivity in the process. Peer reviewers may have personal opinions, preferences, or conflicts of interest that could affect their evaluation. This subjectivity can sometimes result in biases that may influence the acceptance or rejection of a manuscript.

Additionally, the peer review process may introduce delays in the dissemination of research, as the time taken for multiple rounds of review and revision can be lengthy. Consequently, ground-breaking or time-sensitive research findings may be delayed in reaching the wider scientific community.

Question 135

What is a content analysis?

Answer 135

CONTENT ANALYSIS is a type of indirect observational study as people are not observed directly but rather the artifacts they produce are studied such as written or verbal material such as: magazines, television programmes, websites, advertisements etc. are analysed. The data can be primary or secondary.

Behavioural categories are used to analyse content in a systematic manner and a tally is taken each time the material fits a theme. - It can produce both qualitative and quantitative data.

Question 136

Describe how PET brain scans work

Answer 136

Gets coloured pictures of the brain, first, an individual is injected with radioactive substance called a tracer, once in the bloodstream the amount of tracer in any given region can be monitored, this is because blood flows to any active areas.
A computer monitors the movement of the tracer and creates a map of the active and inactive areas of the brain during a given behaviour. These were seen in Raine et al.

Question 137

Evaluate PET brain scans

Answer 137

A strength of PET scans is that they can reveal chemical information not available with other brain imaging techniques allowing them to distinguish between benign and tumours.

However, since the pp must be injected with radioactive substance, this scan can only safely be done a few times. Aditionally they are very costly and less precise than MRI scans.

Question 138

Describe how FmRI brain scans work

Answer 138

A person is placed into large circular magnet causing hydrogen atoms to move, when the magnet is turned off they return to their original position. This movement causes an electrical signal to be emitted.
These signals are translated by a computer into pictures of brain tissue.

Maguire et al (2000) fmri scans used to show taxi drivers had larger hippocampi than non-taxi drivers.

Question 139

Evaluate FmRI brain scans

Answer 139

A strength of FMRI scans is that it is safe as it does not expose them to any hazards such as radiation. It is also the most accurate of all the scans.

However, they can be long and uncomfortable for patients.

Question 140

Evaluate Brain scans in psychology

Answer 140

Strength - allow for objective assessment of brain structures
Strength - allow for investigation of live brains rather than waiting for post mortem

Weakness - May take a long time and be uncomftable
Weakness - Extremely costly not readily available in most research
Weakness - Limited range of activities can be investigated as the PP are stuck in a machine.

Question 141

3 weaknesses of ethics of Milgram

Answer 141

Deception: Milgram informed the participants the research was about memory and learning; the use of a confederate; the lack of actual electric shocks; the use of pre-recorded responses from the Teacher.

• Risk of stress, anxiety, humiliation or pain: Signs of extreme tension were observed, participants “were observed to sweat, tremble, stutter, bite their lips, groan, and dig their finger nails into their flesh”.
• Risk to the participants’ values, beliefs, relationships, status or privacy: the teachers may have left this research with a negative opinion of their own capabilities which may have had a long-term impact on their own values and beliefs.

Question 142

Evaluation of Sample of Milgram

Answer 142

• The sample was all male so prone to beta bias, meaning the findings could not be generalised to women but this was acceptable scientific research at the time.
• The sample contained a range of ages, occupations and backgrounds, but it was limited by location (New Haven, USA) meaning the findings cannot be generalised to other cultures; cross cultural studies have produced mixed findings.
• The sample was self-selecting which may have meant that the participants were more likely to take the research seriously; however, only certain people might volunteer for research.

Question 143

Evaluation of use of Observation in Milgram

Answer 143

• In the study several observers were used, increasing the internal reliability of the method but the observers did discuss their surprise at what they were witnessing which could have affected their interpretation of the behaviour.
• Objective measures recorded the behaviour of the participant, increasing validity but this does not give an insight as to how they were feeling or what they were thinking.

Question 144

Evaluation of use of location of Milgram

Answer 144

The research controlled for extraneous variables by using standardised procedures, such as the same confederate and prods. This allowed for the study to be repeated to test for reliability (e.g. Burger 2009)
however, critics claim that the standardised procedures were not maintained after the first few trials

The study lacks ecological validity as it is not an everyday task to be asked to administer electric shocks on command; but Milgram claimed that events such as the Holocaust were not everyday acts and soldiers were often in a unique situation.

Question 145

What are the different ways if dealing with issues of reliability in psychological research

Answer 145

Increasing levels of control in a study raises reliability – using a standardised procedure, instructions and scientific measuring equipment (e.g. PET and MRI scans over self-reported ‘feelings’)

Conducting the research in alaboratory environment helps to overcome most reliability issues. The greater the level of control, the lower the risk of extraneous variables effecting results.

Order effects can be combatted with counterbalancing. This involves splitting the population/sample into two halves; the first half complete condition one followed by condition two, the second half complete condition two followed by condition one.
This in effect negates the impact of order/practice effects, asboth conditions are affected equally, and increases internal reliability.

Question 146

What are the three issues with validity that can appear in research?

Answer 146

1. Researcher bias: the researcher directly or indirectly influences the
   results of a study, through the process of designing the study or through the way the research is conducted/analysed.
2. Demand characteristics: participants unconsciously work out the aim
   and act differently.
3. Social desirability: participants give the response that they think
   will show them in the best possible light, meaning they are not a true
   reflection of their thoughts/feelings

Question 147

What are the ways of dealing with issues of validity in psychological research

Answer 147

Researcher bias can be overcome with a double blind procedure. This
involves neither the researcher collecting the data, nor the participant
involved, knowing the true aims of the study.
It also reduces demand characteristics, where participants work out the aims and change their behaviour accordingly.

Social desirability and demand characteristics can also be overcome via a single blind procedures. This involves the participants being unaware for the research hypothesis until after their role is complete.

Alternatively, the use of independent groups would reduce these validity issues. By giving participants anonymity and confidentiality when they give their answers you can also increase validity.

Question 148

What are the 5 ways of assesing valdity?

Answer 148

Face Validity
Contruct
Concurrent
Content
Predictive