Unit 3 Research Methods Planning and Conducting 2016

Question 1

Outline the scientific method.

Answer 1

Identify the research question
Hypothesis(Operational)
Method
Collect data
Analyze data
Interpret data
Results

Question 2

Compare experiment and non-experimental methods

Answer 2

Experimental involve investigating a cause and effect relationship between 2 or more variables.

Non-experimental describes behavior but do not let us identify causes or reasons for the behavior.

Question 3

Define operationalized hypothesis.

Answer 3

A testable prediction that explains exactly how the variables will be measured and manipulated, as well as the population from which the sample has been drawn. It is workable, testable and repeatable.

Question 4

What are the 4 components of an operational hypothesis?

Answer 4

Testable prediction
Population
Operationalized(meaning measurable terms) independent variable
Operationalized dependent variable

Question 5

What is a scientific study?

Answer 5

Scientific inquiry is a process of developing an explanation of a question in the natural world by testing, investigating and collecting data that will either support or refute your original idea of what’s going on.

Question 6

What is a non-scientific study?

Answer 6

One that that does not use a systematic collecting of evidence or one that tries to find answers to questions about things other than the natural world e.g. Beliefs.

Question 7

What is the population?

Answer 7

The larger group of research interest from which a sample in a research study has been drawn.
E.g. The year 12 cohort of Corpus Christi College

Question 8

What is the sample?

Answer 8

The group of participants in a research study selected from, and representative of, a population of research interest.

Question 9

What is random sampling?

Answer 9

A sampling technique ensuring that every member of the population of interest has an equal chance of being selected for the sample being used in a study.

Question 10

What does stratified sampling involve?

Answer 10

Dividing the population into distinct subsets(strata) that share at least one common characteristic of research interest, then selecting a separate sample from each group in the same proportion as occurs in the larger population.

Question 11

What does random-stratified sampling involve?

Answer 11

Dividing the population into a number of strata according to some characteristic of interest related to the variable(s) being studied.

Question 12

What does convenience sampling involve?

Answer 12

Involves the researcher selecting participants that are the most accessible.

Question 13

What are three roles of an experimenter?

Answer 13

• Protect the physical and psychological welfare of each participant
• Provide access to follow-up counseling or therapy for any distress experienced by the participant
• Must follow APS’s Code of Ethics

Question 14

Explain the participants’ right of confidentiality.

Answer 14

Refers to the right to privacy in terms of access, storage and disposal of information related to the research. Involvement in and results from an experiment cannot be disclosed to anyone else unless written consent has been obtained.

Question 15

Explain voluntary participation.

Answer 15

A participant must decide to participate in an experiment of their own free will. Participants must not experience any pressure to participate or any negative consequences if they decide not to participate in the experiment.

Question 16

What are the participants’ rights to withdraw?

Answer 16

It entitles participants to withdraw from a study at any time, or have their results withdrawn, without experiencing any pressure or negative consequences.

Question 17

Explain the informed consent procedure.

Answer 17

Before a study commences, informed consent must be obtained from each participant. This involves the researcher fully informing the participants of the true nature and purpose of the experiment, and obtain their written consent to participate. Parental/legal guardian consent must also be obtained for anyone under the age of 18.

Question 18

What does deception refer to? When is it appropriate to use deception?

Answer 18

Deception refers to withholding information from the participant about a study’s true purpose, before the experiment begins.
It is used in cases where giving participants information about an experiment beforehand might influence their behaviors during the study and thus affect the accuracy of the results. Approval must be given by the ethics committee prior to the commencement of the experiment.

Question 19

Explain debriefing - what it involves and why it takes place.

Answer 19

Debriefing is where participants are informed of the study’s true purpose once the experiment has ended.
During debriefing, a researcher must correct any mistaken attitudes or beliefs that have been caused by or that relate to the experiment.
Debriefing must occur when deception has been used, as the researcher must ensure that the participants do not suffer any psychological or physical stress as a result of this deception.

Question 20

What is a case study?

Answer 20

Case studies are an in depth study of either an individual or a group of people.

Question 21

What is an advantage of a case study?

Answer 21

Case studies allow researchers to gain very specific information about a particular occurence

Question 22

What is a disadvantage of a case study?

Answer 22

They are time consuming and difficult to generalise findings to a wider population.

Question 23

What is an observational study?

Answer 23

Observational studies involve an individual observing another individual or a group of people in a natural environment.

Question 24

Why does observer bias occur?

Answer 24

Observer bias occurs when an observer only sees what they want to see, resulting in a biased representation of behaviour.

Question 25

How is subjective data collected?

Answer 25

Subjective data is collected through observations of behaviour, or information based on participants self reports.

Question 26

What is the difference between a single blind procedure and a double blind procedure?

Answer 26

Single blind procedures occur when the participants do not know whether they have been assigned to the control or experimental group, whereas the participants AND the participants do not know in a double blind procedure.

Question 27

Give a disadvantage of longitudinal design

Answer 27

They are very expensive and time consuming, and there is a possibility of losing participants over time. Sometimes by the time a study us completed the results no longer refer to the current generation (cross generational problem)

Question 28

Why are placebo’s used in an experiment?

Answer 28

Placebo’s are used as a fake drug or treatment so that participants in each group do not know whether they are being exposed to the experimental condition.

Question 29

What is objective data?

Answer 29

Objective data is collected under controlled conditions and is easily measured and compared with other data. It is often numerical and can be statistically analysed.

Question 30

How can you collect subjective quantitative data?

Answer 30

By using a Likert scale. For example, people can opinion on the weather from 1-5.

Question 31

Does a histogram contain discrete or continuous data?

Answer 31

Continuous.

Question 32

What are the three measures of central tendency?

Answer 32

Mean, median and mode.

Question 33

Choose one measure of central tendency. What does the figure tell us?

Answer 33

Median: this is the middle figure. It gives us a figure unbiased by outliers.
Mode: this is the most commonly occurring number/value.
Mean: the sum of all the numbers divided by the number of values.

Question 34

Lucy found that the number of firemen in attendance and the damage done gave a correlation coefficient of 0.9. She concluded that when there were more firemen at a fire, caused more damage. Would she be correct in her conclusion?

Answer 34

No. The correlation coefficient is a measure of correlation, thus it does not seek to imply causation. Generally more firemen would be called to a worse fire, thus we cannot say that fireman caused the damage.

Question 35

What is the Hawthorne effect?

Answer 35

When people try harder when they are being studied.

Question 36

What are demand characteristics?

Answer 36

When a participant changed their behaviour to what the aims of the experiment are.

Question 37

What is artificiality?

Answer 37

Unnatural environments can affect the results.

Question 38

What is the range of a set of data?

Answer 38

The difference between the largest and lowest number.

Question 39

What does Independent Group design involve? What is one advantage and one disadvantage of the use of this experimental design?

Answer 39

Involves randomly allocating the members of the sample to either the control or experimental group.
Advantage: Popular and easy to administer
Disadvantage: Does not minimize potential differences in participants’ characteristics between groups

Question 40

How does Matched Participants aid in eradicating participants’ differences? What is the disadvantage of using this type of experimental design?

Answer 40

As it involves pairing each participant based on a certain characteristic they both share and then randomly allocating one to the control and the other to the experimental group. This achieves an even spread of characteristics between the two groups.
Disadvantage: involves pretesting

Question 41

How does Repeated Measures design eliminate participants’ differences? What is the disadvantage of using this experimental design?

Answer 41

As it only uses one group of participants to expose to both the control and experimental conditions. As they are the same they have identical characteristics and abilities.
Disadvantage: This creates order effect.

Question 42

What is Order Effect?

Answer 42

This occurs when there is a change in the results due to the sequence in which the two tasks are completed.

Question 43

How can you prevent the Order Effect?

Answer 43

By using Counterbalancing: involves diving the groups of participants in half and arranging the order of the conditions so that each conditions occurs equally as often in each position.
i.e. half exposed to the control and then the experimental condition. Other half exposed to the experimental and then the control condition.