Variables And Keywords Flashcards
What is aim of experiment
What the researcher intends to investigate
What is a hypothesis
A clear, precise and testable statement that states the reslationship between the variables to be investigated
What is the independent and dependant variables
Independent is the one you change and dependant is the one you measure
What is operationalisation
Breaking down variables in order for the research to be replicated
What is a null and alternatives hypothesis
Null: predicts there will be no difference
Alternative: there will be a difference
Hwo do you know if a hypothesis should be directional or non directional
Directional is when previous research has been done
How do you write a directional and non directional hypothesis
Directional: pls will score higher/lower…
Non directional: there will be a difference between
What is an extraneous variable
any variable that you are not investigating that could potentially affect the outcome of the experiment
What is a confounding variable
If extraneous variables are not controlled they may turn confounding and affect the outcome of your research
Demand characteristics?
Pls changing their behvaiour because they know the aim of the research
Investigator effects?
Experiment or unconsciously and unintentially influencing the outcome of the research
Mundane realism?
Tasks that people dont do everyday
Low ecological validity?
When you cannot apply the aim of the experiment to real life, or the tasks cannot be generalised to settings beyond the study
What is a lab experiment and what are the positives and negatives
When the iv is manipulated and all other variables are controlled, in an artificial setting
+ high levels of control which limits extraneous variables
+ high levels of replicability
- low ecological validity
-tasks often lack mundane realism
- demand characteristics
What is a field experiment and what are the positives and negatives
When the iv is still manipulated but the experiment is carried out in the pps natural environment
+ high ecological validity
+ low level of demand characteristics
- low control over extraneous variables
- difficult to replicate
- ethical issue over consent
What is a natural experiment and what are the positives and negatives
Conducted when its unethical to manipulate iv because iv is naturallly occurring
+ high ecological validity
+ less likely to experience demand characteristics
- low replicability
- low levels of control so extraneous variables are likely
What is a quasi experiment and what are the positives and negatives
When the iv is already condition that already varies and conditions are pre existing
+ more ethical
- less control over extraneous variables
What is the independent groups design and what are the positives and negatives
When different pps are used in each condition
+ no order effects
- pp variables
- time consuming to recruit pps
What is the repeated measures designed to and what are the positives and negatives
Same pps are used in each condition
+ no pp variables
+ less time co numinous to recruit pps
- possible order effects
What is the matched pairs design and what are the positives and negatives
Different but similar pps are used
+ no pp variables
+ no order effects
- matching proscess can be time consuming
What is random allocation when controlling variables
It’s when u select pps in a non bias way and you allocate them to a condition or group
What is randomisation when controlling variables
The order of having conditions is changed, not bias
What is standardisation when controlling variables
Ensuring the same experience for all pps, you can do this by keeping the equipment or setting or instructions the same
What is counterbalancing and what is it for, how do u do it
Counterbalancing is used to combat the problems of order effects, it doesn’t get rid of them but nullifies them. The sample is cut in half and one half does condition 1 then condition 2 whearas the 2nd half does condition 2 then condition 1 (take part in both conditions but in different orders)
What is a double blind experiment when reducing demand characteristics or investigator effects
Researcher and pp both don’t know the aims of the experiment
What is a single blind experiment when reducing demand characteristics or investigator effects
Researcher knows aims of experiment but pp doesnt
What is random sampling and what are the positives and negatives
It’s the simplest technique and it’s when the sample is collected purely by chance without any bias
+ unbiased selection
+ less potential for researcher bias
+ generalisable
- impractical
- issue of consent
- not representative
What is systematic sampling and what are the positives and negatives
Selecting pps at fixed intervals
+ unbiased
+ generalisable
- not representative
- time consuming
What is stratified sampling and what are the positives and negatives
Researcher breaks down the population into categories and randomly picks within each category
+ representative
+ unbiased
+ generalisable
- time consuming
- need prior knowledge about population
What is volunteer sampling and what are the positives and negatives
Pps self select to be apart of the sample
+ no experimental bias
+ ease of formation
+ less chance to have screw you effect
- unrepresentative
What is opportunity sampling and what are the positives and negatives
Ppl from target population are willing to take part when given an opportunity to do so by researcher
+ ease of formation
+ quick and convenient
- unrepresentative
- experimental bias
- self selection
Validity
How accurate the research is, if its measuring what it said it would measure
Reliability
Consistency of results, if experiment was to be done again if the same results could be obtained
What is the definition of experimental methods
Scientific method involving the manipulation of variables to determine cause and effect
What is objective and subjective
Objective: scientific data or facts
Subjective: open to interpretation
What is quantitiave data and what are the positive and negatives
Numerical data
+ can make comparisons between sets of data
+ can identify trends or patterns
+ replicable
- reductionist as there’s only a limited amount of data you can obtain from numbers
What is qualitative data and what are the positives or negatives
Images, descriptions or letters
+ more information can be obtained
+ more valid as you’re letting pp expand on data so there’s could be an underlying meaning the experiment or missed out
- subjective
- could be irrelevant data that wastes time
- difficult to make comparisons between sets of data
- difficult to identify trend or pattern
What is participant observation
Involved observers becoming actively involved in the situation being studied to obtain a more hands on perspective
What is a non participation observation
Researchers not being actively involved in the situation being studied
Overt observation?
Pps are aware of being studied and observer is clearly visible
Covert observation?
Pps are unaware of being studied
Naturalistic observation?
Surveillance and recording of naturally occurring events
What are behavioural categories
Dividing the target populations into subsets of behaviour through coding
Event sampling?
Counting the number of times a behaviour occurs within an individual
What is time sampling
Counting the number of times a behaviour occurs within a set time frame
What is inter observer reliability
When independent observers code for behaviour in the same way
What are closed questions in questionnaires
Yes or no answers
What are open questions in questionnaires
Pps give an answer in their own words
What are questionnaires and what are the positives and negatives
Respondents record their answers to a pre set list of questions
+ often more depth given
+ easier to carry out
+ quick
+ lack of investigator effects
+ can be replicated
- low response rate
- bias sample
- social desirability bias
What are interviews and what are the positives and negatives
Involves researcher asking face to face questions
+ easy to conduct
+ quick and accessible
+ open questions could lead to more depth
+ can ease misunderstanding
- investigator effects
- demand characteristics
- social desirability bias
What are the 3 types of interviews
Structured: identical closed questions, interviewer writes down questions, easy to conduct
Unstructured: informal discussion
Semi structured: combining both techniques to produce both qualitative and quantitative data
What are correlational studies and what are the positives and negatives
The factors measured in a correlational study to asses their direction and strength of relationship
+ allows us to make predictions
- correlation does not always equal causation
- uncontrolled extraneous variables are taken into account
What are case studies and what are the positives and negatives
In depth detailed investigations of someone
+ rich in depth so provides a lot of data
- subjective
- not representative
- researcher bias
What is avoidance of deception
Withholding information and misleading of pps is unacceptable if pps are likely to show unease when debrefied
What is presumptive consent
Gained from people with a similar background and if they consent, the experimenter would presume that the actual pp would consent also
What is prior general consent
Pps agreeing to be deceived without knowing how they will be deceived
What is retrospective consent
Asking for pps consent after they have participated in a study.
What happens if deception occurs
Pps must be debriefed and given the chance to withdraw their data
What is protection of pps
Investigators have a responsibility to protect the pps from physical and mental harm, risk of harm shouldn’t be worse than ordinary life
What is confidentiality
Pps data should to be disclosed to anyone and numbers should be used instead of data, the data can still be traced back to the particpant
What is anonymity
Data cannot be traced back to the participant
What are incentives to take part
Pps should not be bribed or promised rewards in order to take part as this places pressure
Use of infants
There are ethical issues when using infants like issues with consent or the baby being in distress but this can be solved with parental consent . There is also an issue with data from infants as we cannnot tell how they feel or think so we can use brain scans or identify behaviour by using inter observer reliability
What is the placebo effect
When a person experiences a change in their symptoms or behaviour because they believe they are receiving a treatment, even though the treatment has no therapeutic effect
What is the agentic state
When people feel like an agent for someone else’s actions, they feel no personal responsibility and blame someone else
What is internal validity
What goes on inside the reasearch, when iv is the only thing that effects dv, also highly controllled so study can test what it’s supposed to test
What is external validity
Factors outside of the investigation like weather, so the research can be generalised to other settings
What is temporal validity
How relevant the time period is in affecting the findings
What is a pilot study
A way for identifying extraneous variables to stop them from becoming confounding variables. A small scale study conducted to keep a record of problems that may occur in the real study, so make any modifications. Pps used in pilot studies cannot be used in real study
What is face validity
First step in addressing validity
Looking at the measure/test/scale and deciding if it’s cold
What is content validity
Asking an expert to go over it , discussing the content with experts in that topic area to evaluate if its valid
What is concurrent validity
If results from that test match the results of a similar test. If scored correlate 0.8 or higher it can concurrent validity
What is construct validity
Measures how well a study measures a concept
What is predictive validity
If longitudinal research finds something to be true then it has predictive validity
How can an experiment improve validity
Using a control group so the researcher can say a change in dv was due to a manipulation of iv. Use standardised procedures to minimise investigator effects
How can questionnaires improve validity
Use a lie scale like Eysenck to ensure respondent is being consistent and not showing social desirability bias . Maintain anonymity to pp doesn’t feel the need to lie
How can observations improve validity
Use covert naturalistic observations to ensure behaviour is very natural which improves ecological validity . Have prescience behavioural categories to ensure data collected is accuarte
How can qualitative methods improve validity
Qualitative methods like case studies and interviews generally have high ecological validity as they reflect the pps reality. Use direct quotes to not misinterpret info
What is internal reliability
Extent to which something is consistent within itself
What is external reliability
Extent to which a test measures consistently over time
How can u use test re test to assess reliability
A person completes a test and completes it again on a different occasion, results are correlated and analysed using a statistical test which produces a correlational coefficient , if its 0.8 or above it has reliability
How can split half reliability be used to assess reliability
Comparing pp scores on half the questions with their scores on the other half , or splitting the test and making them do both halves
How can inter observer reliability be used to assess reliability
2 observers ensure they are interpreting info the same way, the results from both observers are then correlated and ananlsyed using a statistical test which produces a correlation coefficient and if its over 0.8 it has inter observer reliability
What is inter rater reliability
Reliability between you and other researchers
What is intra rater reliability
Reliability between you and urself
3 things a science must involve
Definable subject matter
Hypothesis testing
Use of empirical methods
What is falsification
Scientific statements that can be proven wrong
What are the 3 parts of a scientific method
Observation : observe and describe a phenomenon
Hypothesis: testable statement to explain the observation
Experimentation: testing hypotheses thru experiments
What are empirical methods
based on sensory information rather than assumptions or beliefs
What is a paradigm
Where there is agreement about the subject matter and methods of study in a discipline
Kuhn argues that sciences go through 3 phases
Pre science: no agreement and multiple viewpoints
Science: generally agreed paradigm
Revolutionary science: where there is a paradigm shift
What is an overt phenomena
Behaviours that are observable and measurable because they’re visible and easier to study empirically, used in experiments to provide data that is objectively measurable
What is covert phenomena
Internal psychological processes that cannot be directly observed
What is falsifiability
A theory can only be considered scientific if it can be proven false.
3 steps of theory construction
Observation
Formulate a theory
Make predictions
What is inductive phase
Observations are use to create theories
What is a deductive phase
Hypotheses are created from theories and tested
What are psychometric tests
Designed to uncover aspects of a participants personality and are unbiased, often long written tests or questionnaires
What are self reports
Pp will tell u something about themselves and the researcher will ask appropriate questions to get the info they need but wont invalidate the response given
