week 3: research methods

Question 1

what makes a good theory?

Answer 1

fits the known facts
makes new testable predictions
is falsifiable

Question 2

what is theory?

Answer 2

a systematic way of organising and explaining observations

Question 3

what is a hypothesis?

Answer 3

a tentative belief/prediction about the way 2+ variables interact/impact eachother

Question 4

types of research designs

Answer 4

naturalistic observation 
case study
survey
correlational 
experiment

Question 5

how to conduct research in psychology

Answer 5

1, choose a research design
2, choose a sample
3, choose data collecting techniques (operationalising bias)
4, control sources of bias

Question 6

what is a naturalistic observation?

Answer 6

researcher observes behaviour without intervening

Question 7

advantages and disadvantages to a naturalistic observation

Answer 7

advantages
1, indepth observation in a natural setting
2, can provide new insights
disadvantages
1, reactivity (difficult to remain unobtrusive)

Question 8

what is a case study?

Answer 8

an in depth investigation of an individual person/situation

Question 9

techniques used in case studies

Answer 9

interviews
direct observation
records
psychological tests

Question 10

advantages and disadvantages to a case study

Answer 10

advantages
1, can provide rich data to support a theory
disadvantages
1, may not represent general population
2, subjectivity (investigator may see what they want to see)

Question 11

what is a survey?

Answer 11

the use questionnaires/ interviews to gather info about specific aspects of behaviour

Question 12

pros and cons to surveys

Answer 12

pro
1, data on difficult to observe behaviour
2, large sample
con
1, self-report unreliable

Question 13

what is correlational research?

Answer 13

the relationship between variables (IV, DV)

Question 14

pros and cons to correlational research

Answer 14

pros
useful for studying variables that cant be altered (sex, age)
cons
can demonstrate a relationship exists but cant demonstrate causality

Question 15

what is causality?

Answer 15

the value of an interdependent variable is the reason for the value of a dependent variable

Question 16

how do you establish causation?

Answer 16

manipulate one variable (iv) in order to see its effect on another variable (dv)

Question 17

what is a population?

Answer 17

the entire group of people we are interested in studying

Question 18

what is a sample?

Answer 18

a subset of the population

selected for study

Question 19

what is random sampling

Answer 19

Each member of the population is

equally likely to be included in the sample

Question 20

what is a representative sample?

Answer 20

possesses the important characteristics of the population in the same proportions

Question 21

what is reliability?

Answer 21

whether it produces consistent results

Question 22

what is validity?

Answer 22

is it measuring what its meant to be

Question 23

how to determine reliability?

Answer 23

test-retest reliability
internal consistency
inter-rater reliability

Question 24

what is test-retest reliability?

Answer 24

is the test giving similar values if the same participant takes it two or more times?

Question 25

what is internal consistency?

Answer 25

Different items that measure the same variable should produce similar answers

Question 26

what is inter-rater reliability?

Answer 26

Two testers who rate the same person on the same variable, should give similar ratings to the participant.

Question 27

what is a positive correlation?

Answer 27

People with high scores on one variable tend to have high scores on the other variable

Question 28

what is a negative correlation?

Answer 28

People with high scores on one variable are likely to have low scores on the other variable

Question 29

what is the IV and DV?

Answer 29

IV is cause/thing you change | DV effect/thing you measure

Question 30

what is participant bias?

Answer 30

The tendency of people who know they are participants in a study to behave in a way other than they normally would

Question 31

what is the hawthorne effect?

Answer 31

participant bias | The tendency of people who know they are participants in a study to behave in a way other than they normally would

Question 32

what is experimenter bias?

Answer 32

The tendency of experimenters to let their expectancies alter the way they treat their participants

Question 33

how to control bias?

Answer 33

single blind study | double blind study