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Psychology- social infleunce > Boring maths research methods > Flashcards

Boring maths research methods Flashcards

1
Q

what are the 3 measures of central tendency

A
  • Mean
  • median
  • mode
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2
Q

what is the mean

A

it is the arithmetic average, calculated by adding up the sum of scores then dividing it by the number of scores

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3
Q

what is the median

A

it is the middle score after the data is ordered

when 2 scores are in the middle add them up and divide by 2

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4
Q

what is the mode

A

the most frequently occurring score

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5
Q

give an advantage and disadvantage of the mean

A

advantage- most sensitive and representative measure of central tendency as it takes into account all scores

disadvantage- can be distorted by extreme scores and then becomes unrepresentative of the data set

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6
Q

give an advantage and disadvantage of the median

A

advantage- unaffected by extreme scores, more appropriate when there are extreme scores

disadvantage- only takes into account 1 or 2 scores

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7
Q

give an advantage and disadvantage of the mode

A

advantage- unaffected by extreme scores

disadvantage-can be affected by the change in one score, making it unrepresentative

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8
Q

name the types of data

A
  • qualitative
  • quantitative
  • primary
  • secondary
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9
Q

what is qualitative data

A

data that is in words not numerical and is detailed information

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10
Q

what quantitative data

A

this is numerical data

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11
Q

what are the strengths of qualitative data

A

rich detail- allows participants to express their thoughts and feelings, gather lots of detail about them
more meaningful data that is more representative of real life

can explain why
- p’s can explain reasons for their behaviour
help develop more accurate theories and useful practical applications

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12
Q

what are the weaknesses of qualitative data

A

subjective- during analysis researcher have to look for themes
this is open to bius as different researchers may interpret it in different ways
can affect the validity of conclusions drawn

difficult to analyse
-very time consuming to analyse
- researcher has to write a transcript of each p’s data and spend time going through it to look for themes
not possible to use many participants and makes it difficult to generalise

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13
Q

what is primary data?

A

original data that has been collected for the purpose of an investigation.
data that has arrived first hand from the participants themselves

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14
Q

what is secondary data

A

data that has been collected by someone else that has already been analysed and published

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15
Q

strength and wekaness of primary data

A

strength- it is authentic data obtained from the participants themselves for the purpose of that research
therefore the experiment can be designed in such a way that targets the information the researcher needs

weakness- requires time and effort
to plan research get the participants etc

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16
Q

strength and weakness of secondary data

A

strength- inexpensive, easily accessed, requiring minimal effort

weakness- data may be invaluable
- at first, it may appear that the data is valuable and promising but on further investigation, it may be outdated or incomplete
the content of the data may not match what the researcher needs

17
Q

what is reliability

A

refers to the consistency of research. wether the findings or measuring device used is consistent and creates the same results every time

18
Q

what are the ways of assessing reliability

A

inter-rater reliability

test-retest reliability

19
Q

explain the test-retest method

A

a person is given a test used in one occasion and the same est is then repeated again a number of times after a reasonable interval with the same person
needs to be long enough so that the respondent does not remember the questions

if there is a positive correlation this means there is good reliability as the outcome is the same or similar everytime. this increases confidence in the study and its conclusions

20
Q

explain inter-observer relaibility

A

all observers use the same beahvioural category in a study, observing the same participants.
this can be assessed by measuring the extent to which different observers achieve similar results.

observers record their own data individually and then the sets of data are correlated to establish the degree of similarity

inter-observer reliability is achieved if there is a significant positive correlation between scores

21
Q

ways to improve reliability in experiments

A

test- retest method

  • make sure all variables are opertionalised
  • control of all variables including extrenous variables
  • materials used need to be clearly described and in depth method section included in the report so the study can be replicated
  • standardized instructions used to improve control
22
Q

ways to improve reliability in an observation

A

inter-observer reliability

  • use more than one observer and compare reliability
  • all observers thoroughly trained and know how to use coding system
  • behavioural checklist clear and non-ambiguous
  • filming behaviour that is observed to check data against film
23
Q

ways to improve reliability in a self-report (interview/questionnaire)

A

interview- inter-rater reliability

questionaire- test-retest

  • pilot study carried out before to identify any problems with questions
  • all questions checked so that they are clear and non-amiguous
  • interviewers should be carfully trained and same interviwer should be used for all interviews
24
Q

what is validity

A

validity refers to the accuracy. thye degree to which something claims its measuring what its supposed to be measuring
extent to which findings can be generalised beyond research settings

25
Q

what are the types of validity

A

internal validity

external valdity

26
Q

what are the ways of assessing internal validity

A

face validity

concurrent validity

27
Q

what is internal validity

A

concerns what goes on inside a study.

wether the researcher tested what they intended to test

28
Q

what is face validity

A

wether at face value the study appears to measure what it is set out to
may involve one or two experts looking as the design of the study and the measures to if they are appropriate ti the aim of the study

29
Q

what is concurrent validity

A

where new measures in a study are compared to measures in another study that has been previously validated
a strong positive correlation between the 2 suggests the new measure has validity

30
Q

what is external validity

A

concerned with factors outside of a study.
the extent to which findings of the study can be generlaiaed to other situations and people beyond those used in the study and across different time periods

31
Q

what are the ways of assessing external validity

A
  • ecological validity

- temporal validity

32
Q

what is ecological validity

A

the extent to which we can generalise to different contexts
mundane relaism- does the experiment mirror the real world and resemble event that occur in normal everyday life

experimental realism- are the psychological processes being measures the same as occur in everyday life

33
Q

what is temporal validity

A

the extent to which we can generalise to different time periods

34
Q

ways to improve internal validity in an experiment

A
  • extraneous varables tighlty controled
  • all variables operationalised
  • ensure way behaviour is measured is accurate
  • check the IV and DV are accurately measuring the behaviour
35
Q

ways to improve external validity in an experiment

A
  • ensure sampling technique is representative of target population
  • replicate study with different sample of participants to improve population validity
  • or increase sample size
  • make IV and DV as true to real life as possible to improve ecological validity
36
Q

ways to improve internal validity in an observation

A
  • ensure what is being recorded is an accurate observation
  • more than one observer used
  • all observers well trained in what they are observing, with clear understanding of how to use coding system
  • if coding system is new, assess for concurrent validity
  • change behavioural checklist and improve if necessary
37
Q

ways to improve external validity in an observation

A
  • observe as many people as possible, which include a representative sample of the target population
  • use covert observation so participants do not change behaviour
  • adjust behavioural checklist accordingly to stay with social norms
38
Q

ways of improving internal validity in a questionnaire

A
  • amend questions or order to be a valid representation of the behaviour being studies
39
Q

ways of improving external validity in an experiment

A
  • make questions accessiable to as many people as possible, allow to be completed online to help improve response rate
  • update questions to suit contemporary society and changing social norms

Psychology- social infleunce (5 decks)

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