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Psychology > Research Methods (A2) > Flashcards

Research Methods (A2) Flashcards

1
Q

Define validity

A

When it measures what it claims to measure

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2
Q

What’s external validity about

A

External validity is about applying/generalising the results of a study

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3
Q

What are the 3 types of external validity

A
  • Ecological validity
  • Population validity
  • Temporal validity
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4
Q

What’s low ecological validity

A

When results cannot be generalised to behaviour in the real world, as the study environment isn’t reflective of real life

  • high ecological validity is the opposite
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5
Q

What’s low population validity

A

When results cannot be generalised to the target population as the sample isn’t representative enough of the target population

  • high population validity is the opposite
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6
Q

What’s low temporal validity

A

When results cannot be generalised to modern day behaviour

  • high temporal validity is the opposite
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7
Q

What’s internal validity about

A

Whether or not the study has been conducted accurately, whether data has been collected accurately, and whether or not the study has measured what it thought it measured

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8
Q

There are 5 threats to internal validity

A
  • Situational variables
  • Participant variables
  • Investigator bias
  • Demand characteristics
  • Social desirability bias
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9
Q

How and why do Situational variables threaten internal validity

How could this be overcome

A
  • E.g. time of day, noise, temperature
  • Factors in the environment that affect a condition of the IV. This change caused results rather than the IV. = Low Internal validity

Overcome by all participants having same environment conditions (standardised procedures)

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10
Q

How and why do Participant variables threaten internal validity

How could this be overcome

A
  • E.g. mood, intelligence, gender, age, personality
  • Features of Personality In participants account for results rather than the IV. = Low Internal validity

Overcome by using Same participants in both conditions of IV (repeated measures), or match upon certain criteria (matched pairs)

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11
Q

How and why does investigator bias threaten internal validity

How could this be overcome

A
  • Where the researched could have influenced participants in some way so behaviour isn’t accurate

Overcome by using a double blind strategy

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12
Q

How and why do demand characteristics threaten internal validity

How could this be overcome

A
  • Where participants have guessed the aim of the study and changed behaviour to spoil study, therefore accurate behaviour hasn’t been measured

Overcome by using deception- hide aim from participants

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13
Q

How and why does Social desirability bias threaten internal validity

How could this be overcome

A
  • Where participants change answers or behaviour to make themselves look better so accurate behaviour hasn’t been measured

Overcome by making questionnaires anonymous, or study people without their knowledge (covert observations)

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14
Q

What’s the 2 ways of checking validity

A
  • Concurrent validity

- Face validity

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15
Q

What’s concurrent validity

How’s it done

A

Concurrent validity is a check that the measuring tool you are using is equal to an existing validated measuring tool

  • Its checked by comparing a participants scores on your measure with their scores on an existing measure
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16
Q

What’s face validity

How’s it done

A

Face validity is whether a test, scale or measure appears “on the face of it” to measure the thing it’s supposed to measure

  • Checked by examining two measuring tools closely or having tool examined by an expert
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17
Q

Two ways of checking reliability of a study

A

1) test-retest = doing a study/experiment and then repeating, 2 weeks later for example
2) inter-rater reliability (inter-observer)= having two researchers/observers so they can check each others scores afterwards

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18
Q

What’s the order of a psychology report

8 things

A

1) Abstract
2) Introduction
3) Method
4) Results
5) Discussion
6) Conclusion
7) References
8) Appendices

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19
Q

What does the abstract include

A
  • IV, DV, hypothesis, aim, method and brief summary of background research and results
  • Also, includes the experimental design and type of sample
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20
Q

What does the introduction include

A
  • What was previously done, and what you expect to happen (background research). Aim and hypothesis at the end
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21
Q

What does the method include

A
  • What design you’re using and why, IV and DV, attempts to control confounding variables
  • Procedures detailed so a person who’s never done psychology could understand what needs to be done
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22
Q

What does the results include

A
  • Descriptive statistics involves measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode) also measures of dispersion
  • Types of data (nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio)
  • Inferential statistics
  • When deciding inferential statistics you take into account design, data and difference
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23
Q

What does the discussion include

A
  • Explaining findings, was the hypothesis supported
  • Reference type 1 and 2 errors
  • Background research and results for them
  • Limitations of your research, what would you do differently, what’s required in further research
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24
Q

What’s a critical value

A

The values in the statistical tables, which determines significance

  • because you compare to observed value
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25
Q

What’s the calculated or observed value

A

Results from a calculation

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26
Q

What’s inferential statistics

A

Used to make inferences to establish whether results are significant.

  • Used to draw conclusions and predictions
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27
Q

What’s degrees of freedom

A

Number of participants there are

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28
Q

What’s significance level

A

Importance level of study

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29
Q

What’s probability

A

The likelihood results are due to chance

30
Q

What’s a null hypothesis

A

Hypothesis that predicts there will be no effect

No change in DV when IV is manipulated

31
Q

What’s an alternative or experimental hypothesis

A

Hypothesis that predicts there will be an effect

Will be a change in DV when IV is manipulated

32
Q

What are descriptive statistics

A

Describes the data and what it shows (mean, median, mode)

33
Q

The 4 things needed to understand statistical tables

A
  • Number of participants
  • Directional (one-tailed) or non-directional (two-tailed) hypothesis
  • What type of design used
  • How confident are you that IV caused DV. E.g. 5% level means 95% sure IV causes the DV
34
Q

What does 5% level mean

What does 2% level mean

A
  • 5% level means researcher is 95% sure the IV caused the DV
  • 2% level means the researcher is 98% sure the IV causes the DV
35
Q

What level is most common and why is the 2% level used

A
  • 5% level is the most common, 95% sure the IV caused the DV, as it’s easier to prove than 98%
  • 2% level is used when it’s more serious for example drug testing
36
Q

What happens when the result is significant

A

We can reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis

37
Q

What happens when the result is not significant

A

We reject the alternative hypothesis and accept the null hypothesis

38
Q

What’s a type 1 error

A
  • Rejecting the null hypothesis when we shouldn’t.

- Happens when probability level too high (probability level at 98% instead of 95%)

39
Q

What’s a type 2 error

A
  • Accepting the null hypothesis when we shouldn’t

- Happens When probability level is too low (probability level at 95% instead of 98%)

40
Q

Non-parametric data is what

A

When we have nominal or ordinal data

  • So chi-squared, sign Test, wilcoxon, spearman’s rho and Mann-Whitney U test is used
41
Q

Parametric data is what

A

When there’s interval data, normally variability of scores, and distributed for each condition should be the same

  • So independent t test, related t test and Pearson’s test is used
42
Q

How do you do the sign test

A

1) Add up the (+) and (-). In this case n=5
2) To calculate observed value, add up number of times the less frequent sign occurs (s). In this case the sign value is S=2
3) Work out whether it’s one or two tailed hypothesis, we will assume it’s two tailed. 0.05 (95%) significance level. Check sign value against table of critical values.
4) For study to be significant, observed value has to be smaller or equal to critical signs test value

43
Q

What are the antonyms used for statistical tests

A

Chi-squared
Independent measures
Nominal

Mann-Whitney
Ordinal
Independent measures
Interval

Spearmans rho
Ordinal
Correlation

Wilcoxon
Ordinal
Repeated measures

44
Q

What’s an experimental design

A

The way in which participants are organised and allocated to conditions

45
Q

What’s an independent groups design

A

Two groups for different conditions. Results are compared across groups

  • They can be in more than one condition, but results are compared across groups and not across conditions
46
Q

What’s a matched pairs design

A

Participants are matched due to a common characteristic

  • most effective way to resolve nature vs nurture debate (separating mono and dizygotic twins, and see if they develop same characteristics or not)
47
Q

What’s a repeated measures design

A

When the same participants are used for all conditions. Participants take part in more than one condition. Results are compared across conditions

48
Q

What’s counterbalancing

A

When a group is split to experience events in a different order

  • resolves order effects
49
Q

What’s attrition

A

When participants drop out of a study, data is then lost

50
Q

Adv and disadv of independent groups

A

Adv= - Don’t have to control for Participant variables, as participants are randomly allocated to conditions

Disadv= - Need a larger sample of people
- More time-consuming, therefore costly

51
Q

Adv and disadv of repeated measures

A

Adv= -Smaller Number of people needed
-Less time-consuming, not as costly

Disadv= -Order effects, to resolve this, counterbalancing is used

52
Q

Adv and disadv of matched pairs

A

Adv= -Solve nature vs nurture debate

Disadv= -Trying to find participants who have same characteristics
-Attrition, because matched pairs are done over a long period of time

53
Q

What’s a paradigm

A

A shared set of assumptions, methods and terminology about what should be studied and how

54
Q

Example of paradigms

A

The assumptions of the approaches

55
Q

When is there a paradigm shift

A

When new studies emerge, or new ideas and evidence are put forward

56
Q

AO3 points for paradigms

A
  • Appear at different times, therefore there are various paradigm shifts
  • Psychology hasn’t fully developed into a scientific approach yet, due to the fact it has many paradigms
57
Q

Explain what is meant by a paradigm shift (4)

PPQ

A
  • A paradigm is a set of shared assumptions/beliefs about what should be studied and how
  • A shift occurs when members of science change from one established way of explaining behaviour to a new way
  • This shift leads to a ‘scientific revolution’
58
Q

What is a science

A

Something that can be used to make predictions, due to it being tested and re-tested

  • Predictions are then validated or falsified on the basis of objective evidence
59
Q

What does falsifiable mean

A

Test the study to try and prove it wrong

60
Q

What’s the reason for scientific studies evolving and changing

A

Because psychologists/scientists are trying to falsify / prove it wrong.

E.g. new medications

61
Q

Criteria for a science

A
  • constructing theories and testing hypotheses
  • falsifiability
  • replicability
  • objectivity
  • having a paradigm
62
Q

AO3 point on people assessing people

A

If people are assessing people there’s an implicit subjective bias, because the researcher chooses the aim, hypothesis, method, sample, location, results, conclusion

63
Q

What’s an inductive scientific method

A

Theory is constructed before the hypothesis

64
Q

What’s a deductive scientific method

A

Theory is constructed after the hypothesis

65
Q

What approach challenges that psychology is a science

A

The psychodynamic approach, as Freuds studies are unfalsifiable

66
Q

What study supports the idea that psychology is a science

A

Skinner (operant conditioning)

67
Q

Methods to increase objectivity

A
  • double blind collection of data
  • standardised procedures
  • operationalised variables
  • Peter review
  • controlled variables
68
Q

What research methods are replicable and not replicable

A

Replicable= Lab, controlled observations

Non-replicable= Case studies, field, natural, covert/overt

69
Q

Why do scientists use standardised procedures

A

So others can retest the same study again

70
Q

What approaches are falsifiable and which ones aren’t

A

Biological and behaviourist are falsifiable

Humanistic and psychodynamic are unfalsifiable (they use case studies)

71
Q

What does popper argue about falsification

A

That no amount of positive validations of a theory prove it to be true. However, one piece of falsification evidence is enough to render a theory untrue

Psychology (16 decks)

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