Research Methods - Research Methods (1-4)

Question 1

What are the different types of variables? (5)
Describe in detail

Answer 1

The Independent Variable (IV)
This is the variable that the researcher manipulates in order to determine its effect on the dependent variable. The independent variable may be divided into levels, sometimes referred to as experimental conditions.
An example might be that we want to investigate how chocolate (IV) effects mood.
The experimental conditions might be 10 grams of chocolate, 20 grams of chocolate and NO chocolate (see below)

Control condition
To provide a standard against which experimental conditions can be compared, there may be a control condition where the IV is not manipulated at all e.g. no chocolate and the effect on mood

The Dependent Variable (DV)
This is the variable that is being measured (mood)

Extraneous Variables (EV)
These are any variables other than the IV that COULD affect the DV.

Confounding Variables (CV)
These are any variables (other than the IV) that HAVE affected the DV. Examples include light and noise

Question 2

Define operationalisation

Answer 2

For an experiment to be successful, the dependent and independent variables must be operationalised, therefore the variables need to be defined and stated how it will be measured. For example, if measuring aggression in children this must be defined and measured, e.g. ”Aggression means how angry or irritated a person is and this can be measured by displays of verbal or physical acts of aggression in a 10 minute period”

Question 3

State the different types of experiment

Answer 3

• laboratory
• field
• quasi
• natural

Question 4

Describe laboratory experiments in detail

Answer 4

• the experiment is carried out in a controlled environment e.g a laboratory, allowing the researcher to exert a high level of control over the IV and eliminate any EV.
• the researcher can then observe and measure the change in the DV caused by their manipulation of the IV.
• Participants (people who take part in psychological research) are randomly allocated to a condition. This means neither the experimenter nor the participants decides which condition the participant is placed in, an unpredictable method (such as flipping a coin) is used to decide.
• The other variables that an experimenter wants to hold constant are called extraneous variables. The aim of controlling EVs is to minimize their possible impact on the results of the investigation e.g participant’s personality or personal experiences
• Laboratory experiments are conducted in an artificial setting.

Question 5

What are the advantages of a laboratory experiment

Answer 5

• very high level of control over the IV and conditions. Therefore it is very easy to control for any extraneous variables and prevent them from becoming confounding variables which might affect the measurements or data collected.
• the researcher can manipulate the independent variable and can establish a cause and effect relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable.
• a laboratory experiment can be easily replicated (conducted again) by other researchers to see if similar results can be obtained. If the findings are similar to the original study than the results are reliable

Question 6

What are the disadvantages of a laboratory experiment

Answer 6

• demand characteristics might occur within the study. This is where the participants in the study might guess what the aim of the study is and therefore change their behaviour accordingly which means the data becomes invalid. Some participants behave in a more positive light than normal and this can be called, social desirability bias
• establishing a high level of control over the independent variables and extraneous variables, means that the experimental situation can often lack mundane realism (the extent to which an experiment reflects real life). This means the laboratory study does not have ecological validity (the ability to generalise the findings of a piece of research to real life situations or other places/contexts).

Question 7

Describe field experiments in detail

Answer 7

This is an experiment carried out in the real world or in a natural setting rather than in the artificial setting of a laboratory. The independent variable is still manipulated or controlled by the researcher to see the effect on the dependent variable. An example might be to observe people in the street.

Question 8

What are the advantages of field experiments?

Answer 8

• there is more mundane realism and ecological validity than in a laboratory, and it reflects real life more than a laboratory experiment.
• because the researcher can manipulate the independent variable; a cause and effect relationship between the independent and the dependent variable can be established.
• there is less chance of demand characteristics as opposed to a laboratory experiment. In a field experiment the participants might not even be aware that they are taking part in research and so they will behave more naturally and more valid data will be collected

Question 9

What are the disadvantages of field experiments

Answer 9

• there is less control over extraneous variables when compared to a laboratory experiment. Therefore the effect on the dependent variable may not be caused by the independent variable but by extraneous variables. This means the research is not valid (it is not measuring what it intends to measure).
• there is less control over the sample (this is who is taking part in the experiment). Therefore the sample might not be very representative of the target population.
• they might be difficult to replicate which means that they might be unreliable, especially when compared to laboratory experiments.

Question 10

Describe in detail natural experiments

Answer 10

• the researcher takes advantage of a naturally occurring independent variable to see its effect on the dependent variable
• A natural experiment is a study that measures variables that aren’t directly manipulated (caused) by the experimenter, e.g. comparing behaviour in a single-sex and mixed school.
• This means that the independent variable is naturally occurring.
• the experimenter is finding participants who already meet the conditions of the experiment, rather than allocating participants to conditions themselves.

Question 11

Why are the advantages of natural experiments

Answer 11

• there is a high level of mundane realism and ecological validity compared to laboratory experiments.
• they are very useful when it is impossible or unethical to manipulate the independent variable/sample in a laboratory or field experiment. E.g. psychologists wish to study a naturally occurring event which would otherwise be unethical to impose on participants e.g. a group of naturally stressed men aged 60-65 who have high stress levels and cholesterol.

Question 12

What are the disadvantages of natural experiments?

Answer 12

• there is low control over extraneous variables compared to a laboratory experiment
• they are very difficult to replicate This means that they often are very unreliable and if the experiment was repeated, it is very unlikely that the same results would be gained again.
• they are difficult to determine cause and effect due to low levels of control.

Question 13

Describe Quasi experiments in detail

Answer 13

• Quasi-experiments contain a naturally occurring independent variable but in a quasi-experiment the naturally occurring independent variable is a difference between people that already exists (i.e. gender, age).
• the researcher examines the effect of this variable on the dependent variable (DV).
• e.g. males have higher levels of testosterone than females in a sample of 50 men and 50 women aged 40-70. The psychologists might want to study this natural difference between the two genders and see what effect it might have on the dependent variable (aggression levels)
• Quasi experiments usually take place in a laboratory setting.

Question 14

What are the advantages of quasi experiments?

Answer 14

• high level of control. The effects of extraneous variables are minimized, so the experimenter can be more confident that is the independent variable which has affected the dependent variable.
• replication is very likely. Due to strict controls this means it is easier to replicate the study to test reliability of findings.

Question 15

What are the disadvantages of quasi experiments?

Answer 15

1) Lack of ecological validity because the setting is artificial experiments may not be a reflection of real-life behaviour.

2) Demand characteristics might be a problem. The participants may either accurately or inaccurately guess the aim of the experiment and respond according to what they think is being is investigated. This can affect the data collected and the results of the study (invalid).

Question 16

What is an observation?

Answer 16

An observation is when a researcher watches or listens to participants engaging in whatever behaviour is being studied.

Question 17

What are 2 ways psychologists can organize observations and collect the required observational data. How can they be sure that they do not miss any vital information?

Answer 17

• record the data either by making written notes or by video/audio recording the experiment. This is. Permanent record
• categorising behaviour: you must define behavioural categories you observe. Operationalise it. When observing egression categorise into hitting swearing shouting

Question 18

What s non-participant observation?

Answer 18

This is when the researcher does not get directly involved with the interactions of the participants and does not take part in their activities. For example observing participants in the gym and the psychologist stands around and does not actually engage in any exercise.

Question 19

What is an advantage and disadvantage of non-participant observation?

Answer 19

• Advantage: can focus on the activity occurring and can make good quality notes. More details recorded and nothing missed
• disadvantage: the researcher may look out of place and hence must make an effort to blend in so participants don’t guess they’re being watched
• disadvantage: the researcher wont have a deep understanding f participants behaviours so lack of validity

Question 20

Describe participant observation

Answer 20

This is when the researcher is directly involved with the interactions of the participants and will engage in the activities that the participants are doing e.g. observing participants in the gym and the psychologist actually engages in exercise and uses the gym equipment

Question 21

State some advantages and disadvantages of participant observation

Answer 21

• advantage: greater validity than non- participant observation as researcher gets involved in the activity and has a deeper understanding
• disadvantage: researcher may lose objectivity and become subjective as they are too involved in the activity also known as the researcher going native

Question 22

What is covert observation

Answer 22

• The psychologist goes undercover and does not reveal their true identity, they may even give himself or herself a new identity.
• The group does not know that they are being observed.
• e.g. the psychologist introduces themselves as “Jim” (fake name) and does not tell people at the gym that he is really a psychologist and that he is observing their behaviour

Question 23

What are some advantages and disadvantages of covert observation?

Answer 23

• advantages: there are fewer demand characteristics than in overt observation as participants don’t know they’re being observed and are less likely to guess the aim of the study and alter their behaviour accordingly
• disadvantage:deception has ethical implications and breaks ethical guidelines . Participants don’t know they’re being observed and therefore have not given their informed consent

Question 24

What is overt observation?
What might this cause?

Answer 24

• The psychologist reveals their true identity and might also state that they are observing the group.
• this can mean that observer effects can occur as participants may change their behaviour when they know they are being observed, leading to invalid results.
• e.g. a psychologist visits a gym, tells members of the public that they will be observed in the gym by them (the psychologist). Members of the public then become very aware that their behavior is being observed.

Question 25

What are some advantages and disadvantages of overt observation

Answer 25

• advantages: it is very ethical, people know they’re being observed and can give their informed consent
• disadvantages: the findings can lack validity because participants may display demand characteristics as they know they are being observed and may guess the aim of the study

Question 26

What is naturalistic observation?

Answer 26

A researcher observes participants in their own natural environment and there is no deliberate manipulation of the independent variable. An example might be that a psychologist watches people shopping at Westfield’s to see whether they are shopping alone or in a group.

Question 27

What are some advantages of naturalistic observation?

Answer 27

• Participants are usually unaware that they are being observed (covert observation) so there is a reduced chance of observer effect and participants are likely to act naturally. This gives valid results.
• These studies have high mundane realism as the behaviour that is shown is likely to reflect everyday behaviour. These observations are also high in ecological validity, which means the results can be generalised to other settings and contexts.
• Naturalistic observations are useful when the deliberate manipulation of variables would be impractical or unethical. E.g. if we were to observe children in the playground naturally playing, it is unethical to deliberately tell a child to be aggressive to another. However, if we saw natural aggression in the playground then this is more ethical as it has not been forced upon the participants.

Question 28

What are some disadvantages of naturalistic observation?

Answer 28

• impossible to have any control over extraneous variables. This means that other variables might be affecting the dependent variable other than the independent variable. This could make results invalid
• problematic to try to determine the cause of a behaviour, especially as there is a high lack of control. Therefore cause and effect cannot be truly determined by naturalistic observations, a more controlled observation would be needed.
• a risk of observer bias. Due to lack of control the observer might be very subjective and might be very biased when trying to interpret behaviour. These interpretations might be incorrect and could lead to unreliable results (if the observation were to be repeated, the same results would NOT be gained again).

Question 29

What s a controlled observation?

Answer 29

A researcher observes participants in a controlled environment and this allows for manipulation of the independent variable. An example might be to watch participants in a laboratory setting and record their behaviour e.g. induce high levels of stress in participants by giving them a very difficult IQ test and then watch their reactions.

Question 30

What are some advantages of controlled observations?

Answer 30

• Cause and effect can be determined because the observation is highly controlled. Therefore psychologists can identify whether the independent variable caused a change in the dependent variable.
• Extraneous variables can be controlled for in this type of observation. Therefore it means the results will be more valid as we can be more certain that the independent variable is having an effect of the dependent variable.
• Controlled observations are likely to yield qualitative data that is rich and detailed. This also increases the validity of the study as the observation is likely to be accurately measuring the key variables identified in the aim.

Question 31

What are some disadvantages of controlled observations?

Answer 31

• Low levels of mundane realism and ecological validity because of the high control in the observation. This is likely to be restrictive and means that the results might not be an accurate reflection of everyday life and might not be able to be generalised to other settings and contexts.
• Observer effects can occur as participants usually know they are being observed (overt observation). Therefore participants might show social desirability bias and might behave unnaturally which means the data collected might be invalid.
• risk of observer bias which means that the researchers own views and opinions can influence the recording of the data which then becomes inaccurate.

Question 32

What is observer bias?
How could we combat this?

Answer 32

• If the observer knows the purpose of the study then they may observe behaviours that they think meet their aims and hypothesis.
• This can influence how they record the data from the study which might be inaccurate and subjective.
• Observers need to be reliable, one way to check this is to have two observers who each record their data separately. They then correlate their observations and data together and if a Kappa score of +0.8 is gained then the data gained from each researcher is reliable. This is known as inter-rater reliability.

Question 33

What are some observational design concepts

Answer 33

• behavioural categories
• sampling procedures

Question 34

Discuss behavioural categories

Answer 34

These are specific types of behaviour that are being looked for in an observation. For example if we wanted to observe young children playing in the school playground, make a list of some behavioural categories that we might observe:
- laughing
- crying
- kicking

Question 35

Discuss sampling procedures

Answer 35

Event sampling
- The observer decides in advance what types of behaviour they are interested in and records all occurrences.
- All other types of behaviour are ignored.
- e.g. we are investigating whether people at a conference drink coffee or not. Every time a participants goes to get a cup of coffee (the event), we would log this information, e.g. make a note of the event and what happened.

Time-interval sampling:
- The observer decides in advance that observation will take place only during specified time periods (e.g. 10 minutes every hour, 1 hour per day) and records the occurrence of the specified behaviour during that period only.
- e.g. we might decide we want to observe people at the conference every thirty minutes. So if we start observing at 1pm, we might decide at 1.30pm to count up how many people are drinking coffee. We would do the same at 2pm, 2.30pm etc.

Question 36

What is a pilot study?
Why is it useful?

Answer 36

• A preliminary small scale investigation of the procedures to be used in the main study. involves selecting a few people and trialing out the study on them. It is possible to save time and money, by identifying any flaws in the procedures or any problems or issues that can be rectified before the main study takes place.
• it can help the researcher spot any ambiguities (i.e. unusual things) or confusion in the information given to participants or problems with the task devised.
• it could be useful to establish behavioural categories and check they are suitable. A pilot study could also iron out practical problems such as where observers should stand or where video cameras should be placed.

Question 37

What are some advantages and disadvantages of a pilot study?

Answer 37

Idk man :o

Question 38

What are self-report techniques?

Answer 38

Self-report techniques are research methods in which participants give information about themselves without researcher interference. The participants self-report information possibly without the researcher being present for some of the techniques.

Question 39

What is a structured interview

Answer 39

Structured Interview:
- All participants are asked the same questions in the same order.
- This provides quantitative data, which is data that can be counted or expressed numerically.
- It usually consists of closed questions that have restricted answers e.g. Do you agree with recycling? (Yes, No, Don’t know)

Question 40

What are the advantages and disadvantages of structured interviews

Answer 40

Advantages:
- If participants misunderstand a question this can be clarified in an interview so that the question can be repeated and clarified to help aid understanding.

• usually quite quick compared to unstructured interviews. Structured interviews consist of closed questions that require a quick yes or no answer which is less time consuming that conducting an unstructured interview

Disadvantages:
- a risk of interviewer effects (when the interviewer may inadvertently affect respondent’s answers). This can be unintentional and may even be a result of the interviewer’s appearance, manner or gender. This will affect the data collected which might be invalid

• lack quantitative and in depth data. The answers are restrictive and factual but lack meaning and depth, therefore the results might be invalid and might not accurately be measuring the key variables stated in the aim

Question 41

What is an unstructured interview?

Answer 41

• An informal in-depth conversational exchange between the interviewer and interviewee.
• Questions are not pre planned, but might consist of themes that the interviewer wants to discuss.
• This provides qualitative data, non-numerical data that uses words to give a description of what people think and feel.
• usually consists of open questions that require an in depth answers about opinions, e.g. “What are your views about recycling?”

Question 42

What are some advantages and disadvantages of an unstructured interview?

Answer 42

Advantages:
- they are very useful with investigating sensitive or controversial topics and might be a better research method than questionnaires. Unstructured interviews allow for probing of information to gain a real understanding of the topic being investigated.

• you can gain rich and detailed data, high in validity because variables are deeply discussed, a rapport is developed and participants so may be more willing to discuss things

Disadvantages:
- risk of social desirability bias (when people lie to present themselves in a positive light, particularly when discussing issues that may be socially sensitive). Therefore the results might not be very valid or accurate

• Interviewers need to be well trained in order to accurately conduct an unstructured interview and to gain relevant data. This can be time consuming and expensive in order to ensure the correct training is carried out. More training is needed for an unstructured interview than a structured interview.

Question 43

What is a semi structured interview?

Answer 43

• This type of interview combines a mixture of structured and unstructured techniques producing both quantitative and qualitative data.
• will consist of both closed questions and open questions.
  Some of the questions will be pre planned and then later on in the interview there will be themes that the researcher might want to discuss.

Question 44

What are the advantages and disadvantages of semi-structured interviews

Answer 44

Advantages:
- both qualitative and quantitative data can be gained. Deep understanding as well as numbers
- the qualitative date will have high validity, the quantitive data will have high reliability

Disadvantage:
- answers based on key themes may be irrelevant and not linked to the main topic
- responses may be difficult to analyse compares to a structured interview

Question 45

What is a questionnaire

Answer 45

• Participants are given a written set of questions and instructions about how to record their answers.
• Questionnaires mainly focus on the individual’s behaviour, opinions, beliefs and attitudes.
• Questionnaires can be self-administered, delivered by post, internet or face to face.

Question 46

Discuss the design of a questionnaire in detail

Answer 46

Consider:

Type of data –whether you want qualitative data and/or quantitative data will affect whether you ask open and/or closed questions:
- Closed questions:
Require participants to answer yes/no or choose from fixed responses (quantitative data).
- Open questions:
Allow the participant to answer in their own words (qualitative data).

Also:
- Ambiguity – you have to avoid questions and answer options which are not clearly defined e.g. do you listen to music frequently? What is meant by frequently?
- Double barrelled questions, it is best not to use them, since a person may wish to answer differently to each part. For example, do you agree that modern music is not as good as the music of the 1960s and that there should be more guitar based music in the charts?
- Leading questions – these are questions that lead the participant for a particular answer e.g. how tall was the man? This is assuming the man was tall?
- Complexity – use clear English language for questions and avoid jargon. If specialist terms are to be used, then they should be clearly defined.

Question 47

What are the advantages and disadvantages of questionnaires

Answer 47

Advantages:
- quick, easy, and relatively cheap compared to interviews. It is possible to have a large sample and collect a large amount of data when using a questionnaires compared to another research method such as an unstructured interview

• Questionnaires (especially structured questionnaires) are very easy to replicate and this means their reliability can be established. This means that if the questionnaire was to be repeated, the same results would be gained on the second questionnaire. This indicates high reliability.

Disadvantages:
- Questions can be ambiguous and the wording might not be clear. If the researcher is not there to explain the questions it means that they might be misunderstand or participants could misinterpret the questions. This could lead to invalid data collection

• low response rate especially if sent by the post, need to be returned. Also if there is no researcher present to remind participants to fill in the questionnaire and return it, many questionnaires might end up being unanswered OR filled in and not returned.

Question 48

Define correlation

Answer 48

A correlation is a technique for analysing the strength of the relationship between two quantitative variables, known as co-variables.

Question 49

What can a correlation analysis show?

Answer 49

1) A positive correlation - this means that as one variable increases the other variable increases as well, e.g. the number of ice cream sold increases as the temperature increases

2) A negative correlation - this means that as one variable increases the other variable decreases, for instance the more time a student spends playing video games, the less grade A’s they will achieve in the exams.

3) No correlation – there is no relationship between the two variables. For example there is no relationship between head size and IQ levels, so if you have a large head, it does not mean that you are more intelligent!

Question 50

How do we know the strength and type of a correlation?

Answer 50

• The strength of a correlation can be between +1 and -1
• Strong, positive, correlation coefficient close to +1
• Strong negative correlation coefficient close to -1
• 0 means there’s no correlation, and if a correlation coefficient is close to 0, it is weak
• The strength of the correlation is called the correlation coefficient

Question 51

How do we show correlations on a diagram?

Answer 51

• Correlations are plotted on a scattergram or a scatter graph
• Each variable forms an axis
• each dot on the graph is the X and Y position of each co-variable

Question 52

What are the advantages of using correlations?

Answer 52

• allows psychologists to establish the strength of the relationship between two variables and measure it precisely e.g. there might be a very strong positive relationship +1 between the variables of being very wealthy and being very happy
• allows researchers to investigate things that could not be manipulated experimentally for ethical or practical reasons, e.g. a natural relationship might occur between the variables of being highly stressed and having cardiovascular disease. It would be unethical to intentionally inflict stress or cardiovascular disease upon participants, but if it occurred naturally then it would be fine to study this issue
• Once a correlation has been conducted predictions can be made about one of the variables based on what is known about the other variable. E.g. if we know high stress causes high cholesterol, then we might state that as stress increases, cholesterol might increase. This can help inform conclude that lowering stress might lower cholesterol

Question 53

What are the disadvantages of using correlations?

Answer 53

• Correlational analysis cannot demonstrate cause and effect; we cannot tell which variable influences the other. For instance can we sure that high stress causes an increase in cholesterol, or does having high cholesterol cause an increase in stress?
• Even if there is a correlation between two variables it may be the case that the variables are not actually related but that there is a third unknown variable which influences both. For instance maybe an unhealthy diet might cause an increase in cholesterol (rather than stress causing the increase)?
• can only measure linear relationships and does not detect curvilinear relationships. This is when there is a positive relationship up to a certain point but after that the relationship becomes negative or (vice versa).