4.2.3 - Research Methods - Scientific processes Flashcards

Question

What is a laboratory experiment? (and eval)

Answer 1

Conducted in highly controlled environments :) - high level of control - high internal validity - researcher can establish cause and effect :( - low external validity - difficult to generalise to real life - low mundane realism as tasks and environment is artificial - demand characteristics

Answer 2

IV is manipulated in a natural, everyday setting. The researcher goes to the participants' usual environment instead of a lab :) - higher mundane realism - natural environment - ecological validity :( - loss of control of CV's and EV's -cause and effect difficult to establish - ethical issues

Answer 3

-Takes advantage of a pre-existing independent variable -The variable would have changed if the experimenter was not interested -Researcher has no control over the IV and cannot change it - something else causes the IV to vary -IV - naturally occurring :) - high external validity - more opportunities for research :( - natural occurring events may only happen rarely - ppts may not be randomly allocated to experimental conditions

Answer 4

-Has an IV that is based on an existing difference between people (e.g. age, gender) -No one has manipulated the IV , it simply exists, and unlike a natural experiment, the IV cannot be changed -DV may be naturally occurring or devised by the experimenter :) → often carried out under controlled conditions - control of variables, easy to replicate, high external validity :( → cannot randomly allocate ppts - may be confounding variables → IV not deliberately changed by the researcher so we cannot claim that the IV has caused any observed change

Answer 5

-IV is under direct control of the researcher who manipulates it and records the effect on the DV -Lab and field experiments are considered True experiments

Answer 6

How we choose our participants Ideally should be representative of the target population

Answer 7

All members of target population have an equal chance of being selected e.g. names out of a hat, computer generator

Answer 8

Every "nth" member of target population is chosen e.g. every 3rd person on a list or every 5th house on a street

Answer 9

Sample reflects proportions of people in certain subgroups -Different strata that make up a population are identified and then the proportions of the strata are worked out -Ppts that make up each stratum are selected using random sampling

Answer 10

Researcher simply decides to select anyone who is willing and available

Answer 11

Participants select themselves to be part of the sample - they volunteer e.g. researcher places advert in newspaper or online

Answer 12

⮞ Deception - misleading, lying or withholding information from participants ⮞ Right to withdraw - are participants allowed to leave the study when they wish? ⮞ Informed consent - participants are informed what the aim of the study is and what will happen and they then give permission to be a participant and for data to be used ⮞ Protection from harm - ppts should not be placed at any risk - harm can be physical or psychological ⮞ Privacy & confidentiality - participants have the right to control information about themselves

Answer 13

Participants are made aware of aims and any details hidden from them during the investigation after it has finished

Answer 14

A small-scale run of the actual investigation

Answer 15

- to 'road test' the procedure - check there are are no issues with the study - gives researcher an opportunity to modify the design or procedure - saves time and money in the long run

Answer 16

⮞ participants not told aim of the research ⮞ controls for demand characteristics

Answer 17

⮞ neither the participants or the researcher is aware of aims of study ⮞ controls for researcher bias

Answer 18

Naturalistic Controlled Covert Overt Participant Non-participant

Answer 19

⮞ take place in the setting or context where the behaviour would usually occur ⮞ all aspects of the environment are free to vary :) - high external validity - can be generalised :( - replication of study may be difficult - may be uncontrolled extraneous variables

Answer 20

⮞ some control over variables, including manipulating variables to observe effects and also control of extraneous variables :) - extraneous variables are less of a factor - replication is easier :( - may produce findings that cannot be as readily applied to real-life settings

Answer 21

⮞ participants are unaware they are being observed ⮞ observed in secret :) - as ppts are unaware they are being observed the problem of participant reactivity is removed - ensures behaviour will be natural - increases validity of the data gathered :( - ethics of the study may be questionable - may not want their behaviours recorded

Answer 22

⮞ participants are aware they are being observed ⮞ have given informed consent beforehand :) - more ethically acceptable :( - behaviour of ppts may change as they know they are being observed

Answer 23

⮞ observer becomes part of the group they are studying :) - gives researcher increased insight - increased validity of findings :( - researcher may come to identify too strongly with those they are studying and lose objectivity - may be impractical to join certain groups

Answer 24

⮞ researcher remains separate from the group they are studying and records their behaviour in a more objective manner :) - allows researcher to remain objective psychological distance :( - may lose valuable insight as they are too far removed from the people and behaviour they are studying

Answer 25

- observations are quantified - uses a pre-determined list of behaviours and sampling methods - a behavioural checklist is created - there is a structure to the observation

Answer 26

- write down everything you see - no structure - produces accounts of behaviour that are rich in detail

Answer 27

- when a target behaviour is broken up into components that are observable and measureable - target behaviour should be precisely defined and made observable and measureable - e.g. affection could be broken down into smiling, hugging, kissing - no ambiguity or overlap - e.g. grinning and smiling

Answer 28

- counting the number of times a behaviour occurs in a target individual group E.g. counting the number of times players disagree with a referee in a football match :) - useful when a behaviour happens quite infrequently so could be missed with time sampling :( - if event is too complex then observer may overlook important details

Answer 29

- recording behaviour within a pre-established time frame E.g. making a note of what one individual is doing every 30 seconds :) - reduces amount of observations that have to be made :( - may be unrepresentative of the observation as a whole

Answer 30

- at least two researchers - must be consistent in their judgement - use and agree on behavioural categories - correlate their observations - will ensure inter-observer reliability

Answer 31

- questionaires - interviews

Answer 32

Open questions - no fixed answers, respondents can answer in any way they want - produces qualitative data which is rich in detail but may be difficult to analyse Closed questions - fixed number of responses - could be yes/no questions of a scale - usually easy to analyse but may lack depth and detail

Answer 33

- Likert scale - scale of usually 5 points - Rating scale - respondants identify a value that represents their strength of feeling about a particular topic - Fixed choice option - includes list of options, respondants are required to indicate those that apply to them

Answer 34

- if close-ended questions are used, it is easy to analyse - can gather large numbers of results - larger sample - cost-effective

Answer 35

- responses may not be truthful - demand characteristics - social desirability bias - response bias - replying a similar way for everything - data may lack validity - boredom - answering too quickly

Answer 36

Overuse of jargon - don’t overuse technical terms, keep questions simple and easy to understand Emotive language and Leading quesitons - don’t let your attitiude become clear in the questions, leading questions guide respondents to particular answers Double barrelled questions and Double Negatives - double-barrelled questions contain 2 questions in one so respondants may agree with only half of thr question , double negatives can be hard to decipher

Answer 37

Structured interviews Pre-determined set of questions that are asked in a fixed order Unstructured interviews Works like a conversation - there are no set of questions. Interviewee can expand and elaborate their answers Semi-structured interviews A list of questions worked out in advance but follow-up questions can be asked e.g. job interview

Answer 38

A list of questions (should be standardised to reduce risk of interviewer bias)

Answer 39

- numerical data - usually in the form of participant scores E.g. number of words a participant can recall :) - relatively simple to analyse - comparisons between groups and easily drawn - tends to be more objective and less open to bias :( - much narrower in scope and meaning - lacks ecological validity

Answer 40

- expressed in words - description,thoughts, feelings and opinions E.g. transcripts from interviews, extracts from a diary, noted from an unstructured interview :) - rich in detail - gives the ppt the ability to develop their thoughts and feelings - has greater external validity than quantitative data :( - often difficult to analyse - difficult to summarise statistically so patterns and comparisons are hard to come by - often subjective and open to interpretation

Answer 41

- original data that has been collected specifically for purpose of investigation by researcher - first hand data - gathered by conducting an experiment, interview or observation :) - fits the job - authentic data obtained from ppts themselves for purpose of a particular investigation - questionnaires and interview can be designed to specifically target the info the researcher requires :( - time and effort - expensive

Answer 42

- collected by someone other than the person conducting the research - already exists before the psychologist begins their research - often has already been subject to statistical testing and therefore significance is known - may be located in journal articles, books or websites, statistical info held by government, population records etc :) - may be inexpensive and easily accessed requiring minimal effort :( - may be substantial variation in quality and accuracy of secondary data - may be outdated or incomplete - content of data may not match researcher’s needs or objectives

Answer 43

- a mathmatical technique - a relationship between two variables, called co variables - association, NOT causation - correlations are plotted on a scattergram

Answer 44

- negative correlation - as one variable increases the other decreases - positive correlation - as one co-variable increases so does the other - zero/no correlation - no relationship between co-variables

Answer 45

- mean - median - mode (averages)

Answer 46

- add up all the scores and divide by the total number of scores - the most sensitive measure of central tendency - includes ALL scores :) - so it is more representitive of the data as a whole :( - BUT can be distorted by extreme values

Answer 47

- the middle value in a data set when scores are arranged highest to lowest - in an even number of scores the median is halfway between the two middle scores :) - extreme scores do not affect it and it is easy to calculate :( - BUT it is less sensitive than the mean - not all scores included in final calculation

Answer 48

- the most frequently occurring score/value in the data set - in some sets there may be more than one mode (bi-modal) or none at all :) - very easy to calculate :( - BUT it is a crude measure - not really representative of data as a whole

Answer 49

Cues that might indicate the study aim to participants, leading to a change in behaviour of participants and thus can lead to results being inaccurate (e.g. biased).

Answer 50

Graphs, tables and summary statistics Help us to identify trends and analyse sets of data ( measures of central tendency, measures of dispersion )

Answer 51

Range Standard deviation Based on the 'spread of scores' - how far scores vary and differ from one another.

Answer 52

Take the lowest value from the highest value plus 1. (adding 1 is a mathematical correction) :) - it is very easy to calculate :( - only takes into account the two most extreme values so may be unrepresentative

Answer 53

A more sophisticated measure of dispersion. - tells us how far the scores deviate from the mean - the larger the S.D the greater the dispersion or spread within a set of data - large spread - not all ppts were affected by the IV in the same way - low standard deviations - data is tightly clustered around the mean (all ppts may have responded in a similar way) :) - S.D is much more precise - includes all values :( - can be easily distorted by a single extreme value

Answer 54

To see whether the results match the significant level so we can say that they are significant or not.

Answer 55

It means the results were unlikely to have occurred due to chance.

Answer 56

0.05 or 5%. This is the level at which the researcher decides to accept the research hypothesis or not.

Answer 57

When the research may involve a human cost, such as new drugs being trailled, or when a particular investigation cannot be repeated again.

Answer 58

Decides whether the result is significant or not.

Answer 59

On table of critical values.

Answer 60

1. The significance level desired (always 0.05 unless the experiment cannot be repeated) 2. The number of participants in the investigation (the N value) 3. Whether the hypothesis is directional or non-directional

Answer 61

The calculated value has to be equal to or lower than the critical value.

Answer 62

1. We need to be looking for a difference rather than an association (so is not used for correlations) 2. We need to have used a repeated measures design 3. We need data that is organised into categories

Answer 63

1. Count the number of increases (+) or decreases (-) in results. Ignore any 0s or where there is no change in results. 2. See which is lower of the two numbers 3. This is the S value 4. Compare this with value on the Critical Values table 5. Remember the N value will ignore any ppts who stayed the same 6. If the value is equal to or less than the value on the CV table, we can accept the results as significant. This means we can accept the alternative hypothesis (the experimental hypothesis).

Answer 64

A form of research using secondary data a from large numbers of studies, using the same research questions and methods. - researchers may simply discuss findings/conclusions - qualitative analysis - may also use a quantitative approach and perform statistical analysis of the combined data (may involve calculating an effect size) :) - Allows us to view data with much more confidence and results can be generalised across much larger populations. :( - May be prone to publication bias. Researcher may not select all relevant studies, leaving out those with negative or non-significant results.

Answer 65

- useful as a starting point for research - assessing strength and direction of relationship provides precise and quantifiable measure of how things are related - may suggest ideas for further research if variables are strongly related - no need for controlled environment - inexpensive to carry out

Answer 66

- studies can only tell us how variables are related but not why - cannot demonstrate cause and effect as we do not know which variable is causing the other to change - may be another untested variable that is causing the relationship between the two variables (intervening variables)

Answer 67

When data is divided into categories (discrete data) Most suitable graph to show the difference in mean values

Answer 68

A symmetrical spread of frequency data that forms a bell-shaped pattern. The mean, mode and median are all located at the highest peak.

Answer 69

A spread of frequency data that is not symmetrical, where the data all clusters to one end.

Answer 70

A type of distribution in which the long tail is on the positive (right) side of the peak and most of the distribution is concentrated on the left. e.g a very difficult test which most people get low marks in with only a handful of students at the higher end

Answer 71

A type of distribution in which the long tail is on the negative (left) side of the peak and most of the distribution is concentrated on the right. The mean is pulled to the left.

Answer 72

There is no difference between conditions. If a result is not significant we accept the null and reject the alternative.

Answer 73

There will be a difference between conditions. If a result is significant we accept the alternative/experiment hypothesis and reject the null.

Answer 74

The strength and direction of the relationship between two variables. 1 is a strong positive -1 is a strong negative

Answer 75

A shared set of assumptions and methods. Natural sciences have this e.g. biology and physics.

Answer 76

Not really - psychology is a 'pre-science' and has too much disagreement and conflicting approaches.

Answer 77

Progress within a science. - revolution takes place - accepted paradigm questioned - new assumptions taken on Psychology may have had this - Wundt's Introspection to the Behaviourists to cognitive neuroscience.

Answer 78

- set of general laws or principles that are able to explain particular events or behaviours - happen through gathering evidence via direct observation

Answer 79

The possibility of being proven false through hypothesis testing. Theories which survive attempts to falsify them are the strongest.

Answer 80

Findings must be repeatable across different circumstances and contexts in order for a theory to be trusted. Determines reliability and validity.

Answer 81

Objectivity - keep 'critical distance' - don't allow opinions or bias to intrude - lab experiments tend to be the most objective - something cannot be scientific unless it has been empirically tested and verified

Answer 82

In some cases, however, some methods used are subjective and non-scientific.

Answer 83

When the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative hypothesis is accepted when it should be the other way around. - in reality the Null hypothesis is 'true" - a false positive/optimistic error

Answer 84

The null hypothesis is accepted and the alertative hypothesis is rejected when it should be the other way around. - in reality the alternative hypothesis is 'true' - a false negative/pessimistic error

Answer 85

If the significance level is too lenient/too high. e.g. 0.1 or 10% rather than 0.05 or 5%

Answer 86

If the significance level is too strict/too low e.g. 0.01 or 1%

Answer 87

1. Difference or Correlation 2. Experimental design (unrelated or related design) 3. Levels of measurement

Answer 88

Independent groups

Answer 89

Matched pairs Repeated measures

Answer 90

Nominal data Ordinal data Interval data

Answer 91

- categorical - discrete - one item can only appear in one of the categories

Answer 92

- ordered in some way - usually to do with rating scales/judging scores - slightly subjective

Answer 93

- based on numerical scales - include units of equal, precisely defined size - usually measurements you would find in maths or other sciences

Answer 94

More powerful and robust statistical tests. - only for interval level data - deal with data with a normal distribution - homogeneity of variance - set of scores in each condition should have similar dispersion or spread (unrelated and related t-tests, pearson's r)

Answer 95

Looking for difference Use for: - unrelated design - ordinal data

Answer 96

Test of difference Use for: - related design - ordinal data

Answer 97

Test of difference Use when: - unrelated design - interval data (parametric test)

Answer 98

Test of difference Use when: - related design - interval data (parametric test)

Answer 99

Test of difference Use when: - related design - nominal data

Answer 100

Test of correlation Use when: - ordinal data

Answer 101

Test of correlation Use when: - interval data (parametric test)

Answer 102

Test of difference or association Use when: - nominal data - unrelated design

Answer 103

- makes results more reliable - eliminates mistakes - reduces bias - can receive money through peer-review

Answer 104

Peer review is a quality control process used by publications to help ensure that only high quality, methodologically sound information is presented in the publication. In the peer review process, material submitted for publication is sent to individuals who are experts on the topic.

Answer 105

Concurrent validity is usually measured by the correlation between a new test and an existing test to demonstrate whether the new test correlates well with the existing test.

Answer 106

How the knowledge and understanding gained from psychological research (theories and attitudes) may contribute towards our economic prosperity.

Answer 107

- Bowlby's WHO report in the 1950s suggested that babies needed constant care from the mother for healthy psychological development. This led to 'stay at home' mothering. - However, later evidence has shown that good substitute care in nurseries or by other family members e.g. father, does not have a detrimental effect on social development. - This means the mother can happily return to work after having a child, remaining economically active.

Answer 108

Anything to do with treatment and people's ability to work and contribute as effective members of society would be relevant. e.g. studies often compare the effectiveness of different therapies - if research shows that people with a disorder such as depression are less likely to suffer a relapse after having CBT, then this may be better for the long-term as they are missing less work, even though in the short term it is more expensive.

Answer 109

Any evidence relating to more efficient use of public money would be relevant. e.g. research showing the cognitive interview facilitates accuracy of eyewitness reporting enables better use of police time and resources.

Answer 110

1. Abstract 2. Introduction 3. Method 4. Results 5. Discussion 6. Referencing

Answer 111

A short summary at the front of a journal. Includes aims, hypotheses, method, results and conclusions.

Answer 112

- Literature review of general area of investigation - Includes relevant theories, concepts and studies related to current study - Might include aims and hypotheses towards the end

Answer 113

Split into several sub-sections and should include enough detail that it can be replicated. - Design - Sample - Apparatus/materials - Procedure - Ethics

Answer 114

- Summary of key findings - Descriptive statistics - Inferential statistics - Raw data goes in the appendix - If qualitative methods used, analysis of themes

Answer 115

- Results/findings summarised - Discussed in context of evidence and other research presented in introduction - Discuss any limitations and how they might be addressed in the future - Wider implications of the research discussed - Has it made contributions to the field?

Answer 116

- Full details of source material that was used or cited - Journals, books, websites etc

Answer 117

Surname of author COMMA Initial of Author FULL STOP (Date) Book or journal title FULL STOP Place of publication FULL STOP Publisher FULL STOP e.g. Duck, S. (1992) Human Relationships. London. Sage.

Answer 118

Usually analysing unusual individuals/groups or events but might also focus on more typical cases.

Answer 119

- Usually involves producing qualitative data - Case history constructed (interviews, questionnaires, observations) - May use experiments producing quantitative data Usually take place over long period of time (longitudinal study).

Answer 120

- Rich and detailed - Greater insight into unusual behaviour - Can give us greater insight into 'normal' behaviour - Can help generate hypothesis for future study - Ecological validity

Answer 121

- Small sample - Difficult to generalise - Subjective (open for interpretation) - Personal accounts might actually be inaccurate - Evidence is low in validity (due to low control/internal validity)

Answer 122

- Observational research - Studies people indirectly through communications they have produced - Aims to summarise and describe communication in a systematic way - From this conclusions can be drawn

Answer 123

Spoken interaction - recordings, conversations, speech/presentations Written communication - texts, emails, instant messenger Media - books, TV, films

Answer 124

Some data sets are very big (e.g. transcripts from long interviews) This information needs to be categorised into meaningful units. e.g. counting up number of times a word or phrase is used This produces quantitative data.

Answer 125

Using content analysis to produce qualitative data. - Involves themes (any idea that reoccurs during the communication) - Likely to be more descriptive than coding units - These themes are developed into broader categories Once these themes have been identified a new set of data can be produced to test the validity of the themes and categories. From this the researcher can write up their report using quotes from the data to illustrate the themes.

Answer 126

- Can avoid ethical issues associated with many types of research - Much of what will be studied might be in the public domain - Usually high in external validity - especially private communication - Can produce both quantitative and qualitative data

Answer 127

- People tend to be studied indirectly - usually analysed out of context - Researcher may attribute opinions and attitudes to the speaker/writer which were not originally intended - subjectivity - Thematic analysis in particular can suffer from problems with objectivity

Answer 128

1. Coding (quantitative) 2. Thematic analysis (qualitative)

4.2.3 - Research Methods - Scientific processes Flashcards

(153 cards)