Issues of reliability, Validity, Objectivity, Credibility & Ethics in research in Criminological psychology

Question 1

reliability

Answer 1

the consistency of a research measure or study

Question 2

validity

Answer 2

the accuracy of a study - whether it measures what it claims to measure

Question 3

objectivity

Answer 3

the extent to which research is free from researcher bias

Question 4

credibility

Answer 4

the trustworthiness & believability of research findings

Question 5

ethics

Answer 5

• moral principles
• that guide psychological research
• ensuring ppts are protected from harm
• they are treated fairly
• they are respected throughout study

Question 6

summary of BPS principles & guidelines

Answer 6

• british psychological society (BPS)
• set up ethical standards for research
• respect = consent, right to withdraw, confidentiality
• competence
• responsibility = protection from harm
• integrity = deception, debrief

Question 7

Causes of crime - issues from research we have looked at

Answer 7

• Brain injury = Krutezer et al could not find cause & effect between TBI & violence
• so explanation is less valid & credible as it does not clarify whether aggressive behaviour causes brain injury & vice versa
• SLT = Bandura’s research showing how children exposed to aggressive role models can become aggressive is a lab experiment
• meaning low ecological validity

Question 8

Issues from research - treatments for offenders

Answer 8

• Hormone therapy = Maletskys research supporting its effectiveness was a retrospective review
• as it looked at history of 275 inmates using self report data
• low in validity as inmates may have lied, wanting to show socially desirable behaviour
• Anger Mangement = Hunter looked at IOWK anger management with 55 prisoners
• small sample size may lead to anomalies skewing data - less valid

Question 9

Issues from research - interviewing & formulation

Answer 9

• Interviewing = Kebbel et al - relationships between offenders perceptions of different interviewing strategies used semi structured interview
• meaning questions asked may have slightly varied between ppts
• less standardised procedure means less reliable
• Formulation = Whithead found this approach was successful for Mr C by gathering qualitative data = less valid as it is subjective and so may be prone to distortion from researcher