Paper 2 Flashcards
Research Methods (89 cards)
1
Q
independent variable
A
A variable that is being manipulated to test for its impact on the dependent variable
2
Q
experimental condition
A
- group on whom the IV is being tested to see if it has any impact on the behaviour of the participants
3
Q
control condition
A
- group on whom the IV is not being implemented,
- being used to compare the results to the experimental condition to make sure it is only the IV that is causing the difference in behaviours
4
Q
dependent variable
A
variable being measured to test if the IV has an impact on it.
5
Q
confounding variable/extraneous variable
A
variables other than the IV that can affect the DV
6
Q
participant variable
A
confounding variables that are directly brought about by the participant such as their personality, age, gender, intelligence, memory etc.
7
Q
situational variable
A
confounding variables that are directly brought about by the situation such as lighting, weather, noise etc.
8
Q
validity
A
how accurately a study is measuring what it aims to measure
9
Q
demand characteristics
A
- participant is aware of the true aim of the study, and changes their behaviour and does not behave naturally.
- As a result, the researcher will not be accurately measuring the participant’s authentic or natural behaviour, which reduces validity
10
Q
social desirability bias
A
participants act according to what they think is socially accepted, rather than giving their own true honest behaviour, which will reduce the validity
11
Q
How to increase validity of a procedure?
A
double blind procedure
* neither ppts or researcher know what condition they’re in = avoids researcher bias
12
Q
ecological validity
A
extent to which a study matches a real life setting
13
Q
mundane realism
A
how close the task the participants are performing in the procedure is to a real life task (shud be used w/ ecological validity)
14
Q
examples of high and low mundane realism
A
- Piliavin: helping someone who has fallen is something one can expect to do in everyday life (high MR)
- Milgram: giving another person an electric
shock for answering incorrectly on a word pair list is not something you expect in everyday life (low MR)
15
Q
temporal validity
A
extent to which results remain consistent across different time periods
16
Q
reliability
A
extent to which a procedure, task or measure is consistent
17
Q
inter-rater reliability
A
extent to which two observers observing and rating the same behaviour of participants will produce same records
18
Q
inter-observer reliability
A
extent to which two observers are observing the same behaviour of participants will produce the same records
19
Q
test-retest reliability
A
compares 2 sets of data
* can be achieved by making the participants perform the same task more than once and seeing if they get the same results every time
20
Q
generalisability
A
The extent to which the findings of a study can be applied to a wider population
21
Q
order effects
A
when the order of a task affects the behaviour of the participants or the result of the study, it reduces validity
Two order effects:
1. practice effects: When a task is repeated, the participant can learn/memorize the task and may improve their performance, but it is not an accurate representation of their behaviour.
- fatigue effects: When a task is performed more than once, participants’ performance can decrease as they may become tired or bored
22
Q
how to overcome order effects?
A
randomisation: task is completely randomized so that the order or sequence cannot be
learnt. e.g. in Yamamoto, the stick and straw trial were randomized which means, at any time, either the stick or straw would be needed.
counterbalancing: when half of the participants experience conditions in different orders and vice versa (half do A then B, vice versa)
using independent measures: ensure that there are different participants in each level/condition of the IV and will not be repeated in the task so will remove the chances of practice or fatigue effects, and increase validity
23
Q
quantitative data
A
data that is objective and numerical and allows for comparisons to be made.
24
Q
qualitative data
A
data, in-depth and subjective data in the form of comments, opinions, and behaviours
25
experiment
study where the IV is manipulated to test for its effect on the DV
26
lab experiment
study in which the IV is being manipulated to test for its impact on the DV in the artificial and highly controlled setting of a lab
27
strengths of lab experiment
1. High levels of controls which makes the procedure highly standardized and easy to replicate to
test for reliability
2. High level of controls which allows for confounding variables to be reduced, making the
researcher more confident that it is the IV affecting the DV, hence increasing validity
3. A lot of quantitative data can be obtained which is objective and numerical and easy to
compare
4. As participants are aware they are taking part in a study, they may be providing their informed
consent which makes the study ethical
28
weaknesses of lab experiment
1. low ecological validity because conducted in artificial, controlled setting
2. If participants are aware they are part of an experiment, they may change their behaviour as
they may be aware of the true purpose of the study, and hence show demand characteristics
which lowers validity
29
field experiment
study in which the IV is being manipulated to test for its impact on the DV in a natural setting (e.g. a subway, airport, hospital, school, park etc.)
30
strengths of field experiment
1. high ecological validity because study conducted in natural environment = mundane realism
2. Participants may not be aware they are part of a study and are less likely to show demand
characteristics and show their natural behaviour which will increase validity
3. Both quantitative data and qualitative data can be obtained.
31
weaknesses of field experiment
1. difficult to keep the procedure standardized due to fewer controls compared to a lab
experiment which will make it more difficult to replicate the study = lower reliability
2. difficult to control confounding variables which will confuse the researcher if it is the IV affecting the DV or any other variable, which reduces the validity of the study
3. If the participant is unaware they are part of an experiment, they may not have given their
informed consent which makes the study unethical
32
natural experiment
study in which the IV is naturally occurring and has an impact on the DV
* e.g. if boys will perform better in math or
girls. Gender will be the IV and as it is a natural IV as gender cannot be manipulated,
33
strengths of natural experiment
as IV naturally occuring, high ecological validity
34
weaknesses of natural experiment
as IV is naturally occurring, may be difficult and time consuming to replicate the study to
test for reliability
35
observation
A study in which the behaviour of participants (humans or animals) are observed.
36
covert observation
role of observer not obvious to participants
37
overt observation
role of observer obvious to participants
38
strength of covert observation
participants are unaware they're being observed = behave naturally = no DC = validity
39
weakness of covert observation
participants are unaware they're being observed = no informed consent
40
strength of overt observation
participants are aware they're being observed = informed consent
41
weakness of overt observation
participants are aware they're being observed = not behave naturally = DC = lower validity
42
participant observation, strength and weakness
when observer becomes part of the group they're observing, close by the participants
strength: can observe participants closely = get more accurate info = high validity
weakness: ppts may not behave naturally = DC = lower validity
43
non-participant observation
observer is away from the participants they
are observing
for example, by being behind a one-way mirror, or at a distance, observing through a video camera.
44
strength and weakness of non-participant observation
strength: ppts may behave naturally since they're away = increase validity
weakness: if observer far away, can miss out on important info = lower validity
45
structured observation
observer uses a **behavioural checklist**
* which is a list of behaviours they want to observe and are not interested in observing any other
behaviours the participants may show that are not on the list.
46
strength and weakness of structured observation
strength:
* behavioural checklist is standardised, can be replicated for reliability
* quantitative data
* observer is interested in specific behaviours on the checklist and as a result, will not miss out
on them if displayed by the participants
weakness:
* Any other behaviour shown by participants which may be important will be ignored
47
define time sampling and event sampling
* types of observation samplings
time sampling: counting each time a particular behaviour is observed in a given time frame
event sampling: counting the amount of behaviours observed in a given time frame
48
unstructured observation, strengths and weaknesses
* observer doesn't use a behavioural checklist, notes down every behaviour shown by ppts
strengths: rich qualitative data, higher validity
weakness: no checklist, so not standardised, cannot test for reliability
49
controlled observation, strength and weakness
* observation is conducted in highly controlled environment (Milgram)
strengths: high levels of controls, can be tested for reliability
weakness: lacks ecological validity, can change behaviour (SBD) so lower validity
50
naturalistic observation, strength and weakness
people are observed without ANY INTEFERENCE FROM RESEARCHERS, no variables are manipulated/controlled
strengths: high eco validity, ppts behave naturally = no DC = high validity
weaknesses: no controls so lower reliability, fewer controls over extraneous variables so low validity
51
define self-report
participant is providing information about themselves to the researcher. Can be in the form of questionnaire, interview
52
define interview. What are the 3 types of interviews?
when participants respond to questions in a verbal form
* structured interview: all participants asked same pre-set list of questions in the same order
* unstructured interview: when following questions are asked based on answers to previous question
* semi-structured interview: when there are some fixed questions that can be asked to everyone, but some questions will be asked according to answers to previous questions
53
strengths and weaknesses of interview
strength:
* rich qualitative data = higher validity
* structured interview: standardised, test reliability
* semi-structured: standardised, rich data
weakness:
* ppts may give SDB responses
* time-consuming (fatigue effects)
* unstructured: not standardised
54
define questionnaires. What are the 2 types of questions?
participants respond to questions in pen-paper/online format
2 types of questions:
1. open questions - participants can respond freely with no restrictions
2. closed questions - restrictions to responses, can only respond in options
* e.g. Likert scales (agree, disagree, neutral), rating scales 0-5
55
strengths and weaknesses of questionnaires
strengths:
1. questionnaires are standardised = reliable
2. large amount of data can be collected in short time
3. anonymity = ppts can respond truthfully = valid
weaknesses:
1. if only open questions = no quantitative data, and vice versa
2. social desirability bias
56
case study
* studies conducted on one participant, group or institution
* collects in-depth, detailed qualitative and quantitative data
* They can also be longitudinal = conducted over a long time period
57
correlation, strengths and weaknesses
study where relationship is investigated between two co-variables
strengths:
1. quantitative data collected
2. more ethical to conduct than experiments = no manipulation of variables
weaknesses:
1. no cause and effect relationship
58
positive correlation
when two variables increase or decrease together
59
negative correlation
as one variable increases, the other decreases
60
longitudinal study
follows single group of participants over time, and studies one or more variables at different intervals
61
strengths and weaknesses of longitudinal study
strengths:
1. rich qualitative data
2. participant variables reduced as same participants are tested over time period = high validity
weaknesses:
1. sample attrition
2. attachment can form between researcher and participant = researcher bias = low validity
3. doing study for long period of time can make standardisation of procedure difficult = low reliability
62
experimental design
how participants are exposed to different levels of IV
63
independent measures/groups design, strengths and weaknesses
different participants in each condition of the IV
strengths:
1. no order effects as participants only go through procedure once = high validity
2. requires twice as many ppts compared to repeated measures = more generalisable
weaknesses:
1. doesn't account for participant variables (e.g. intelligence, memory, age) = lowers validity
2. needs larger number of ppts = hard to obtain
64
repeated measures, strengths and weaknesses
all participants go through all the conditions
strengths:
1. controls ppt variables because they go through all conditions
2. less ppts needed bc they go through all conditions
weaknesses:
1. order effects
2. demand characteristics
65
matched pairs design, strengths and weaknesses
participants are arranged/matched so that 2 similar individuals with shared characteristics go into different conditions
strengths:
1. reduces participant variables
2. ppts only take part in 1 condition (no order effects)
weaknesses:
1. can be difficult and time consuming to administer as participants would have to be split according to certain factors such as IQ
2. participants can't be TRUUUUULY matched
66
sample
all the participants who take part in a study
67
population
group of people researchers want to study, where the sample is taken from
68
opportunity sample, strengths and weaknesses
participants are readily available at the time of the study
strengths:
1. convenient
2. may be available in large numbers = high generalisability
weaknesses:
1. may be unrepresentative = low generalisability
69
random sampling, strengths and weaknesses
all participants have an equal chance of being selected at random from target population
strength:
1. generalisable
weakness:
1. time consuming to gather ppts, need resources
70
volunteer sampling, strengths and weaknesses
participants select themselves to be part of a study by volunteering (e.g. responding to an ad in the newspaper)
strengths:
1. can reach wide audience, especially online
2. they're volunteering therefore informed consent given = ethical
3. most convenient, economical way to gather ppts
weakness:
1. as they're willing to participate, may show SBD = low validity
2. sample bias = some people (with high motivation and have free time) are more likely to volunteer = less generalisable
71
how to control extraneous variables?
1. random allocation: each ppt has same opportunity to be assigned to any given group, so reduces ppt variables
2. standardise procedures
3. single blind test
4. double blind test
5. randomisation: presenting any stimuli in a random order (e.g. randomly choosing order of words in memory recall experiment)
72
descriptive statistics
use of graphs, tables and summary statistics to identify trends and analyse sets of data
73
measures of central tendency
1. mean: mathematical average on set of scores
2. median: middle score on dataset
3. mode: value that comes up most frequently on dataset
74
range
tells us whether set of data is spread out or close together
75
standard deviation
single value that tells us how the scores deviate (move away) from the mean
high SD: not all ppts affected by IV - individual differences
low SD: good
76
examples of how discrete/categorical data is shown
bar charts, tally charts, pi charts
77
examples of how continuous data is shown
histogram, line graph
78
aim
tells us purpose of study
79
how to measure reliability?
* test-retest reliability
* inter-rater reliability
* inter-observer reliability
80
strengths of a semi-structured interview
1. tailored to individuals: can ask both fixed and new/diff questions
2. fixed questions are standardised, therefore allowing other researchers to replicate = reliability
81
directional (one-tailed) hypothesis
direction of change is specified
82
non-directional (two-tailed hypothesis)
direction of change not specified
83
how to improve inter-rater reliability?
* give raters the same operationalised definitions/instructions to help them agree
* raters can be asked to work together and view the same behaviour
* DO THIS TILL THEY PRODUCE THE SAME RECORDS!
84
conclusions
generalisations that can be made from findings of a study
85
how to see strength of correlation from a scatter graph?
how close the points are to the line shows strength of a correlation
86
explain why you can't draw a cause and effect relationship from a correlation
there may be an extraneous variable affecting the results (e.g. age)
87
Suggest one advantage of using a volunteer sample compared to an
opportunity sample.
Volunteers come to the researcher; (advantage)
Whereas in opportunity sampling the researcher has to go and find them /
so is quicker; (comparison)
88
Why should a structured interview be standardised?
to ensure each participant is treated the same way - reliable2q3
89
weaknesses of a case study
1. only uses 1 ppt: not generalisable
2. attachment may form between researcher and participant - researcher bias
