Paper 2: Section C - Research Methods

Question 1

What are the features of science

Answer 1

Theory construction
Hypothesis testing
Empiricism
Paradigms
Replicability
Objectivity
Falsifiability

Question 2

What’s theory construction

Answer 2

Process of developing an explanation for the causes of behaviour by systematically gathering evidence and then organising this into a theory

Question 3

What are the two methods of developing a theory

Answer 3

Inductive and deductive reasoning

Question 4

What’s inductive reasoning in reference to theory construction

Answer 4

Step 1: make a specific observation
Step 2: recognising a pattern that can be generalised/tested
Step 3: draw a general conclusion or theory

Question 5

What’s deductive reasoning in reference to theory construction

Answer 5

Step 1: find existing theory
Step 2: create hypothesis
Step 3: perform an experiment to collect data to confirm or deny theory

Question 6

What’s empiricism ?

Answer 6

Position that factual knowledge can only come from our experiences with the world.

Question 7

What’s hypothesis testing

Answer 7

A theory should produce statements (hypothesise) that can be tested and proved to be correct or not

Question 8

What’s the process of hypothesis testing

Answer 8

Step 1: state the hypothesis
Step 2: conduct experiments
Step 3: choose statistical test
Step 4: drew conclusion about population

Question 9

What are the two types of hypothesise

Answer 9

Null and alternate

Question 10

What’s an alternate hypothesis

Answer 10

Predicts a significant difference or relationship between variables

Question 11

What are the two types of alternate hypothesis

Answer 11

One tailed/directional- there previous evidence suggesting a possible outcome

Two tailed/non directional- no previous evidence meaning it doesn’t suggest a possible outcome

Question 12

How to write a hypothesis

Answer 12

Step 1: establish variables
Step 2: operationalise the variables (clearly define variables in how they are measured)

Question 13

What’s a null hypothesis

Answer 13

Predicts no significant effect or relationship between variables

Question 14

Example of how to structure an alternate hypothesis

Answer 14

There is a significant difference (experiment) / relationship (correlation) between x and y

Question 15

Example of structure of a null hypothesis

Answer 15

There’s no significant relationship (correlation) / difference (experiment) between x and y

Question 16

What’s a paradigm

Answer 16

Set of shared assumptions and agreed methods within a subject discipline.

Question 17

What’s replicability

Answer 17

Extent to which scientific procedures and findings can be repeated by other researchers

Question 18

What’s objectivity

Answer 18

All personal bias are minimised so doesn’t influence research process

Something that is based on factual, unbiased analysis

Not open to interpretation

Question 19

What’s falsifiability

Answer 19

Principle that a theory cannot be considered scientific unless it admits the possibility of being proved untrue

Question 20

What are the 4 types of data

Answer 20

Quantitative
Qualitative
Primary
Secondary

Question 21

What is quantitative data and what are the strengths and weaknesses of using this data

Answer 21

Numerical and can be measured and quantified

Strengths: easy to analyse and compare data, more objective
Weakness: lacks detail

Question 22

What’s qualitative data and what are the strengths and weaknesses of using this type of data

Answer 22

Non numerical and provide in depth descriptive detail

Strengths: rich detail so fuller expansion on data making it more meaningful
Weakness: subjective (open for opinion) , more difficult to analyse and compare data

Question 23

What’s primary data and the strengths and weaknesses of using this type of data

Answer 23

First hand info by researcher that’s solely used for the specific study

Strength: fits the research purpose
Weakness: cost money to carry out research, take longer to obtain data

Question 24

What’s secondary data and what are the strengths and weaknesses of using this type of data

Answer 24

Research that’s already been found and collected by someone else and then use these findings in own research

Strength: doesn’t cost a lot of money, less time consuming in gathering data
Weakness: quality in research can vary, data could be outdated or incomplete

Question 25

What’s meta analysis

Answer 25

A study that aims to make conclusion using lots of similar studies combined Uses secondary data

Question 26

What is ethics

Answer 26

A set of moral principles

Question 27

What’s BPS code of ethics

Answer 27

A code all people must follow to test ethically correct

Question 28

What are all the ethical considerations

Answer 28

Informed consent Right to withdraw Confidentiality Deception Protection of participants Debriefing

Question 29

What’s informed consent

Answer 29

Require consent from participant when they find out what they’re getting into

Question 30

What’s right to withdraw

Answer 30

Participants are allowed to leave the study/research when they want

Question 31

whats confidentially

Answer 31

Making sure participant data is anonymous

Question 32

What’s deception

Answer 32

Participants don’t know the true aims of the study to reduce demand characteristics to get valid results

Question 33

What’s protection of participants

Answer 33

Participants are protected from physical and psychological harm

Question 34

What’s debriefing

Answer 34

Making sure participant at the end of the study knows the true aims of the study and there’s an overall summary of the experiment

Question 35

What’s population

Answer 35

Entire group of individuals whom research is about

Question 36

What is a sample

Answer 36

Smaller group selected from population to represent larger group

Question 37

What are the 5 sampling techniques

Answer 37

Random Systematic Stratified Opportunity Volunteer

Question 38

What’s random sampling and the strengths and weaknesses

Answer 38

Everyone has equal chance at being selected to be part of the study

Question 39

What’s systematic sampling

Answer 39

Every Nth person gets selected

Question 40

What’s stratified sampling

Answer 40

Participants divided into groups based of similar characteristics then they get picked randomly

Question 41

What’s opportunity sampling

Answer 41

Participants who are easily accessible and are willing to take part

Question 42

What’s volunteer sampling

Answer 42

Individuals self select to be part of study

Question 43

What’s a sampling technique

Answer 43

Method used to select participants from a population to take part in research

Question 44

What’s bias

Answer 44

When certain groups in research are over or under represented within the sample selected

Question 45

What’s generalisability

Answer 45

Extent to which findings and conclusions from an investigation can be broadly applied to population

Question 46

What’s a pilot study

Answer 46

Small preliminary studies that replicates main study to see if there’s errors that need to be changed

Question 47

What’s an extraneous variable

Answer 47

Other variables that isn’t the independent variable that could have an impact on dependant variable

Question 48

What’s a confounding variable

Answer 48

Specific type of extraneous variable Varies systematically with IV Provide alternate explanation for results Hard to control

Question 49

What’s participant variables

Answer 49

Individual differences between participants in study Could affect outcome of result E.g age, gender, intelligence

Question 50

What’s participant reactivity

Answer 50

Tendency for participants to read cues from research environment or researcher and change their behaviour

Question 51

What’s demand characteristic

Answer 51

Participant read a cue and figure something out about the aim of research Change behaviour to either please or displease the aim of research

Question 52

What’s social desirability bias

Answer 52

People present themselves in favourable light to be viewed positively by others

Question 53

What’s situational variables

Answer 53

Controlling the settings of where experiment takes place E.g light intensity, temperature, sound levels

Question 54

What’s researcher variables / investigator effects

Answer 54

Factors such as research behaviours, appearance, gender that could affect participants response

Question 55

How to control for participant variables

Answer 55

Experimental designs: - repeated measures design meaning participants experience all conditions and are compared Random allocation: - assign participants to different groups randomly

Question 56

How to control demand characteristics

Answer 56

1.Single blind procedure- participant not aware of aims of study only researcher is 2.Double blind procedure- neither researcher interacting with participant and the participant know aims of study 3.Deception- mislead participants of true purpose of study 4.Unobtrusive methods- collect data without interacting with participant 5.Placebos- any effects are due to treatment not participants expectation. Participants don’t know if they have placebo or drug.

Question 57

How to control social desirability bias

Answer 57

Confidentiality and anonymity- reduce pressure to conform to societal norms and encourage honest answers

Question 58

How to control for investigator effects / researcher variables

Answer 58

1.Counterbalancing- control order effects( boredom,tiredness,practice), participants exposed to conditions systematically 2.Randomisation- random methods to order or select elements in experiments 3.Standardisation- make sure all participants go through same condtions 4.Double blind procedure- researcher interacting with participant unaware of aims of study and also participants

Question 59

What’s reliability

Answer 59

Measure of if something stays the same / consistent

Question 60

What are the two type of reliability

Answer 60

Internal External

Question 61

What’s internal reliability

Answer 61

Internal consistency of a measure

Question 62

What’s external reliability

Answer 62

Assess consistency of a measure from one use to another

Question 63

What are the three tests of reliability

Answer 63

Inter-observer Split half Test retest

Question 64

What’s inter-observer reliability

Answer 64

Assesses internal reliability Different observers agree on something when assessing behaviour

Question 65

What’s split half reliability

Answer 65

Assess internal reliability of a measure Data is split randomly and compared

Question 66

What test retest reliabilty

Answer 66

Assess external reliability Check consistency over time Involve testing same participants

Question 67

How to improve reliability

Answer 67

Standardisation Pilot testing Training researchers

Question 68

What’s validity

Answer 68

Wether something measures what it’s supposed to measure

Question 69

What’s internal validity and what are the three types

Answer 69

Whether results are actually due to a manipulation in the IV Face validity Concurrent validity Construct validity

Question 70

What’s face validity

Answer 70

Type of internal validity The extent to which a test appears to measure what it intends to

Question 71

What’s concurrent validity

Answer 71

Type of internal validity Whether a measure is in agreement with another pre existing measure that has been validated to test for the same thing

Question 72

What’s construct validity

Answer 72

Type of internal validity Whether a measure successfully measures the concept it is supposed to measure

Question 73

What’s external validity and the three types

Answer 73

Whether data can be generalised to external situations outside of the research environment they were gathered in Ecological validity Population validity Temporal validity

Question 74

What’s ecological validity

Answer 74

Type of external validity Extent in which data is generalisable to the world based on conditions research is conducted under and the procedures involved

Question 75

What’s population validity

Answer 75

Type of external validity The extent to which results from a sample relate to the general population

Question 76

What’s temporal validity

Answer 76

Type of external validity Extent to which results from one time point relate to another time point

Question 77

How to improve internal validity

Answer 77

Construct: - standardised procedures - pilot testing - eliminate confounding variables - random allocation Concurrent: - use different methods to measure same construct and ensure they produce similar results and compare new measures with established, validated measures to see if they are testing the same construct

Question 78

How to improve external validity

Answer 78

Ecological validity: - measure behaviours in natural settings - use tasks and procedures that closely mimic real life scenarios - use unobtrusive methods to reduce demand characteristics Temporal validity: - conduct research over long period of time to observe the validity of findings over time Population validity: - use large sample sizes to increase representativeness of population

Question 79

What are the types of experiments

Answer 79

Lab Field Natural Quasi

Question 80

What’s a lab experiment and what’s the strengths and weaknesses

Answer 80

Controlled environment IV manipulated by researcher DV is measured with control of extraneous variables Strength: high control over extraneous variables increase validity, standardisation, replicability Weakness: lack ecological validity, increase likelihood of demand characteristics

Question 81

What’s a field experiment and the strengths and weakness

Answer 81

Natural environment Less control over extraneous variables Strengths: high ecological validity, reduced demand characteristics Weakness: difficult to control extraneous variables, hard to replicate

Question 82

What’s a natural and quasi experiment and their strength and weakness

Answer 82

Natural: use real life environments, IV not manipulated by researcher, DV is measured by decision of researcher, less control of environment Quasi: controlled environment, IV not manipulated by anyone it just naturally exists, effect of DV is recorded by researcher and controlled Strength: high in ecological validity - real world issues, no manipulations Weakness: rare to access, lots of confounding variables

Question 83

What are the three experimental designs

Answer 83

Repeated measures Independent measures Matched pairs

Question 84

What’s a repeated measure and its strength and weakness

Answer 84

Participants take part in all conditions Own results are compared Strength: less people to gather, less participant variables Weakness: order effects may be problem, likely to guess aim of study

Question 85

What’s an independent measure

Answer 85

Participant only take part in one condition Results compared against others results Strengths: order effects no problem, reduce demand characteristics because less likely to figure out aim of study Weakness: need to obtain more people, likely more participant variables

Question 86

What’s matched pair design

Answer 86

Participants are matched with another participant based on similar variables ( gender, age, race ) They then are placed in different conditions then results are compared Strength: order effects no problem, limit participant variables, less likely to guess aim of study Weakness: more time consuming, not fully control participant variables

Question 87

How is a histogram set up

Answer 87

Bars touch the axis and each other Shows data is continuous X axis made of equal sized intervals of single category Y axis represents the frequency within each interval

Question 88

What are the different types observation

Answer 88

Naturalistic Controlled Covert Overt Participant Non participant Structure Unstructured Event sampling Timer sampling

Question 89

What’s naturalistic observations and strengths and weakness

Answer 89

Observing participants in natural environment Strength: behaviour of participant more truer, increase external validity Weakness: replication is more difficult = less reliable, little control over other variables = lower internal validity

Question 90

What’s controlled observation and strength and weakness

Answer 90

Participants observed in a structured environment Strength: allow to focus on particular behaviour so more able to replicate Weakness: participant may act differently then usual = decrease external validity

Question 91

What’s overt observation and the strengths and weaknesses

Answer 91

Participant aware they are being observed Weakness: likely to alter behaviour increase demand characteristics = decrease validity Strength: reduced ethical issues as informed consent gained

Question 92

What’s covert observation and strengths and weakness

Answer 92

Participant doesn’t know they’re being observed Strength: behaviour more natural increase validity Weakness: more ethical issues such as invasion of privacy, informed consent, deception

Question 93

What’s participant observation and the strengths and weakness

Answer 93

Researcher become part of group being studied Strength: participant less aware of researchers presence so behaviour more natural increasing validity, insider insight = increase validity Weakness: objectivity reduced more chance of researcher bias, difficult to monitor and record behaviour in an unobtrusive way

Question 94

What’s non participant observation and the strengths and weaknesses

Answer 94

Researcher observe participants form a distance Not involved with participants Strength: more objective as observer removed so is at physical and psychological distant Weakness: observe may misinterpret communications in group as they are an outsider may reduce validity

Question 95

What’s structured observation and strength and weakness

Answer 95

Researcher use predetermined checklist to observe/ record behaviour Strength: collecting data is easier and more systematic, likely quantitative data so easy to analyse and compare, inter observer reliability easier to establish Weakness: some behaviours in checklist may not be important, quantitative data may lack detail

Question 96

What’s unstructured observation and its strenght and weakness

Answer 96

Researcher record behaviour say they occur No framework to go off Strength: provide more in depth and detailed results Weakness: produce qualitative data many me more difficult to analyse, greater risk of observer bias

Question 97

What’s event sampling and the strengths and weakness

Answer 97

Behaviour is recorded everytime it happens Strength: useful if behaviour occurs infrequently and may be missed by timed sampling Weakness: if behaviour is too complex observer may overlook important details

Question 98

What’s time sampling and the strengths and weaknesses

Answer 98

Behaviour is recorded at timed intervals Strength: reduce number of observations needed- making it easier to manage if theirs lots of behaviour going on Weakness: if behaviour is recorded may not be representative of overall behaviour

Question 99

How is a bar chart set out

Answer 99

Data divided into categories Categories are on x axis Frequency/amount is on y axis Bars are separate to show dealing with diff categories

Question 100

What’s an open question and the strengths and weakness

Answer 100

Allow individual to respond in their own words in as much or little detail Qualitative data Strength: data rich in detail can help understand behaviour fully = more valid understanding, participant less likely to feel frustrated as they can answer more honestly and in depth Weakness: data is difficult to analyse and it cannot be statistically compared

Question 101

What’s a closed question

Answer 101

A respondent has to choose from predetermined answers Quantitative data

Question 102

What’s forced/fixed choice questions and the strengths and weaknesses

Answer 102

Type of closed question Provide respondent limited answers to choose from Strength: easy to analyse so more objective, easier to compare Weakness: data has narrow range and lack quality of open ended data therefore lack validity, answer may not reflect participants true feelings

Question 103

What’s a likert scale question and strengths and weaknesses

Answer 103

Type of closed question Respondent chooses their level of agreement on a statement Strength: data easy to analyse and compare in objective way, allow to show person level of agreement give more detail. Weakness: participant may show central tendency bias and stick to middle

Question 104

What’s a semantic differential question and the strengths and weaknesse

Answer 104

Type of closed question Ask participant to rate a concept on a scale between 2 bipolar adjectives Strength: easy to analyse, more detail about their attitude towards a topic Weakness: central tendency bias, respondent may interpret values on scale differently (subjectively)

Question 105

What’s a rating scale question and the strength and weaknesse

Answer 105

Type of closed question Ask respondent to rate themselves on specific attribute Strength: data can be compared, gives more insight to behaviour Weakness: central tendency bias, the values on the scale may be subjective

Question 106

Strengths of questionnaire

Answer 106

Relatively cheap Quick way to gather large amounts of data Questionnaires are private so more honest answers

Question 107

Weaknesses of questionnaires

Answer 107

Social desirability issues Response rates of questionnaire could be low so lack generalisability Questions may be poorly designed Responding can’t get clarification if they don’t understand question = reduce validity

Question 108

What are questionnaire do’s

Answer 108

Brief participants Ensure how data will be used Ensure questions are not complicated

Question 109

What are questionnaire don’ts

Answer 109

No overlapping or few choices Don’t ask personal details Don’t include technical or vague terms

Question 110

What a structured interview and the strengths and weaknesses

Answer 110

Follow predetermined set of questions in specific order Strength: structure mean results can be checked for reliability, all participant answer same questions so easier to conduct an object analysis Weakness: doesn’t allow expansion in answer so reduce validity, respondent may feel frustrated so answer may lack ecological validity

Question 111

What’s a semi structured interview

Answer 111

An interview where there is a guided framework of topics or questions. There’s a sense of flexibility in how the questions are asked.

Question 112

What’s are the strengths and weaknesses of semi structured interviews

Answer 112

Strength: -interviewer can use follow up questions to find more info so more in-depth answers Weakness: -require highly trained interviewer so more costly -lack of replicability

Question 113

What’s an unstructured interview

Answer 113

There’s no specific set of questions but there is a set topic which allow for conversational open ended interaction

Question 114

What’s the strengths and weakness of an unstructured interview

Answer 114

Strength: - increase ecological validity - participant show less sign of demand characteristic coz they are able to freely talk Weakness: - time consuming - not possible to replicate - difficult to compare data

Question 115

What are the three types of interviews

Answer 115

Structured Semi structured Unstructured

Question 116

What are the diff types of questions in a questionnaire

Answer 116

Open Closed: - forced/fixed choice - likert scale - semantic differential - rating scale

Question 117

How are interviews recorded ?

Answer 117

- Taking notes during interview - Taking notes after interview - Tape recording

Question 118

What are the strengths and weaknesses of taking notes during interview

Answer 118

Strength: - prevent detail of response being lost through forgetting Weakness: - detail still can be lost due to timings as you wouldn’t want note taking to disrupt interview - lower ecological validity as participant could show demand characteristic

Question 119

What are the strengths and weaknesses of note talking after interview

Answer 119

Strength: - won’t disrupt the interview - answers will be more valid and authentic Weakness: - detail of response maybe lost through forgetting

Question 120

What are the strengths and weaknesses of using a tape recorder during interview

Answer 120

Strength: - increases validity, no detail lost through transcribing - unobtrusive method so shouldn’t create discomfort or affect responses Weakness: - cannot record non verbal details

Question 121

What are the strengths and weaknesses of using interviews

Answer 121

Strength: - participants can freely express themselves - detailed info obtained - researcher can clarify significance of info provided Weakness: - time consuming - costly to train interviewers - great chance of investigator effects affecting response - self report data less valid due to influence of social desirability

Question 122

What are the strength and weaknesses of self reports

Answer 122

Strength: - researcher can gather detail in participants thoughts and feelings Weakness: - subject to social desirability

Question 123

What’s a self report

Answer 123

Anyway of getting data where asking person what they think about certain things

Question 124

What’s a correlation

Answer 124

- A statistical technique used to determine relationship between two or more co variables - allow researchers to understand if variables are related without implying causation

Question 125

What’s a correlation coefficient

Answer 125

The strength and direction of a correlation Ranging from -1 to 1 -1 = strong negative correlation 1 = strong positive correlation

Question 126

What are the features of a case study

Answer 126

- used to analyse abnormal individuals or events - normally done on one person or very few - obtained qualitative data - done over long periods of time - family accounts are sometimes used

Question 127

What’re the strength and weaknesses of case studies

Answer 127

Strength: - rich yield of data - depth of analysis can bring high levels of validity - data collected may lead to interesting findings that may conflict with existing theories, stimulating new pathway of research Weakness: - little control over variables - difficult to establish causation - small sample size so less generalisable - poor reliability due to being done in nature so hard to repeat

Question 128

What’s content analysis

Answer 128

Method used to quantify qualitative data

Question 129

What’s the process of content analysis

Answer 129

1. Find partner or multiple 2. Each person individually reads or watches the material and identify possible categories 3. Categories are then agreed on 4. Each person go away and then rereads material and tally up when category is presented 5. Frequency tallied up by each researcher then they are compared

Question 130

What’re the strength and weaknesses of content analysis

Answer 130

Strength: - useful to gather data from wide range of areas - any data has high ecological validity as participant is talking abt their feelings or real life experiences - it’s reliable due to being able to be repeated using same coding units Weaknesses: - time consuming to carry out - transforming qual into quant data may be biased by researcher so maybe less objective

Question 131

What’s thematic analysis

Answer 131

- Qual to qual method which identifies, analyses and reports patterns within data - These patterns then grouped into themes to define qual piece

Question 132

What’s the process of thematic analysis

Answer 132

1. Data read by at least 2 researchers repeatedly to identify codes 2. Data read and reread until all codes are identified 3. Codes arrive between researchers are compared to see if similar ideas were found 4. Researchers reflect on codes with each other as they may then develop into broader categories 5. Define and name the themes so can be applied to new set of data to check for validity 6. Report is then written up using examples of quotes that best represent the themes

Question 133

What are the strength and weaknesses of thematic analysis

Answer 133

Strength: - richness of data is not lost - checks concurrent validity of themes by applying them to another piece of data that’s similar topic Weakness: - lacks objectivity - prone to subjective interpretation

Question 134

What is a level of measurement

Answer 134

Refer to the diff ways data measured can be classified and quantified

Question 135

What are the diff levels of measurement

Answer 135

Nominal data ordinal data Interval/ratio data

Question 136

What is nominal data

Answer 136

Frequency data Data is categorised without specific order It’s qualitative and categorical It’s descriptive stat is a mode E.g Gender, blood type, colours

Question 137

What’s ordinal data

Answer 137

Data presented in rank order Acknowledges there’s relationships between variables It’s descriptive stat is a median E.g Class ranks, Likert scales

Question 138

What’s interval/ratio data

Answer 138

Quantitative Has fixed units It’s descriptive stat is a mean E.g IQ score, temperature

Question 139

What’s the strengths and weaknesses of nominal data

Answer 139

Strength: - easy to collect and organise - basic categorisation without need for specific order Weakness: - lack of order and quantitative value: limits statistical analyses that can be performed

Question 140

What’s the strength and weaknesses of interval/ratio data

Answer 140

Strength: - rich stat analysis Weakness: - assumes equal intervals between measurements which may not be accurate can lead to misleading conclusions

Question 141

What’s measures of central tendency

Answer 141

Term for any measure of the average value in data set

Question 142

What’s a mean

Answer 142

Arithmetic average Calculated by adding up all values in set of data and dividing by number of values

Question 143

What’s a median

Answer 143

The middle value in set of data when values ordered lowest to highest

Question 144

What’s a mode

Answer 144

Most frequent value in set of data

Question 145

What’s the strength and weakness using the mean

Answer 145

Strength: - representative as it uses all values in data set - best for normal distributions without outliers ( interval/ratio ) Weakness: - susceptible to influence of outliers - not suitable for skewed data

Question 146

What’s strength and weaknesses of using the median

Answer 146

Strength: - less affected by outliers and skewed data - best to use for skewed data when theirs outliers or when mean isn’t appropriate ( ordinal data ) Weakness: - may not be representative of the rest of values so statistic may not be meaningful - less sensitive than mean

Question 147

What’s the strength and weaknesses of using the mode

Answer 147

Strength: - useful with categorical data to undertand common category ( nominal ) Weakness; - not unique - issue may be caused when 2 or more values share highest frequency

Question 148

What are the three types of distributions

Answer 148

Normal Positively skewed ( right ) Negatively skewed ( left )

Question 149

What’s normal distribution

Answer 149

Symmetrical and bell shaped Mean, median, mode are equal and at the centre

Question 150

What’s positively skewed distribution

Answer 150

Asymmetrical with long tail on the right Mean greater than median which is greater than mode

Question 151

What’s negatively skewed data

Answer 151

Asymmetrical with long tail on the left Mean is less than median which is less than mode

Question 152

What’s measure of dispersion

Answer 152

Measure of spread or variation within data set

Question 153

What’s the range

Answer 153

Subtraction lowest value from highest and adding one as a mathematical correction

Question 154

What standard deviation

Answer 154

How much on average each score deviates ( moves away ) from the mean

Question 155

What’s strength and weaknesses of using the range

Answer 155

Strength: - useful for quick and basic measure of dispersion in interval ratio data - quick and easy to calculate Weakness: - vulnerable to extreme score

Question 156

What’s the strength and weakness of using standard deviation

Answer 156

Strength: - best used for interval/ratio data that are normally distributed - accurate idea of how data is distributed as it takes into account all values so more representing of group variation - not affected by extreme values and useful for comparing variability between different datasets Weakness: - assumes normal distribution - sensitive to outliers which can inflate it - only used with data where IV is plotted against frequency of it

Question 157

What does a low and high standard deviation mean

Answer 157

High = there’s a large variety in scores in data set further away from mean Low = scores are clustered around the mean

Question 158

What are inferential statistics

Answer 158

- Used to interpret research findings and determine if results are due to chance or are significant - used to make inferences abt population based on sample - used to test hypothesis

Question 159

What is probability

Answer 159

Likelihood of an event occurring P value < 0.05 = significant meaning results are less than 5% due to chance

Question 160

What are the two types of inferential statistical tests

Answer 160

Parametric Non parametric

Question 161

What’s a parametric test and the ads and disads

Answer 161

Assumptions: Data is normally distributed Variances are equal across groups Data is at the interval or ratio level ADS: - more powerful than non parametric tests when assumptions are met - allow for more detailed inferences abt population parameters DISADS: - not suitable when data does not meet the assumptions

Question 162

What’s a non parametric test and the ads and disads

Answer 162

Assumptions: - Few or no assumptions abt data distribution - used with ordinal or non normally distributed interval data ADS: - more flexible with fewer assumptions abt data - useful for small sample sizes or ordinal data DISADS: - less powerful than parametric tests when parametric assumptions are met - limited in detail they can provide abt population parameters

Question 163

How to choose stats test

Answer 163

1. Is study a test of difference or correlation 2. If difference, is it a repeated or independent measure 3. Determine the level of measurement of DV

Question 164

What test would you use for nominal data

Answer 164

Difference : Independent measures - Chi squared Repeated measures - Sign test Correlation : Chi squared

Question 165

What test would you use for ordinal data

Answer 165

Difference: Independent measure - Mann Whitney U Repeated measure - wilcoxon test Correlation: Spearman’s rho

Question 166

What test would you use for interval/ratio data

Answer 166

Difference: Independent measure - unrelated t test Repeated measures- related t test Correlation: Pearson’s product moment

Question 167

What are the two types of errors

Answer 167

Type 1 (false positive) Type 2 (false negative)

Question 168

What’s a type 1 error

Answer 168

- Occurs when we null hypothesis is rejected mistakenly when it’s actually true - Reducing significance level lowers chance of this type of error

Question 169

What’s a type 2 error

Answer 169

- Occur when wrongly accept the null hypothesis when alternative is true - larger sample sizes reduce chance of this type of error

Question 170

How to set out a psychological report

Answer 170

1. Title 2. Abstract 3. Introduction 4. Method 5. Results 6. Discussion 7. References 8. Appendices