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research methods ALL > part 1 > Flashcards

part 1 Flashcards

1
Q

what does the term operationalism mean

A

when we define exactly how a variable is going to be measured.

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2
Q

what is validity

A

Validity refers to whether a study or test is measuring what it claims to be measuring

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3
Q

what is external validity

A

External reliability refers to how consistent the results of a study or specific test are.

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4
Q

what is internal validity

A

Internal reliability refers to how consistent the results are of individual items on a test or questionnaire.

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5
Q

what is face validity

A

Face validity refers to whether a test appears to be measuring what it claims to measure

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6
Q

what is concurrent validity

A

Concurrent validity refers to whether a test shows similar results to another test, that is already known to be valid, and that aims to measure the same thing.

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7
Q

what’s two ways to prevent investigator effects

A

Investigator effects can be prevented by using standardisation, and by conducting a double-blind study.

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8
Q

How can a researcher reduce the likelihood of demand characteristics?

A

by using a single-blind study, so that participants do not know which experimental group they are in.

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9
Q

what is an extraneous variables

A

something other than the independent variable that can affect the dependent variable.

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10
Q

participant variable

A

type of extraneous variable in which the personal characteristics of a participant influence their behaviour and responses during a study.

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11
Q

what is meant by situational variable

A

type of extraneous variable, referring to anything external to the participant or researcher, that may affect the results of the study

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12
Q

what is meant by investigator effects

A

Investigator effects occur when a researcher influences the results of their study

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13
Q

what is demand characteristics

A

Demand characteristics are aspects of the study which lead participants to guess the aim of the study and form expectations about how they should behave.

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14
Q

what is meant by random allocation

A

Random allocation is way to control for participant variables, by assigning participants at random to either the experimental or control group .

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15
Q

What is one limitation of matching or a matched pair design?

A

A limitation of matching is that we cannot control for every possible participant variable that could affect the results of the study.

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16
Q

What is meant by a single blind study?

A

In a single blind study, participants are not aware of which experimental group they are in, but the researcher is aware.

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17
Q

What is meant by a double blind study?

A

In a double blind study, both the active researcher and participant are not aware of which experimental group the participant is in.

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18
Q

How can a researcher reduce the likelihood of demand characteristics?

A

A researcher can reduce the likelihood of demand characteristics, by using a single-blind study, so that participants do not know which experimental group they are in.

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19
Q

What is meant by the split-half method?

A

The split-half method is a way to test the internal reliability of a test or questionnaire. This is done by comparing the results of one half of the test with the second half, to see if the two halves obtain similar results.

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20
Q

What is meant by the test-retest method?

A

The test-retest method is a way to test the external reliability of a test or questionnaire. This is done by using the same measure, on the same group of participants, at different timepoints, to see if the results are consistent.

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21
Q

What are two ways to assess validity?

A

Two ways we can assess validity include testing the face validity of a study or measure, and testing the concurrent validity of a measure.

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22
Q

What is one way to assess external reliability?

A

External reliability can be assessed using the test-retest method.

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23
Q

What is one way to assess internal reliability?

A

Internal reliability can be assessed using the split-half method.

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24
Q

what is ecological validity

A

the results of a study generalise to how people behave in everyday life

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25
Q

what is temporal validity

A

when the results generalise across time

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26
Q

what is population validity

A

when the results of a study generalise to the rest of the population that the researcher wants to study
higher when sample includes multiple subgroups of the population

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27
Q

what is sampling

A

when researchers pick a sample from the population. this must be representative

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28
Q

what is volunteer sampling

A

when researchers post an advert and wait for people to volunteer. eg advert

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29
Q

pros and cons of volunteer sampling

A

+ easy, and can reach lots of people

- not very representative of the population

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30
Q

what is opportunity sampling

A

when a researcher approaches members of the population who are willing and available to be participants

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31
Q

pros and cons of opportunity sampling

A

+ quick and easy to sample participants

- not very representative of the pop

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32
Q

what is systematic sampling

A

pickings every nth person from the entire population. to do this we need some kind of list of the whole population

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33
Q

what are the pros and cons systematic sampling

A

+ more representative sample than volunteer or opportunity - samples from whole pop

  • more difficult to do as it requires a list of the whole population
  • if there’s a pattern in how the pop is listed, the sample may not be representative of the pop
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34
Q

what is random sampling

A

when a researcher chooses participants at random from a list of the entire population. this means that every member of the pop has an equal chance of being a participant

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35
Q

what are the pros and cons of random sampling

A

+ more likely to be representative as everyone in the pop has an equal chance if being chosen

  • more difficult then systematic, need a list and a way to randomise sample
  • representative sample is not guaranteed
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36
Q

Rank the four types of sampling we have seen from least to the most representative.

A 
least 
volunteer 
opportunity 
systematic 
random 
stratified 
most
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37
Q

Rank the four types of sampling we have seen from least to most difficult.

A 
least 
volunteer 
opportunity 
systematic 
random
stratified
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38
Q

what is stratified sampling

A

sample so that there sample has the same proportion of each subgroup as the total pop

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39
Q

what are the steps for obtaining a stratified sampling

A
  1. identify important subgroups within your population
  2. identify how many people you need from each subgroup for your sample to match the original pop
  3. sample randomly from each subgroup until you reach the desired proportion
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40
Q

pros and cons of stratified sampling

A

+ more representative than all other types of sampling, generalise to whole pop

  • researchers may miss out important subgroup by mistake
  • time consuming and get complicated
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41
Q

what are the BPS guidelines which psychologists must adhere to

A
  • informed consent
  • avoid deception
  • protection from harm
  • right to withdraw
  • confidentiality
42
Q

what does informed consent mean

A
  • participants fully understand what the study involves

- participants have given a written agreement to take part in the study

43
Q

what does deception mean

A
  • when participants are told things which are not true

- deemed unethical by BPS

44
Q

what does protection from harm mean

A

Researchers must make sure that the participants are in no more physical and emotional harm than they would be in normal life

45
Q

what does right to withdraw mean

A

participants have the right to stop the study at any point and the researcher must tell them they have the right

46
Q

what does confidentiality mean

A

researchers must keep the identity of the participants private

47
Q

what is an experiment

A

a study which investigates a cause and effect. This is done by comparing the effect of a iv on a dv

48
Q

what is a lab experiment

A

an experiment where the IV is manipulated in a artificial controlled environment

49
Q

pros and cons of lab experiment

A

+ EV can be controlled so high internal validity, and we can establish cause and effect
- due to artificial setting participants behaviour may not generalise to everyday life (low ecological validity)

50
Q

what is a field experiment

A

An experiment where the IV is manipulated in a natural , everyday life setting

51
Q

pros and cons of field experiment

A

+ higher ecological validity than lab, participants are in normal setting
- low internal validity hard to contorl ev

52
Q

what is a quasi experiment

A

an experiment where the iv cant be manipulated or randomly allocated to groups because its a personal characteristic of the participants

53
Q

pro and con of quasi experiment

A

+ enables researchers to study IV that cant be studied in lab or field

  • lack internal validly harder to establish cause and effect
  • cant be randomly allocated to groups, meaning uncontrolled participant variables might act as a confounding variable
54
Q

what is a natural experiment

A
  • an experiment where the iv is an event that has already happened
  • used when it wouldn’t be practical or ethical to manipulate the iv
  • an experiment where the dv isnt manipulated and cant be randomly allocated
55
Q

pros and cons of natural experiment

A

+ enables researchers to study iv that would be unethical or impractical to manipulated

  • lack control over extraneous variables
  • difficult to establish cause and effect relationship between the iv and the dv
56
Q

what is a pilot study

A
  • a study with only a few participants
  • a test used to identify possible flaws in an experiment
    researchers dont analyse the results of a pilot as results on the real study might change
57
Q

pro for pilot study

A

cost effective

58
Q

what is the self report technique

A

when participants are asked to provide infor about thoughts feelings and behaviour

59
Q

what are the two types of self report technique

A
  • questionnaire = if questions are written down and participants have to write down response
  • interview = if the questions are asked directly, face to face
60
Q

what is an open questionnaires

A

participants are asked to answer in her own words

61
Q

what is a closed questionnaires

A

participants are given a foxed range of answers to choose from

62
Q

what are the two strengths of closed questions over open questions

A
  • CQ are easier and faster for participants to answer, making them more likely to take part in the study and making the study more representative
  • CQ are easier to count up, making them easier to analyse
63
Q

what are the two strengths of open questions over closed questions

A
  • likely to get more detailed answers using open questions

- more likley to be representative of the participants actual feelings making the results more valid

64
Q

what is a structured and unstructured interviews

A

s - if questions are decided in advance

us - if they arent decided all in advance

65
Q

evaluation of structured and unstructured interviews

A

s - more reliable

u- more info

66
Q

problems with self report technique

A
  • participants are not objective
  • social desirability bias = when people give answers which they think are socially desirable to avoid being judged negatively
67
Q

what is the advantage of questionnaires over interviews

A

q are more easily and quickly distributed to latge number of people
q people are less influenced by investigator effects
i can make sure that the participant understands the question, means data is better quality
i less biased sample

68
Q

what is the observational technique

A

when researchers observe participants, and measure or record their behaviour

69
Q

what is a controlled observation + evaluation

A
  • researchers conduct observations of participants in a controlled environment
  • involves the researcher standardising the procedure and selecting the participants
  • might lack ecological validity
  • means researcher has control over extraneous variables
    (+) control over extraneous variables
    (_) lack ecological validity
70
Q

what is a naturalistic observation + evaluation

A

conducted in a natural everyday life setting
- less control over extraneous variables
+ high ecological validity

71
Q

what is the difference between covert and overt observation

A

0- know they are being watched for the research study
c- participants dont know they are being watched for the research study
evaluation
0- more ethical can get informed consent
c- less likely impacted by social desirability and investigator effects

72
Q

what is participant and non participant variables

A

p -takes part in activity that participants are doing
n- doesn’t take part in activity that participants are doing
+ of p = gain more insight and understanding into the behaviour of the participants by taking part in the activities
- 0f p = more likely influenced by investigator effects

73
Q

what are behavioural categories

A
  • when researchers breakdown the behaviour they want to measure into smaller behaviours we say that they are using behavioural categories
  • help researchers operationalise their dependent variables
74
Q

what is event sampling

A

when researchers focus on one or more specific operationalised behaviours, and count up every time those behaviours occur

75
Q

what is time sampling

A

when researchers categorise behaviours at regular intervals, like every 30 seconds

76
Q

limitation of observation technique

A

-observer bias = the tendency for the researchers to see what they expect to see when conducting observations, making less accurate and objective
to reduce this, break down behaviours into behavioural categories
- doesn’t tell us about peoples thoughts and feelings

77
Q

what does inter-rater reliability mean

A

inter = between
rater = observers
asses external reliability of of observations in an observational study
a measure of how similar the data collected by different observers

78
Q

what is the non experimental method

A

studies that dont investigate cause and effect and dont use an IV

79
Q

what is a single variable study

A

where the researcher measures a single variable

80
Q

when do we say two variables are correlated

A
  • as one quantity gets bigger the other also gets bigger

- as one quantity gets smaller the other also gets smaller

81
Q

what is a correlation

A

two variables show an association
p- if one gets bigger the other gets bigger
n- if one gets bigger the other gets smaller

82
Q

what is a correlational study

A

when the researcher measure 2 variables and looks at whether they are correlated

83
Q

why is correlation not mean causation

A

X caused Y
y caused x
x and y were both caused by a third variable
no causal relationship between x and , correlated by chance y

84
Q

evaluation of correlational studies

A

+ cheaper
+more pratical
+ more ethical than experiments
- correlation doesnt mean causation

85
Q

What is a case study

A
  • A detailed investigation into a single individual or a small group of individuals
  • usually investigates people with rare or unusual experiences that cant be investigated in an experiment
86
Q

pro of case study

A

can gather lots of info from many sources

87
Q

pro of case study

A
  • can gather lots of info from many sources
  • they provide a way in to studying rare situations that researchers wouldn’t be able to manipulate or investigate in experiment or correlational study
88
Q

cons of case study

A
  • like non experimental methods cant establish cause and affect relationships
  • findings may not generalise to other people
  • anonymity issues
89
Q

what is the experimental design

A

means the choice of how to allocate participants to experimental groups

90
Q

what is matched pairs design

A

researchers match the participants from the control and experimental groups for a particular participant variable

91
Q

evaluation of matched pairs design

A
  • researchers cant match participants on every possible participant variable
    + researchers can control for some participant variables which increases the internal validity of the study
  • matching participant is time consuming
92
Q

what is an independent group design

A

Researchers allocate different participants to each group but dont match the participants for aby participant variables

93
Q

in independent group design how do you control participant variables

A

use random allocation

94
Q

what is the repeated measures design

A

when the same participants take part in all of the experimental conditions

95
Q

what are order effects

A

when the order of the experimental conditions influences the results of a study (in a repeated measures design)

96
Q

limitations of repeated measures design

A
  • the results can be influenced by order effects: which is when the order of the experimental conditions influences the results of a study
  • most likely to respond to demand characteristics when they repeat the activity over and over
97
Q

what is counter balancing

A
  • a way of preventing order effects from influencing results
  • when in repeated measures design different participants are made to take part in experimental conditions in different orders
98
Q

when does order effects occur

A

boredom - of doing the test multiple times

practice - doing the test over and over learn the aim and then creates demand characteristics

99
Q

limitaion of independent and matched pairs design

A
  • results may be influenced by participant variables
100
Q

strength of repeated measures design

A
  • less participants as they are used for both variables
101
Q

What are two strengths of using repeated measures design over independent groups or matched pairs designs?

A
  • need fewer participants for the study

- results wont be influenced by participant variables

research methods ALL (3 decks)

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