Flashcards in research Deck (49):
1
What is a directional hypothesis?
Participants A will be better at DV than ps B
2
Non directional hypothesis...
There will be a significant difference
3
What does operationalise mean?
You make variables clear and measurable, this is important to make variables in a form that can be tested
4
Null hypothesis
There will be no difference
5
What is a situational variable?
aspects of the research situation that may influence the DV
6
What are experimenter variables?
Effects of the experimenters expectations which are communicated to the ps intentionally or unintentionally
7
What are participant variables
Aspects of the ps characteristics which might influence the DV
8
What are confounding variables?
Variable that is not the IV but varies systematically, therefore may cause the DV to change
9
How might experimenters control the effects of demand characteristics?
Double blind techniques, involve confederates that can help control the situation
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What is order effect?
Extraneous Variable arising from the order in which conditions are presented e.g fatigue effect
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What is counterbalancing?
An experimental technique used to overcome order effects, ensures each condition is tested in equal amounts
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Lab experiment
Experiment carried out in controlled setting
Strengths- high internal validity
Weaknesses- low ecological validity
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Field experiment
Controlled experiment conducted OUTSIDE a lab , IV is still manipulated by experimenter
Strengths- higher ecological validity and realism, more natural and representative
Weaknesses- less control of extraneous variables and more time consuming and have ethical issues as some may not be aware they are being observed
14
Natural experiment
Investigates relationship between IV and DV in natural environment
Strengths- allows research where IV can't be manipulated for ethical or practical reasons, high ecological validity
Weaknesses- casual conclusions can't be drawn because IV is not changed there may be individual differences
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Quasi experiment
IV is naturally occurring but DV may be experimented in a lab
Strengths- allows comparison between types of ppl
WeAknesses- participants may be aware they are being studied
DV may be artificial reducing ecological validity
16
What is independent groups?
Two groups are used, one for each condition
Strengths- only requires one set for one condition
Weaknesses- researcher cannot control the effects of p variables
17
Matched participants
Two groups are matched to be as similar as possible
Strengths- lower risk of demand characteristics
Fewer ps variables
Weaknesses- very time consuming, impossible to control all ps variables
18
Repeated measures
One group of ps used in both conditions
Strengths- requires few ps, reduces effects of individual differences
Weaknesses- order effects may occur and demand characteristics
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Internal reliability
assesses consistency of results, control and realism
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external reliability
the extent to which a measure varies from one use to another, generalisation to other situations
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Why might and experiment often lack ecological validity?
It may not be appropriate to generalise it, especially to every day life
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What is the issue with informed consent and how can we deal with it?
May give away aims
Retrospective consent
23
Issue with confidentiality and privacy
Difficult to guarantee because it's unpredictable
Can stop study
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Naturalistic observation
Everything is left as it is normally in an everyday setting
High in ecological validity as the participants are unaware
Realistic
May not have consent and little control
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Controlled observation
Researcher regulates aspects of the environment, useful for focusing on certain behaviour
Unnatural environment
Lacks validity as behaviour is less natural
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Covert observation
Participants are unaware therefore it's more natural, however there are ethical issues
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Overt observation
Participants are aware that they are being observed, this is less natural
Awareness is not an issue
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Participant observation
Participant is part of a group being observed, may provide better insights
Issues of participant awareness
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Non participant observation
More objective, not part of a group
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Observation design: structured
A system is used enabling the observer to be more objective rather than being overwhelmed by information
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Unstructured design
Useful when observing behaviour for the first time, observer records everything
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Behavioural checklist
Dividing a behaviour into a subset of specific and operationalised behaviour
33
Time sampling design
An observational technique in which the observer records behaviour in a given time frame
34
Event sampling
Observational technique in which a count is kept of the number of times a certain behaviour occurs
35
Self report technique
Any method which states their opinions on thoughts for example with questionnaires or interviews
Access to what people think and feel
lacks validity as some people don't know what they feel
36
Structured interviews
Pre determined question, face to face
Can be easily repeated so answers can be easily compared so easier to analyse
May be interviewer bias
37
Unstructured interview
New questions are developed throughout the interview
More information can be obtained than in structured
Require interviewers with more skills therefore are more expensive to produce
38
Questionnaires
Designed to collect information about a topic, they are always predetermined
It can be distributed to a large number of people quickly and cheaply
Respondents may be more willing to give personal information
only people who have the time fill them in, answers may not be truthful
39
Closed questions
Questions that have a predetermined range of answers
Answers are easy to analyse
Forced to select answers that don't reflex their real thoughts
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Open questions
Respondents provide their own answers
Can gain new insights
Less literate respondents may find it difficult to answer
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Qualitative data
Non numerical data
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quantitative data
Data in numbers
43
What is a case study?
Depth study on one person or a small group, they are longitudinal meaning they occur over long periods of time
44
strengths of case studies.
Provides detailed info
Provides insight for further research
Permits investigation of otherwise impractical or unethical situations
45
Weaknesses of case studies
Can't generalise to a wider population
Researchers own subjective feeling may influence the case study
Difficult to replicate
Time consuming
46
What is dispersion?
How 'spread out' data is
47
What does standard deviation tell you?
On average how close to the mean all of your scores are, the higher the standard deviation the more variation you have in your data
48
Primary data
Researcher has control over data
Expensive process
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