research method

Question 1

True or False
The dependant variable is the variable tested upon in an experiment

Answer 1

False
the independent variable is responsible for the effect in the experiment

Question 2

Define Confounding Variables.
Give an example to what a confounding variable may be in an experiment.

Answer 2

Confounding variables are factors that affect both the Independent Variable (IV) and the Dependent Variable (DV) which may cause an invalid relationship to be established. In other words, it’s a third variable affecting the experiment that wasn’t accounted for.

An example can be measuring the effects of caloric intake (IV) on weight (DV). Confounding variables to be accounted for in this experiment can be Physical Activity: Those who exercise or are more active will burn more calories and could weigh less, even if they consume more.

Question 3

An experiment is defined as an investigation looking for a causal relationship in which an ___________ is manipulated and is expected to be responsible for changes in the ________________.
a) Dependent Variable, Extraneous Variable
b) Independent Variable, Dependent Variable
c)Confounding Variable, Extraneous Variable
d)Dependent Variable, Independent Variable

Answer 3

b) Independent Variable, Dependent Variable

Question 4

______________make sure that the levels of the IV represent what they are supposed to, i.e. that the differences between them are going to create the intended situations to test the hypothesis. This helps to ensure validity of the experiment/study.

Answer 4

Controls

Question 5

Define the term Operationalisation. Suggest why it may be important to operationalise variables.

Answer 5

The definition of variables so that they can be accurately manipulated, measured or quantified and replicated. This includes the independent variable and dependent variable in experiments and the two measured variables in correlations. Operationalised variables make the study more reliable.

Question 6

What does a Hypothesis mean?

Answer 6

It’s an idea or explanation that you can test through study and experimentation.

Question 7

True or False?
There is no difference between the effectiveness of learning through online resources than through physical resources and any relationship is solely due to luck/chance.” This is an example of a One-tailed or Directional Hypothesis.

Answer 7

False. This is an example of a Null Hypothesis.

Question 8

What is a Non-directional (two-tailed) Hypothesis?

Answer 8

A non-directional (two-tailed) hypothesis is a statement predicting only that one variable will be related to the other, not the direction of the relationship.

Question 9

“In a correlation experiment, a ___________ predicts a negative or positive correlation. For example, “There will be a positive correlation between the amount of time a student spent studying and their final score on an exam.”

Answer 9

One-tailed or directional hypothesis

Question 10

What is the purpose of defining an aim in an experiment?

Answer 10

The aim tells you the purpose of the investigation. The aim of an experiment is to investigate a link or relationship between two measured variables, such as the number of hours of screen time in a day to the number of times a patient gets a headache.

Question 11

What is the difference between a sample and a population?

Answer 11

Sample: a group of people or animals selected to represent a population in a study.
Population: refers to a group of individuals or members of a species that share one or more characteristics e.g. residence, age, gender etc.

Question 12

The three experimental designs are:
1)
2)
3)

Answer 12

1) Independent measures design
2) Repeated measures design
3) Matched pairs design.

Question 13

__________ sampling is when only individuals who opt themselves for the study are selected for the sample.

Answer 13

Self-selected or volunteer sampling

Question 14

_________ is used to overcome order effects in a repeated measures design. Each possible order of levels of the IV is performed by a different sub-group of participants. This can also be described as an ABBA design, as half the participants do condition A then B, and half do B then A.

Answer 14

Counterbalancing

Question 15

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Matched Pairs Design?

Answer 15

Strengths:
1) Reduced demand characteristics as participants only see one experimental condition
2) Participant variables are less likely to distort findings.
3) There are no order effects.
Weaknesses:
1) The similarity between the matched pairs is limited, so the right criteria must be selected before.
2) Availability of the matched pairs may be limited as well, making the sample size smaller and hence less generalisable.

Question 16

Define Standardisation.

Answer 16

Keeping the procedure for each participant in an experiment exactly the same to ensure that any differences between participants or conditions are due to the variables under investigation rather than differences in the way they were treated.

Question 17

________ is the extent to which the findings of research in one situation would generalise to other situations. This is influenced by whether the situation represents the real world effectively and whether the task is relevant to real life (mundane realism).

Answer 17

Ecological Validity

Question 18

Define one strength and one weakness of Laboratory Experiments.

Answer 18

Strength:
Either High levels of standardization hence it can be replicated easily to test for reliability, or, High levels of control hence researches can be more confident that the IV is directly affecting the DV.
Weakness:
Either Artificial Environment hence it lacks ecological validity, or, Participants may show demand characteristics.

Question 19

What do you mean by Ecological Validity?

Answer 19

The extent to which the findings of research in one situation would generalise to other situations

Question 20

True or False?
A natural experiment is an investigation looking for a causal relationship in which an independent variable is manipulated and is expected to be responsible for changes in the dependent variable.

Answer 20

False.
In a natural experiment, we are looking for a causal relationship in which the independent variable cannot be directly manipulated by the experimenter. Instead they study the effect of an existing difference or change.

Question 21

Define a Structured Interview.

Answer 21

An interview with questions in a fixed order which may be scripted. Consistency might also be required for the interviewer’s posture, voice, etc. so they are standardised.

Question 22

True or False?
Inter-rater Reliability is the extent to which two researchers interpreting qualitative responses will produce the same records from the same raw data.

Answer 22

true

Question 23

The three types of interviews are:
1)
2)
3)

Answer 23

1) A structured interview
2) A semi-structured interview
3) An unstructured interview

1) A structured interview: an interview with questions in a fixed order which may be scripted.
2) A semi-structured interview: an interview with a fixed list of questions, however, the interviewer could add more questions if required to clarify or get details on any previous answers.
3) An unstructured interview: an interview in which most questions depend on the respondent’s answers. A list of topics may be provided that need to be covered for the interview.

Question 24

What are filler questions?

Answer 24

Items put into a questionnaire, interview or test to disguise the aim of the study by hiding the important questions among irrelevant ones so that participants are less likely to alter their behaviour by working out the aims

Question 25

What is the difference between Subjectivity and Objectivity?

Answer 25

Subjectivity is a personal viewpoint, which may be biased by one's feelings, beliefs or experiences, so may differ between individual researchers. It is not independent of the situation. Objectivity, on the other hand, is an unbiased external viewpoint that is not affected by an individual's feelings, beliefs or experiences, so should be consistent between different researchers.

Question 26

A _____________ is a detailed investigation of a single instance, usually just one person; it could be a single family or institution. The data collected is detailed and in-depth and may be obtained using a variety of different techniques.

Answer 26

case study

Question 27

True or False? A weakness of a case study is that it can be unethical due to a lack of privacy, confidentiality and protection from harm

Answer 27

true

Question 28

Explain why a case study has high ecological validity.

Answer 28

A case study has high ecological validity due to the lack of involvement of the researcher. The variables are naturally occurring so findings can be easily generalised to other (real life) settings, resulting in high external validity.

Question 29

Outline two key features of any case study.

Answer 29

1) A case study is a detailed study of a single unit such as an individual person. 2) The study can give in-depth information about the unit using a range of different methods.

Question 30

True or False? A feature of case studies is that they are longitudinal, meaning the participants are studied and observed over time.

Answer 30

False. This rather is a common misconception about case studies. Some case studies are longitudinal, but not all. Studying a participant over time is not a feature of all case studies.

Question 31

What is the difference between a Covert observation and an Overt observation?

Answer 31

Overt observation is where a participant knows that they are being observed. Covert observation is where the participant does not know that they are being observed.

Question 32

A ____________ is a researcher who watches from the perspective of being part of the social setting.

Answer 32

Participant Observer.

Question 33

True or False? A naturalistic observation is watching participants in their natural environment without interference from the researchers or observers. On the other hand, a controlled observation is when the participants are watched in a situation controlled and manipulated by the researchers.

Answer 33

true

Question 34

Define inter-observer reliability.

Answer 34

Inter-observer reliability is the consistency between two researchers watching the same event, i.e. whether they will produce the same records.

Question 35

Using the Piliavin et al. study as an example, give one advantage and one disadvantage of an observation.

Answer 35

Advantage: the observed behaviour is natural and can be measured objectively. In the study by Piliavin et al. participants did not know they were in a study and so responded as they would have done normally. Disadvantage: the participants cannot explain why they behaved in a particular way. In the study by Piliavin et al. participants could not say why they behaved as they did. If they had been asked, they might have been upset when realising they had been deceived.

Question 36

True or False? A correlation seeks to establish a cause-and-effect relationship. It only looks at whether a change in one variable is related to a change in the other.

Answer 36

False. A correlation does NOT seek to establish a cause-and-effect relationship. It only looks at whether a change in one variable is related to a change in the other

Question 37

The 3 types of correlations are: 1) 2) 3)

Answer 37

1) Positive correlation 2) Negative correlation 3) No correlation

Question 38

What's a scatter graph?

Answer 38

A way to display data from a correlational study. Each point on the graph represents the point where one participant's score on each scale for the two measured variables cross.

Question 39

How do we make a correlational study valid?

Answer 39

A correlational study can only be valid if: 1) the measures of both variables test real phenomena in effective ways. 2) the variables must be clearly defined and relate directly to the relationship being investigated.

Question 40

What's the difference between a casual relationship between two variables and a correlation between two variables?

Answer 40

A causal relationship is when one variable brings about a change in another, whereas a correlation is when both the variables are influenced by one another. A researcher cannot conclude a causal relationship from a correlational study since there would be no evidence linking that one variable was impacting another as opposed to them both influencing one another simultaneously.

Question 41

What are the different ways to discern the usefulness of data and/or the research processes?

Answer 41

1) Validity 2) Reliability 3) Generalisability 4) Applicability

Question 42

Whats the difference between Face validity and Concurrent validity?

Answer 42

face validity refers to how well a method, particularly a psychological test or evaluation, seems to achieve its stated objectives. Concurrent validity is how well a new research measure compares to another measure that already exists for that behaviour or skill.

Question 43

True or False? Inter-observer reliability is when observers are consistent in the behaviours they record.

Answer 43

true

Question 44

What do you mean by Generalisabity?

Answer 44

How widely findings from research apply e.g. to other settings or populations. It is important for samples to be representative of the population to be generalisable.

Question 45

Using an example, give one way in which the reliability of an observation can be checked.

Answer 45

The reliability of an observation can be checked using inter- rater reliability. This is where two or more observers watch the same behaviour and score it independently. The study by Bandura et al. had two observers and their agreement, measured by using a correlation test, was over 0.9.

Question 46

Define (a) deception and (b) debrief.

Answer 46

(a) deception: when participants are not misled about the study's features in order to produce more useful findings. (b) debrief: done at the end of a study, when researchers share the true aim of the study, why participants were deceived and about what, addressing the consequences of the study, allowing participants to ask questions.

Question 47

Give one reason why studies in psychology should be ethical and one reason why it is believed that studies in psychology should be unethical.

Answer 47

Studies should be ethical because no one should be harmed or deceived in the pursuit of knowledge. Something may go wrong with a procedure and the participants may be harmed for life even though they may claim they are fine at the time of the study. However, it could be said that unethical studies are good because deceiving participants keeps them naive and they respond as they normally would. The ends might justify the means.

Question 48

What are the ethical guidelines of using anaesthesia, analgesia and euthanasia on animals?

Answer 48

Animals should be protected from pain, e.g. relating to surgery using appropriate anaesthesia and analgesia, and killed (euthanised) if suffering lasting pain.

Question 49

What is the right to withdraw?

Answer 49

A participant should know that they can remove themselves, and their data, from the study at any time.

Question 50

____________ is when psychologists use other means of obtaining data i.e. through videos, live footage or other studies instead of a live subject.

Answer 50

Replacement.

Question 51

What are the five main issues and debates at the AS Level?

Answer 51

1) Application to daily life. 2) Individual and situational explanations. 3) Nature vs. nurture 4) The use of children in psychological research. 5) The use of animals in psychological research.

Question 52

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Nature vs. Nurture debate?

Answer 52

Strengths: 1) Easier to explain human behaviour through correlation and causation. 2) Finding a middle ground between both sides of the debate is useful too. Weaknesses: 1) It is not easy to separate nature and nurture. 2) If behaviour is perceived to be purely nature-based, this can lead to ethnocentric bias and a eugenics movement to get rid of people with 'inferior genes'.

Question 53

True or False? Children under the age of 16 can give informed consent to take part in a study. The consent of a parent or an educator isn't needed.

Answer 53

False. Children under the age of 16 cannot give informed consent to take part in a study. Hence, the consent of a parent or an educator is taken instead and is necessary.

Question 54

Should animals be studied in a laboratory or in the natural environment? Answer in relation to controls and ecological validity.

Answer 54

There is no right or wrong answer to this one; it is asking you what you think. In a laboratory the experimenter has more control, but on the other hand, such control is low in ecological validity and does not enable us to observe the behaviour of an animal in its natural environment. Which method is best? It depends on what is being studied.

Question 55

Psychologists want their research to be useful. Outline two methodological problems psychologists should address if they want their research to be useful.

Answer 55

Any two from: 1) Useful studies should be ethical - participants should give informed consent and not be deceived. However, a study may need to be unethical to be really useful. 2) Studies conducted in a laboratory may not be useful as they are low in ecological validity. 3) Studies should use a representative sample and be generalisable. Useful research should apply worldwide so there is no ethnocentrism

Question 56

What is the difference between nominal and ordinal data?

Answer 56

Nominal data simply name; they put data into named categories. Ordinal data organise data into order or ranks. First place is different from second place, etc

Question 57

Identify four features of a bar chart.

Answer 57

1) The x-axis (horizontal); 2) the y-axis (vertical); 3) axes should be fully labelled (with descriptors and scales); 4) a full title to show exactly what the bar chart shows.

Question 58

For any set of data, the __________ is simply the difference between the top value and the bottom value; this is usually used for ordinal data. ____________ is a measure of spread of data around the mean and is usually used with interval/ratio data.

Answer 58

Range. Standard Deviation.

Question 59

What is the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics?

Answer 59

1) Descriptive statistics: which describe data in different ways such as tables, summary statistics such as mean, median, mode and range (measures of central tendency and dispersion), and in visual formats such as a graph. 2) Inferential statistics: where a statistical test is calculated in order to draw conclusions about hypotheses (note that inferential statistics are not on the syllabus).

Question 60

On a graph, a _____________ is a bell-shaped curve that is symmetrically distributed around the central point of the mean, median and mode.

Answer 60

Normal Distribution.