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research methods Flashcards

1
Q

experimental method

A

involves the manipulation of an independent variable to measure the effect on the dependent variable. experiments may be laboratory, field, natural or quasi

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2
Q

aim

A

a general statement of what the researcher intends to investigate; the purpose of the study

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3
Q

hypothesis

A

a clear, precise, testable statement that states the relationship between the variables to be investigated. stated at the outset of every study

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4
Q

directional hypothesis

A

states the direction of the difference or relationship

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5
Q

non-directional hypothesis

A

does not state the direction

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6
Q

variables

A

any “thing” that can vary or change within an investigation. variables are generally used in experiments to determine if changes in one thing result in changes to another

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7
Q

independent variable (IV)

A

some aspect of the experimental situation that is manipulated by the researcher or changes naturally- so the effect on the DV can be measured

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8
Q

dependent variable (DV)

A

the variable that is measured by the researcher. any effect on the DV should always be caused by a change in the IV

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9
Q

operationalisation

A

clearly defining variables in terms of how they can be measured

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10
Q

extraneous variable (EV)

A

any variable other than the independent variable (IV) that my have an effect on the dependent variable (DV) if its not controlled. EVs are essentially nuisance variables that do not vary systematically with the IV

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11
Q

confounding variables

A

any variable, other than the IV that may have affected the DV so we cannot be sure of the true source of changes to the DV. Confounding variables vary systematically with the IV.

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12
Q

Demand characteristics

A

any cue from the researcher or from the research situation that may be interpreted by participants as revealing the purpose of the investigation. this may lead to a participant changing their behaviour within the research situation

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13
Q

investigator effects

A

any effect of the investigators behaviour (conscious or unconscious) on the research outcome (the DV) this may include everything from the design of the study to the selection of, and interaction with participants during the research process

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14
Q

randomisation

A

the use of chance in order to control for the effects of bias when designing materials and deciding the order of conditions

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15
Q

standardisation

A

using exactly the same formalised procedures and instructions for all participants in a research study

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16
Q

experimental design

A

the different ways in which the testing of participants can be organised in relation to the experimental conditions

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17
Q

independent groups design

A

participants are allocated to different groups where each group represents one experimental condition

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18
Q

repeated measures

A

all participants take part in all conditions of an experiment

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19
Q

matched pairs design

A

pairs of participants are first matched on some variables that may effect the DV. then one member from each pair is assigned to condition A and the other to condition B

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20
Q

random allocation

A

an attempt to control for participant variables in an independent groups design which ensures that each participant has the same chance of being in one condition as any other

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21
Q

counterbalancing

A

an attempt to control for the effects of order in a repeated measures design: half the participants experience the conditions in one order, and the other half in the opposite order.

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22
Q

laboratory (lab) experiment

A

an experiment that takes place in a controlled environment within which the researcher manipulates the IV and records the effect on the DV, whilst maintaining strict control of extraneous variables

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23
Q

field experiments

A

an experiment that takes place in a natural setting within which the researcher manipulates the IV and records the effect on the DV

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24
Q

natural experiment

A

an experiment where the change in the IV is not brought about by the researcher but would have happened even if the researcher had not been there. The researcher records the effect on the DV

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25
quasi experiment
a study that is almost an experiment but lacks key ingredients. the IV has not been determined by anyone (the researcher or any other person) the "variables" simply exist such as being old or young. strictly speaking this is not an experiment
26
population
a group of people who are the focus of the researchers interest, from which a smaller sample is drawn
27
sample
a group of people who take part in a research investigation. the sample is drawn from a (target) population and is presumed to be representative of that population, i.e. it stands "fairly" for the population being studied
28
sample techniques
the method used to select people from the population
29
bias
in the context of sampling, when certain groups may be over or under represented within the sample selected. for instance, there may be too many younger people, or too many people of one ethnic origin in a sample. this limits the extent to which generalisations can be made to the target population
30
generalisation
the extent to which findings and conclusions from a particular investigation can be broadly applied to the population. this made possible if the sample of participants is representative of the population
31
ethical issues
these arise when a conflict exists between the rights of participation in research studies and the goals of research to produce authentic, valid and worthwhile data
32
BPS code of ethics
a quasi legal document produced by the British Psychological Society (BPS) that instructs psychologists in the UK about what behaviour is and is not acceptable when dealing with participants. it is build around four major principles: respect, competence, responsibility and integrity
33
pilot study
a small scale version of an investigation that takes place before the real investigation is conducted. the aim is to check that procedures, materials, measuring scales, etc. work to allow the researcher to make changes or modifications if necessary
34
naturalistic observation
watching and recording behaviour in the setting within which it would normally occur
35
controlled observation
watching and recording behaviour within a structured environment, i.e. one where some variables are managed
36
covert observation
participants behaviour is watched and recorded without their knowledge or consent
37
overt observation
participants behaviour is watched and recorded with their knowledge and consent
38
participant observation
the researcher becomes a member of the group whose behaviour they are watching and recording
39
non participant observation
the researcher remains outside of the group whose behaviour they are watching and recording
40
behavioural categories
when a target behaviour is broken up into components that are observable and measurable
41
event sampling
a target behaviour or event is first established then the researcher records this event every time it occurs
42
time sampling
a target individual or group is first established then the researcher records their behaviour in a fixed time frame
43
self report technique
any method in which a person is asked to sate or explain their own findings, opinions behaviours and/or experiences related to a given topic
44
questionnaire
a set of written questions (sometimes referred to as "items") used to access a persons thoughts thoughts and/or experiences
45
interview
a "live" encounter (face-to-face or on the phone) where one person (the interviewer) asks a set of questions to access an interviewees thoughts and/or experiences. the questions may be pre set (as in a structured interview) or may develop as the interview goes along (unstructured interview)
46
open questions
questions for which there is no fixed choice of response and respondents can answer in any way they wish.
47
closed questions
questions for which there is no fixed choice of responses determined by the question setter
48
correlation
a mathematical technique in which a researcher investigates an association between two variables, called co variables
49
co variables
the variables investigated within a correlation, for example height and weight. they are not referred to as the independent and dependent variables variables because a correlation investigates the association between the variables because correlation investigates the association between the variables rather than trying to show a cause and effect relationship
50
positive correlation
as one co variable increases so does the other. for example, the number of people in a room and noise are positively correlated
51
negative correlation
as one co variable increases the other decreases. for example, the following two co variables: number of people in a room and amount of personal space are negatively correlated
52
zero correlation
when there is no relationship between the co variables. for example, the association between the number of people in a room in manchester and the total daily rainfall in peru
53
qualitative data
data that is expressed in words and non- numerical (although qualitative data may be converted to numbers for the purposes of analysis)
54
quantitative data
data that can be counted, usually given as numbers
55
primary data
information that has been obtained first hand by the researcher for the purposes of a research project. in psychology, such data is often gathered directly from participants as part of an experiment, self report or observation
56
secondary data
information that has already been collected by someone else and so pre dates the current research project. in psychology, such data might include the work of other psychologists or governmental statistics
57
meta analysis
research about research, refers to the process of combining results from a number of studies on a particular topic to provide an overall view. this may involve a qualitative review of conclusions and/or a quantitative analysis of the results producing an effective size
58
descriptive statistics
the use of graphs, tables and summary statistics to identify trends and analyse sets of data
59
measures of central tendency
the general term for any measure of the average value in a set of data
60
mean
the arithmetic average calculated by adding up all the values in a set of data and dividing the number of values there are
61
median
the central value in a set of data when values are arranged from lowest to highest
62
mode
the most frequently occurring value in a set of data
63
measures of dispersion
the general term for any measure of the spread or the spread or variation in a set of scores
64
range
a simple calculation of the dispersion in a set of scores which is worked out by subtracting the lowest score from the highest score and adding 1 as a mathematical correction
65
standard deviation
a sophisticated measure of dispersion in a set of scores. it tells us how much scored deviate from the mean by calculating the difference between the mean and each score. all the differences are added up and divided by the number of scores. this gives the variance. the standard deviation is the square root of the variance
66
scattergram
a type of graph that represents the strength and direction of a relationship between co variables in a correlational analysis
67
bar chart
a type of graph in which the frequency of each variable is represented by the height of the bars
68
normal distribution
a symmetrical spread of frequency data that forms a bell shaped pattern. the mean, median and mode are all located at the highest peak
69
skewed distribution
a spread of frequency data that is not symmetrical, where the data clusters to one end
70
positive skew
a type of distribution in which the long tail is on the positive (right) side of the peak and most of the distribution is concentrated on the left
71
negative skew
a type of distribution in which the long tail is on the negative (left) side of the peak and most of the distribution is concentrated on the right
72
statistical testing
provides a way of determining whether hypothesis should be accepted or rejected. in psychology, they tell us whether differences or relationships between variables are statistically significant or have occurred by chance
73
sign test
a statistical test used to analyse the difference in scored between related items (e.g. the same participant tested twice)
74
peer review
the assessment of scientific work by others who are specialists in the same field to ensure that any research intended for publication is of high quality
75
economy
the state of a country or region in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services

Psychology- Paper 1 (3 decks)

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