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Research Methods Flashcards

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1
Q

What are extraneous variables

A

Factors that aren’t independent variables but can alter the results of the dependant variable

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2
Q

What is a field experiment

A

Unaware participants, implemented independant variable in natural enviroment

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3
Q

What is a labatory experiment

A

Experiment has full control over variables- operationalised, standardised procedures, dependant measured

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4
Q

What are natural experiments

A

The independent variables have already occurred as a result of the natural world without any researcher influence. The researcher simply records the change in the dependant variable between event. (Romanian orphanage)

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5
Q

What are quasi experiments

A

Quasi experiments are lab or natural experiments where participants cannot be randomly assigned between different levels of IV as the IV is based on existing differences (such as gender, income, education)

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6
Q

What is a strength of a labatory experiment

A

Highly standardised and controlled, meaning results are more valid and can be generalised to the real world (real world applications).
T5he results are also more reliable and replicable due to the high control of variables

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7
Q

What is a weakness of labatory experiments

A

Can develop demand characteristics where the participants act in a way they think researcher will deem desirable to the experiment.
Time consuming and expensive due to the fact a trained experiment or is needed

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8
Q

What is a strength of field experiments

A

Less chance of demand characteristics due to unaware participants, and has high external validity and real world application because the research is conducted in a natural environment

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9
Q

What is a weakness of field experiments

A

They can lack standardisation making results potentially less reliable as they could be impacted by extraneous variables due to the lack of control. Less ethical aswell potentially as the participants are unaware (combated by retroactive consent)

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10
Q

What is a strength of the natural experiments

A

It offers a unique opportunity to research events that would otherwise not be able to study due to ethical or practical reasons= high real world application + high ecological validity

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11
Q

What is a strength of quasi expeiremtsn

A

The only experiment type that can compare pre existing differences in individuals

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12
Q

What is a weakness of the quasi and natural experiments

A

May not be able to control all variables- decreased internal validity
Only can be used when demographic events naturally occur
Participants may in some cases be aware that they are being studied which increases the possibility of demand characteristics

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13
Q

What is the difference in participants observations and non participant observations

A

Participant is when the researcher is a part of the group they’re studying whereas non participant is when they’re separate from the group they’re studying

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14
Q

What are covert observations

A

Observations where participants are unaware that they’re being studied

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15
Q

What are overt observations

A

Observations where participants are aware that they’re being studied

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16
Q

What is a simple definition of what observations are

A

Study natural behaviours in a natural setting that is more realistic (and would otherwise be unethical)

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17
Q

What are behavioural catergories/checklists

A

Where behaviours are coded into group systems so they’re more identifiable rather than having an overall behaviour
Eg: hesitant, peer pressure, nervous

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18
Q

What’s some advantages and disadvantages of covert observations

A

More natural where behaviour is unchanged= low chance of demand characteristics

However less able to quantify into data

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19
Q

What are some advantages and disadvantages of overt observations

A

Data is found quicker with more efficiency, less time consuming

People are aware they’re being studied= demand characteristics

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20
Q

What are some advantages and disadvantages of participant observations

A

Observer can see all characteristics and behaviours at a closer viewpoint

Results may vary as the participants may be less likely to open up, and provide truthful answers due to peer pressure form researcher presence

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21
Q

What are some advantages and disadvantages of non participant observations

A

Doesn’t interact with the natural environment, increases validity of results

Can’t obtain reliable data as easily as researcher could use inference to conclude what the participant is doing if information is unclear- possibly subjective and bias

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22
Q

What is event sampling

A

Continuous sampling lasting the whole experiment (gingerbread man and students)

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23
Q

What is time sampling

A

Counting behaviour is a set time frame- eg recording behaviours over a 30 second time zone with a 2 minute interval

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24
Q

What are some advantages and disadvantages of time sampling

A

Decreases the possibility of missing any behaviours due to se time frame making researchers more focused on the aims of the research

However only offers a small sample of the whole observation and could miss significant behaviours

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25
What are some advantages and disadvantages of event sampling
Less chance of missing behaviour as you’re continuously monitoring behaviour displayed without any set periods You can miss some important behaviours as you could be more focused on recording the most noticeable behaviour pattterns
26
Why are interviews better than questionnaires
Elaborate qualitative data compared to simplistic quantitative numbers which increases validity as people can clarify answers Higher accountability for answers from participant responses
27
What are questionaries better than interviews
Less time consuming and you’re able to gather nominal quantitative data that can be easily represented and generalised to wider population You can gather a larger sample as question areas are quicker and can be digitially spread to reach more people
28
What are some things that you need to consider when writing a good questionnaire
Clarity= no double negatives, nor double barrels Bias= no misleading questions to make answers more attractive/ desirable Analysis= open or closed questions Pilot studies= test questionnaire on a small sample size group of people
29
What is a likely rating scale
When you have a question such as strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree… Shouldn’t be an uneven number as your most likely to get a neutral response so they must be uneven to make sure participants make a choice
30
What are some strengths and weaknesses of a structured interview
Can be repeated due to their standardised and highly controlled nature Answers are easier to predict and analyse Social desirability by giving less elaborate responses
31
What’s are some strengths and weaknesses of unstructured interviews
More detailed qualitative elaborate data that gives researchers a greater insight into the aims of their study Is expensive due to the need of having to have an experience and trained experimenter. Can lack objectivity and highly bias as they’re is no structure to the answers- possibility for leading questions
32
What can we define correlation is
Correlation measures the relationship between two variables by looking at the cause and effect relationship
33
What is a positive correlation
Means both variables (lines on a scatter graph) move in the same directions where anything above 0= a positive correlation For example v= +0.2 is a weak correlation, v= +0.9 is a strong correlation
34
What is negative correlation
Negative correlation is when the variable are moving in different directions Anything below 0 would be considered a negative correlation Where v= -0.2 is a weak negative correlation, and v= -0.9 is a strong negative correlation
35
What is no correlation
No relationship between the two variables and often close to 0= 0.02,0.09
36
What are the three possible explanations for correlation
Causality= when one variable affects the other Chance= variables just happen to be related Third factor= interfering variable
37
What is a null hypothesis
When the prediction predicts that nothing will happen, no correlation/ no difference
38
What are some positives and negatives of a case study
Rich detailed qualitative data thats high in ecological validity Avoids any practical or ethical issues Case studies are especially subject specific, meaning that they’re often not reflective of the larger population= low, pop validity and lacks generalisability.
39
What is a directional/One Direction hypothesis?
Predicts, which one of the two conditions will result in the biggest dependent variable change, so results fall in One Direction Here is an example of how it should be written : There will be significantly more/less (insert DV here) in the (first conditional IV here) compared to the (insert second condition of IV).
40
What is a nondirectional, two tailed hypothesis?
When the IV is not predicted, the researcher predicts that IV will affect the DV, but don’t know how. This could be written as= there will be a significant difference in…
41
What are experimental designs
When research organises participant testing in relation to experiment condition
42
What are independent measures experimental designs?
When you recruit participants, and divide them into two groups One group does experimental tasks with one IV condition and the other does the same with a different IV condition= measure the DV and compare
43
What is repeated measures experimental designs?
One group isn’t divided and does two tasks with two different conditions, then you compare the results
44
What is match pairs experimental designs?
They recruit a group of participants and find out their key characteristics and then recruit another group that matches one participant. They treat the experiment as an independent measure and then compare results.
45
What are some advantages and disadvantages of using an independent group design?
It avoids any effects, such as boredom or fatigue, as the group does a task only once More participants are needed for the overall groups .
46
What are some advantages and disadvantages of using repeated group designs?
Few people are needed as one group does both tasks Maybe order effects like boredom and tiredness - however you could counter argument this by saying you would use counterbalancing- which is where one group does task A then B as the other does task B then A
47
What are some advantages and disadvantages of using match pairs designs?
Reduced participants extraneous variables because each participant has a pair and their behaviour should be similar Very time-consuming, as you need to identify direct willing pairs, and some may even be impossible to match
48
What does BPS stand for and what does it aim to do?
The British psychological society is a representative of psychologist that promotes ethical practices in psychology
49
What is stratified sampling
Getting the sample to reflect the target population by splitting participants into sub groups (strata). They identify the port options of each different strata and randomly select participants for these groups
50
What is systematic sampling
Every nth member of the target population is selected eg: every third house on the street or every 5th student on the register
51
What is voluenteer sampling
Self selecting individuals who have chosen to be in the study- as the name suggests
52
What is opportunity sampling
Selector people that are available in your chosen enviroment at the time which saves time but can often be small, unrepresentative or bias samples
53
What are some advantages and disadvantages of systematic sampling
It avoids researcher bias and is fairly representative of the target population Not strictly random as each person doesn’t stand an equal chance of being selected for the research
54
What is some advantages and disadvantages of stratified sampling
Highly representative sample so generalisation of findings is more possible aswell as avoiding researcher bias The identified strata might not represent all the ways people are different- race, gender, upbringing.
55
What are some advantages and disadvantages of volunteer sampling
Quick and easier type of sampling It only has people who are interested in psychological research, demand characteristics and is then unrepresentative of the target population. So less generalisable.
56
What are some advantages and disadvantages of opportunity sampling
Quick and the most common type of sampling Very unrepresentative and bias as only people interested in psychological research are willing to partake
57
What is a pilots studies
Smaller scale trial tests to show the effectiveness of the study and any possible further improvements that need to be made- they can also be useful in outlining potential issues before committing to a long term investigation.
58
What are peer reviews
When another person judges the scientific quality of the research and shouldn’t publish ant fraudulent work or poor scientific practices
59
What is the process of a peer review
Scientist writes about research and sends it to a journal editor An expert in that field is selected by journal editor They will read an unpublished paper and look for mistakes Then they will decide if ant further improvements need too be made if it can be published Usually small changes are made
60
Why are peer reviews so essential to the scientific process
Decrease the chance of mis information to the reader which can influence them in a harmful way such as believing an untrue theory
61
evaluating of the peers review process
Finding an expert= Sometimes its not always possible to find a direct expert in that field that is willing or available to do the power review- leading to more inexperience reviewers to pass up on bad research do to the fact they can’t understand it - means you have to be rigorous in the process of choosing an expert Publication bias= Journals tend to learn towards a more positive outcome, proving their initial ideas or hypothesis. This leads to a potential boost in the status of said journal. Therefore sometimes publicitors can be just as bad as newspaper editors in seeking an eye catching story
62
What did Daniel kahneman say about the economics of psychology
He was interested in looking at how people made decisions- and his research has lead to a new area of research called behavioural encomics which influences the way people think about thinking
63
What is the availability heuristic
A type of cognitive bias- allows us to make quick and sometimes incorrect judgements. It relies on info that comes to mind quickly or is most avaliable to us
64
What are some examples of the availability heuristics
When we remember all the people who have won the lottery being represented in the media but not the millions that did not. Or when gambling machines have lots of noise and fanfare when a player wins but silence when not- gambler more likely to remember the wins over the losses.
65
Who did research into the availability of heuristic research
Researchers read out male and female names to participants- some famous some not. Participants were asked to estimate whether there were more male or female names on the list. One group heard 19 famous females and 20 non famous males The second group heard 19 famous males and 20 non famous females They found 80% participants judgements to be incorrect as they only remembered famous peoples names.
66
What is an aim of a study
The overal purpose of what wants to I be achieved or proved by the researcher
67
What is operationalising variables
When you specifically write the IV and DVsd of an investigation
68
What is the scientific method
Paradigms replicability objectivity falsification empirical methods Theory construction
69
What is objectivity of the scientific method
Objectivity is when researchers exclude any personal opinions or biases to discolour their data whilst keeping a critical distance. Objective methods in psychology are usually those where there is high control eg. Lab experiments.
70
What is the empirical method in the features of science
Emphasise the importance of data collection based on direct experiences. Theory cannot claim to be scientific until it has been empirically tested and verified via. Experiment or observation
71
What is replicability in terms of the features of science
Replicability is repeating research over a period of time to determine the validity of its findings. Aswell as this looking at replicability over different contexts allows us to determine the researches generalisability.
72
What is falsifiability in terms of the features of science
Karl popper asserted this theory of falsification, suggesting scientific theories should hold themselves up for hypothesis testing and the possibility of being proven false.
73
What did Karl poppers call science that couldn’t be falsified
Pseudoscience
74
What is a theory construction
Gathering evidence to make a set of general laws or principles to explain behaviours based on empirical observations.
75
What is paradigms?
Thomas khun suggested that a set of clear assumptions or methods (paradigms) are needed to determine if research is scientific or not. Khun said that psychology is best seen as a prescience as opposed to to a natural science such as biology or physics as it lacks these universally accepted paradigms
76
What are the two features of the scientific process
Induction and deduction
77
What is induction
Carrying out research and then coming up with the theory (theory comes last)
78
What is deduction
Coming up with a theory then conducting the research to test it out (theory comes first)
79
What is the process of induction
-observation -hypothesis -test hypothesis -draw conclusion -propose theory
80
What is the process of deduction
-observation -propose theory -test hypothesis -draw conclusion
81
What are the processes of reporting psychological investigations
Abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion and referencing
82
What is abstract on a scientific report
Summary of the research in about 150 words, telling reader of aim, hypothesis, methods and results
83
What is an intro in a scientific report
Literary overview of relevant past research that has influenced research- funnel effect effect where broader themes are covered first before being narrowed down.
84
What are the aims and hypothesis in a scientific report
Aim= purpose of the research Hypothesis= one tailed or two tailed/ directional or non directional
85
What is the method of scientific method
How the research is carrried out, should be detailed enough that someone can replicate it Include= Design, sample size, equipment, procedure and ethics
86
What are the results and discussion of the scientific report
Results= Key findings in relation to the hypothesis Statistical data, critical values, level of significance Discussion= Looking at the comparison between any past research and researchers own results, any limitations should be discussed, implications of research in the real world
87
What should be in the appendices of a scientific report
Consent form Debrief form Questionaries Diagrams Raw data Statistical calculations
88
What is inter observer reliability
The extent to which two observers are in agreement over the observed behaviours in an observation
89
What is concurrent validity
Determining the validity of your research by comparing existing questionaries to one you’re interested in
90
What is temporal validity
The extent of which results can be generalised over time periods
91
What is face validity
The extent of which a set of research set out to test what they claim to be
92
What is internal reliability
Looking at how reliable research is inside the study
93
How can we assess the internal reliability of a study
Testing a persons consistency on two halves of a questionnaire, if the questions are actually assessing the same thing across the whole questionnaire, answers should have high correlation
94
What is external reliability
How consistent the findings are if to be repeated over different conditions
95
How do we assess external reliability
Inter observer reliability Test- retest method= when a person is given a questionnaire/ interview on one occasion the again after a reasonable time interval
96
How do we improve the reliability of a lab experiment.
Control over extraneous variables- standardised instructions- replicated
97
How do we improve interviews reliability
Having a pilot study with a trained researcher
98
How to improve observation reliability
Having a trained inter observer
99
How to assess the internal valditity of a study
-Concurrent validity -face validity
100
How to assess the external valdity of research
Population valdity= generalisability External validity= situations outside study Temporal validity= theory over time
101
What is content analysis
Analysing the content of something
102
What is the process of content analysis
- Data is collected - researcher reads through data - researcher identifies coding units - data is analysed using those coding units as a basis (behavioural categories) - a tally is made based on the number of times that a coding unit appears
103
What are coding units similar too to help you understand what they are
Behavioural checklists, what the content is showing
104
What are some strengths of a content analysis
High ecological validity No chance of demand characteristics Can be assessed with inter observer reliability
105
What is a weakness of content analysis
Observer bias= objectivity and validity may be reduced if observer interperpates content differently Cultural bias- some cultures might catergorise a behaviours with one theme whilst others may categorise it differently
106
What is a thematic analysis
Is presenting patterns or themes within qualitative data
107
What is the process of thematic analysis
Developing codes to label data (themes) the same process as content analysis Analyse the themes to develop an overall meaning and pattern Inductively= read and re-read the content with themes emerging without the researcher imposing any expectations Deductively= specifies themes they’re looking for before analysis.
108
What are the three level of measurement
Nominal, ordinal, interval
109
What is nominal data
Data in separated catergories or groups
110
What is ordinal dats
Data in an order of some way
111
What is interval data
Data measured using units of equal intervals or increments
112
What do descriptive statistics do
Give us a summary and description of our data
113
What is standard deviations
The distance between each individual data increment
114
What should you always include in a observation design study
Setting for the observation Type of observation with justification and strengths of your choice Operationalised behavioural categories Use of time or event sampling with justification Data recording- visually Ethical issues for the observation
115
What should you do for each paragraph of a design a study question
Explain How? Justification Evaluate

psychology (11 decks)

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