research methods Flashcards

Question

weaknesses of questionnaires

Answer 1

1. Participants may not elaborate on answers when writing, limiting depth of the data. 2. Participants may give socially desirable answers, not reflecting their own views/beliefs.

Answer 2

1. Leading questions should be avoided to increase validity as these suggest a correct answer. 2. Questions should be clear and understandable, so they should avoid ambiguity. 3. Anything offensive or upsetting in the questions should be avoided to prevent distress.

Answer 3

1. closed 2. open

Answer 4

they offer pre-determined answers for the participant to choose from.

Answer 5

1. Yes/No 2. Category choice 3. Likert/rating scale

Answer 6

Scales do not allow answers like ‘unsure/undecided’ and are intended to ‘force’ the participant to make a response.

Answer 7

1. Data is quantitative and can be analysed and displayed visually 2. Forced choice questions prevent participants from avoiding questions.

Answer 8

1. A limited choice of categories can reduce validity. 2. Participants may not be able to freely express their opinions

Answer 9

Participants can express their opinion freely without pre-determined responses. ‘Why’, ‘describe’ and ‘how’ are used in the questions to give qualitative answers.

Answer 10

1. Data is qualitative-more insight. 2. Participants can give different opinions, so researchers can understand the complexity of an issue.

Answer 11

1. Data is harder to analyse 2. Data may be open to interpretation.

Answer 12

1. online 2. in person 3. postal

Answer 13

Online: sending out email requests/online advertisements to complete online. Strength: access to a large group and easily completed/returned. Weakness: only targets those online.

Answer 14

approaching face to face and asking them to complete it. Strength: lower costs. Weakness: limits the sample to those available at the time.

Answer 15

sent via the postal system to be returned. Strength: can target specific groups. Weakness: expensive and takes time for people to return.

Answer 16

1. structured 2. unstructured 3. semi structured

Answer 17

Fixed questions are pre-prepared and every participant receives the same questions in the same order. Strength: standardized as all participants receive the same questions, increasing reliability. Weakness: do not allow participants to elaborate on interesting answers.

Answer 18

There is no preparation. Questions are asked depending on the direction in which the discussion goes. Strength: allow researchers to gain an insight into the area they are researching, not constrained by set questions. Weakness: there is more risk of researcher bias.

Answer 19

Some structured questions and some unstructured questions Strength: allow researchers to gain insight into the area. Weakness: at more risk of researcher bias

Answer 20

1. Interviews can gather rich, in-depth data. 2. The participant can explain their behaviour.

Answer 21

1. There is an increased likelihood of socially desirable answers as participants will be afraid of being judged. 2. Researchers have to be cautious of leading questions.

Answer 22

detailed investigations involving a single ‘unit’: one individual or a group/organisation of people.

Answer 23

1. Useful when researching rare cases 2. Triangulation- Data is gathered using a number of different techniques 3. Data is often gathered over an extended period of time (making them longitudinal) 4. Both qualitative and quantitative data can be gathered. 5. Data can be gathered from the participants but also from family, friends and official records 6.Often begin with a case history

Answer 24

1. Validity – a case study provides rich and detailed information giving insight into an individual’s psychology. 2. Validity – a case study provides rich and detailed information giving insight into an individual’s psychology.

Answer 25

1. Validity – researcher bias can occur as they work closely with the participant- less objectivity 2. Reliability – case studies are difficult to replicate as they are detailed analyses of one individual/small group.

Answer 26

Data is collected through observing (watching) participants with the aim of recording the behaviour shown.

Answer 27

1. overt or covert 2. participant or non-participant 3. structured or unstructured 4. naturalistic or controlled

Answer 28

when the participants know they are being observed.

Answer 29

where the participants do not know they are being observed

Answer 30

more ethical as participants know they are being observed, which avoids deception

Answer 31

may produce demand characteristics as participants know they are being watched so may act unnaturally

Answer 32

avoid demand characteristics as participants do not know they are being observed.

Answer 33

less ethical as participants do not know they are being observed and cannot withdraw.

Answer 34

when the observer becomes part of the community they wish to observe

Answer 35

when the observer is not a part of the group and they observe from a distance

Answer 36

observers may gain a greater understanding of the participants’ behaviour as they are involved in the situation

Answer 37

observers may become too involved with those they are observing and become less objective.

Answer 38

observers are more likely to be objective as they are not personally involved in the situation.

Answer 39

observers may miss behaviours as they are observing from a distance

Answer 40

have behavioural checklists in place before beginning the observation. A tally is kept of behaviours. Researchers plan what will be observed.

Answer 41

do not include planning before the observation and the observer records behaviour that is relevant to the aim of the research as it occurs

Answer 42

can be part of a pilot study, giving an overview of the range of behaviours

Answer 43

can be difficult to record all behaviour

Answer 44

more reliable than unstructured ones as the behaviours are decided in advance and operationalised. Inter-rater reliability can be assessed.

Answer 45

may not include all relevant actions within the behavioural categories.

Answer 46

conducted in real-world settings

Answer 47

conducted in laboratory settings

Answer 48

record behaviour that is likely to be normal, increasing ecological validity

Answer 49

harder to control for extraneous variables that may affect participants’ behaviour, lowering the validity

Answer 50

can be replicated by others when using the same behaviour schedule

Answer 51

may be less natural if participants are aware of the controlled setting

Answer 52

studies look at the relationship between variables

Answer 53

1. Variables that are correlated are called co-variables. 2. For each participant, two sets of data are gathered which can be plotted on a scatter graph to see a correlation 3. Various methods are used to collect data in correlations eg. questionnaires

Answer 54

is when the scores of co-variables move in the same direction

Answer 55

when the scores of the co-variables move in opposing directions

Answer 56

no consistent relationship is found between scores.

Answer 57

1. Correlations can provide information that may prompt further research. 2. Correlations allow areas to be researched when it is impractical or unethical to manipulate variables.

Answer 58

1. Correlations do not tell us why that relationship has occurred. Causality cannot be assumed. 2. A third variable not being measured may have influenced the relationship.

Answer 59

studies conducted over an extended period of time

Answer 60

1. Measures at different points in time can track the development of individuals. 2. Changes in thoughts, feelings and behaviours can be documented. 3. Various techniques can be used

Answer 61

1. do not have participant variables as the same individuals are followed over time. 2. allow topics such as child development to be studied.

Answer 62

1. Participant attrition is more likely as participants may move away or lose contact. 2. Temporal validity may impact on the findings

Answer 63

a statement describing the purpose of research

Answer 64

testable statement predicting the outcome(s) of an investigation

Answer 65

This means clearly defining the IV, DV and co-variables

Answer 66

1. experimental 2. alternative 3. directional 4. non-directional 5. null

Answer 67

predict an outcome for experiments (IV and DV)

Answer 68

the alternative to the null hypothesis and used for all types of research

Answer 69

states the kind of difference/correlation

Answer 70

there will be a difference/correlation but does not state the direction of the difference or relationship

Answer 71

states there is no significant relationship/difference and that results are due to chance

Answer 72

improves validity. experimenters should control as many extraneous variables as possible.

Answer 73

standardisation.

Answer 74

to ensure participants have the same experience. 1. The only difference should be the IV 2. Participants should be given the same instructions.

Answer 75

1. situational 2. participant

Answer 76

a factor in the environment can act as an extraneous variable

Answer 77

using standardised procedures, ensuring the same conditions for all participants

Answer 78

The participants in one group may be different from participants in the other group in important ways.

Answer 79

1. random allocation to groups 2.matched pairs design 3. repeated measures design

Answer 80

1. quantitative 2. qualitative 3. subjective 4. objective

Answer 81

describes human behaviour and experience using numbers and statistical analysis can be measured

Answer 82

1. Scores can be compared. 2. Results can be compared if the study is replicated. 3. Numbers and statistics are more objective and less prone to researcher bias. 4. It is more scientific as statistical tests can be conducted.

Answer 83

1. It does not always allow us to understand what a participant is thinking or feeling. 2. Scales may limit how participants can respond, reducing validity 3. Reduces behaviour to a single number, failing to find out why a participant has behaved a particular way.

Answer 84

descriptive, in-depth detail of behaviour and experience not measured

Answer 85

1. Provides an in-depth understanding of the thoughts and feelings of participants. 2. Can be rich in detail and insightful, so not reductionist. 3. Researchers can understand why people behave in a certain way.

Answer 86

1. Analysis is prone to researcher bias as the interpretation is more subjective 2. Statistical analysis cannot be made- so less scientific. 3. Studies are harder to replicate so findings can be less reliable

Answer 87

data that can be influenced by personal thoughts, feelings or opinions likely to be qualitative data

Answer 88

data that is unbiased and factual. often quantitative.

Answer 89

by getting another researcher to interpret the data, removing researcher bias

Answer 90

a group selected to represent the target population and findings from the studied group should be generalisable to the target population.

Answer 91

1. opportunity 2. random 3. volunteer (self-selecting)

Answer 92

selecting those available at the time of research

Answer 93

-Strength: a large sample can be obtained quickly and without much effort. -Weakness: researchers may choose people who look suitable and therefore bias the sample.

Answer 94

Each participant is randomly selected from the target population. Every member of the group has an equal chance of being selected

Answer 95

-Strength: more likely to be representative. -Weakness: some of the people picked may not want to take part and will need replacing

Answer 96

asking for volunteers to take part in research through advertisements

Answer 97

-Strength: useful when the research requires participants of a specific type or with a particular experience. -Weaknesses: people may not see the advert or make time to reply, or they may just ignore it. Those who do volunteer may be different from those who do not choose to volunteer.

Answer 98

1. valid consent 2. right to withdraw 3. minimizing harm 4. lack of deception 5. confidentiality 6. privacy 7. debriefing

Answer 99

Participants should be asked if they want to take part and be given relevant information about what is involved. Consent should be provided before collecting data

Answer 100

Participants should be made aware they can withdraw from the study at any time during or after data collection

Answer 101

Researchers must minimise harm to participants’ psychological wellbeing, personal values, privacy or dignity and mental health. The risk of harm should be no greater than the participant might expect in their everyday lives.

Answer 102

Participants should not be deceived about the aims or misled about the study. When deception is involved, a full debrief is needed.

Answer 103

Participants’ data should not be passed to others who are not involved in the research and it should not be published in a way that would reveal their identity.

Answer 104

Considered within observational research. Participants should only be observed in public situations where they might expect to be observed by others.

Answer 105

Participants should be told what has happened, asked if they have concerns and given explanations at the end of the study.

Answer 106

1. minimising harm and maximising benefit 2. replacement 3. species (and strain) 4. numbers 5. pain and distress 6. housing 7. reward, deprivation and aversive stimuli

Answer 107

Researchers should minimise harm, discomfort and suffering to the animals and maximise the benefit of the research

Answer 108

Alternatives to using animals should be considered where possible

Answer 109

Appropriate species should be chosen (least likely to suffer). Nonhuman primates should be avoided due to the high level of sentience.

Answer 110

Researchers should use the smallest number of animals possible to meet the research aims. Animals should not be used over a long period of time.

Answer 111

Death, disease and psychological or physical discomfort should be avoided. An animal’s environment should be enriched where possible.

Answer 112

The social and natural behaviour of the species should be considered. Animals who would normally live in social groups should not be isolated. Overcrowding should be avoided.

Answer 113

Normal feeding patterns should be adhered to and deprivation or aversive stimulation should be avoided, or kept to the minimum.

Answer 114

whether the observed effect is a genuine one

Answer 115

the extent to which findings can be generalised beyond the research setting

Answer 116

the extent to which a researcher has measured what they intended to measure

Answer 117

1. social desirability bias 2. subjectivity 3. demand characteristics 4. low controls

Answer 118

participants may want to present themselves in the best way possible, so answers may not represent true thoughts and feelings.

Answer 119

participants will not behave as they usually do if they alter behaviour as a consequence of the cues in research.

Answer 120

1. generalisability 2. ecological validity 3. temporal validity

Answer 121

It should be possible to apply findings to people other than the participants sometimes referred to population validity sample generalisable if its representative

Answer 122

the extent to which the results of research can be generalised from the environmental conditions created by the researcher to other environmental conditions. research done in real life settings has high ecological validity

Answer 123

whether the results can be generalised to a different time period.

Answer 124

extent to which a psychological measure gives consistent measurements

Answer 125

1. test-retest method- administering the same test to the same person on 2 different occasions 2. split-half method: splitting the test into two and administering each half to the same person; the scores from the two halves should be the same 3. inter-rater reliability:

Answer 126

the extent to which two or more independent observers agree on the observations they have made

Answer 127

If another psychologist can carry out a study in the same way to see if they get consistent results

Answer 128

helps researchers show the reliability of findings

Answer 129

summarise all data into one score

Answer 130

1. mean -arithmetic average 2. median- middle value of a set of scores 3. mode- most frequent score

Answer 131

helps researchers see how similar data points are and how varied data points are

Answer 132

1. range- difference between highest and lowest score 2. standard deviation- measure of spread of data around the mean

Answer 133

1. bar charts- used wen data is in categories. Differences in measures of central tendency can be shown. 2. histograms- used when data is on a continuous scale. A distribution of scores can be shown. 3. scatter graphs- used to show correlations