research methods Flashcards
(88 cards)
1
Q
what is an aim
A
a general statement of what the research intends to investigate
2
Q
what is an hypothesis
A
a clear precise testable statement that states the relationship between two variable to be investigated
3
Q
what is an null hypothesis
A
states there is no change in the measurement of the DV as a result of the manipulation in the IV
4
Q
whats an alternative hypothesis
A
states there is a change in the measurement of the DV as a result of the manipulation in the IV
5
Q
whats an non directional hypothesis
A
states there is a difference in the measurement of the DV (as a result of the manipulation of the IV)but not the direction the results will go
6
Q
what is an directional hypothesis
A
states that there s a difference in the measurement of the DV(as a result of the manipulation of the IV) , says which direction the change will go
7
Q
when would you use a directional hypothesis?
A
you will use a directional hypothesis when there is previous studies done and they suggest a particular outcome
8
Q
when would you use a non-directional hypothesis?
A
you use non-directional hypothesis if there is no previous research or studies done
9
Q
A
10
Q
1)what is operationalisation
2)operationalise this hypothesis “the group that drinks an energy drink will be chattier than the group that drinks water”
A
1) clearly defining variables is terms of how they can be measured
2) after drinking 300ml of an energy drink participants will say more words in the next 5 minutes than the participants who drink 300ml of water
11
Q
what is an extraneous variable
A
any variable other than IV that may affect the DV if not controlled
12
Q
What is an confounding variable
A
a vairable other than the IV that changes systematically (meaning as you change IV your changing the confounding variable). this then hides the truth of the IVs effect on the DV
13
Q
name all the extraneous variables
A
-situational variable
-participant variable
-investigator variable
-demand characteristics
-order effect
14
Q
give the definition of situational variables
A
environmental factors that can affect the DV (this could be related to the temperature,noise or visual difference)
15
Q
give the definition of participant variable
A
any individual difference between participants that may affect the DV
16
Q
give the definition of investigator effect
A
any effect of the investigators behavior on the DV
17
Q
give the definition of demand characteristics
A
if the participants think they have discovered the aim they may alter behaviour to match what they think the researcher wants
18
Q
how can you control extraneous vairables
A
this can be done through:
-randomisation
-standardisation
-counterbalancing
-double and single blind
19
Q
what is randomisation
A
minimizes bias by allowing participants to be allocated to conditions by chance
20
Q
what is counterbalancing
A
counter balancing spreads the effect of tiredness . half of the participants take part in conditions A then B whiles the other half of the participants take part in conditions B then A
21
Q
what is standardisation
A
participants go through the same procedures, are given the same instructions and are in the same environment
22
Q
what is signle blind studies?
A
sinlge blind studies are when participants are unaware of the treatment which helps avoid placebo effect?
23
Q
what is double blind studies?
A
double blind studies are when participants and researchers are unaware of who receives the treatment, this helps the researcher avoid the influence of expectation and remain unbiased
24
Q
what are the 4 types of experiments?
A
-laboratory experiment
-field experiment
-natural experiment
-quasi-experiment
25
what is a laboratory experiment?
an experiment that takes place in a controlled environment within which the researcher manipulates the IV an records the effect on the DV, whilst maintaining strict control of extraneous variables
26
give me strengths for lab experiments? (A03)
+A strength of lab studies is that they consistently control all variables which aren't the IV that affect the DV which means a cause
and effect relationship can be established
+ another strength of lab studies is that they have high internal validity since the change in DV in lab studies is due to IV (as all extraneous variables are controlled)
+another strength of lab studies is they are easily replicated since they use standardised procedures
27
give me limitations for lab studies? (A03)
-a limitation of lab studies is that they lack ecological validity since a lab study cannot be applied to a range of real world situations
-another limitation for lab studies is the task conducted don't reflect task done in real world situations which means they lack mundane realism
-another limitation of lab studies is demand characteristics as participants are aware they are in a study which means they may change heir behaviour to match the aim
28
what is a field experiment?
an experiment that takes place in a natural setting within which the researcher manipulates the IV and records the effect it has on the DV
29
give me strengths for field experiments? (A03)
+ a strength of field studies is they have higher ecological validity as pps behave more naturally in their normal environment which means behaviour observed can be applied to other naturalistic settings
+another strength is the task used in field studies have mundane realism as the activities they do in the field study are activities they usually carry out
+another strength of field studies is as pps are unaware they are in a study there will be no demand characteristics
30
give me limitations for field experiments? (A03)
-a limitation of field studies is they don't have control over possible extraneous variables which means these variables can affect the measurement of the DV
-another limitation of field studies are it is difficult to assign participants to separate conditions which means the change in the DV can be due to participant variables which reduces internal validity
31
what is a natural experiment?
an experiment where the IV is not bought about by the researcher it would occur even if the researcher isn't there, the researcher records the effect it has on the DV
32
give me strengths for natural experiments? (A03)
+a strength of natural studies is they are high in external validity as natural experiments are a example of real life behaviours occurring in the real world
+another strength of natural experiments are it enables researchers to research areas which cant be researched in controlled experiments due to ethical or cost reasons
33
give me limitations for natural experiments? (A03)
-a limitation of natural experiments is they are often rare events which cant be replicated to test for reliability
-another limitation of natural experiments is since these events will occur regardless of the researcher the researcher is unable to control any extraneous variables so they cant claim they found cause and effect relationship
34
what is quasi-experiment?
participants cannot be randomly assigned between levels of IV as the levels of IV in quasi experiments are innate characteristics of the participant
35
give me strengths for quasi experiments? (A03)
+ a strength of quasi experiments are they are the only way to experimentally study factors that are pre existing characteristics of pps
36
give me limitations for quasi experiments? (A03)
-a limitation of quasi experiments is that there could be other factors which systematically change with the IV which alters the measurement of the DV (confounding vairables)
37
what is an observation?
a observation is a non experimental technique where the researcher watches and records spontaneous/ natural behaviour of participants without manipulating levels of IV
38
what are the 6 types of observations?
-controlled observation
-naturalistic observation
-overt observation
-covert observation
-participant observation
-non participant observation
39
what is a controlled observation?
watching and recording behaviour within a structured enviroment
40
what are strengths and limitations of controlled observations? (A03)
+a strength of controlled observation Is that since the environment is controlled and everyone is given the same experience it means extraneous variables are less likely responsible for observed behaviour
+results from controlled observations are more likely to be reliable due to using the same standardised procedure
-a limitation of a controlled observation is due to the artificiality of the observational environment it can result in unnatural behaviour
41
what is naturalistic observation?
watching and recording behaviour in the setting within which it would normally occur
42
what are strengths and limitations of naturalistic observations? (A03)
+a strength of naturalistic observation is it has high realism as the participants are likely to show more naturalistic behaviour
+another strength of naturalistic observation is it has external validity which means the behaviour is more likely to be generalisable to other situations
-a limitation of naturalistic observations is it has low internal validity due to extraneous variables being responsible for observed behaviour as the observation is not being conducted in a controlled environment
43
what is a overt observation?
the participant can see the researcher and are aware their behaviour is being observed as part of an observational study
44
what are strengths and limitations of overt observations? (A03)
+a strength of overt observations is it is ethical since their is informed consent as the pps know they're partaking in research
- limitation of overt observations is demand characteristics as they are aware they are being observed
45
what is a covert observation?
participants are not aware they're being observed and they cant see someone taking notes? recording
46
what are strengths and limitations of covert observations? (A03)
+a strength is since participants are unaware theyre being observed they will show more natural behaviour which means there will be no demand characteristic
-a limitation is it is unethical as the participants cant give informed consent
47
what is a participant observation?
the researcher joins the group thats being observed and takes part in the groups activites and conversations
48
what are strengths and limitations of participant observations? (A03)
+since researcher is taking part they can build rapport which leads to PP acting more naturally and disclosing more
-limitation is researcher can lose objectivity because interpretation of behaviour is biased as they only see from the perspective of the PP
49
what is a non participant behaviour?
the researcher is separate from the participants recording observation without taking part in group activates
50
what are strengths and limitations of
non participant observations? (A03)
+researcher is likely to remain objective in their interpretation of the PPs behaviour
-due to no rapport with PP the researcher can miss out on important insight
51
why is operationalised behavioural categories important?
because behaviour is open to interpretation, it can be interpreted in different ways. operationalised behavioural categories makes it clearly identifiable and measurable
52
what are the 2 ways a researcher can record an observation
-time sampling
-event sampling
53
what is time sampling?
time sampling involves recording behaviour in a pre-established time frame for example every 30 seconds
54
what are the strengths and limitations of time sampling? (A03)
+more flexible to record unexpected types of behaviour
-can miss behaviour that happens outside the timeframe
55
what is event sampling?
researcher records/tallies every time a behaviour occurs from the operationalised behavioural categories
56
what are the strengths and limitations of event sampling? (A03)
+as long as the behaviour is included in the operationalised behavioural categories then it should be recorded at any stage of the observation
-can miss any relevant behaviour that isn't on the list of behavioural categories
57
what is inter-observer reliability?
when 2 (or more) trained observers conduct the same observation
58
what is the process for inter-observer reliability?
1. the agree to use the same operationalised behavioural categories
2. the observation is conducted separately by each observer
3. they compare the 2 independently produced data set, then test for correlation since it can asses the strength of the relationship between 2 data sets (correlation of 0.8 or stronger is accepted)
59
what is a self report technique?
when PPs reveal information about themselves in response to a series of questions
60
what are 2 self reporting techniques?
-interviews
-questionnaires
61
whats the difference between interviews and questionnaires?
interviews are where PPs give information in response to direct questioning from researcher where as questionnaires is where PPs give information is response to a set of questions that have been sent to them
62
what are the strengths and limitations of closed questions?
+they can produce qualitative data which means there will be more valid responses
-since open questions produce qualitative data its more difficult to spot patterns in response
63
what are the strengths and limitations of open questions?
+closed questionnaires produces quantitative which makes it more easy to spot patterns in the data set
-less valid since they cant expand on their response
64
how could you design interviews and questionnaires?
-avoid complex terminology so PPs can understand the terms and accurately respond
-use a skilled interviewer to reword questions which are difficult to understand without changing the meaning of the question
-piloting question to avoid any questions that can give away the aim or to take out questions which wont produce detailed response
65
what is a structured interview?
structured interviews are made up of a pre-determined set of questions that are asked in a fixed order
66
what is the strengths and limitations of structured interviews? (A03)
+the interviewer does not have to be highly trained to conduct the interview
+the interview responses are easy to compare because of the same Q
67
what is a unstructured interview?
a unstructured interview is when there is a no setlist of questions it very much like a open conversation
68
what is the strengths and limitations of unstructured interviews? (A03)
+rapport is more likely to be built which means the PP will feel more comfortable to answer and provide detailed responses
+there can be additional questions asked which can provide better detailed response
-the interviewers need to be highly trained so they can think of appropriate questions to ask
69
evaluate questionnaires? (A03)
+questionnaires don't require a trained interview and they can be easily distributed which makes collecting a large amount of data cheap and easy
+when using closed questionnaires they can compare large amounts of responses easily
-question that PPs don't understand cant be rephrased
-there could be acquiesce bias since people don't take questionnaires seriously
70
evaluate interviews? (A03)
+they can rephrase questions that are difficult to understand
+they can build a rapport which makes the PPs taking the interview seriously
-there can be interviewer effect
-having a interviewer per PP is expensive
71
what is the difference between correlation and experiments?
experiments require manipulation of the IV and to measure how it effects the DV, whereas in a correlation study no variables are manipulated, the 2 co-variables are measured and compared to look for a relationship
72
what is a co-vairable?
co-variables are the variables investigated within a correlation (cant be referred to as IV or DV because correlation looks for association between the variables not cause and effect relationship)
73
what is a positive correlation?
what is a negative correlation?
what is a zero correlation?
- a positive correlation is when one co-variable increases the other co-variable increases
- a negative correlation is when one co-variable increases the other co-variable decreases
- a zero correlation is when there is no relationship between the two variables
74
what is correlation coefficient?
correlation coefficient represents the strength and direction of the relationship between the co-variables (as a number between -1 and +1)
75
evaluate correlation? (A03)
-correlation does not show causation since a strong correlation suggest a relationship exists between 2 variables but it doesn't show which co-variables led to the change in the other co-variable and there could be a third variable that caused the change in both covariables
+often the co-variables data already exists and is easily accessible, this means there is usually few ethical problem in data collection
76
what is content analysis?
content analysis is a type of observational research where people are studied indirectly based on their communication, it is used to analyse qualitative data and transform it into quantitative data
77
what is the aim of content analysis?
the aim of content analysis is to summarise the main ideas presented in the spoken or written material and to conclude the data
78
how can you perform content analysis?
-decide a question
-select a sample (could be diary eneteris \ tweets/ diary enters)
-coding:this where the researcher decides on categories to be recorded (occurrence of particular words) this would be based on the research question
-work through the data: read the sample, tally the number of times the pre-determined categories appear
-test for reliability via via test-retest reliability and inter-rater reliability
79
how can researchers test for reliability in content analysis?
-test-retest reliability: run the content analyssi again on the same sample (the material used the first time e.g. text) and compare the results
-inter-rater reliability: a second rater conducts the content analysis with same coding categories and data and compares them
80
evaluate content analysis? (A03)
81
what is a thematic analysis ?
a form of content analysis where the outcome is qualitative, the main aim is to identify themes in data
82
what are the 2 types of reliability and explain them?
internal reliability-is how well all the questions in a test or questionnaire measure the same thing in a consistent way.
external reliability-similar/ same result are produced
83
what are the ways of testing for reliability?
-test- retest reliability (external reliability)
- inter-observer reliability (external reliability)
-split half method (internal reliability)
84
what is test retest reliability?
so test retest reliability is a way to check if a test gives consistent results over time, to do this they give the same test to the same group of people on 2 different occasions which is usually separated by a few weeks. after both test have been completed the scores are compared if the scores are similar then the test is said to have high test retest reliability
85
what is the split half method?
the split half method is when questionnaires or test is split into 2 halves and the PP complete both parts and the researcher compare the 2 sets of scores to see if they're similar, if the scores from both halves are consistent and closely related then the test is said to have high internal reliability
86
explain how you can assess validity ?
-face validity: does the test appear to measure what it claims to be measuring
-Concurrent validity: is when a new test gives similar results to an already trusted test that measures the same thing — at the same time.
-predictive validity: the test can predict what will happen later
87
what is peer review?
the assessment of scientific work by others who are specialised in the same field to ensure that any research intended for publication is high quality
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