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Paper 1 Psychology > Research Methods > Flashcards

Research Methods Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a hypothesis?

A

Prediction, or testable statement
That must contain the IV and DV and be very specific (known as operationalisation)

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2
Q

How can a hypothesis be directional or non directional?

A

Directional- a prediction that the hypothesis will only have one outcome
Non- directional- hypothesis predicts two possible outcomes.

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3
Q

what is an extraneous variable?

A

Variables that are not part of the study but can affect the dependent variable .

Confounding variables are ones that are not part of the study but have a systematic effect on the DV

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4
Q

what is a control group?

A

A group that does not experience the IV being manipulated but will have their DV being measured anyways. So the control group can be used as a comparison point between the groups that have had a changed IV

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5
Q

What is a lab experiment?

A

A place where the IV is manipulated to see the effect on the DV in controlled conditions
It provides valid results
However lacks ecological validity

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6
Q

what is a field experiment?

A

where the iv is manipulated to see the effect on the DV in a more natural situation
Will provide more ecological validity
Will have more extraneous variables affecting the DV

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7
Q

what is a natural experiment?

A

where a researcher records the effects of a naturally occurring IV on a DV
This provides opportunities for research that could not have taken place otherwise; as it would have been unethical or impossible to manipulate the IV
It is not possible to control the situation at all

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8
Q

What is a quasi experiment?

A

The researcher is studying something that cannot be randomnly assigned but is an IV that is just an innate characteristic of the participants involved.

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9
Q

Limitations of a quasi experiment?

A

Participant variables that cannot be controlled that could be a confound on the DV
This is due to the groups being dictated by the independent variable e.g. you cannot randomly assign participants to be male or female
So we cant be sure if the IV is affecting the DV

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10
Q

What is internal validity?

A

How certain we are that the IV is affecting the DV
The greater the control = the less extraneous variables= the more internal validity

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11
Q

what is ecological validity?

A

Refers to the extent that a study can be generalised to the real world
The more the behaviour takes place in a natural setting the higher the ecological validity

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12
Q

what is an independent group design?

A

Multiple groups of participants will experience different l of the changes in the IV
Participants are less likely to guess the aim of the experiment
the measurement of the DV will not be affected fatigue

more expensive
the natural differences between groups could confound the research

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13
Q

limitations of independent group study?

A

Participants are less likely to guess the aim of the experiment
the measurement of the DV will not be affected fatigue

disadvantages

more expensive
the natural differences between groups could confound the research

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14
Q

what is repeated measures design

A

Only one group of participants that experience all the chnages of the IV

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15
Q

dis/advantage of repeated measure design

A

adv
Fewer participants needed
no potential variables to affect the DV

dis
Demand characteristics - people may act and change behaviour
they may know the hypothesis
they may be better at the task the 2nd time around due to being able to practise it

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16
Q

what is a matched pairs design?

A

Particpants are matched based on the conditions on some quality that is controlled

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17
Q

advantages/disadvantages of matched pairs design?

A

Reduces participant variables as a confounding variable
reduces demand characteristics
No order effects
dis
matching particpants with the same relevant variables can be difficult and rare.

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18
Q

Name the 5 types of sampling methods

A

Opportunity sampling
Random sampling
Systematic sampling
Stratified sampling
Volunteer sampling

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19
Q

Advantage of using a stratified sample

A

will be a more accurate representation of the target population

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20
Q

How to stop order effects from occurring in a repeated measures design

A

The solution would be counterbalancing, half of the participants would do one task while the other task does the other. Also stops confounding variables naturally occurring in the participants

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21
Q

what is order effects?

A

people becoming better at the task the better they become at it
or becoming bored of the task

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22
Q

disadvantage of using a stratified sample?

A

it can take time and money to go through subgroups and find out how many should be represented

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23
Q

adv/disadva of random sampling

A

Ad- less likely to be biased because everyone has the same chance of being selected
disadvantage- by chance pick participants that are all similar or people may refuse

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24
Q

adva/disadvantage of systematic sampling?

A

(using a predetermined rule to select participants)
The population is more likely to be evenly represented because of the use of an objective system
Dis-could be biased by chance if the pattern coincides with population patterns

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25
advan/disadvantage of opportunity sampling
advantage-convient as you choose particpants that are easily avaliable disadvantage- may be biased as one type of individual is collected together
26
advantage/disadvantage of volunteer sampling
Advantage of volunter sampling is that particpants come to you dis-people who volunteer may be of a certain personality type which leads to low population validity.
27
what is the British psychological society code line of ethics?
Protection from psychological harm deception debriefed- must be informed if purposely mislead informed consent-the partcipant is fully informed privacy
28
how to deal with ethical concerns in research?
debrief-researcher explain true aim of study , participants are given the right to withhold their data however doesn't do much to reverse psychological harm caused presumptive consent- if the participant had informed consent which would bring demand characteristics into the study. the researcher overcomes this by asking a different group of people the study and seeing if they would consent or not. Prior general consent-participants give consent to a range of studies thus they have given permission to be deceived by the researcher
29
describe the different types of observations
overt- particpants are aware they are being observed. demand characteristics may affect behaviour covert- observing people without their knowledge ethically- enroach's participants privacy participant- is observed by someone who also is a participant in the study, higher validity non-participant- the observer is separate from the participants Naturalistic- the observation is carried out in an everyday setting, high ecological validity controlled- behaviour is observed but under conditions predetermined by the organiser.
30
what is a time and event based observation design?
behaviour is recorded at set time intervals event based- a behaviour is recorded every time it is seen
31
how to stop observer bias?
2 observers watch the same person and agree on 80% of the the behaviours they observe to fit their behaviour categories
32
define open and closed questions?
open questions- provide qualitative data closed questions- provide quantitative data easy to analyse
33
what are the advantages/disadvantages to using a questionaire self-report method?
convenient to collect lots of data, people are more likely to give out personal data on a questionnaire dis-prone to social desirability bias which leads to a biased participant sample.
34
what are the 3 types of interviews?
structured interview- uses a predetermined set of questions -helps for analysis of data unstructured interview-the researcher develops new questions as they go along semi structured- a mix of both
35
advantages/disadvantags of structured interviews
ad- standardised so easy to repeat results should be easier to analyse than unstructured interviews disadvantages interviewer effects- must not give away what they think of a response
35
adv/disadvan of unstructured interviews?
More information can be gained as it is more qualitative so increases validity interviwer bias.
36
how to make a questionaire reliable and valid?
Use of closed questions- a more consistent analysis can be done valid- open questions gives rich details, particpants are less likely to ie
37
how to make an interview more reliable and valid?
use of structured questions helps for easy analysis of answers valid-use of a double blind interview, both participant and interviewer don't know the aim of the study
38
what is a correlation?
used to measure the extent that two variables share a relationship.
39
advantages of correlations
allow the researcher to investigate naturally occurring variables and they easy to carry out
40
disadvantages of correlation
third variable issue-an unknown third issue may effect the correlation correlation is not causation it only identifies a relationship.
41
why are pilot studies used?
they are small-scale procedures done before the actual study they check in the procedure is standardised see if the operationalised variable is working
42
what is primary and secondary data?
primary data- data collected by the researcher solely for the purpose of their investigation secondary-data collected by someone else used for further research such as a meta-analysis
43
adv/dis of secondary data
advanatge- is cheaper and data can be anaylsed from a large range of sources use a triangulation of methods to check for reliability and validity of research. disadvantage- not be tailored to the aims of the study, or lacks temporal validity , we don't know if the variables where operationlised.
43
advantages/dis of primary data
more valid as their is a careful operationlisation of variables specific to this research expensive- as you must obtain the data yourself and run the study
44
how to analyse qualitative data?
content analysis-researcher goes through the data and identifies how often key patterns are identified
45
how to analyse quantitative data
using measure of central tendency and measure of dispersion (standard deviation such as using a frequency curve)
46
define test-retest
involves administering the same test to the participants on multiple occasions. if the results are very similar has high reliability.
47
define inter-observer reliability
this is too check that observers apply behavioural categories in the same way. e.g both observes the same behaviours as anger. and agree to 80% and beyond.
48
give ways we can improve reliability
-use standardised procedures - use of pilot study -training of interviewers and observers means less likely for their to be bias.
49
define external validity
factors outside of the study . such as population validity ethnocentric samples androcentric samples oestrogenic samples temporal and ecological validity.
50
define internal validity
refers to how we make sure the manipulation of the independent variable is the only thing affecting the outcome. this can be strengthen using: controlled operationalised variables face validity- is something a true test of the behaviour it is measuring? experimentor realism-do the pps think the situation is real investigator effects
51
what is face validity?
is how we determine that the test is measuring what we want it to measure.
52
concurrent validity
if the use of the test has similar results to a all ready well established test, this would indicate that the test has high concurrent validity.
53
replication
repeating the study on a different culture/age group/gender provides population validity if findings are still similar.
54
advantages of case studies
Case studies are usually longitudinal so can be analysed over time. case studies are so rich in information they give insight into a phenomena that we cannot observe in any other way. acknowledges the importance of the individual experience..
55
disadvantages of case studies
case study findings are not representative of any particular group or population so a lack of generalisability may lack reliability as patient is recalling upon past events so memory is not accurate
56
what is a content analysis?
this is observational research that enables a study of human behaviour by examining pieces of communication people have produced.
57
thematic analysis
a qualitive approach to a content analysis.
58
advantages of content analysis
the data already exists so no ethical issues, is flexible as it can produce both quantitative and qualitative data
59
disadvantages of content analysis
the data we are studying may be biased suffers from a lack of objectivity.
60
what are features of science
emipirical evidence-data that is collected through observation or experiments objectivity- how unbiased is the work? control- are the extraneous variables controlled to establish the clear cause and effect? hypothesis-serves as a prediction and is derivered from theory replication- refers to if the method is repeated with different people and if similar we can be sure of the accuracy
61
what is the hypothetic-deductive model
theories of the world should come first which generats hypothesis's which can be falsified by experiments.
62
what is falsification?
scientifically sought to disprove your own theory
63
what is a paradigm?
a set of assumptions that makes up a discipline. e.g the assumptions of the psychodynamic approach made a paradigm
64
paradigm shift
this is the shift too which assumptions are mainly accepted.
65
define nominal data
this is data in the form of catgories no ranking
66
define ordinal data
data that can be ranked or ordered but the intervals between data is not known. e.g on a scale of 1 to 10 for happiness the difference between 9 and 10 is different than 4 to 5.
67
define interval data
data with equal intervals in between values. the difference between 20 to 30 is the same between 30 to 40.
68
when would you use the sign test?
on a study that does: nominal data repeated measures design explores a difference between each condition of the IV.
69
one limitation of using the range to represent the spread of stress ratings
these range values only take the two extreme stress ratings into account * these range values are not calculated using each individual stress rating * these range values can be distorted by outliers, e.g. it could be the case that most students in condition A had a stress ratings of 4 but one individual hated running and so reported a stress rating of 10 in this condition, this could result in the range of 6 as shown but would not represent the spread of the data collected.

Paper 1 Psychology (5 decks)

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