Research Methods

Question 1

What are experimental methods ?

Answer 1

The manipulation of the independent variable to have an effect on the dependent variable, which is measured and stated in results
Either field, lab, quasi or natural

Question 2

What is a hypothesis ?

Answer 2

Clearly states the relationship between the variables being investigated

Question 3

What is an aim ?

Answer 3

A general statement made by the researcher tells us what they plan on investigating
Purpose of their study

Question 4

What are the different types of hypothesis ?

Answer 4

Directional - states the direction of the relationship that will be shown between the variables, used when there has been a range of research carried out which relates to the aim, previous research would suggest a particular outcome
Non directional - does not state the direction of the relationship that will be shown between the variables, used when there has been no previous research carried out which relates to the studies aim, research is contradictory

Question 5

What is the independent variable ?

Answer 5

Has been manipulated by the researcher or simply changes naturally to have an effect on the DV which is then measured
Properly test the effect of IV - the experimental condition and the control condition

Question 6

What is the dependent variable ?

Answer 6

Dependent variable is measured by the researcher and has been caused by a change to the IV

Question 7

Who do you operationalised variables ?

Answer 7

Researcher clearly defining the variables in terms of how they are being measured
variables should be defined and measured

Question 8

What are extraneous variables ?

Answer 8

Any other variable which is not the IV that affects the DV and does not vary systematically with the IV

Question 9

What are confounding variables ?

Answer 9

Any variable other than the IV that affects the DV, change systematically with the IV
Difficult for the researcher to be sure of the origin of the impact of the DV as the confounding variable could have been the cause

Question 10

What are demand characteristics ?

Answer 10

Any cue the researcher or the research situation may give which makes the pts feel like they can guess the aim of the investigation
Cause pts to act differently than how they would usually act
Change their behaviour to fit the situation
Act in a way they think the researcher wants them to, may intentionally underperform to sabotage the study results
Affects validity of results

Question 11

What is participant reactivity ?

Answer 11

Pts from the start of the experiment are trying to figure out what’s going on in the new situation they find themselves in

Question 12

What is investigator effects ?

Answer 12

Participant reactivity can lead to investigator effects
Any unwanted influence from the researcher’s behaviour, either conscious or unconscious, on the DV

Question 13

How do you minimise the effects of confounding and extraneous variables ?

Answer 13

Randomisation - use of chance to reduce the effects of bias from investigator effects
Standardisation - using the exact same formalised procedures and instructions for every single pts involved in the research process

Question 14

Laboratory experiment

Answer 14

Special environment whereby different variables can be controlled
+ High degree of control
+ Replication
- Low ecological validity

Question 15

Field experiment

Answer 15

natural environment, not in a lab but still with variables being well controlled
+ Naturalistic, high ecological validity
- Ethical considerations
- Loss of control

Question 16

Quasi experiment

Answer 16

IV has not been determined by the researcher, instead it naturally exists
+Controlled conditions, replicable, high internal validity
- Cannot randomly allocate pts, confounding variables

Question 17

Natural experiments

Answer 17

IV is not brought about by the researcher, would have happened even if the researcher had not been there
+High external validity
-Naturally occurring events, not replicable due to ethical issues
- Cannot be generalised due to being individual case studies

Question 18

What is sampling ?

Answer 18

A small group of people from the target population

Question 19

Opportunity sampling

Answer 19

Pts happen to be available at the time, recruited conveniently
+ Time saving, less costly
- Not representative
- Researcher bias, can controlled who they want to select

Question 20

Random sampling

Answer 20

All members of the population have the same equal chances of being the one that is selected
A complete list of the target population is obtained
All names in the list are assigned a number
The sample is generated through the use of some lottery method
+ No researcher bias
- Pts may refuse to take part, volunteer sample
- Time consuming

Question 21

Systematic sampling

Answer 21

Predetermined system whereby every nth member is selected from the sampling frame
Sampling frame is produced - a list of people in the target population
A sampling system is nominated or this interval may be determined randomly to reduce bias
Researcher works through sampling frame until the sample is complete
+ Avoids researcher bias
+ Fairly representative

Question 22

Stratified sample

Answer 22

Reflects the proportions of people in certain sub groups within the population
Researcher identifies the different strata make up the population
Proportions needed for the sample to be representative are worked out
The pts make up each stratum are selected using random sampling
+ Avoids researcher bias
+ Representative as it accurately reflects the population
- Cannot reflect all the ways people are different

Question 23

Volunteer sample

Answer 23

Involves pts selecting themselves to be part of a sample
+ easy to collect, less time consuming
- volunteer bias
- May affect a certain type of person, cannot be generalised

Question 24

Independent groups design

Answer 24

Only perform in one condition of the IV
Two groups of pts in each condition
+ No order effects
+Demand characteristics eliminated
- Participant variables
Random allocation - ensures that each pts has the same chance of being in one condition or the IV as another

Question 25

Repeated measures

Answer 25

Same pts take part in all conditions of the IV + Eliminates differences between pts + Not time consuming - Order effects Fixed through counterbalancing - this is when half of the pts do conditions in one order and the other half do it in an opposite order

Question 26

Matched pairs

Answer 26

Pairs of pts are matched on some variable that has been found to affect the DV, one member of each pair does one condition and the other does another + No order effects - Time consuming and expensive to match pts - Large pool of potential pts needed

Question 27

What is a pilot study ?

Answer 27

Small scale version of an investigation which is done before the real investigation is undertaken Carried out to allow potential problems of the study and the procedure to be modified to deal with these Allows money and time to be saved

Question 28

What is a single blind procedure

Answer 28

Researchers do not tell the pts if they are being given a test treatment or a control treatment Ensure pts do not bias the results, avoids demand characteristics

Question 29

What is a double blind procedure

Answer 29

Neither the pts nor the experimenter knows who is receiving a particular treatment Prevent bias in results Stops placebo effect reduces investigator affects

Question 30

What is a control group

Answer 30

Sets a baseline whereby results from the experimental condition can be compared to results from this one Significantly greater change in experimental group compared to control, researcher able to conclude the cause of the effect was the Iv

Question 31

Naturalistic observations

Answer 31

Watching and recording behaviour in the setting where it would normally take place + High ecological validity +High external validity - Replication can be difficult

Question 32

Controlled observations

Answer 32

Watching and recording behaviour structured environment + Easy replication + Focus on particular aspect of behaviour - Low mundane realism = low ecological validity

Question 33

Overt observations

Answer 33

Pts are watched and their behaviour is recorded with them knowing they are being watched + ethically acceptable, informed consent - Unnatural behaviour as pts know they are being watched - Demand characteristics

Question 34

Covert observations

Answer 34

Pts are unaware that their behaviour is being watched and recorded + Natural behaviour, high internal validity + Removes participant reactivity - Ethical issues

Question 35

Participant observations

Answer 35

Researcher who is observing is part of the group that is being observed + More insightful, increase validity of findings - Researcher may lose objectivity - Pts behaviour may change if they realise they are being watched

Question 36

Non participant observations

Answer 36

Researcher observers from a distance so is not part of the group being observed + Researcher more objective - Lose valuable insight - Observer bias

Question 37

What is observer bias ?

Answer 37

Observer's reports are biased by what they expect to see

Question 38

How to solve observer bias

Answer 38

Inter observer reliability - two or more observers are observing and recording behaviour in the same way Reports are compared

Question 39

Unstructured observation

Answer 39

Continuous recording where the researcher writes everything they see during the observation + more richness and depth of detail - Qualitative data difficult to record and analyse - Risk of observer bias

Question 40

Structured observation

Answer 40

Researcher quantifies what they are observing using predetermined list of behaviours and sampling methods + Quantitative data easier to analyse and compare - Not much depth of detail - Difficult to achieve high inter observer reliability as filling the predetermined lists in is subjective

Question 41

Behaviour categories

Answer 41

A target behaviour which is being observed is broken up into more precise components which are observable and measurable

Question 42

Time sampling

Answer 42

Recording of behaviour within a timeframe that is pre established before the study - less time consuming, reduces number of observations - Only collect a small amount of data

Question 43

Event sampling

Answer 43

Counting the number of times a particular behaviour is carried out by the target group or individual - good for infrequent behaviours + difficult to judge the beginning and ending of a behaviour - Complex behaviour observed, important details of the behaviour may be overlooked

Question 44

What is a correlation

Answer 44

Mathematical technique that is used to investigate an association between two variables, co variables Variables are measured Only an association, no cause and effect relationship found Correlation coefficients- determines the strength and the relationship between the two variables

Question 45

What are the different types of correlations

Answer 45

Negative correlation - one variable increases the other decreases negative gradient Positive correlation - one variable increases the other also increases Positive gradient Zero correlation - no relationship found between the co-variables

Question 46

AO3 for Correlations

Answer 46

+ Secondary data, less time consuming - Difficult to establish a cause and effect relationship - Potential to be misused or misinterpreted

Question 47

Qualitative data

Answer 47

Displayed in words, not numerical - Richness and depth of detail - Difficult analyse - Difficult to make comparisons with other data

Question 48

Quantitative data

Answer 48

Displayed numerically + Easier to interpret - Lack of depth in detail - Not able to develop their opinions, low external validity

Question 49

Primary data

Answer 49

Obtained first hand by the researcher - Requires time and effort - Expensive + Targets the exact info which the researcher needs

Question 50

Secondary data

Answer 50

Information collected by someone other than the researcher + Expensive + Requires minimal effort + Data may be outdated or incomplete

Question 51

Meta analysis

Answer 51

researcher combines results from many different studies and uses all the data to form an overall view of the subject they are investigating + more generalisability, larger amount of data is studied + Researcher able to review the evidence with more confidence as there is a lot of it - Publication bias - chooses to leave out negative results

Question 52

Median

Answer 52

Arrange data from lowest to highest then find the central value + Not affected by extreme scores + Good ordinal data - does not use all data

Question 53

Measures of central tendency

Answer 53

Mean -Total of all values in a set of data is divided by the number values + Good for interval data - Influenced by outliers

Question 54

Mode

Answer 54

The most frequently occurring value in a set of data + useful for nominal data - not useful several modes

Question 55

Measures of dispersion

Answer 55

Range - Minus the lowest score from the highest score + Easy to calculate - Affected by extreme values - Does not use all data

Question 56

Distributions

Answer 56

Normal distribution is a symmetrical pattern of frequency data that forms a bell shaped pattern Skewed distribution is a spread frequency that is not symmetrical, instead the data all clusters to one end Positive skew - distribution of data is concentrated on the right Negative skew- Distribution is concentrated on the left

Question 57

Peer review

Answer 57

Assessment of scientific work by experts in the same field, make sure all research is published is of high quality Know which research is worthwhile hence funding can be allocated to it Validate the relevance and quality of research Suggest possible improvements or amendments to research study - Publication bias involved in peer review - Anonymity is a problem - In peer review, any research that opposes mainstream theories tends to be suppressed

Question 58

Implications of Psychological Research for the Economy

Answer 58

Psychopathology - treatments, workers able to return to work Attachment - role of father, mothers can return to work Social influence - Social influence leading to social change - environmental campaigns Memory - Eyewitness testimony, leading question, led to police using CI

Question 59

Case studies

Answer 59

Detailed study into the life of a person which covers great detail into their background Examples - Little Hans, Clive Wearing + Permits investigation of situations that would be otherwise unethical or impractical - not generalisable to wider population as data is only gathered from one person - Time consuming and difficult to replicate

Question 60

Content analysis

Answer 60

studying human behaviour indirectly by studying things that we produce Insight into the values, beliefs and prejudice of our society + External validity, already real world high mundane realism - Interpretative bias - the researcher may ignore some things but pay extra attention to others +Easy replication

Question 61

How to conduct a content analysis ?

Answer 61

Identify hypothesis that you will investigate Create a coding system depending on what you are investigating Gather resources Conduct content analysis and record data in a table Analyse data which is descriptive and qualitative- allows themes, patterns and trends to emerge in data

Question 62

Level of measurement

Answer 62

Nominal data - form of categories, discrete - one item can only appear in each category Ordinal data - represented in a ranking form, no equal intervals Interval data - based on numerical scales which include equal units of precisely defined size

Question 63

Appropriate measures of each level of data

Answer 63

Nominal - Central tendency, Mode Ordinal - Median, Dispersion - Range Interval - Mean, Standard Deviation

Question 64

Scientific Report

Answer 64

Abstract - summary of all key details of the research support, aim, hypothesis, method, results and conclusion, 150-200 words long, whether the research study is worth examining any further Introduction - info of past research on a similar topic whereby relevant theories, studies and concepts are mentioned Method - description of what the researchers exactly did when they undertook the study, should be sufficient detail included so that any other person is able to read this part of the report and replicate the investigation precisely Results - all findings from the study, presented even with inferential and descriptive statistics Discussion - considers what the findings mean for us and psychological theories Referencing - a list of all the sources were quoted or referred to into report, books - author date title of book place of publication publisher Journals - author date title of article journal name journal volume issue number page range

Question 65

What is statistical testing

Answer 65

A way of determining whether hypotheses should be rejected or accepted See if results are statistically significant or if they have only occurred due to chance

Question 66

How to conduct a sign test

Answer 66

State hypotheses Record the data and work out the sign Find the calculated for the sign test, S, number of times the less frequent sign occurs Critical value of S - use the calculated N value (total number of values with the ignored values excluded) and 0.05 there's a less than 5% probability that the results occurred by chance If S is lower than critical value - reject the null hypothesis, there is a significant difference If S is higher then critical value accept the null hypothesis, no significant difference State conclusion whereby you refer back to the hypothesis mentioning the IV and DV and support your conclusion with exact values

Question 67

Choosing an inferential statistical test

Answer 67

design of study - unrelated design/ related design Level of data Difference or correlation is being measured Nominal, diff, unrelated - Chi-square Nominal, diff, related - sign test Nominal, correlation - Chi- square Ordinal, diff, unrelated - Mann- whitney Ordinal, diff, related - Wilcoxon Ordinal, correlation - Spearman's Rho Interval, diff, unrelated - Unrelated t-test Interval, diff, related - Related t-test Interval, correlation - Pearson's R

Question 68

Significance

Answer 68

How sure we are about a correlation or difference existing Null hypotheses - no diff or correlation between the conditions Alternative - is a difference between the conditions

Question 69

Probability

Answer 69

How likely it is for an event to happen usual level of significance is 0.05 P value is usually equal to or less then 0.05 findings have a 5% or less so researchers have a 95% confidence level that their results will find a difference Any risk attached to the research like a 'human cost' p values is set at 0.01

Question 70

Type I

Answer 70

Optimistic error - incorrect rejection of a null hypothesis which is actually true, researcher claim to have found a significant difference when there actually isn't any (false positive)

Question 71

Type II error

Answer 71

Pessimistic error, failure to reject the null hypothesis that is false, researchers claim that there is no significant diff when there actually is one (false negative)

Question 72

Features of science

Answer 72

Paradigm and paradigm shifts - paradigm : set of shared ideas and assumptions within a scientific discipline paradigm shift - significant change in these central assumptions within a scientific discipline, resulting from a scientific revolution Theory construction and hypothesis testing - Theory : a set of general principles and laws which can be used to explain specific events or behaviours. Theory construction : gathering evidence from direct observation during investigations, Make different hypothesis from a theory, deduction - process of deriving a new hypotheses from an already existing one Falsifiability - theory cannot be considered scientific unless it allows itself to be proven untrue, Popper states that successful theories that have been constantly tested and supported simply haven't been proven false yet, hypothesis - deductive method, process of formulating hypotheses that can either be proved or disproved by experimentation Replicability - the extent to which scientific methods and their results can be repeated by other researchers across other contexts and circumstances Objectivity and empirical method - all possible biases from the researcher are minimised so that they don't influence or distort the research process, empirical method - evidence is collected through making direct observations and through direct experiences

Question 73

Psychology as a science

Answer 73

Supporting arguments : + Findings from studies do positively impact society and individuals Against : - Not all research is generalisable - Interpretations can be subjective

Question 74

What are the different ethical issues ?

Answer 74

Informed consent - pts must be told the purpose of the investigation, and potential risks, informed decision on participation Deception - deliberately withholding information from pts or misleading them, only acceptable when pts knowing aim would affect results, or deception will cause distress Protection from harm - must be protected by psychological or physical harm, pts reminded they have the right to withdraw Privacy and confidentiality - Right of privacy, pts have right to controlling info about themselves, difficult to avoid, confidentiality - rights pts have which concerns any personal data of theirs being protected

Question 75

What is the solution to these ethical issues ?

Answer 75

Informed consent - Prior general consent, give permission to take part in many studies whereby one of them involves deception Presumptive consent - gathers opinions from a group like the pts in study but does not inform the actual pts Retrospective - pts asked for consent after they have pts in the study Deception - Debriefing, written or verbal, true nature of study revealed, pts told what their data will be used for, pts have right to choose to withhold or withdraw their data Protection of harm, Researcher should provide counselling, cost benefit analysis, before study, ethics committee pros and cons of study are weighed up to determine whether the study will be ethical Privacy and confidentiality - anonymity, researchers not recording any personal details of their pts so that none of the results data can be traced back to them, refer to pts using numbers or initials, pts reminded that their data will be protected

Question 76

Questionnaires

Answer 76

Assess a person's thoughts or experiences through a number of different written questions + Cost effective + Easy to analyse - Take a long time to design - Difficult to assess the validity as biases such as social desirability bias Open question - when the questions are phrased in a way that the pts is free to answer however they like, qualitative data + Rich in detail and depth - Difficult to convert to stats data, more difficult to analyse Closed question - consists pf questions which restrict you to a fixed number of responses, quantitative data + Easy to analyse - Lack of depth and detail

Question 77

Construction of questionnaires

Answer 77

Clarity - should be phrased clearly for the respondent on what answer is needed from them Avoid overuse of jargon, emotive language, double- barrelled question, double negatives and leading questions Sequencing questions - easy ones followed by harder ones, builds confidence Filler questions - questions have nothing to do with the aims of the investigation and are put in to distract the pts from guessing the real aim of the study Pilot study - ensure the questionnaire is suitable and amendments and improvements can be made

Question 78

Interviews

Answer 78

Structured - a set of predetermined questions being asked during the interview + Easy replicable - Social desirability bias - Interviewer bias Unstructured - no predetermined questions, instead questions develop as the interview goes on +depth and detail +tailored to individuals they can provide more insight -Social desirability bias Semi-structured - most questions are already set up but interviewer is free to ask follow up questions

Question 79

Construction and design of interviews

Answer 79

Recording info Ethical issues - informed consent, confidentiality Location - quiet room away from other people Neutral questions - make pts feel relaxed and help establish rapport

Question 80

Reliability

Answer 80

How consistent the findings are Ensures DV is measured accurately, ensures outcome over time is the same, ensure that all the conclusions made are accurate and valid Internal reliability - how consistent something is within itself Assess - Split half method - randomly select half of the questions and put them in one form then do the same for the others, done separately External reliability - consistent results are produced regardless of when the investigation is used or who administers it Assess : test - retest method : researcher administers the same test on the same person on different occasions, sufficient time left so pts cannot recall answers, not too long attitudes change Inter - observer reliability : extent to which there is agreement between two or more observers involves in observing behaviours

Question 81

Ways of improving reliability

Answer 81

Questionnaire - if produces low test retest reliability may requires some items to be deselected or rewritten, replace open questions with closed questions, less ambiguous Interviews - use same interviewer, all interviewers may be properly trained Experiments - 'reliable' because the researcher can exert strict control over many aspects of the procedure, experiment replicable Observations - making sure behavioural categories have been properly operationalised

Question 82

What are the different types of validity

Answer 82

Extent of which results of the research study are legitimate Internal validity - whether the outcomes observed in an experiment are due to the manipulation of the IV and not any other factor External validity - factors outside of the investigation - generalisable to other settings, populations and eras Ecological validity - whether findings can be generalised to other situations and settings Temporal validity - Generalisable to other historical times and eras Population validity - generalisable to different populations of various ages, genders and cultures

Question 83

Ways of assessing validity

Answer 83

Face validity - measure is scrutinised to determine whether it appears to measure what is supposed to, looking at it or expert does Concurrent validity - the extent to which a psychological measure compares to a similar existing measure, results obtained should either match or be similar to the results of the well established recognised test Predictive validity - refers to how well a test can predict future events or behaviours

Question 84

Ways of improving validity

Answer 84

Experimental research - use a control group, better able to assess whether changes in the dependent variable were due to the effect of the independent variable Standardisation, single and double blind procedures Questionnaires - incorporate a lie scale within the questions in order to assess the consistency of a respondent's response and to control the effects of social desirability bias, remind pts that all data will remain anonymous Observations - Produce findings with high ecological validity as minimal intervention by researcher, especially in covert observations Qualitative methods - higher ecological validity as the depth and detail associated with case studies and interviews Researcher may still have to demonstrate the interpretative validity of conclusions - extent to which the researcher's interpretation of events matches those of their pts, demonstrated through coherence of researcher's reporting and inclusion of direct quotes for pts within the report Validity enhanced through triangulation - use of a number of different sources as evidence