Research Methods Flashcards
(132 cards)
1
Q
What is a case study?
A
In depth analysis of an individual, small group or event
2
Q
What are methods used in case studies?
A
Interviews
Observations
Questionnaires
3
Q
What are strengths of case studies?
A
Lots of info gathered- different research methods are used to gather data
Different methods used means data is valid- many aspects of case have been researched
4
Q
What are weaknesses of case studies?
A
Every case is unique- results can’t be applied to everyone
Can be unethical to induce behaviours in lab experiments
5
Q
What is a correlational study?
A
Aim to analyse relationship between 2 variables
6
Q
What is a positive correlation?
A
When one variable goes up, the other goes up
7
Q
What is a negative correlation?
A
When one variable goes up, the other goes down
8
Q
What is a strength of correlational study?
A
Cost effective- don’t need to conduct own experiment as your analysing other experiments related to hypothesis
9
Q
What is a weakness of correlational study?
A
Researchers are unable to establish cause and effect. You can only see the relationship between 2 variables
10
Q
What is an observation?
A
Researcher watches and records participants behaviours without interfering
11
Q
What does naturalistic mean in an observation?
A
Participants natural environment
12
Q
What does structured mean in an observation?
A
Researchers have control. E.g. in a lab
13
Q
What does overt mean?
A
Participants know they’re being observed
14
Q
What does covert mean?
A
Participants don’t know they’re being observed, which can be unethical
15
Q
What is a strength of an observation?
A
Real human behaviour being observed
16
Q
What is a weakness of an observation?
A
Participants may fake their behaviour
17
Q
What is a questionnaire?
A
They consist of questions that require info about attitudes, opinions, lifestyles and any aspect of their lives
18
Q
What is a laboratory experiment?
A
The environment they take place in is conduced and controlled
19
Q
What is a positive aspect of a lab experiment?
A
Experimenter can control other factors that may impact the study easier
20
Q
What are negative aspects of using a lab experiment?
A
Due to artificial setting, behaviours shown may not reflect everyday behaviours
21
Q
What is a field experiment?
A
Takes place in an environment that’s natural to participants
22
Q
What is a positive aspect of a field experiment?
A
Behaviours shown by participants will be true to everyday life
23
Q
What is a weakness of a field experiment?
A
Researcher has limited control over factors in the setting that may impact the result
24
Q
What does an interview consist of?
A
Interviewer verbally asks participant questions either face to face or by phone
25
What are the 3 types of interview?
Structured
Semi-structured
Unstructured
26
Define a structured interview
A set of pre-determined questions asked to all participants
27
Define a semi-structured interview
Prepared questions that can be adapted based on participant
28
Define an unstructured interview
No pre-determined questions, just a prepared theme. Each interview will be different
29
What is a strength of a structured interview?
If structured interview is used, data is high in reliability and can be replicated to check consistency of answers
30
What is a negative aspect of an unstructured interview?
Difficult to replicate
31
what is an open question?
one that can be answered in any way the participant chooses
32
what type of data does an open question provide?
qualitative
33
what are strengths of open questions?
doesnt restrict participants responses
34
what are weaknesses of open questions?
difficult to analyse data as its subjective
35
what are closed questions?
restricts participants responses (usually on a scale)
36
what type of data does closed questions provide?
quantitative
37
strengths of closed questions?
easy to analyse and compared
38
weaknesses of closed questions?
can restrict participants responses
39
what are researcher effects?
when the behaviour of the researcher influences the participant
40
external reliability?
consistency of results over time
41
internal reliability?
consistency of a test
42
one way to measure external reliability?
test-retest method
43
what is the test-retest method?
when you give the same participant the same questionnaire more than twice to check for consistency of answers
44
what is inter-relater reliability?
when two or more researchers interpret the participants responses
45
what is face validity?
whether our questions appear to be
46
predictive validity?
whether the results of the questionnaire can predict people's behaviour in the future
47
concurrent validity?
measures how well a new test compares to a well-established test
48
what is random sampling
every member of population has equal chance of being selected
49
strength of random sampling
relatively unbiased and can choose subgroups
50
weakness of random sampling
time consuming
51
what is stratified sampling
researcher divides the population into separate groups
52
strength of stratified sampling
important subgroups selected
53
weakness of stratified sampling
lengthy process
54
what is volunteer sample
when ppts respond to an advertisement
55
strength of volunteer sample
convenient and cost-effective
56
weakness of volunteer sample
may attract a certain group of people, biased
57
what is opportunity sample
use ppts available at the time and place
58
strength of opportunity sample
quick and convenient
59
weakness of opportunity sample
some participants won't take part, not everyone is willing
60
what are the four main principles
Respect
Responsibility
Integrity
Responsibility
61
What are all the ethical guidelines
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Confidentiality
Competency
Debrief
Deception (avoiding)
Right to withdraw
Informed consent
Psychological harm
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62
what is an alternative hypothesis
significant difference or correlation the researcher expects to find
63
what is a null hypothesis
predicts no significant difference or correlation
64
what is a non-directional hypothesis (two-tailed)
states there will be a difference or correlation, bit not the direction
65
what is a directional hypothesis (one-tailed)
states the direction of the difference or correlation
66
what are the three types of experimental design
independent groups
repeated measures
matched pairs
67
what is independent groups
different participants in each condition of the study
68
strength of independent groups
less chance of guessing the aim and demand characteristics
69
weakness of independent groups
participant variables may impact the results of the study
70
strengths of brain scanning techniques
reliable. objective
71
weaknesses of brain scanning techniques
not suitable for people with claustrophobia, costs a lot
72
fMRI scan strengths
can see function and structure of brain
73
fMRI scan weaknesses
not suitable with people with pacemakers, claustrophobia
74
PET scan strengths
indicates function and structure
75
PET scan weaknesses
have to be injected, a lot of people don't like them
76
CAT scan strengths
shows brain structure, non invasive
77
CAT scan weaknesses
doesn't indicate brain function. potential risks of x-ray radiation
78
what are twin studies used for
to establish whether a behaviour is due to nature or nurture
79
define monozygotic
identical twins
80
define dizygotic
non-identical
81
strengths of twin studies
can help establish whether a behaviour is nature or nature
82
weaknesses of twin studies
difficult to separate the impact of shared genes and shared environment
83
what are adoption studies used for
establish whether a behaviour is due to nature or nurture. they compare concordance rates between adopted children and their biological parents
84
define concordance rates
the likelihood that one individual has a trait, that the other individual also has the trait
85
strengths of adoption studies
the impact of nature and nurture can be easily isolated
86
weakness of adoption studies
children are adopted at all different ages, making comparisons difficult.
87
what is internal validity
refers to the extent to which results are due to manipulation of IV
88
what is predictive validity
refers to extent to which the performance in the study can predict the future performance at a similar measure
89
what are experimenter effects
ways in which the experimenter can influence the outcome of the experiment
90
what are demand characteristics
ppt guesses the aim of the experiment
91
what is experimental control
prevents confounding variables impacting experiment
92
what is order effects
effects that occur due to the order in which ppts experience the conditions
93
what is counterbalancing
used to overcome the impact of order effects
94
what is randomisation
used to overcome impact of order effects
95
what is thematic analysis?
themes are identified and there are 2 types- inductive and deductive
96
what is inductive approach?
themes are not pre-determined before analysis
themes would emerge directly from data
97
what is deductive approach?
themes are pre-determined before analysis
specify themes they want to find
98
strengths of thematic analysis
allows analysis for qualitative data, keeps data meaningful and detailed- no numbers
99
weaknesses of thematic analysis
unscientific as themes are dependent on the subjective opinions of the researcher
researcher can demonstrate bias when interpreting data (personal opinions may impact how they interpret themes)
100
define extraneous variable
might have an impact on the DV
101
define confounding variable
variable that does have an impact on the DV, impacting validity
102
define situational variable
variable relating to environment e.g light and noise
103
define participant variable
variable relating to ppt used in experiment e.g tiredness, age
104
define ecological validity
extent to which results reflect everyday occurrences
105
what is nominal data
categorical info. e.g how many people answered yes or no to a question
106
what is ordinal data
data that can be ordered, e.g. 5 is higher than 2
107
strengths of scatter diagrams
useful as they indicate there is relationship between 2 co-variables
tells us further research is needed in the area to see cause and effect relationship
108
weaknesses of scatter diagrams
correlations only show relationship between 2 co-variables- can't see which variable causes which, we can't establish cause and effect
109
define event sampling
creating lists of behaviour categories then tallying each time behaviour occurs in a specific time period
110
define time sampling
counting behaviours at regular intervals e.g. for 1 min every 10 min
111
what is structured observation?
setting or situation controlled/manipulated by the researcher
112
strength of structured observation
standardised setting makes observation easily repeatable to test reliability
113
weakness of structured observation
lack ecological validity as situation may not reflect everyday life
114
what is a naturalistic observation?
setting in ppts natural environment
115
strengths of naturalistic observation
high ecological validity as natural behaviours will be observed due to natural setting
116
weaknesses of naturalistic observation?
poor reliability as setting can't be controlled, may differ slightly for each replication of observation
117
what is participant observation?
observer is part of group being observed- researcher actively involved in observation
118
strengths of participant observation?
as you are close to the action- more likely to observe more detail
likely to be covert- reactions will have high validity
119
weaknesses of participant observation?
observer may be too involved in activity to accurately record all behaviours seen
120
what is a non-participant observation?
observer is not part of group or activity
121
strengths of non-participant observation?
observer can accurately record all behaviours as they are not trying to take part in activity at the same time
122
weaknesses of non-participant observation?
likely to be overt- meaning reactions may lack validity
123
define content analysis
transforms qualitative data into quantitative data to produce objective conclusions and identify trends in data
124
define sample in a content analysis
analyses artefacts rather than ppts. e.g. books and newspapers
125
define manifest content
what is seen on the surface e.g. number of words used in magazine
126
define latent content
more in-depth analysis e.g. whether a word is used positively
127
3 steps to do content analysis
1. researcher identifies 'categories' e.g. key words of theme
2. analyse artefacts creating tally charts of occurrence of categories
3. researcher can draw conclusions from quantitative data
128
strengths of content analysis
turns qualitative data into quantitative data. inferential tests can be used to determine statistical significance
process can easily be repeated by multiple researchers
129
weaknesses of content analysis
transforming qualitative to quantitative, you lose some rich detail, therefore reductionist approach to data analysis
130
what are the 3 R's in animal testing
Replace- alternatives should be used
Reduce- number of animals used at minimum
Refine- suffering to minimum
131
practical issues for animals
generalisability
gestation
control
132
ethical issues for animals
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alternatives
batesons cube- low suffering, high benefit, high quality of research
caging
distress
excessive numbers
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