research methods Flashcards

Question

what is a natural experiment

Answer 1

the experimenter does not manipulate the IV. the IV would have varied even if the experimenter wasn't interested DV may occur naturally or may be measured by the experimenter

Answer 2

+ may be the only ethical option: it may be unethical to manipulate the IV. a natural experiment may be the only way causal research can be done for such topics + greater external validity: natural experiments involve real life issues, such as the effect of natural disaster on stress levels. this means the findings are more relevant to real experiences

Answer 3

- the natural event may only occur rarely: many natural events are one-offs and this reduces the opportunity for research. this may limit the scope for generalising findings to other similar situations - participants are not randomly allocated: the experimenter has no control over which participant are placed in which condition as the IV is pre-existing. may results in CVs that aren't controlled.

Answer 4

IV is based on a preexisting difference between people e.g age or gender. no one has manipulated this variable, it simply exists DV may be naturally occurring or may be measured by the experimenter.

Answer 5

+ there is often high control: often carried out under controlled conditions and therefore shares some of the strengths of lab experiments. this means increased confidence about drawing causal conclusions + comparisons can be made between people. in a quasi experiment the IV is the difference between people e.g people with and without autism. this means that comparisons between different types of people can be made

Answer 6

- participants are not randomly allocated: the experimenter has no control over which participant are placed in which condition as the IV is pre-existing. participant variables may have caused the change in the DV acting as a CV - causal relationship not demonstrated. the researcher does not manipulate / control the IV. we cannot say for certain that any change in the DV was due to the IV

Answer 7

- opportunity sample - volunteer sample - random sample - systematic sample - stratified sample

Answer 8

the large group of people that a research is interested in studying

Answer 9

it is usually not possible to include all members of the population in the study so a smaller group is selected

Answer 10

the sample that is drawn should be representative of the population so generalisations can be made

Answer 11

the majority of samples are biased | this means that certain groups may be over or under represented.

Answer 12

people who are simply most available i.e the ones who are nearest / easiest to obtain ask people nearby

Answer 13

+ quick method: is convenient because you just make use of the people who are closest. this make it one of the most popular sampling methods - inevitable biased. the sample is unrepresentative of the target population as it is drawn from a very specific area. this means that the findings cannot be generalised.

Answer 14

self selecting. the participants select themselves | can be obtained by advertising

Answer 15

+ participants are wiling, they have selected themselves and know how much time and effort is involved. likely to engage more than opportunity sample - likely to be a biased sample: participants may share certain traits e.g keen and curious. generalisation limited due to the volunteer bias.

Answer 16

every person in the target population has an equal chance of being selected lottery method. all members of the target population are given a number and use a random number generator

Answer 17

+ potentially unbiased. the research has no influence over who is selected. free from research bias - representation not guaranteed. still possible that a random method may produce a biased sample. limits ability to generalise

Answer 18

sampling frame. participants are selected using a set pattern (sampling frame) every nth person is selected from a list of the target population

Answer 19

+ unbiased. the first item is usually selected at random objective method - time and effort. a complete list of the population is required. may as well use random sampling.

Answer 20

frequency. participants are selected according to their frequency in the target population subgroups (or strata) are identified, such as gender or age groups. the relative percentages of the subgroups in the population are reflected in the sample

Answer 21

+ representative method. the characteristics of the target population are represented. generalisability more likely than other methods - stratification is not perfect. strata cannot cannot reflect all the way in the people are different. complete representation is not possible

Answer 22

1. informed consent 2. deception 3. protection from harm 4. privacy and confidentiality

Answer 23

``` can - informed consent do - debrief cant - confidentiality do - deception with - withdrawal participants - protection from harm ```

Answer 24

participants should be able to make an informed judgement about whether to take part too much information may affect participant's behaviour so there are some alternatives: - presumptive - ask a similar group - prior general - agree to be deceived - retrospective - get consent after the study

Answer 25

- presumptive - ask a similar group - prior general - agree to be deceived - retrospective - get consent after the study

Answer 26

deliberately misleading or withholding information so consent is not informed. a debrief is given at the end of a study

Answer 27

1. the true aims of the investigation 2. details that were not given during the study such as other groups or conditions 3. what their data will be used for 4. there right to withhold data 5. reassured that their behaviour was typical/ normal (protection from harm)

Answer 28

participants should be at no more risk than they would be in everyday life - should be given the right to withdraw at each stage of the research process - should be reassured that their behaviour was typical / normal during the debriefing - researchers should provide counselling if participants have been distressed.

Answer 29

is all about the right to control | we have a right to control information about ourselves. if this is invaded confidentiality should be respected

Answer 30

- if personal details are held these must be protected. usually there are no personal details recorded - researchers refer to participants using numbers, initials or false names - participants personal data cannot be shared with other researchers

Answer 31

it weighs up the costs and benefits before deciding whether a study should go ahead

Answer 32

- respect - competence - responsibility - integrity

Answer 33

a way of seeing or listening to what people do without having to ask them. Is often used within an experiment as a way of assessing the DV

Answer 34

+ can capture unexpected behaviour. people often act different from how they say they will in self report methods. observations are useful as they give insight into spontaneous behaviour - risk of observer bias. researcher's interpretation of the situation may be affected by expectations. Bias can be reduced using more than one observer

Answer 35

- naturalistic - controlled - covert - overt - participant - non participant

Answer 36

takes place where the target behaviour would normally occur + high external validity. it a natural context, behaviour is likely to be more spontaneous. more generalisable to everyday life - low control. there may be uncontrolled EVs. makes it more difficult to detect patterns

Answer 37

some control / manipulation of variables including control of EVs + can be replicated. more easily repeated due to standardised procedures. findings can be checked to see if they occur again - may have low external validity. behaviour may be contrived as a result of the setting. findings cannot be applied to everyday experience

Answer 38

participants are unaware they are being studied + demand characteristics are reduced. participants do not know they are being watched so their behaviour will be more natural. this increases the validity of the findings - ethically questionable. people may not want behaviour recorded, even in public. participant's right to privacy may be affected

Answer 39

participants are aware of being studied + more ethically acceptable. participants have given their consent to be studied. they have the right to withdraw if they wish - demand characteristics. knowledge of being studied influences behaviour. reduces the validity of the findings

Answer 40

when the researcher becomes part of the group they are studying + can lead to greater insight. researcher experiences the situation as the participants do. this enhances the validity of the findings - possible loss of objectivity. the researcher may identify too strongly with those they are studying. this threatens the objectivity and validity of the findings

Answer 41

when the researcher remains seperate from the group they are studying + more objective. researcher maintains an objective distance so less chance of bias. may increase the validity of findings - loss of insight. researchers may be too far removed from those they are studying. may reduce the validity of the findings

Answer 42

- behaviour categories - time sampling - event sampling

Answer 43

used in observations the target behaviour to be observed should be broken up into set of observable categories. this is similar to the idea of operationalisation - difficult to make clear and unambiguous. categories should be self evident and not overlap, not always possible to achieve. smiling and grinning would be poor categories - dustbin categories. all forms of behaviour should be in the list and not one dustbin. dumped behaviours go unrecorded.

Answer 44

observational design observations are made at regular intervals + reduces the number of observations. rather than recording everything that is seen (i.e. continuous) data is recorded at certain intervals. the observation is more structured and systematic - may be unrepresentative. the researcher may miss important details outside of the time scale. may not reflect the whole behaviour

Answer 45

observational design a target behaviour / event is recorded every time it occurs + may record infrequent behaviour. the researcher will still pick up behaviours that do not occur at regular intervals. such behaviours could easily be missed using time sampling - complex behaviour oversimplified. if the event is too complex important details may go unrecorded. this may affect the validity of the findings.

Answer 46

- questionnaires | - interviews

Answer 47

are made up of pre-set list of written questions (or items) to which a participant responds they can be used as part of an experiment to assess the DV

Answer 48

+ can be distributed to lots of people. can gather large amounts of data quickly and the researcher need not be present when completed. reduces the effort involved and makes questionnaires cost effective. + respondents may be willing to open up. respondents may share more personal information than in an interview as they are less self conscious. there may be less chance of social desirability bias compared to an interview - responses may not be truthful. respondents tend to present themselves in a positive light. thus social desirability bias is still possible - response bias. respondents may favour a particular kind of response e.g they always agree. this means that all respondents tend to reply in a similar way.

Answer 49

face to face interaction between interviewer and interviewee. - structured interviews - unstructured interviews - semi-structured interviews.

Answer 50

list of predetermined questions asked in a fixed order + easy to replicate. straightforward to replicate because of standardised format. the format also reduces differences between interviewers - interviewees cannot elaborate. interviewees cannot deviate from the topic or elaborate their points. this may be a source of frustration

Answer 51

there are no set questions. there is a general topic to be discus but the interaction is free flowing and the interviewee is encouraged to elaborate + there is greater flexibility. unlike a structured interview points can be followed up as they arise. more likely to gain insight into interviewee's worldview - difficult to replicate. such interviews lack structure and are not standardised. greater risk of interviewer bias

Answer 52

list of questions that have been worked out in advance but interviewers are free to ask follow up questions when appropriate

Answer 53

- avoid jargon - avoid double barrelled questions - avoid leading questions

Answer 54

respondents have limited choices data is quantitative + easier to analyse. can produce graphs and charts for comparison. makes it easier to draw conclusions - respondents are restricted. forced into an answer that may not be representative of true feelings. may reduce the validity of the findings

Answer 55

respondents provide their own answers expressed in words data are qualitative + respondents are not restricted. answers are more likely to provide detailed, unpredictable information. likely to have more validity than statistics. - difficult to analyse. wider variety of answers than produced by quantitative data. may be forced to reduce data to statistics

Answer 56

1. interview schedule. a standardised list of questions that the interviewer needs to cover, can reduce interviewer bias. 2. quiet room. will increase the likelihood the interviewee will open up 3. rapport. begin with neutral questions to make participants feel relaxed 4. ethics. remind interviewees that answers will be treated in confidence

Answer 57

used in all types of research is a small scale trail run of a research design before doing the real thing the aim is to find out if certain things don't work so you can correct them before spending time and money on the real thing.

Answer 58

numerical data + easier to analyse. can draw graphs and calculate averages. can eyeball data and see patterns at a glance. - oversimplifies behaviour. means that individual meanings are lost

Answer 59

non numerical data expressed in words + represents complexities. more detail included. can also include information that is unexpected - less easy to analyse. large amount of detail is difficult to summarise. difficult to draw conclusions, many ifs and buts.

Answer 60

first hand data collected for the purpose of the investigation + fits the job. study designed to extract only the data needed. information is directly relevant to research aims - requires time and effort. design may involve planning and preparation. secondary data can be assessed within minutes.

Answer 61

collected by someone other than the person who is conducting the research + inexpensive. the desired information may already exist. requires minimal effort making it inexpensive - quality may be poor. information may be outdated or incomplete. challenges the validity of the conclusions

Answer 62

a type of secondary data that involves combing data from a large number of studies. calculation of effect size. + increases validity of conclusions. the eventual sample size is much larger than individual samples. increases the extent to which generalisations can be made. - publication bias. researchers may not select all relevant studies leaving out negative or non significant results. data may be biased because it only represents some of the data and incorrect conclusions are drawn.

Answer 63

before publication all aspects of the investigation are scrutinised by experts (peers) in the field. these experts should be objective and unknown to the researchers

Answer 64

- funding: allocate research finding - validation of the quality and relevance of research - improvements and amendments are suggested.

Answer 65

+ protects quality of published research. minimises possibility of fraudulent research and means published research is of the highest quality. preserves the reputation of psychology as a science and increases the credibility and status of the subject - may be used to criticise rival research. a minority of reviewers may use their anonymous status to criticise rival researchers. often there is competition for limited research funding so this may be an issue - publication bias. tendency for editors of journals to want to publish headline grabbing findings. means that research that does not meet this criterion is ignored or disregarded - ground breaking research may be buried. reviewers may be much more critical of research that contradicts their own view. peer review may slow down the rate of change within scientific disciplines.

Answer 66

to study a case in psychology is to provide a detailed and in depth analysis of an individual, group, institution or event case studies tend to be longitudinal and may involve gathering data from family and friends of the individual as well as the person themselves.

Answer 67

unusual and typical case studies often involve the analysis of unusual individuals or events, such as a person with a rare disorder or the sequence of events case studies may also concentrate on more typical cases such as an elderly person's recollections from childhood

Answer 68

researchers will construct a case history of the individual or event, using interviews, observations, questionnaires. data collected is mainly qualitative psychological tests may also be used to asses intelligence or personality these usually produce quantitative data

Answer 69

+ rich detailed insight. preferred to the more superficial forms of data that might be collected. such detail is likely to increase the validity of the data collected + enables study of unusual behaviour. some behaviours / conditions are very rate and cannot be studies using other methods. in addition some cases help understanding of normal functioning. - prone to researcher bias. conclusions are based on the subjective interpretation of the researcher. this may reduce the validity of the study - participants accounts may be biased. personal accounts may be prone to inaccuracy/ memory decay. therefor evidence provided may be low in validity.

Answer 70

``` is a type of observational research. People are studied indirectly via the communications they have produced. this may include: - spoken interaction - written forms - examples from the media ```

Answer 71

coding some data sets are extremely large so information needs to be categorised into meaningful units. This involve counting up the number of times a particular word or phrases appears in the text to produce quantitative data.

Answer 72

a theme in content analysis refers to any idea that is recurrent in the communication being studied. these themes are more descriptive than the coding units this produces qualitative data

Answer 73

+ may ethical issues may not apply. the material to study may already be in the public domain. so there are no issues with obtaining consent + a flexible method. content analysis can be adapted to produce both quantitative and qualitative data as required. this means it is a flexible approach that can be adapted to suit the aims of the research - communication is studied out of context. the researcher may attribute motivations to the speaker or writer that were not intended. this is likely to reduce the validity of the conclusions drawn. - may lack objectivity. content analysis may lack objectivity especially when more descriptive forms of thematic analysis are used. such bias may threaten the validity oft the findings and conclusions. however, reflectivity is a method of addressing the lack of objectivity. personal viewpoints are seen as an important part of the data collection.

Answer 74

is the measure of consistency. of a particular measurement is repeated and the same result is obtained then that measurement is described as being reliable.

Answer 75

- test-restest | - inter-observer

Answer 76

assessing reliability test the same person twice the same test or questionnaire is given to the same person (or people) on 2 or more different occasions. if the test or questionnaire is reliable the results should be the same (or very similar) each time it is administered.

Answer 77

compares observations from different observers. in an observation, 2 or more observers compare their data by conducting a pilot study - a small scale trial run of the observation to check that observers are applying behavioural categories in the same way. observers should watch the same event, or sequence of events, but record their data independently.

Answer 78

is measured using correlation. in test-re-test and inter-observer reliability, the 2 sets of scores are correlated. the correlation coefficient should exceed +80 for reliability

Answer 79

rewrite questions a questionnaire that produces low test retest reliability may need some item to be deselected or rewritten. the researcher may replace some open questions (which can be misinterpreted) with closed, fixed choice alternatives which may be less ambiguous.

Answer 80

improved training the best way of ensuring reliability in an interview is to use the same interviewer each time of this is not possible, all interviewers must be trained. so they avoid questions that are leading or ambiguous

Answer 81

standardised procedures lab experiments are often described as being reliable because of the strict control over many aspects of the procedure, such as the instructions that the participants receive and the conditions within which they are tested.

Answer 82

operationalisation of behavioural categories behavioural categories should be measurable categories should not overlap and all possible behaviours should be included if categories are overlapping or absent, different observer have to use their own judgement in deciding what to record and where and may end up with inconsistent records.

Answer 83

whether an observed effect is genuine and represents what is actually out there in the real world is the result legitimate

Answer 84

a test that claims to measure intelligence (IQ test) may produce the same result every time when the same people are tested but not measure what it is designed to.

Answer 85

do findings generalise to other settings ecological validity refers to whether findings can be generalised from one setting to another, most particularly generalise ti every day life. this may not be related to the setting but more to the task the participants are asked to perform.

Answer 86

do findings remain true over time findings should be consistent over time. for example Asch' study may lack temporal validity because it was conducted during a conformist era in American history.

Answer 87

- face validity | - concurrent validity

Answer 88

whether a test looks like it measures what it should a basic method this achieved by simply looking at the measuring instrument or by passing it to an expert to check.

Answer 89

whether findings are similar to those on a well established test. a new intelligence test may be administered to a group of participants their scores are them compared with performance in well established test (correlation should exceed +80 for validity)

Answer 90

control groups and standardisation a control group means the the researcher is more confident that changes in the DV were due to the effect of the IV standardised procedures minimise the impact of participants reactivity and investigator effects

Answer 91

lie scale and confidentiality lie scales control for the effect of social desirability bias respondents are assured that all data submitted is confidential

Answer 92

good categories. | behavioural categories that are well defined, thoroughly operationalised and non ambiguous or overlapping.

Answer 93

interpretive validity and triangulation interpretive validity demonstrated through the coherence of the reporting and the inclusions of direct quotes from participants triangulation involves using a number of different sources as evidence

Answer 94

- abstract - introduction - method - results - discussion - referencing

Answer 95

a short summary that includes all the major elements, the aims and hypotheses, method/ procedure, results and conclusions a summary of the study

Answer 96

a literature review a look at relevant theories, concepts and studies that are related to the current study the research review should follow a logical progression - beginning broadly and becoming more specific until the aims and hypothesis are presented

Answer 97

the method should include sufficient detail so that other researchers are able to replicate the study: - design: (e.g independent groups, naturalistic observation etc.) and reasons / justification given for the choice - sample - how many participants, biographical/demographic information (as long as this does not compromise anonymity) the sampling method and target population - apparatus / materials - procedure list of everything that happened. standardised instructions, briefing and debriefing . - ethics how these were addressed should be detailed enough for replication

Answer 98

a summary of key findings from the investigation - descriptive statistics, graphs measures of central tendency etc. - inferential spastics including reference to choice of statistical test, calculated and critical values the level of significance and the final outcome - any raw data that was collected and any calculations appear in an appendix rather than the main body.

Answer 99

summary of the relationship to previous research, limitations and implications - summary of findings in verbal form - relationship of the results to previous research - consideration of the limitations of the study plus suggestion of how these might be addressed in a future study - wider real world implications

Answer 100

- paradigms and paradigm shifts - theory constriction - falsifiability - replicability - objectivity - empirical method

Answer 101

Kuhn (1962) said that what distinguishes scientific discipline from non scientific disciplines is a shared set of assumptions and methods - a paradigm Kuhn argued that social sciences (including psychology) lack universally accepted paradigm and are best seen as pre-science unlike natural sciences such as biology paradigm shift occur, according to Kuhn, when there is a scientific revolution. a handful of researchers begin to question the accepted paradigm when there is too much contradictory evidence to ignore.

Answer 102

a theory is set of general laws or principles that have the ability to explain particular events or behaviours testing a theory depends on being able to make clear and precise predictions on the basis of the theory a hypothesis can then be tested using scientific methods to determine whether it will be supported or refuted

Answer 103

the process of deriving a new hypothesis from an existing theory

Answer 104

Popper (1959( argued that the key criterion of scientific theory was this. genuine scientific theories should hold themselves up or hypothesis testing and the possibility of being proved false popper distinguished between theories which can be challenged and what he called pseudosciences which couldn't be falsified he believed that even when a scientific principle had been successfully and repeatedly tested, it was not necessarily true. instead it had simply not been proved false.

Answer 105

testing the validity of research results if a scientific theory is to be trusted the findings from it most be shown to be repeatable across a number of different contexts by repeating a study, as Popper suggested we can see the extent to which the findings can be generalised

Answer 106

scientific researcher must keep a critical distance during research. they must not allow their personal opinions or biases to discolour the data or influence the behaviour of participants as a general rule, those methods in psychology that are associated with the greatest level of control trend to be the most objective.

Answer 107

emphasise the importance of data collection based on direct, sensory experience the experimental method and the observational method are good examples of the empirical method in psychology early empiricists such as John Locke saw knowledge as determined only by experience and sense perception. a theory cannot claim to be scientific unless it has been empirically tested.