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Psychology > Research Methods > Flashcards

Research Methods Flashcards

1
Q

What are the types of variables?

A
  • independent
  • dependent
  • extraneous
  • confounding
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2
Q

What is the independent variable?

A

The researcher manipulates this to determine the effect on the DV. It is divided into levels which are the experimental conditions.

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3
Q

What is the control condition?

A

This is the condition where the IV is not manipulated. It provides a standard to compare to.

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4
Q

What is the dependent variable?

A

This is the variable being measure.

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5
Q

What are extraneous variables?

A

These are variables other than the IV which could affect the DV.

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6
Q

What are confounding variables?

A

These are variables other than the IV that have affected the DV.

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7
Q

What are laboratory experiments?

A

These are carried out in a controlled environment where the researcher can observe and measure the change in the DV. Participants are usually randomly allocated to conditions.

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8
Q

What is random allocation?

A

This is when an unpredictable method is used to decide which participants take part in which conditions.

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9
Q

Advantages of a laboratory experiment. (3)

  • control
  • cause
  • replicable
A
  • there is a high level of control over the IV and it is easy to control any EV, making it more valid
  • cause and effect can be established
  • it is highly replicable makings it more reliable
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10
Q

Disadvantages of a laboratory experiment. (2)

  • demand
  • ecological
A
  • demand characteristics could affect results

- it lacks mundane realism and ecological validity

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11
Q

What are field experiments?

A

These are carried out in the real world or in a natural setting. The IV is still manipulated and controlled.

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12
Q

Advantages of field experiments. (3)

  • ecological
  • cause
  • demand
A
  • there is mundane realism and ecological validity
  • cause and effect can be established
  • there are less demand characteristics
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13
Q

Disadvantages of field experiments. (3)

  • control
  • sample
  • replicable
A
  • there is less control over EV
  • there is less control over the samples as it is a natural setting
  • it is more difficult to replicate
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14
Q

What is a quasi experiment?

A

This is when the participants cannot be randomly allocated to the different conditions because the IV is a quality of the participants.

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15
Q

What is a natural experiment?

A

This is when researchers take advantage of a naturally occurring IV.

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16
Q

Advantages of natural experiments. (2)

  • ecological
  • useful
A
  • there is mundane realism and ecological validity

- it is useful when usually it’s impossible or unethical to manipulate this IV

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17
Q

Disadvantages of natural experiments. (3)

  • control
  • replicable
  • cause
A
  • there is less control over any EV
  • it is difficult to replicate
  • cause and effect cannot be established
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18
Q

What is an observation?

A

This is when the researcher watches or listens to the events.

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19
Q

What are the different types of observation?

A
  • non participant- the researchers doesn’t get directly involved
  • participant- the researcher is directly involved
  • covert- the researcher goes undercover and doesn’t reveal their true identity
  • overt- when the researcher does reveal their true identity
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20
Q

What is a naturalistic observation?

A

This is when the researcher uses participants in their own environment and there is no deliberate manipulation.

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21
Q

Advantages of a naturalistic observation. (3)

  • demand
  • ecological
  • useful
A
  • less demand characteristics if covert observation is used
  • there is high mundane realism and ecological validity
  • it is useful for when deliberate manipulation of the IV is impractical or unethical
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22
Q

Disadvantages of a naturalistic observation. (3)

  • control
  • cause
  • bias
A
  • there is no control over any EV
  • cause and effect cannot be established
  • there is risk of observer bias
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23
Q

What is a controlled observation?

A

This is in a controlled environment and allows manipulation of the IV.

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24
Q

Advantages of a controlled observation. (3)

  • cause
  • control
  • complex
A
  • cause and effect can be established
  • there is high control of any EV
  • rich and complex information is obtained
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25
Q

Disadvantages of a controlled observation. (3)

  • ecological
  • demand
  • bias
A
  • it lacks ecological validity
  • there could be demand characteristics
  • there is a risk of observer bias
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26
Q

What is observer bias?

A

The observer knows the purpose of the study and they see what they want to see. This may influence their findings. They need to be reliable.

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27
Q

What is inter-rater reliability?

A

This is when two observers see if their observations correlate.

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28
Q

What are self report techniques?

A

This is when participants give information about themselves without any interference from the researcher.

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29
Q

What is an interview?

A

This is when the researcher asks questions in face to face situations.

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30
Q

What is a structured interview?

A

This is when the same questions are asked in the same order. Quantitative data is collected from these.

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31
Q

What is an unstructured interview?

A

This is an in depth conversational exchange. Qualitative data is collected from this.

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32
Q

What is a semi-structured interview?

A

This combines a mixture of structured and unstructured interviews. Both qualitative and quantitative data is collected.

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33
Q

Advantages of interviews. (2)

  • sensitive
  • clarification
A
  • this is a good way to deal with complicated or sensitive issues
  • any questions that are misunderstood can be clarified
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34
Q

Disadvantages of interviews. (3)

  • interviewer
  • desirability
  • expensive
A
  • there is a risk of interviewer effects
  • social desirability could affect results
  • training is needed for the interviewers, asking them time consuming and expensive
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35
Q

What are questionnaires?

A

These are a written set of questions given to participants that mainly focus on an individuals behaviours, opinions, beliefs and attitudes. They involve closed questions, which make the person choose from a fixed response like yes or no, and open questions, which makes the person answer in their own words in a qualitative form.

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36
Q

Advantages of questionnaires. (3)

  • quick
  • present
  • replicable
A
  • they are quick, easy, it is cheap to have a large sample and large amounts of data are collected.
  • they are time efficient as the researcher doesn’t need to be present
  • they are easy to replicate
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37
Q

Disadvantages of questionnaires. (3)

  • misunderstood
  • response
  • sample
A
  • questions could be misunderstood or misinterpreted
  • they usually have a low response rate
  • the sample is usually biased as it involved people who can read and write and are willing and able to spend their time doing it.
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38
Q

What are correlations?

A

A technique used to analyse the strength of the relationship between two co-variables. This is obtained from experimental research and could show positive, negative or no correlation. The strength is referred to as the correlation co efficient.

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39
Q

Advantages of correlations. (3)

  • strength
  • useful
  • predictions
A
  • the strength of a relationship between to variables can be established
  • useful when it is impractical or unethical to manipulate the IV
  • predictions can be made using these
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40
Q

Disadvantages of correlations. (3)

  • cause
  • third
  • curvilinear
A
  • cause and effect cannot be established
  • there could be a third unknown variable that affects both variables
  • only linear relationships can be measure not curvilinear.
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41
Q

What are aims?

A

This is the first step of designing a research and is a precise statement of the purpose and what the study intends to find out.

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42
Q

What is operationalising key variables?

A

This is decided key variables and defining them so they are easier to measure.

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43
Q

What are hypotheses?

A

This is a precise, testable statement about the expected outcome of an investigation. It decides on significant differences, which are the differences in the DV resulting from the manipulation of the IV. It should be operationalised.

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44
Q

What is a null hypothesis?

A

This suggests the IV will have no effect on the DV.

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45
Q

What is an alternative hypothesis?

A

This suggests the IV will have an affect on the DV.

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46
Q

What is a non directional hypothesis?

A

This is a type of alternative hypothesis that doesn’t state the direction of the predicted difference.

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47
Q

What is a directional hypothesis?

A

This is a type of alternative hypothesis which does state the direction of the predicted difference.

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48
Q

What are sampling techniques?

A

This is drawing a sample from the target population, which is the group that researchers are studying and want to generalise their results to. They are used to avoid studying the entire population as this would take too long and would be too expensive. They should ensure representativeness, which is that they should have the same characteristics as the population.

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49
Q

What is random sampling?

A

This is when every member has the same chance of being selected. This could be done by placing names in a hat and drawing out the sample.

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50
Q

Advantage of random sampling. (1)

- representative

A
  • this is a representative technique
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51
Q

Disadvantages of random sampling. (2)

  • full
  • available
A
  • it is difficult to get the full details of the participants
  • not all of the members selected would be available or willing to take part
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52
Q

What is systematic sampling?

A

This is taking the every nth person from a list.

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53
Q

Advantages of systematic sampling. (1)

- simple

A
  • this is a simple technique
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54
Q

Disadvantage of systematic sampling. (1)

- hidden

A
  • there may be some hidden periodic traits that we do not know about the people that could make them similar.
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55
Q

What is stratified sampling?

A

This is classifying the population into categories and then randomly selecting a person from each category.

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56
Q

Advantage of stratified sampling. (1)

- all

A
  • all of the groups are included
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57
Q

Disadvantages of stratified sampling. (2)

  • time
  • full
A
  • this is time consuming

- if you do not have the full details of the participants then it becomes difficult to conduct

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58
Q

What is opportunity sampling?

A

This is selecting people who are available and willing to take part.

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59
Q

Advantage of opportunity sampling. (1)

- easy

A
  • it is an easy and practical way of collecting large samples
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60
Q

Disadvantages of opportunity sampling. (2)

  • representative
  • obligation
A
  • it is not very representative

- people may feel obliged to take part

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61
Q

What is volunteer sampling?

A

This is when people self select to participate. They may respond to an advertisement.

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62
Q

Advantage of volunteer sampling. (1)

- finding

A
  • it is an easy way to find people to participate
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63
Q

Disadvantage of volunteer sampling. (1)

- bias

A
  • there is volunteer bias as certain types of people tend to volunteer to take part
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64
Q

What is an experimental design?

A

This is how participants are organised in an experiment.

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65
Q

What are independent groups?

A

This is when there are different participants in each condition so each group is independent. People are randomly allocated into these groups.

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66
Q

Advantages of independent groups. (3)

  • order
  • demand
  • time
A
  • there are no order effects
  • demand characteristics are reduced
  • this saves time as both conditions are tested at the same time
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67
Q

Disadvantages of independent groups. (2)

  • participants
  • individual
A
  • more participants are needed

- there may be individual differences if participants variable

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68
Q

What is repeated measures?

A

This is when each participant is tested in all conditions.

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69
Q

Advantages of repeated measures. (2)

  • individual
  • participants
A
  • there are no individual differences or participants variables
  • half as many participants are needed than individual differences design
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70
Q

What are order effects?

A

This is when the sequence that the participants take part in the study affects their performance.

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71
Q

Disadvantages of repeated measure. (3)

  • order
  • demand
  • time
A
  • there are order effects
  • demand characteristics are more likely
  • it is more time consuming
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72
Q

What is counterbalancing?

A

This is a way of reducing order effects. It is when half the participants do condition A first and the other half do condition B first and ten they swap.

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73
Q

What is matched pairs?

A

This is when different participants are used in each condition but each participant is matched with another participant in the other condition on characteristics that are important to the study. These could include age, gender or level of education.

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74
Q

Advantages of matched pairs. (3)

  • order
  • demand
  • individual
A
  • there is less risk of order effects
  • demand characteristics are unlikely
  • individual differences or participant variables are unlikely
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75
Q

Disadvantages of matched pairs. (3)

  • participants
  • process
  • time
A
  • twice as many participants are needed
  • the matching process may be difficult as there may be other important characteristics that are hard to match like levels of motivation and fatigue.
  • it is very time consuming
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76
Q

What are behavioural categories?

A

These are specific types of behaviours that are being looked for in an observation that are decided before the observation.

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77
Q

What are sampling procedures?

A

This is behaviour that is being observed is recorded in as much detail as possible. Continuous observation may not be possible if there is too much information so a systematic method could be used. Examples of these are event sampling and time interval sampling.

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78
Q

What is event sampling?

A

This is counting the number of times a certain behaviour occurs.

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79
Q

What is time interval sampling?

A

This is recording behaviour in a given time frame like every 30 seconds and ticking categories on a checklist.

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80
Q

What is a pilot study?

A

This is a small scale preliminary study to try out the study on a few participants so adjustments can be made before the main study. This saves time and money and it is useful to establish behavioural categories and check they’re suitable. It can iron out any practical problems.

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81
Q

What is needed to write good questions in a questionnaire?

A

Clarity, no bias and should be easy to analyse but may represent their real thoughts and behaviours.

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82
Q

What are filler questions?

A

These are irrelevant questions that distract the participant from the true purpose of the study. They reduce demand characteristics.

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83
Q

What is needed for a good questionnaire?

A

Filler questions, should start with the easy questions then harder ones when the participant is more relaxed and less anxious, using the right sampling technique and possibly conducting a pilot study.

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84
Q

What are the effects of an interviewer?

A

They make notes which affects their listening skills. If they don’t write down something a participant says then they may think their information isn’t valuable. So it is better to use audio or sound recording. The interviewer being present or interested makes the participants provide more information. They should be aware of their non verbal communication, so they should know that various behaviours like crossing arms shows disapproval. Nodding or leaving forward is more encouraging. Also they should be more aware of their listening skills so they should know when and how to speak. They shouldn’t interrupt and should use a range of encouraging comments that show they’re listening.

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85
Q

What is reliability?

A

This is the consistency of research.

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86
Q

What is external reliability?

A

This is whether the test is consistent over time. The test retest method is used to assess this.

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87
Q

What is internal reliability?

A

This is whether the test is consistent within itself. The split half technique us used to assess this.

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88
Q

What is the split half technique?

A

This is when the questionnaire is split in half and if the participants score similarly on both halves then they measure the same thing.

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89
Q

What is validity?

A

This is whether the study is measuring what it intends to.

90
Q

What is external validity?

A

This is the extent to which findings can be generalised to other settings. Examples are ecological validity, participant validity which is if it can be generalised to the wider population, and historical validity which is if it can be generalised to people today.

91
Q

What is internal validity?

A

This is if the outcome is a direct result of the manipulation of the IV to affect the DV without being affected by any EV.

92
Q

What are the types of extraneous variable?

A
  • participant variables
  • situational variables
  • experimenter variables
93
Q

What are participant variables?

A

These are the characteristics of the participants that may affect the DV.

94
Q

How are participant variables prevented?

A

Using an appropriate experimental design like repeated measure or matched pairs or using random allocation.

95
Q

What are situational variables?

A

These are factors in the environment that affect the DV like temperature or noise.

96
Q

How are situational variables prevented?

A

Using standardisation which is when all conditions, measure and instructions are the same for all the participants.

97
Q

What are experimental variables?

A

These are factors to do with the experimenter that affects the DV like their personality, appearance or conduct.

98
Q

How are experimenter variables prevented?

A

Using standardised instructions.

99
Q

What are demand characteristics?

A

This is when the participants guess the purpose of the study and what is expected. Participants then try to please the researcher by acting in the way they believe the researcher wants them to, or they may try to annoy the researcher by giving the wrong results. This is the screw you effect.

100
Q

What is social desirability?

A

This is a form of demand characteristics, where the participant acts unnaturally out of nervousness or fear of being judged.

101
Q

How are demand characteristics prevented?

A

Using the single blind techniques, which is when the participant doesn’t know the purpose of the study.

102
Q

What are investigator effects?

A

This is when the investigator may inadvertently influence the results like their age, gender or ethnicity. A form of this is observer bias or interviewer effects.

103
Q

How are investigator effects prevented?

A

By using the double blind technique, which is when neither the participant nor the investigator know the purpose of the study.

104
Q

What are ethical issues?

A

These must be fully considered. The BPS have created a code to follow.

105
Q

What is informed consent?

A

The participants should be fully informed about the objectives of the investigation and then the researcher needs to take their consent to take part. For children under 16 there needs to be parental consent. There are three types; presumptive consent, prior general consent and retrospective consent.

106
Q

What is presumptive consent?

A

This is deciding that if people of a similar background are willing to participate then it is assumed the actual participants will too.

107
Q

What is prior general consent?

A

This is when the participant agrees to be deceived without knowing how or when but this can affects their behaviour.

108
Q

What is retrospective consent?

A

This is asking the participants for consent after the study but this may not count as consent.

109
Q

What is protection from harm?

A

The researcher has a responsibility to protect participants from physical and psychological harm. The harm should be no greater than ordinary life and if it is then it should be stopped immediately. Participants should leave the study in the same condition as they entered.

110
Q

What is right to withdraw?

A

Participants should be made aware that they can leave the study at any time and they should be made aware of this if they feel distressed.

111
Q

What is confidentiality?

A

The researcher should use numbers or letters instead of the names of the participants if they want to publish their work. They should also ensure anonymity which is the idea that the data cannot be traced back to the participants as they don’t provide their names.

112
Q

What is deception?

A

This is withdrawing information from or misleading the participant, which is unacceptable if the participant is likely to object or show unease. Sometimes this is unavoidable to prevent demand characteristics. The ethics committee would then conduct a cost benefit analysis where they weigh the potential harm of doing the research against the potential gains. Debriefing is used to resolve this.

113
Q

What is debriefing?

A

This is a conversation between the researcher and participant that takes place after the research. They are told why the deception was necessary, reminded of their right to withdraw and right of confidentiality, and the researcher would need to show respect. This is not justification for other unethical aspects.

114
Q

What is peer review?

A

This is the assessment of a researchers unscientific work by others that are experts in the same field. This ensures that any research conducted or published is of the right standard.

115
Q

What are the main functions of peer reviews?

A

To ensure that research funding is spent responsibly, that good quality research is is published in academic journals, and to assess the research rating of university departments.

116
Q

Advantages of peer review. (3)

  • validity
  • anonymous
  • specialist
A
  • it is a way of checking the validity, credibility and assessing the quality and appropriateness of the research.
  • the double blind procedure is used as the researcher is anonymous and doesn’t know who will peer review
  • it involves specialist psychologists who have exceptional knowledge and expertise.
117
Q

Disadvantages of peer review. (3)

  • expert
  • bias
  • universities
A
  • it is not always possible to find an appropriate expert. This means poor research could be positively peer reviewed as it was not really understood.
  • journals prefer positive results and editors want to increase their standard so there may be bias in published research, which leads to a misperception of facts.
  • some specialists have connections with certain universities or institutions. There may be favouritism or bias because it is the institution the writer generated from which is unfair.
118
Q

How does research into social change benefit the economy?

A

It’s used to improve people’s behaviours. In Montana they had a problem with alcohol related car crashes among 21-34 year olds. Only 20% actually drove drunk but 92% believed the majority did. They corrected this misperception using advertisements saying that most young adults don’t drink and drive and accidents massively reduced. They made people aware of the actual norm and this moderated their behaviour to fit with the majority. This research is used to prevent people from doing risky behaviour. This alleviates the burden on emergency and health services.

119
Q

How does research into improving memory benefit the economy?

A

The cognitive interview is based in psychological research on how memory works. It has hugely improved the amount of accurate information collected from eyewitnesses. The amount spent on wrongful arrests and wasted police time has vastly reduced.

120
Q

How has research into attachment benefitted the economy?

A

More research since Bowlby has shown the importance of the role of the father. It shows that both parents are equally capable of providing the emotional support necessary for healthy psychological development. Now it is normal for households to have flexible working arrangements. Modern parents are better equipped to maximise their income and contribute more effectively to the economy.

121
Q

How has research into mental health benefitted the economy?

A

The McCrones report shows that the direct cost of mental health issues on the economy in England is £22.5 billion. Absence from work caused by mild to moderate mental health disorders costs the economy £5 billion a year. The McCrones report shows studying the use of drugs against psychotherapies for dementia. A number of participants showed that receiving medication provides a much greater economic gain than therapies. This research is essential in reducing the costs of mental illness on the economy and returning people to work.

122
Q

What are the types of data?

A
  • nominal- this is discrete data and is separated into categories.
  • ordinal- this is continuous data that is ordered in some way
  • interval- this is continuous data where there are equal intervals that are arbitrarily determined.
123
Q

What is quantitative data?

A

This is data that can be measured in numbers of quantities and is easy to analyse. Examples are dependent variables in experiments, closed questions in questionnaires and tall for behavioural categories in observations.

124
Q

What is qualitative data?

A

This is data that cannot be quantified or counted. This can be turned into quantitative data by placing data into categories and counting the frequency. Examples are open questions in questionnaires and when the researcher describes what they see in observations.

125
Q

What is primary data?

A

This is data collected from first hand experience. It is collected by the researcher for the study current,y being undertaken. This could take a lot of time and effort.

126
Q

What is secondary data?

A

This is originally collected by another researcher for another study. The researcher may make use of government statistics. This is most valid when the data is from a desired research that already exists. There is substantial variation in the quality and accuracy of secondary data, which affects the reliability.

127
Q

What is a meta analysis?

A

This is combining results from a number studies on a particular topic to provide an overall view. This allows us to view data with much more confidence so it can be generalised. It is prone to publication bias which is when the researcher may choose to leave out research with negative or non significant results.

128
Q

What are tables?

A

These are not raw scored but have been converted to descriptive statistics. These are measures of central tendency of dispersion.

129
Q

What are graphs?

A

These are drawn with two axis; vertical y axis and the horizontal x axis.

130
Q

What are bar charts?

A

This is used for nominal data. The height of the bar represents the frequency which is plotted on the y axis. The space between each bars shows that lack of continuity.

131
Q

What are histograms?

A

This is for ordinal or interval data. The area within the bars is proportional to the frequencies. The y axis must start at 0. There should be no gals between the bars.

132
Q

What are line graphs?

A

This is for ordinal or interval data. It uses points connected by lines. They show how something changes in values. The IV is on the x axis and the DV is on the y axis.

133
Q

What are scattergrams?

A

These show associations between co variables. They occupy either the x or y axis.

134
Q

What are normal distribution curves?

A

The frequency should reflect a bell shaped curve which is symmetrical. Most people are located in the middle and very few people are at the extreme ends. The mean, mode and median all occupy the same midpoint on the curve. The ends of the curve never touch the x axis. Skewed distributions lean to one side. A positive skew is skewed to the left, the mode is the highest point and the median and mean are dragged to the right. A negative skew is skewed to the right, the mean is the highest point and the median and mode are dragged to the left.

135
Q

What are measures of central tendency?

A

These inform us about central values, which are ways of calculating a typical value. These include mode, median and mean.

136
Q

What is the mean?

A

This is adding all scored up and dividing them by the total number of scores.

137
Q

Advantage of the mean. (1)

- all

A
  • it takes all the scores into account which is accurate.
138
Q

Disadvantage of the mean. (1)

- distorted

A
  • it can be distorted by a single extreme values
139
Q

What is the median?

A

This is ranking all the scores in order and taking the middle value. If there is an even number if scores, then the median is the mid point between the two middle scores.

140
Q

Advantage of the median. (1)

- distorted

A
  • it cannot be distorted by single extreme values
141
Q

Disadvantage of the median. (1)

- all

A
  • it fails to take all the scores into account
142
Q

What is the mode?

A

The most frequent value.

143
Q

Advantage of the mode. (1)

- distorted

A
  • it is not distorted by single extreme scores
144
Q

Disadvantage of the mode. (1)

- all

A
  • it doesn’t take all the scores into account.
145
Q

What are measures of dispersion?

A

This is how dispersed or spread out data items are. These include the range and standard deviation.

146
Q

What is the range?

A

This is the difference between the highest and lowest scores.

147
Q

Advantage of the range. (1)

- easy

A
  • it is quick and easy to calculate
148
Q

Disadvantage of the range. (1)

- distorted

A
  • can be distorted by a single extreme value
149
Q

What is standard deviation?

A

This is the average amount that each score differs from the mean.

150
Q

Advantage of standard deviation. (1)

- all

A
  • it takes all the scores into account.
151
Q

Disadvantages of standard deviation. (2)

  • difficult
  • interval
A
  • it is more difficult to calculate

- it can only be used on interval data

152
Q

How do you calculate percentages?

A

First you need to take the number of participants and divide this value by the total number and times the number you get by 100.

153
Q

How do you convert a percentage to a decimal?

A

You have to remove the % sign and then move the decimal point two places to the left.

154
Q

How do you concert a decimal to a fraction?

A

First you work out the number of decimal places. If it’s one decimal place then you divide by 10, and if it’s two decimal places then divide by 100. Then you find the lowest common denominator which is the biggest number that divides evenly into both numbers.

155
Q

What are the two types of ratios?

A
  • part to whole ratio- number of participants who did:total number of participants
  • part to part ratio- number of participants who did:number of participants who didn’t
156
Q

What are significant figures?

A

If there is a long number then it is rounded to the nearest thousand or million. Numbers coming after a decimal point need to be rounded off to 1, 2, 3 significant figures.

157
Q

What are inferential statistics?

A

We conduct research on a sample because you cannot on the entire sample. We can infer the same results for the population as the sample. These are used to see if results are significant. They are designed to work out the probability, which is if particular sets of results have occurred by chance. The accepted level of probability that data has occurred due to chance is p<0.05 (5%).

158
Q

When is the sign test used?

A

It is used when looking at paired or related data, when it is nominal data and when a repeated measures or matched pairs design is used (participants are paired).

159
Q

How is a sign test conducted?

A

The hypothesis is found and the test is determined. Then the difference between each pair of data is found. A + is put for positive difference and a - for negative difference. All the + signs and - signs are added up and the 0s are ignored. The smaller value is the less frequent sign and is the S value, which is the statistic being calculated. The N value is the total number of scores. Then on the table the column for 0.05 and the row for the N value us found, looking in the right test section. This value must be less than or equal to the S value. For s directional hypothesis, the direction should be checked to see if it was expected. There should be more + signs. We can there then accept the experimental hypothesis and reject the null.

160
Q

What is content analysis?

A

This is a systematic research technique for analysis for data such as transcripts for interviews, documents for texts, or other types of data that may be too large. A coding system of predetermined categories are created to be applied. A pilot study could be used to test these categories. The coding could involve counting the number of times a word, phrase or behaviour appears. This generates quantitative data.

161
Q

What is thematic analysis?

A

This can generate quantitative data. This is done through noticing themes that emerge from the data. A theme is an idea that reoccurs and tends to be descriptive. New themes and categories are then compared and this increases validity.

162
Q

Advantages of content analysis. (3)

  • comparison
  • quantitative
  • qualitative
A
  • it allows the comparison of data
  • qualitative data is rich in detail and has higher validity
  • quantitative data is easy to analyse
163
Q

Disadvantages of content analysis. (3)

  • time
  • why
  • wrong
A
  • it is time consuming
  • it explains what is happening not why
  • if the coding system is wrong then the findings will be valid
164
Q

What are case studies?

A

These involve detailed investigation or insight of a single individual, group or institution. These aim to be scientific and objective and focus on a small number of people. These few people display a rare or fascinating behaviour. It can collect qualitative or quantitative data. They can be longitudinal studies.

165
Q

Advantages of case studies. (2)

  • prove
  • ecological
A
  • they can prove or disprove theories

- they have mundane realism and ecological validity

166
Q

Disadvantages of case studies. (2)

  • scientific
  • generalised
A
  • they are not very scientific

- they cannot be generalised to the entire population.

167
Q

What is the test retest method?

A

This is repeating an observation or self report after a short interval of time, or an experiments, for a second time using the same participants. The results should be similar and should produce a correlation coefficient of +0.8 to be reliable.

168
Q

What is inter-rater reliability?

A

This is used to make sure an observation or self report is not biased. Another researcher conducts the same research in the same way. Both researchers should gain a positive correlation coefficient of +0.8.

169
Q

What are the ways of improving reliability?

A
  • operationalising behavioural categories
  • further training for observer or experimenter or interviewer
  • questions shouldn’t be ambiguous and should be rewritten if they are
  • standardisation of instructions
170
Q

What things reduce internal validity?

A
  • investigator effects
  • demand characteristics
  • confounding variables
  • social desirability
  • lack of operationalisation
171
Q

What is concurrent validity?

A

This is when scores are gained from new test can be compared against an older established one. They should gain a positive correlation of +0.8. If it is low then irrelevant or ambiguous questions should be removed and it should be retested.

172
Q

What is face validity?

A

This is to test whether it is measuring what it should and seeing it on the face of it. If questions are not a good measure then they should be improved, rewritten or reworded.

173
Q

What factors improve internal validity?

A
  • reducing investigator effects
  • reducing demand characteristics
  • reducing confounding variables
174
Q

What is ecological validity?

A

This is the ability to generalise finding to other settings, contexts and everyday life situations.

175
Q

What is temporal validity?

A

If the findings are true over a period of time then they can be generalised to other historical time eras.

176
Q

What are ways of assessing internal validity?

A
  • concurrent validity

- face validity

177
Q

What are ways of assessing external validity?

A
  • doing a meta analysis
  • having a naturalistic environment
  • if there is mundane realism
  • reducing demand characteristics
178
Q

What are ways of improving external validity?

A
  • the single blind procedure

- the double blind procedure

179
Q

How is psychology scientific?

A
  • having a systematic and controlled approach
  • using scientific methods
  • creating knowledge that can be used to predict and control
  • producing valid and reliable data
  • using a large and representative sample
  • operationalising key words
  • identifying and controlling extraneous variables
180
Q

What are empirical method?

A

This is a method of gaining knowledge which relies on direct observation or testing. It can help separate unfounded beliefs from the truth. They need to look for facts and scientific evidence that can be directly tested.

181
Q

What is a paradigm?

A

This is a shared set of assumptions and agreed methods found in scientific disciplines. The presence of paradigms distinguishes scientific and non scientific disciplines. Psychology is a prescience because it lacks a universal acceptance of paradigms as there are too many internal disagreements and conflicting approaches.

182
Q

What is paradigm shift?

A

This happens as a result of a scientific revolution or s scientific change in a dominant theory. First open theory remains dominant. Counter evidence may start to accumulate and the paradigm may be overthrown because of the paradigm shift. Then this makes rapid progress and a scientific revolution occurs like Copernicus saying the sun is at the centre of the universe,

183
Q

What is objectivity?

A

This is dealing with facts in a way that is unaffected by beliefs, opinions, feelings or expectations. A good researcher is objective and observes at a critical distance. They should not let their personal opinions or biases interfere. A high level of objectivity makes data accurate and replicable. This is the basis of empirical methods and is more likely to be achieved in laboratory experiments or observations.

184
Q

What is replicability?

A

This is the extent to which findings of research can be repeated in different contexts and circumstances and whether when a research is carried out again, findings can repeated and whether similar findings are found. This scientific and reliable. It relies on the findings being consistent over time especially for small sample sizes.

185
Q

What is the purpose of replicability?

A

To guard against scientific fraud, to check if results gained were a one off fluke caused by EV or CV, it tells us if research is valid and reliable.

186
Q

What is falsifiability?

A

This is when scientific theories can potentially be disproved by evidence or proving a hypothesis wrong. Genuine scientific theories should tested or proven false or incorrect. Even if it is scientifically tested and repeated it has just not been proven yet. Psychology is easily falsifiable.

187
Q

How are theories constructed?

A

The are constructed via hypothesis testing and re testing. They are based on the results of a range of work constructed by many different researchers. They must be testable and falsifiable.

188
Q

What is deductive reasoning?

A

This is proposing the theory first, then developing a hypothesis, then testing this theory using empirical methods, and finally drawing conclusions.

189
Q

What is inductive reasoning?

A

First instances and facts are observed in the environment, then a hypothesis is developed, the hypothesis is tested, conclusions are drawn and finally a theory is devised based on this.

190
Q

How is a psychological report written?

A

It is written in third person and is clear so exact replication is possible. It involves a title that provides clear focus, has operationalised terms and is not too vague; an abstract, an introduction leading to the aims and hypothesis, a methods section, results section, discussion section, and a reference section.

191
Q

What is an abstract in a psychological report?

A

This is 150-200 words that involves a summary of key concepts and is written once the whole report is finished. Readers can gain an overview and see whether it’s worth reading. Examples of what is included is information about the research, aims, experimental and null hypothesis, methods, design, sample, brief account of findings, conclusions, limitations or implications.

192
Q

What is involved in the introduction leading to the aims and hypothesis?

A

This should include research and clear rationale about why this areas being studied. It should be a general discussion of the research topic then becomes more focused. It should state the aim, experimental and null hypothesis.

193
Q

What is involved in the methods section?

A

This should state how the investigation was carried out and should be precise so it can be replicated. It should include details about the design (experimental design, research method with reasons, variables, and ethical issues), sample and method, apparatus/material, and procedure (briefing, standardised instructions and debriefing).

194
Q

What is involved in the results section?

A

This should include descriptive and inferential statistics, qualitative data and state which hypothesis has been accepted.

195
Q

What does the discussion section involve?

A

A summary of results, the relationship to the background research, the limitations of the methodology and modifications, implications and suggestions for future research.

196
Q

What is the referencing for a journal?

A

The authors name(s), the date of publication, the title of the article, the journal title, the volume (issue number), and the page number.

197
Q

What is the referencing for a book?

A

The authors name(s), the date of publication, the title of the book, the place of publication and the publisher.

198
Q

What is the level of statistical significance?

A

This is the level at which the decision is made to reject the null in favour of the experimental and stated how sure we can be that the IV is having an effect on the DV and is not due to chance. Significance levels look for this real difference between the control and experimental, if it’s even there. This is done through conducting statistical testing.

199
Q

What is probability?

A

This is the numerical measure that determines whether results are due to chance and if a real significant difference exists. If it does then the null is rejected,

200
Q

What is the significant level used in psychology?

A

The conventional and standard level used is p<0.05 (5%), which suggests there is a 95% certainty that results are showing a real difference. It also suggests that there is a 5% level of probability that it is due to chance. Sometimes p<0.10 (10%) is used which is lenient. Also a strict level of p<0.01 (1%) is used when findings are critical or important.

201
Q

Why is the significance level of p<0.05 (5%) used?

A

This is used because it is not too strict and not too lenient so it is a fair value. It minimises the chances of making type 1 or type 2 errors. It is usually used when there is a directional one tailed hypothesis.

202
Q

What are type I errors?

A

This is when the null hypothesis is rejected in favour of the experimental even though findings are actually due to chance.

203
Q

What are type II errors?

A

This is when the null hypothesis is accepted even though the experimental is actually correct.

204
Q

What are descriptive statistics?

A

They give summaries of data and an indication of what statistical testing may reveal. Levels of measurement are used to categorise data to select an appropriate test.

205
Q

What are the levels of measurement?

A

Nominal, ordinal and interval.

206
Q

What is the difference between a parametric and a non parametric test?

A

Parametric tests are more robust and powerful and rely on actual data. They are more likely to detect if data is significant or not. There are three factors which mean that it can be conducted. These are if it is an interval level of measurement, normal distribution and there is a similar variance or spread of scores.

207
Q

What is the acronym for statistical testing?

A

Carrots Should Come Mashed With Swede Under Roast Potatoes
(Chi squared, Sign test, Chi squared, Mann Whitney U, Wilcoxon, Spearman’s Rho, Unrelated t test, Related t test and Pearson’s r)

208
Q

What is the table for statistical testing like?

A

Non parametric, non parametric and parametric.
Test of difference/Independent measures, test of different/repeated measures/matched pairs, and test of association/correlation.
Nominal, ordinal and interval.

209
Q

What is the critical value?

A

This is the numerical value found in the statistical tables. They help decide the significance value so they determine whether results show a real difference or chance.

210
Q

In Spearman’s Rho what happens to the - sign?

A

It is ignored and then put back in when writing up the results.

211
Q

In Spearman’s Rho what does the N stand for?

A

The number of participants.

212
Q

In Spearman’s Rho what does the d stand for?

A

The difference

213
Q

In Mann Whitney U what does Na and No stand for?

A

Na stands for the number of participants in the smaller sample and Nb stands for the number of participants in the larger sample.

214
Q

In Mann Whitney U what does the T stand for?

A

This is the sum of all ranks in the smaller sample.

215
Q

In Chi Squared what is the observed value?

A

This is the calculated value which is the numeric value calculated using statistical testing and is compared to the critical value to determine the significance.

216
Q

In Chi Squared, what does df stand for?

A

This is the degrees of freedom, which corresponds to the number of values free to vary.

217
Q

In Wilcoxon, what does T stand for?

A

This is the smaller value of the sum of positive and negative ranks.

218
Q

In Wilcoxon what does N stand for?

A

This is the number of participants who scored differently in condition A and B.

219
Q

In the Related t test what does N-1 stand for?

A

The number of participants minus 1.

220
Q

In the Unrelated t test what does N-2 stand for?

A

This is the number of participants minus2.

Psychology (11 decks)

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