Research Methods Flashcards
(245 cards)
1
Q
Define control
A
The extent to which variables are held constant/regulated
2
Q
Define cause and effect
A
The ability to show that one variable has an effect on another variable
3
Q
Define demand characteristics
A
Participants behave or respond in a manner in which they think is expected of them
4
Q
Define ecological validity
A
The extent to which behaviour reflects real life
5
Q
Define ethics
A
A set of guidelines psychologists should follow
6
Q
Define observer bias
A
See what you expect to see
7
Q
Define social desirability
A
Respond or behave in a manner in which will be seen favourable by others
8
Q
Define independent variable
A
The variable being manipulated
9
Q
Define dependant variable
A
The variable being measured
10
Q
Define operationalise
A
Testable/measurable
11
Q
Define extraneous variable
A
Any variable other than the IV that might potentially affect the DV
12
Q
Define confounding variable
A
A variable that causes a change in the DV but which was not the IV of the study
13
Q
Define participant variables
A
Variables which are to do with the participants including age, gender, social class, ethnicity, gender, personality etc.
14
Q
Define situational variables
A
Variables to do with the situation which might interfere with and affect the behaviour of participants in an experiment
15
Q
Define screw you effect
A
A participant deliberately behave in a way that spoils the experiment
16
Q
Define single blind method
A
This is where participants are not aware of the research aims or conditions they are placed in
17
Q
Define investigator effects
A
Anything that the investigator does which has an effect on a participants performance
18
Q
Define double blind method
A
A research design in which neither the participant nor the experimenter is aware of the condition that an individual participant is receiving
19
Q
Define counterbalancing
A
Ensures that each conditions is tested 1st or 2nd in equal amounts
20
Q
Define random allocation
A
Ensures that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any experimental condition
21
Q
Define randomisation
A
When material is presented to participants in random order (changing the order in which trials are presented)
22
Q
Define standardised procedures
A
Keeping everything the same for all participants
23
Q
What are the 5 main methods of investigation ?
A
- Self report
- Content analysis
- Correlation
- Observation
- Experiment
24
Q
What are the experimental methods ?
A
- Laboratory experiment
- Field experiment
- Natural/Quasi experiment
25
What are the non-experimental methods ?
- Observational techniques
- Self report
- Case study
- Correlational analysis
- Content analysis
26
What is a lab experiment ?
Where psychologists try to control the situation as much as possible in order to test behaviour
27
What is a field experiment ?
Where psychologists investigate behaviour in more lifelike situations and may not be able to control things quite so much as in a lab
28
What is a natural/quasi experiment
Where the independent variable is not manipulated by the experimenter , but naturally occurs
29
What is observer techniques ?
Where you watch people and record their behaviour and information about them
30
What is a self report ?
This is where people tell you about themselves, through an interview or by filling in some sort of questionnaire
31
What is a case study ?
Where one person or a small group of people are studied very intensely and lots of information is gathered about them
32
What is correlational analysis ?
Where two pieces of information are collected than analysed to see if there is a relationship between them
33
What is content analysis ?
A method used to analyse qualitative data. It is a technique that allows a researcher to take qualitative data and to transform it into quantitative data
34
What are the 4 main parts of the codes of ethics and conduct ?
- Respect
- Competence
- Responsibility
- Integrity
35
What are the 3 sections within respect in terms of codes of ethics and conduct ?
- Informed consent
- Right to withdraw
- Confidentiality
36
What are the 2 sections within responsibility in terms of codes of ethics and conduct ?
- Protection of participants
| - Debrief
37
What is the section within integrity in terms of codes of ethics and conduct ?
Deception
38
Define respect in terms of codes of ethics and conduct
Psychologists should value the dignity and worth of all persons, with sensitivity to the dynamics of perceived authority or influence over clients, and should have particular regard to people's rights including those of privacy and self-determination
39
Define competence in terms of codes of ethics and conduct
Psychologists should value the continuing development and maintenance of high standards of competence in their professional work, and the importance of preserving their ability to function optimally within the recognised limits of their knowledge, skill, training, education, and experience
40
Define responsibility in terms of codes of ethics and conduct
Psychologists should value their responsibilities to clients, to the general public, and to the profession and science of psychology, including the avoidance of harm and the prevention or misuse or abuse of their contributions to society
41
Define integrity in terms of codes of ethics and conduct
Psychologists value honesty, accuracy, clarity, and fairness in their interactions with all persons, and seek to promote integrity in all facets of their scientific and professional endeavours
42
Give key elements of a consent form
- Signature/date
- Debrief at the end
- Right to ask questions
- Right to withdraw
- Confidential/anonymous
- Participation voluntary
- Aims of the research
43
What are the 3 alternative types of consent ?
- Retrospective consent
- Presumptive consent
- Prior general consent
44
Describe retrospective consent
This involves asking participants for consent after they have participated in a study. However, they may not consent and yet have already taken part
45
Describe presumptive consent
This is gained from people of a similar background to participants in a study. If they state that they would have been willing to participate, then it is deemed that the actual participants would too
46
Describe prior general consent
This involves participants agreeing to be deceived without knowing how they will be deceived. As participants know they will be deceived, this can affect their behaviour
47
Give key elements of a debrief
- References to further reading
- Confidential/anonymous
- True aims of research and conditions
- Thank you
- Contacts to ask questions
- Expectations from the study
48
Give two advantages of a lab experiment
- High control
| - Cause and effect
49
Give two disadvantages of a lab experiment
- Demand characteristics
| - Low ecological validity
50
Give two advantages of a field experiment
- High ecological validity
| - Reduced demand characteristics
51
Give two disadvantages of a field experiment
- Reduced control over variables
| - Reduced cause and effect
52
Give two advantages of natural/quasi experiment
- High ecological validity
| - Allows researchers to investigate variables that could not practically or ethically be manipulated
53
Give two disadvantages of natural/quasi experiment
- Reduced control
| - Can't randomly assign participants to groups (participant variables)
54
Give an advantage of observation
-High ecological validity
55
Give two disadvantages of observation
- Low control
| - Observer bias
56
Give two advantage of survey/questionnaire
- Only way to measure thoughts, feelings, attitudes and beliefs
- Quick, cheap and easy
57
Give three disadvantages of survey/questionnaire
- Lying
- Demand characteristics
- Social desirability
58
Give two advantages of correlation
- Used when impractical to use an experiment
| - Can be plotted visually in a scatter graph to see relationship
59
Give two disadvantages of correlation
- No cause and effect
| - Does not allow for complex relationships
60
Give two advantages of case study
- Lots of rich detailed data
| - High in ecological validity
61
Give two disadvantages of case study
- Not representative of the target population. Therefore, cannot generalise our results and conclusions
- Researcher bias
62
What is each person in the study called ?
Participant
63
What is a group of participants called ?
A sample
64
Describe random sampling
Every member of the target population has an equal chance of appearing in the sample.
For example, picking names out of a hat or using a computer program to randomly generate names from a list of everyone in the target population
65
Describe opportunity sampling
These are people who are available and willing to take part in your research
66
Describe volunteer sampling
These are people who are willing to participate, certain personality types are more likely to volunteer than others
67
Describe systematic sampling
There is an order/system to choosing the participants in the sample
68
Describe stratified sampling
A sample of participants produced by identifying subgroups according to their frequency in the population. Participants are then selected randomly from subgroups
69
Give an advantage of random sampling
There is an equal chance of being part of the study
70
Give a disadvantage of random sampling
Difficult to achieve i.e. time, effort and money
71
Give an advantage of opportunity sampling
People who are able and willing to participate - good ethics
72
Give a disadvantage of opportunity sampling
Selection bias, researcher is likely to pick people who make eye contact, smile etc.
73
Give an advantage of systematic sampling
Most representative of the target population
74
Give two disadvantages of systematic sampling
- High risk of data manipulation exists
| - Requires a close approximation of a population
75
Give an advantage of stratified sampling
Participants are randomly chosen
76
Why is an experiment the most scientific method of investigating behaviour?
It is the most systematic and objective way to observe, record and describe events and allows for control over variables
77
Give a disadvantage of stratified sampling
When researchers can't classify every member of the population into a subgroup
78
What are the key features of a lab experiment ?
- Conducted in an artificial environment
- Allows for a high degree of control over variables
- Allows the experimenter to manipulate an IV and measure the effect on the DV (cause and effect)
- Tend to be reliable (consistency of measurement)
- Allow for replication (standardised procedure/instructions)
79
What are the key features of a field experiment ?
- Conducted in a more natural environment
- Allows a degree of control (reduced through natural environment)
- Allows the experimenter to manipulate an IV and measure the effect on the DV
80
What are the key features of a natural/quasi experiment ?
- The IV's occur naturally
- The experimenter has no control over the IV
- The experimenter measures the DV
81
What are the 3 experimental design methods ?
- Independent measures
- Repeated measures
- Matched pairs
82
Outline a independent measures study
An independent measures design involves using different participants in each condition of the experiment
83
Outline a repeated measures study
A repeated measures design involves using the same participant in each condition of the experiment
84
Outline a matched pairs design
Matched pairs design involves using different but similar participants in each condition of the experiment
85
Give an advantage of repeated measures
Control/reduce participant variables to some extent
86
Give disadvantages of repeated measures
- Situational variables
- Extraneous variables
- Demand characteristics
- Lying/Cheating because they've already done the test once
- Order effects
- Time consuming
87
Give advantages of independent measures
- Control situational variables to some extent if it's done at the same time
- Reduction in order effects
- Less time consuming
88
Give a disadvantage of independent measures
-Different types of people (participant variables)
89
Give advantages of matched pairs
- Control participant variables and situational variables more
- No order effects
- Similar people put together makes the experiment more fair
90
Give disadvantages of matched pairs
- Still other participant factors/variables to take into consideration
- Time consuming
91
What is a directional (one tailed) hypothesis ?
A hypothesis which predicts the direction of a difference between two groups
92
What is a non-directional (two-tailed) hypothesis ?
A hypothesis which only predicts that there will be a significant difference between groups
93
Give an example of a directional hypothesis
There will be a significant difference in the number of words recalled (out of 20) in a 1-minute recall test by participants who drink four pints of beer in 1 hour compared to participants who drink four pints of cider in 1-hour period
94
Give an example of a non-directional hypothesis
Participants who have background noise will have a significant difference in reaction time (seconds) than participants completing the same task who do not have background noise
95
What is a null hypothesis ?
The null hypothesis predicts that there will not be any difference between groups.
96
Give an example of a null hypothesis
There will be no significant difference in the number of words recalled (out of 20) in a 1-minute recall test between participants who drink 4 pints of beer in a 1 hour period and participants who drink 4 pints of water in a 1-hour period.
97
What is the type 1 error ?
Researcher accepts the alternate hypothesis, when they should have accepted the null hypothesis (false positive)
98
What is the type 2 error ?
Researcher accepts the null hypothesis, when they should have accepted the alternate hypothesis
99
Give strengths of case studies?
- Rich detailed descriptive data - increased validity
- Tend to be high ecological validity
- Insight into unique/unusual behaviour (HM study)
100
Give weaknesses of case studies?
- Not representative - limited generalisability
- lack population validity
- Difficult/impossible to replicate/ unscientific
- Researcher bias/subjective interpretation
101
What is inter-rater reliability?
Refers to the extent to which different observers are able to observe and rate (or code) the same behaviour in the same way. A good study/observation should have at least 80% agreement between observers.
102
What is a controlled observation?
Usually takes place in some form of controlled environment which allows control over variables
103
Give weaknesses of a controlled observation
- Demand characteristics
- Lower ecological validity
- Can't infer cause and effect
105
Give 2 strengths of a naturalistic observation?
- Being able to observe the flow of behaviour in its own setting - greater ecological validity
- Generate new ideas
106
What is a naturalistic observation?
Takes place in the participant's natural environment e.g. children in creche. In most cases participants in a naturalistic observation are not aware that they are being observed; this means that they behave more naturally and makes the research more ecological valid
107
Give weaknesses of a naturalistic observation
- Demand characteristics
- Social desirability
- No control over extraneous variables
108
Give strengths of a controlled observation
- Easily replicated by other researchers
- Data is easier and quicker to analyse as it is quantitative
- Increase reliability
- Extraneous
108
What is a structured observation?
Structured observation involves the use of tables of pre-determined categories of behaviour, also known as a coding system or behaviour checklist
109
What is event sampling?
When the observer(s) record specific occurrences of predetermined behaviours every time they occur continuously throughout the whole duration of the observation period
110
What is time sampling?
Observations may be made at regular time intervals and coded (e.g. every 30 seconds for 5 minutes)
111
Give key features of case studies
- An in depth investigation of one person or a small group of people
- Investigate naturally occurring events so they allow psychologists to look a things that could not normally be investigated
- Can be longitudinal or retrospective
- The researcher gather a range of information
- The researcher uses a number of methods to gather the information
112
Give 3 strengths of quantitative data
- Can be put onto a graph
- Precise
- Easily analysed
113
Give a strength of qualitative data
Give us a much better idea of what people really think
114
Give two weaknesses of qualitative data
- Difficult to demonstrate, maintain and asses the rigidity of the data
- Takes a long time to analyse
115
Define primary data
Any data collected by a researcher directly working with participants conducting experiments or observations
116
Give a strength of primary data
Researcher has greater control over the data. The data collection can be designed so it fits the aims and hypothesis of the study
117
Give a weakness of primary data
Lengthy and expensive process - Designing a study, recruiting participants, conducting and analysing results
118
Define secondary data
Collected when researcher want to use data that already exists often this involves taking the findings from other people's research and re-analysing it in a different way
119
Define a meta-analysis
Where researchers combine the findings from multiple studies to draw an overall conclusion
120
Give a strength of secondary data
Data is readily available and inexpensive to obtain (less time consuming)
121
Give a weakness of secondary data
Data may not exactly fit the needs of your study and has undergone some form of interpretation and thus be biased
122
Describe raw data
The data we collect in any study is referred to as raw data
123
Describe measure of central tendency
A measure of central tendency reduces a large amount of data (this is called the raw data) to a single value which is representative of that set of data
124
What is the mode ?
The most commonly occurring or frequent score in a set of scores
125
What is the median ?
The middle value in a set of values (to find this you need to put all scores in order from lowest to highest)
126
How do you calculate the mean ?
Add up all the scores and divide by the number of scores
127
Give strengths of using mode as the central tendency
- It shows the most common or important score
| - It is always a result from the actual data set, so can be a useful or realistic statistic
128
Give weaknesses of using mode as the central tendency
- It is not very useful if there are several modal values or if the modal value is only significantly more common than other scores
- It has little further uses in the data analysis
129
Give strengths of using median as the central tendency
- It is relatively quick and easy to calculate
| - It is not affected by extremely high or low scores, so more representative
130
Give weaknesses of using median as the central tendency
- Not all scores are used to work out the median
| - It has little further use in the data analysis
131
Give strengths of using mean as the central tendency
- Uses all the scores in a data set
| - Used in further calculations and so handy to work out
132
Give weaknesses of using mean as the central tendency
- Can be skewed by high and low scores. This will make the average un-representative and misleading
- It can sometimes give an unrealistic value
133
What are the 2 main measures of dispersion ?
- Range
| - Standard deviation
134
What is the range ?
The highest score minus the lowest score
135
What is standard deviation ?
The average amount each score deviates from the mean of that set of scores it is denoted by the symbol S
136
Give a strength of using the range
It is fairly easy and quick to work out
137
Give weaknesses of using the range
- It can be distorted by extreme scores
| - It does not take into account all scores and fails to show if scores are evenly spread around the mean
138
Give strengths of using standard deviation
- All scores in the set are taken into account, so it's more accurate than the range
- It can be used in further analysis
- In the same units and is a more useful measure of how far on average each score differs from the mean
139
Give a weakness of using standard deviation
It is not as quick or easy to calculate as the range
140
Steps to calculate standard deviation
1. Write the values for score in variable 1 in the first column x
2. Calculate the mean for the set of value x_
3. Subtract each score from the mean score and write the answer to each in the second column x - x_
4. Square each answer from the second column and write this in the third column (x-x_)^2
5. Add together all the scores in column 3
6. Divide this total by the number of scores - 1
7. Take the square root of the answer
141
Define reliability
Consistency of measurement
142
Define validity
Measures what it claims to measure
143
Define inter-observer reliability
Refers to the extent to which different observers are able to observe and rate (or code) the same behaviour in the same way
144
Give strengths of a naturalistic observation
- Being able to observe the flow of behaviour in its own setting - greater ecological validity
- Generate new ideas
145
Give weaknesses of a naturalistic observation
- Demand characteristics
- Social desirability
- No control over extraneous variables
146
Give strengths of a controlled observation
- Easily replicated by other researchers
- Data is easier and quicker to analyse as it is quantitative
- Increases reliability
- Extraneous variables
147
Give weaknesses of a controlled observation
- Demand characteristics
- Lower ecological validity
- Can't infer cause and effect
148
What is a structured observation?
Structured observation involves the use of tables of pre-determined categories of behaviour,, also known as a coding system or behaviour checklist
149
What is an unstructured observation?
Unstructured observations are when the observer records everything that happens
150
Define time sampling
Observations may be made at regular time intervals and coded (e.g. every 30 seconds for 5 minutes)
151
Define event sampling
When the observer(s) record specific occurrences of predetermined behaviours every time they occur continuously throughout the whole duration of the observation period
152
Give a strength of event sampling
Increased validity - less likely to miss behaviour as it is monitored
153
Give a weakness of event sampling
-Difficult to record all behaviours - may miss behaviour - reduced validity and reliability
154
Give strengths of time sampling
- Easier to record data
| - Increased chances of obtaining reliable data
155
Give a weakness of time sampling
Reduced validity - miss behaviour
156
Give strengths of structured observations
- Reduced demand characteristics
- Easier to record data
- Increases reliability of data recording
157
Give weaknesses of structured observations
- Not easily generalised
| - Reduced validity
158
Give strengths of unstructured observations
- More in depth results
| - Valid - allows you to record all behaviours
159
Give weaknesses of unstructured observations
Difficult to analyse
| -Difficult to achieve reliability
160
What is a participant observation?
A participant observation is when the observer acts as part of the group being watched/observed
161
What is a non-participant observation?
A non-participant observation is where the observer does not become part of the group being observed
162
Give strengths of participant observations
- Allows the research to gain a depth of knowledge
| - Ability to record and monitor behaviour in closer detail
163
Give weaknesses of participant observations
- Time consuming
- Generates a vast amount of data
- Researcher variables
164
Give strengths of non-participant observations
- Better reliability because the researcher is less involved
| - Researcher is less involved so people may act more naturally
165
Give weaknesses of non-participant observations
- Demand characteristics
| - Reduced validity
166
What is an overt observation?
Where the participant(s) know they are being observed
167
What is a covert observation
Where the participant(s) are unaware that they are being observed
168
Strengths of an overt observation
- Enables the researcher to build some kind of rapport with participants
- More ethical
169
Weaknesses of an overt observation
- Time consuming
- Demand characteristics
- Difficult to repeat
- Not always representative
170
Give the key features of an observation
1. An observation is the systematic measurement of spontaneously occurring behaviour
2. An observation can be conducted in a controlled environment (e.g. lab) or in a naturalistic environment (e.g. playground)
3. An observation can be structured (use pre-determined checklist) or unstructured (no pre-determined checklist)
4. If structured, the researcher decides which behaviours they want to record and will produce a coding system with behavioural categories of behaviours
171
How can validity be improved in an observation?
1. Reduce demand characteristics by observing covertly
2. Carry out a pilot study to determine/check behaviour categories
3. Check for inter-rater reliability by getting two or more observers to watch the same events and check their tallies against each others
172
How can reliability be improved in an observation
1. pre observation training
| 2. Practice
173
What are open questions?
Open questions are questions in which participants respond by writing as much as they want in response to a statement or question - this produces qualitative data (rich detailed descriptive data)
174
What are closed questions?
Closed questions are questions in which participants have a forced/fixed choice of an answer - responses are predetermined by the researcher
175
Give an advantage of open questions
People are free to fully express an answer- you will get detailed information
176
Give a disadvantage of open questions
The information people give may be difficult to analyse and summarise
177
Give advantages of closed questions
- Allows quantitative data to be collected
- Easy to analyse
- Easy to fill in
178
Give a disadvantage of closed questions
-No space for detailed information or reasoning
179
What is a questionnaire?
A set of written questions that can be answered easily
180
What is informed consent?
Participants should be aware of the nature of any questionnaire and any sensitive questions in order that they are able to give informed consent
181
What does right to withdraw mean?
We must make it clear to all participants that they are free to withdraw during the study, or to miss out any questions they do not feel comfortable with, or to withdraw their data from a study after we have collected it
182
What does confidentiality involve?
We must maintain confidentiality of responses given and never reveal who said what in a questionnaire
183
What does anonymity mean?
Different to confidentiality, this is where even the researchers do not know the identity of the participants and can be achieved by using postal questionnaires
184
What does protection mean in terms of ethics?
Participants should not be embarrassed or made to feel uncomfortable in answering any questions. If we want to conduct research on a sensitive issue or ask about behaviour that could cause embarrassment, we have to take extra care over issues such as informed consent and confidentiality.
185
Give strengths of a questionnaire
- Allows us to measure attitudes, beliefs and opinions
- Collect a large amount of data relatively quickly
- Ease of analysis
- Standardisation/replication possible
- Quantitative data
186
Give weaknesses of a questionnaire
- Social desirability
- Untruthfulness
- Low response rate
- Lacks flexibility
- Interpretation
187
Give key features of a questionnaire
1. A questionnaire is a set of pre-determined questions
2. Questionnaires are designed to collect participants' attitudes, beliefs and opinions on a given topic
3. Questionnaires should include a range of open and closed questions
188
What are interviews?
Interviews are face to face conversations (sometimes interviews are conducted over the phone)
189
What are structured interviews?
Follow a fixed set of questions that are the same for all participants (predetermined questions)
190
Give strengths of a structured interview
- Easy to replicate (check reliability)
| - Quick and easy to conduct
191
Give a weakness of a structured interview
-Lack flexibility (can't adapt questioning)
192
What is a semi-structured interview?
Uses a fixed set of questions however allows interviewers to introduce new questions
193
Give strengths of a semi-structured interview
- Encourages two-way communication
- Provides qualitative data
- Open ended responses - more in depth information
194
Give weaknesses of a semi-structured interview
- Time consuming
- Possible to write leading questions
- You need to interview enough people to draw conclusions and make comparisons
195
What is an unstructured interview?
May have a set of discussion topics, but are less constrained about how the conversation goes (similar to a semi-structured)
196
Give strengths of an unstructured interview?
- Flexibility (adapt questioning)
| - Generates lots of rich detailed data (increased validity)
197
Give a weakness of an unstructured interview
-Time consuming
198
Give strengths of interviews as a whole
- You can get both qualitative and quantitative data
- Can measure attitudes, beliefs, etc that cannot otherwise be measured
- Easy to replicate
199
Give weaknesses of interviews as a whole
- Social desirability
- Demand characteristics
- Lying
- Low response rate
200
Give the key features of an interview
1. Interviews are useful for gathering more detailed information and enabling a more natural and flexible approach to questioning. The interviewer usually has certain topics that they want to explore but they still involve participants giving information about their views, opinions or attitudes on a specific topic
2. Interviews can be structured, unstructured or semi structured
3. An interviewer can ask closed and/or open questions to gather different types of data
201
What is a pilot study?
A small scale version (dry run) of the real research often carried out before the full scale research project begins
202
What is the purpose of a pilot study?
They are used to check the research works as it is intended to
203
What does a pilot study test for?
- Are there any demand characteristics?
- Are the instructions clear?
- Are the resources adequate (e.g. behaviour checklist)
- Are there any extraneous variables that could affect the results?
204
Why is an experiment the most scientific method of investigating behaviour?
It is the most systematic and objective way to observe, record and describe events and allows for control over variables
205
Why is an experiment the most scientific method of investigating behaviour?
It is the most systematic and objective way to observe, record and describe events and allows for control over variables
206
Give strengths of case studies?
- Rich detailed descriptive data - increased validity
- Tend to be high ecological validity
- Insight into unique/unusual behaviour (HM study)
207
What is time sampling?
Observations may be made at regular time intervals and coded (e.g. every 30 seconds for 5 minutes)
208
What is event sampling?
When the observer(s) record specific occurrences of predetermined behaviours every time they occur continuously throughout the whole duration of the observation period
209
What is content analysis?
It is where a researcher quite literally analyses the content of something, usually in order to transform complex qualitative data into quantitative data so that conclusions about patterns may be drawn more easily
210
Give advantages of content analysis
- It is a reliable way to analyse qualitative data as the coding units are not open to interpretation and so are applied in the same way over time and with different researchers (in essence to check reliability)
- It is an easy technique to use and is not too time consuming (easy to complete)
- Tend to have high ecological validity because they are based on observations of what people actually do
211
Give disadvantages of content analysis
- Causality cannot be established as it merely describes the data
- As it only describes the data it cannot extract any deeper meaning or exploitation for the data patterns arising
- Content analyses are only as generalisable as the artefacts being studied. If the artefacts are limited to a particular culture or group, then the findings won't be generalisable to wider society
212
Define internal validity
Is related to what actually happens in the study. In terms of an experiment it refers to whether the IV really has had an effect on the DV or whether the DV caused by some other CV
213
Define external validity
Refers to whether findings of a study really can be generalised beyond the present study
214
What is face validity?
Refers to the extent to which a measure appears on the surface to measure what it is supposed to measure
215
What is concurrent validity?
Refers to the extent to which test results conform with those on some other valid measure, taken at the same time. In essence, whether a test or piece of research gives the same results as another tests or study, which claims to measure the same behaviour
216
What is temporal validity?
If the study passes the test of time i.e. it is replicated at a later date
217
What is population validity?
Refers to the extent to which the findings can be generalised to other populations of people
218
What is ecological validity?
Refers to the extent to which findings can be generalised beyond the present situation in to real life
219
What are the 7 ways to improve validity?
1. Improving concurrent validity
2. Single blind technique
3. Double blind technique
4. Eye ball test by 'experts'
5. Large sample and careful sampling: improving population validity
6. Improving temporal validity
7. Improving ecological validity
220
What are the two types of reliability?
1. Internal reliability
| 2. External reliability
221
What is internal reliability?
How consistently a method measures within itself
222
What is external validity?
How consistently a method measure over time or between people
223
Describe nominal data
It's simply a frequency count for distinct categories where something can only belong to one category e.g. number of people who pass or fail a driving test; number of smokers and non smokers. This is the most basic type of data
224
Describe ordinal data
This is where numbers can be placed in ascending or descending rank order e.g. on a rating scale where 1 = unattractive, 10 = highly attractive or coming 1st, 2nd, 3rd on a test. However, we do not know the true intervals between each position or rank
225
Describe interval/ratio data
Measurements are taken from a scale where each unit is the same size and the gap between each unit is fixed and equal e.g. The difference between a temperature of 100 degrees and 90 degrees is the same difference as between 90 degrees and 80. This is the most sophisticated type of data
226
Give a strength of nominal data
Useful to describe behaviours
227
Give two weaknesses of nominal data
- Quite simplistic
| - Limited statistical value
228
Give a strength of ordinal data
- Useful when investigating opinions
229
Give two weaknesses of ordinal data
- Very subjective
| - Scales require interpretation
230
Give a strength of interval/ratio data
Strongest statistical tests can be conducted
231
Give a weakness of interval/rational data
Often lacks ecological validity
232
What are the two types of statistical analysis?
1. Descriptive statistics
| 2. Inferential statistics
233
What is descriptive statistics?
Estimations, ratios, percentages, frequency diagrams, simple calculations such as mean median and mode, graphs and charts and diagrams that allow us to see broad patterns or anomalies in a set of data
234
What is inferential statistics?
Statistical tests conducted on data using a set formula and then comparing the result we have calculated to data in statistical tables that can tell us whether any patterns we have found are statistically significant
235
How can you control design issues?
1. Counterbalancing
2. Random allocation
3. Randomisation
4. Single blind techniques
5. Double blind techniques
6. Standardised procedures
236
What are the key features of case studies?
1. In depth investigation of one person or a small group of people
2. Investigate naturally occurring events
3. Can be longitudinal or retrospective
4. Gathers a range of information
5. Uses a number of methods to gather the information
237
Give a strength of event sampling
Increased validity - less likely to miss behaviour as it is monitored
238
Give a weakness of event sampling
Difficult to record all behaviour - may miss behaviour
239
Give a strength of time sampling
Easier to record data and increased chance of obtaining reliable data
240
Give a weakness of time sampling
Reduced validity - miss behaviour
241
Give weaknesses of correlational studies
- does not show cause and effect
- difficulties quantifying the variables
- does not allow for complex relationships
242
What are the key features of correlation?
1. Measures the relationship between 2 variables
2. The relationship can be positive or negative
3. The relationship can be strong or weak
4. Can be represented on a scatter gram and analyses using a Spearman’s Rho or Pearson’s R
243
What are the 5 features of science?
1. Objective
2. Empiricism
3. Replicability
4. Falsifiability
5. Paradigm
244
What is a paradigm?
An agreed subject matter and set of procedures
245
What are Kuhn’s 3 stages in relation to the development of science?
1. Pre science
2. Normal science
3. Revolutionary science
