Research Methods (A01)

Question 1

What are extraneous variables?

Answer 1

Any variable, other than the IV, that may have an effect on the DV - does not vary systematically with the IV.

Question 2

What are confounding variables?

Answer 2

Any variable, other than the IV, that may have affected the DV - varies systematically with the IV

Question 3

What are demand characteristics?

Answer 3

Any cue from the researcher or the situation that may reveal the purpose of the investigation to the participants and lead them to change their behaviour.

Question 4

What are investigator effects?

Answer 4

Any effect of the investigator’s behaviour on the research outcome.

Question 5

What is randomisation?

Answer 5

The use of chance in order to control for the effects of bias when creating an experiment.

Question 6

What is standardisation?

Answer 6

Using exactly the same formalised procedures and instructions for all participants in the study.

Question 7

Independant Groups + A03

Answer 7

Participants are allocated to different groups where each group represents one experimental condition.

A problem is participants who occupy different groups are not the same and to deal with this, random allocation is used which ensures that each participant has the same chance of being in one condition as any other.

Question 8

Repeated Measures + A03

Answer 8

All participants take part in all conditions of the experiment.

A problem is that each participants has to do at least two tasks and as a result order effects may occur. To deal with this, counterbalanced is used in which half of the participants experience the conditions in one order, and the other half in the opposite order.

Question 9

Matched Pairs + A03

Answer 9

Pairs of participants are matched on some variables that may effect the DV and then one member is assigned to Condition A and the other to Condition B.

A problem is that participants can never be matched exactly and this may be time-consuming and expensive especially if a pre-test is required.

Question 10

Lab Experiments

Answer 10

Takes place in a highly controlled environment where researcher manipulates the IV and records the effect on the DV.

🟢 high control over extraneous variables therefore high internal validity.

🔴 may lack generalisability therefore has low external validity, there is also an issue of demand characterises due to the highly controlled environment and tasks may be unnatural that have low mundane realism.

Question 11

Field Experiments

Answer 11

Takes place in a natural setting where the researcher manipulates the IV and records the effect on the DV.

🟢 more natural therefore it has higher mundane realism and therefore higher ecological reality. High external validity as participants may be unaware they are being studied.

🔴 low control over extraneous variables, ethical issues of consent and privacy.

Question 12

Natural Experiments

Answer 12

An experiment where the change in IV is not brought about by the researcher but would have existed even if the researcher had not been there.

🟢 high external validity because they involve the study of real-life problems as they happen.

🔴 participants may not be randomly allocated to experimental conditions - lower internal validity.

Question 13

Quasi Experiments

Answer 13

Have an IV that is based on an existing difference between people - not manipulated, it simply exists.

🟢 often carried out under controlled conditions and so shares the strengths of a lab experiment.

🔴 cannot randomly allocate participants to conditions therefore there may be confounding variables.

Question 14

Random Sampling

Answer 14

Gives every member of the target group an equal chance of being selected for the sample.

🟢 free from researcher bias as the researcher has no influence over who is selected.

🔴 difficult and time-consuming to conduct.

Question 15

Systematic Sampling

Answer 15

When every nth person of the target population is selected i.e. every 4th person in a list.

🟢 if the list is randomised, method offers an unbiased chance of gaining a representative sample (researcher bias)

🔴 if assembled in any other way, bias my be present.

Question 16

Stratified Sampling

Answer 16

Consists of dividing the target population into sections, then each of these sections are sampled individually.

🟢 representative sample therefore generalisation of findings is feasible.

🔴 takes more time and resources to plan so care must be taken to ensure each section present in the population is selected across the strata, otherwise it will produce a biased sample.

Question 17

Opportunity Sampling

Answer 17

Consists of participants whom are accessible and willing to take part at a given opportunity.

🟢 easy and inexpensive to carry out

🔴 subject to both unrepresentative and researcher bias

Question 18

Volunteer Sampling

Answer 18

Consists of people who have volunteered to be in the study.

🟢 less time-consuming and requires minimal input

🔴 volunteer bias in which it may attract a certain ‘profile’ of a person

Question 19

Informed Consent

Answer 19

Involves making participants aware of the aims of the research, the procedures, their rights (right to withdraw) and also what their data will be used for.

Participants can be issued an consent letter detailing all of the relevant information. For individuals under 16, a parental signature is required.

Question 20

Deception

Answer 20

Deliberately misleading or withholding information from participants at any stage of the investigation.

Deception is necessary in occasions where demand characteristics may occur otherwise. To fix the issue of deception, participants may be debriefed after the exam and be given the option to withhold their data if they wish.

In extreme cases, where participants have been embarrassed - counselling may be offered.

Question 21

Protection From Harm

Answer 21

Participants should not be placed at any more risk than they would be in their normal lives, and should be protected from physical and psychological harm.

Counselling and therapy can be offered for participants, who have suffered from psychological harm.

Question 22

Privacy and Confidentiality

Answer 22

The right of privacy involves participants having the right to control information about themselves.

Confidentiality refers to our right to have any data protected.

To deal with this, anonymity of participants can be applied in which data of the participants cannot be traced back to them. In the case of case studies, researchers tend to use initials i.e. HM and KF.

Question 23

Pilot Studies

Answer 23

A pilot study is a small scale trial run of a research design before doing the real thing - it is done in order to find out if certain aspects of the design do or do not work i.e. procedures, materials, measuring scales and allows the research to make changes or modifications if necessary.

Question 24

Naturalistic and Controlled Observations

Answer 24

Naturalistic - watching and recording behaviour in the setting in which it would normally occur.

Controlled - watching and recording behaviour within a structured environment i.e. variables are managed.

For naturalistic:
🟢 N - tend to have high external validity so generalisations are more feasible.

🔴 N - there are many uncontrolled extraneous variables.

Question 25

Covert and Overt Observations

Answer 25

Covert - participants behaviour is watched and recorded without their knowledge or consent.

Overt - participants behaviour is watched and recorded with their knowledge and consent.

For covert:
🟢 removes the problem of participant reactivity and ensures any behaviour observed is natural, this increases the validity of the data gathered. No demand characteristics.

🔴 the issue of ethics, in which participants are being deceived and observed without their prior consent.

Question 26

Participant and Non-participant Observations

Answer 26

Participant - the researcher becomes a member of the group whose behaviour they are watching and recording.

Non-participant - the researcher remains outside of the group whose behaviour they are watching and recording.

For participant:
🟢 the researcher can experience the situation and gain increased insight into the participants lives, increasing the internal validity of the experiment.

🔴 however there is an issue of participation bias in which the researcher may come to identify too strongly and lose objectivity when observing.

Question 27

Unstructured and Structured Obversations

Answer 27

Unstructured - the researcher may simply want to write down everything they see.

Structured - the researcher quantifies their observation using a pre-determined list of behaviours and sampling methods.

For structured:
🟢 produces quantitative data, so analysing and comparing data between participants is more straightforward.

🔴 lacks on detailed information about a participant or can force the participant to give an answer as a result of the nature of the question.

For unstructured:
🟢 produces qualitative data, benefits from the richness and depth of detail collected - holistic approach.

🔴 greater risk of observer bias as data deemed worthy will be subjective to each individual observer.

Question 28

Behaviour Categories

Answer 28

When a target behaviour is broken up into components that are observable and measurable.

⚫️ important that the categories are as clear and unambigious as possible to increase inter-observer reliability; they must be observable, measureable, exclusive and not over-lap.

Question 29

Event and Time Sampling

Answer 29

Event - a target behaviour or event is first established then the researcher records the event every time it occurs.

Time - a target individual or group is first established then the researcher records their behaviour in a fixed time frame i.e. every 60 seconds.

⚫️ For event sampling: if the specified event is too complex, the observer may overlook important details

⚫️ For time sampling: for instances when behaviour is sampled, it may be unrepresentative of the observation as a whole

Question 30

Self-Report Techniques

Answer 30

Questionaire - a set of written questions used to assess a person’s thoughts or experiences.
- open: produces qualitative data
- closed: produces quantitative data

Interviews - a ‘live’ encounter where one person asks a set of questions to assess an interviewee’s thoughts and/or experiences.
- structured: made up of pre-determined set of questions that are asked in a fixed order.
- unstructured: there are no set questions and there is a general aim that a certain case will be discussed

For questionaires:
🟢 cost-effective and can gather large amount of data quickly.

🔴 responses given may not always be truthful (social desirability bias)

For interviews:
🟢 structured interviews are easy to replicated and unstructured interviews have much more flexibility and provide better insight.

🔴 structured interviews reduce the ability for participants to elaborate on points and unstructured interviews may produce data that is irrelevant and hard to draw conclusions from.

Question 31

Types of Data

Answer 31

Primary data - information that has been obtained first-hand by the researcher for the purposes of a research project.

Secondary data - information that has already been collected by someone else and so pre-dates the current research project.

Question 32

Descriptive Statistics - mean, median, mode, range, standard deviation

Answer 32

The mean is the most sensitive of the central tendencies as it includes all of the values, however it is really distorted by extreme values.

The median is not affected by extreme values however it is less sensitive than the mean.

The mode is the only method you can use in data categories.

The range is easy to calculate but is unrepresentative of the data set as a whole.

The standard deviation is a very precise measure of dispersion but can be distorted by a single value.

Question 33

Graphs - bar charts, scatter grams, histograms, line graphs, normal distribution

Answer 33

Bar charts are used when data is divided into categories, other`wise known as discrete data.

Scattergrams are used when depicting associations between two co-variables (correleration)

Histograms are used when the data is continous rather than discrete.

Line graphs also represent continuous data and use points collected by lines to show how something changes in value i.e. over time.

Normal distribution is a symmetrical spread of frequency data that forms a bell-shaped pattern in which the mean, median and mode are all located at the highest peak.
- positive skew –> a type of distribution where most of the distribution is concentrated on the left
- negative skew –> a type of distribution where most of the distribution is concentrated on the right.

Question 34

Peer Review, Psychology & The Economy

Answer 34

Peer Review - the assessment of scientific work by other who are specialists in the same field to ensure any research intended for publication is of high quality and it is done:
- to allocate research funding
- to validate the quality and relevance of research
- to suggest amendments or improvements.

⚫️ Anonymity –> may permit unjustified criticism by rivals as owners behind the anonymous comment will not be known.
⚫️ Publication Bias –> people may prefer to publish positive results (file drawer issue) and so creates a false impression of current knowledge.

Economy - the state of a country or region in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services.

Examples include:
- attachment research into the role of the father - research has shown that both parents are capable of providing the emotional support necessary for healthy psychological development (dual responsibilities of childcare and income for both parents)
- the development of treatment for mental illnesses - absence from work costs the economy an estimated £15 billion a year and a 1/3 of all absences are caused by mild to moderate mental health and disorders.

🟢

🔴

Question 35

Case Studies

Answer 35

An in-depth investigation, description and analysis of a single individual group, institution or event. It produces rich, qualitative data and tends to take place over a long period of time (longitudinal)

🟢 offers rich, detailed insights and can contribute to our understanding of ‘normal’ functioning (HM) and can provide a solitary contradicting instance that may lead to the revision of a whole theory.

🔴 issues of generalising from such a small sample (low ecological validity) - information is based on the subjective selection and interpretation of the researcher so the evidence is low in internal validity due to lack of objectivity.

Question 36

Content and Thematic Analysis

Answer 36

Content Analysis - a research technique that enables the indirect study of behaviour by examining communications and behaviour that people produce.

Coding - the stage of content analysis in which the communication to be studied is analysed by identifying each instance of the chosen categories i.e. may consist of counting how many times a particular word appears in the extract.

Thematic Analysis - an inductive and qualitative approach to analysis that involves identifying implicit or explicit ideas within the data.

🟢 there are virtually no ethical concerns as media studied is usually already available in the public domain // flexible in which it produces both qualitative and quantitative data.

🔴 piece of media is studied indirectly so behaviour analysed is usually outside the context within which it occurred and so opinion and motivations may be attributed to the person that weren’t originally intended.

Question 37

Reliability