Research methods flashcards

Question 1

What is an unstructured observation?

Answer 1

Not using the behaviour catorgories and noting down everything that you observe

Question 2

What is a structured observation?

Answer 2

This is creating behaviour catorgories when you are observing something

Question 3

What are some strengths and weaknesses to structured observations?

Answer 3

strengths:

It may produce quantative data, this then means that the data is then made easier to be analysed

It can be easier for them to record. This is because they are able to focus on more specific behaviours, this may then make the data collection more efficient

weaknesses:

A issue with structured interview would then be that they may miss important spontaneous behaviours not being included in the observational scheme

Question 4

What are the strengths and weaknesses of unstructured observations?

Answer 4

Strengths:

There may be high ecological validity. This is because it is capturing behaviours that are within a real life setting

The behaviour that is being observed is considered as being natrual. This is because there are no demand characteristics as the participants are unaware that they are being watched

Weaknesses:

It can further be influenced by observer bias. This is a weakness because the researchers subjective interpritations and biases can influence what behaviours are being observed and recorded

Having qualitive data this can then become difficult to analyse. This is a weakness because in order to analyse qualitive data it can be considered as being extremely time consuming

Question 5

How are structured observations carried out?

Answer 5

They use various systems to organise the recording of observations using different behavioural catorgories and sampling methods (generally provides quantative data)

Behaviour catorgories:

Operalisation - breaking the behaviours that are being studied into set components
be objective - no inferences made about the behaviour just being recorded
Cover all possible components
Mutually exclusive - No overlapping should not mark two catorgories at the same time

Sample:
Event sampling - recording the number of times something may happen
Time sampling - recording behaviours within a given time frame

Question 6

What is a questionaire?

Answer 6

pre set list of written questions, use this to assess your dependent variable, mixture of open and closed questions and it can be reliant on self report

Question 7

What are open questions?

Answer 7

allow respondant to ask however they like, for example: Why did you choose that type of daycare? This produces qualitive data - harder to analyse but gives depth and detail

Question 8

What is a closed question?

Answer 8

restricts the respondant to pre determined set of responses, this produces quantative data - harder to analyse but then giving more detail and depth

Question 9

What are the strenghts and weaknesses of questionaires?

Answer 9

Strengths:

A strength of questionaires would be it is extremely cost effective. This is a strength because this allows the researcher to collect data from a larger sample size for a low cost

A strength of questionaires would be you are able to be gathering large amounts of data. This is a strength because the data may then become more reperesentative of the population because of having more of a varied range of participants

Weaknesses:

A weakness of questionaires would be that the responses that may be received from the questionaire may not further be truthful. This would be a weakness because our results may then end up lacking both validity and relieablility

Another weakness to questionaires would then be that the response rates to the questionaires may then be low. This is a weakness because we may end up having a smaller sample size which may then not be conisdered as being reperesentative of the population

Question 10

What are structured interviews?

Answer 10

pre determined set of questions

Question 11

What is a semi structured interview?

Answer 11

List of questions that are prepared in advance but a scope for follow up

Question 12

What is an unstructured interview?

Answer 12

no set questions but there is a general topic which is then further being discussed

Question 13

What are some strengths and weaknesses to interviews?

Answer 13

Weaknesses:

There may be interview bias. This is a weakness because it may then further have an effect on the partcipants responses.

Unstructured interviews may then further be producing qualiative data. This would be considered as being a weakness because the data being collected would be extremly difficult to then analyse

Strengths:

The format of an interview that is structured may further be easy to be replicated by any researcher that decides to conduct the questionaire. This would be a strength because the results may then end up being easuly replicable

The unstructured format of an interview further allows participants to express there opinion freely and the prompts further just encourage there responses. This would be considered as being a strength because you may gain more of an insight into the individual participants

Question 14

What is a correlation?

Answer 14

this is the relationship between two variables it goes along with the changes of the other variable

Question 15

What is a positive correlation?

Answer 15

both of the variables are further increasing, example: the more friends that you have the happier that you will be

Question 16

What is a negative correlation?

Answer 16

when a variable is increasing then the other decreases, an example would be that as friends decreases lonliness increases

Question 17

What coifficent means there are no relationships between the variables?

Answer 17

0.0 - +1 means there is a stronger positive correlation, -1 strong negative correlation

Question 18

What are some advantages and disadvantages of correlations?

Answer 18

strengths:

They may indicate the connection between two issues in situations where the experimental proof would be considered as being impossible

They may futher may help the researcher to then decide whether they are then going to be investigating something further

Weaknesses:

They do not further reflect curv linear relationships. This means that the patterns may not be within a straight line.

They may not then further prove a casual relationship

Correlations may mean that a researcher may then further failed to consider interviening variables. This is a weakness because the unknown variables might be the explanation to why the co variables may then be linked, for example people not attending school may then dislike it and the disliking it may then act as being the intervening variable

Question 19

What is further meant by the “third variable problem”?

Answer 19

this is arised when an unseen or unconsidered variable influences both of the variables that are being studied, potentially creating a false impression of a direct relationship between them. This is often known as being the confounding variable, can bias the relationship that has been observed

Question 20

What is an example of the “third variable problem” ?

Answer 20

ice cream sales and drowning increase together but the variable is the summer heat drives both of the occurrences

Question 21

What is a longitudinal study?

Answer 21

• Looks at small groups of individuals over a long period of time
• Data can first be collected from the outset (start) of the study - may be gathered repeatedly throughout the length of the study and it can then last for several decades
• This then collects quantitative and qualitative data

Question 22

What are some weaknesses of a longitudinal study?

Answer 22

There are many practical difficulties that you may struggle with. As the study is considered as being both expensive and time consuming and the researchers may then also end up changing

There are participants that may not want to continue on with the research and may then want to move away. the remaining of the participants may then further share characteristics which may mean the findings could be considered as then being biased

Question 23

What are some strengths of longitudinal studies?

Answer 23

All of the same participants are further being followed. This then means that there are no participant variables that have to then be considered and the conclusions can be stronger than the independent groups design

It is considered as being the best way to then be studying developmental trends. This is because they repeat the same tasks over time so then the comparisons are able to be drawn

Question 24

What are tables of raw data?

Answer 24

• shows the scores prior to analysis
• Hard to identify the patterns in the data
• this data cannot tell us much

Question 25

What are summary tables?

Answer 25

measures of central tendancy - mean, mode median dispertion of data - standard deviation, range Providing a clear summary of the data ( Basically used to reperesent the descriptive statistics)

Question 26

What are the different types of measuring data?

Answer 26

Nominal, ordinal, ratio, interval

Question 27

What is nominal data?

Answer 27

name, catorgories, labels, cannot be ordered within a meaningful way - this is quantitative data - the graph we would use to reperesent this data would then be a bar chart

Question 28

What is ordinal data?

Answer 28

The data is able to be ordered but differences are not meaningful - thinking it like a race when they have the ranking of 1st,2nd and third -

Question 29

What is a null hypothesis?

Answer 29

This is when there is no relationship between the two variables that are being studied, for example: listening to classical music has no effect on concentration levels

Question 30

what is opportunity sampling?

Answer 30

recruiting the people who are most available, for example those who are walking by the street

Question 31

What is a strength of using opportunity sampling?

Answer 31

A strength would be that it is considered as being the easiest sampling method to gather participants, as it relies of available individuals Another strength would be that it is considered as being an inexpensive sampling method. This is a strength because itn allows researchers to conduct studies if they may then be on a limited budget

Question 32

What are some weaknesses of opportunity sampling?

Answer 32

It would be biased because sample is drawn from a small part of the target population, for example if you are walking around town on monday mid day it is less likely to include proffessional people The sample may further be affected by researcher bias . This could be considered as being a weakness because they may be selecting the group of participants based on there own preferences. Because of this, the sample may then be considered as being not representative

Question 33

What is random sampling?

Answer 33

Random sampling is when particpants may be lined up and given a number and this may then end up being selected through a random generator

Question 34

What are some strengths of random sampling?

Answer 34

It minimizes the researcher bias. This is considered as being a strength because they are giving each number an equal opportunity to then be chosen. Because of this, the researchers preferences will then not be having an influence on the sample This may then further create a representative sample. This is considered as being a strength because the sample may further reflect the characteristics of the population which could then be leading to more valid and reliable results.

Question 35

What is snowball sampling?

Answer 35

current participants recruit further participants from among people they know - the sample group is considered to then be growing just like a snowball

Question 36

What are strengths of snowball sampling?

Answer 36

This sampling method enables groups of people that could then be considered as being difficult to access, for example drug addicts This would be considered as being a time effective sampling method. This would be considered a strength because it relies on social networking, this then reduces the need for recruitment efforts

Question 37

What weaknesses does snowball sampling have?

Answer 37

The sample is further not likely to be representative of the target population because it is further friends that have come from friends There may be bias because people may often prefer people that are considered as being similar to them, which can then lead to having a non representative sample

Question 38

What is self selected sampling?

Answer 38

Advertised on a newspaper or even on a noticeboard

Question 39

What are some strengths of self selected sampling?

Answer 39

It gives us further access to a variety of participants, for example people who may then read a certain newspaper. This could be considered as being a strength because it may make the sample more representative and it may then have less bias It may be considered as being a cost effective sampling technique as it relies on voluntary participitation and may not then require the recruitment efforts

Question 40

What are some weaknesses of self selected sampling?

Answer 40

Sample further becomes biased within other ways. This is considered as being a weakness because they may further be more highly motivated to be helpful and they may have extra time on there hands, which may then result in the volunteer bias

Question 41

What is stratified and quota sampling?

Answer 41

subgroups in a target population are identified like boys or girls, the participants are obtained from each of the subgroups in proportion to there occurance in the target popluation - selection is done through the random technique - for quota it is further done through a non random technique

Question 42

What are the strengths of stratified and quota sampling?

Answer 42

likely to be more representative than other methods because there is a proportional representation of subgroups allows them to conduct target analysis of subgroups, they can examine each subgroup seperately, allowing them to identify unique trends, preferences or behaviours within specific sections of the population

Question 43

What are the weaknesses of stratified and quota sampling?

Answer 43

It is considered as being very time consuming to identify sub groups and then select participants and contact them It requires careful planning and detailed knowledge of the population to define appropriate sub groubs. This can be more complex than simple random sampling, which involves randomly selecting individuals from the entire population

Question 44

What is systematic sampling?

Answer 44

Using a predetermined system to select the participants, like selecting every 6th,5th,20th - person from a phonebook - the numerical interval is being applied constantly

Question 45

What are the strengths of systematic sampling?

Answer 45

unbiased as the participants are selected using an objective system It can further generate a representative sample, ensuring the sample reflects the characteristics of the wider population

Question 46

what are the weaknesses of systematic sampling?

Answer 46

it is not truly unbiased/ random unless you select a number using the random method and start with this person, and then select the every nth person systematic sampling may result in a smaller sampling sizes compared to other methods, which could lead to less reliable results

Question 47

what are the sampling procedures?

Answer 47

when conducting an unstructured observation the observer should record every instance of the behaviour in much detail as possible - useful if the behaviour of interests do not occur very often - continuous observations are not always possible because there may be too much data to record - so they make the use of a systematic method event sampling - counting the number of times a certain behaviour occurs in a target individual or individuals, for example counting the number of times someone smiles with 10 minutes Time sampling -recording behaviours in a given time frame - for example noting what a target indiviudal is doing every 30 seconds - at that time the observer may tick one or more of the catorgories from a checklist

Question 48

What is a secondary source?

Answer 48

information sources of data that have not been directly collected/created by the researcher, for example literature reviews or content analysis of existing data

Question 49

What is a strength of secondary sources?

Answer 49

Data produced without the "participant" knowing the artefact would be used in research could be more valid

Question 50

What is a weakness of secondary sources?

Answer 50

The researcher can't control the format of how the data is produced or collected

Question 51

What are demand characteristics?

Answer 51

this is clues within a study that can lead participants to infer the studies aims and behave in a way they think is expected, an example would be communication between the researcher and the participants which may then give away the studies aims

Question 52

What is the target population?

Answer 52

the desired population subgroup to be studied and therefore want research findings to generalise to, for example if the researcher wants to study the effect of social media on researchers the target population would then be teenagers

Question 53

What is a laboratory experiment?

Answer 53

conducted under controlled conditions - the researcher is manipulating the independent variable whilst trying to measure the dependent variable- conducted under experimental and controlled conditions - randomly allocate the participants to experimental or controlled conditions

Question 54

What are the strengths of a lab experiment?

Answer 54

when in a lab it is considered as being easy to replicate, so you are then able to check the reliability High level of control over extraneous variables, so we know that the IV has then caused the DV so we can see a stronger cause and effect relationship- between the two variables

Question 55

What are some weaknesses of lab experiments?

Answer 55

There may be problems with demand characteristics. This is a weakness because it can lead the participants to try and guess the studies aims so they may start trying to behave in a way that they think is then expected The study would be considered as having low ecological validity, This is because the findings of the study may not further be able to generalise to real world situations

Question 56

What are field experiments?

Answer 56

conducted in natural environment - IV is manipulated and DV is still being measured - partipants unaware that they are being researched

Question 57

What are some strengths to field experiments?

Answer 57

They have high ecological validity so the findings of the study are then able to be generalised to real world situations There are not as many demand characteristics, this is a strength because the participants will not be trying to guess the aims of the study and will not be trying to behave in a way that is considered as being expected

Question 58

What are some weaknesses of field experiments?

Answer 58

Lack of control over extraneous variables. This is a weakness because it makes it difficult to know whether the DV is actually being caused by the IV as there may be other factors influencing this, so will not be able to distinguish a strong cause and effect relationship Another weakness is it is considered as being unethical. This is because the participants are not further aware that they are taking place within the research

Question 59

What is a natural experiment ?

Answer 59

it does not delibately manipulate the IV , it is "naturally occurring" IV.

Question 60

What are some strengths of a natural experiment?

Answer 60

There would be high ecological validity which means the findings from the research are able to be generalised to real life situations a reduced amount of demand characteristics - participants are not often aware that they are then being studied so it will then be less likely they try and behave in a way that they may think is expected of them

Question 61

What are some weaknesses to a natrual experiment?

Answer 61

There is a lack of control over extraneous variables - this is a weakness because we do not know that the DV is being affect by the IV meaning we are not able to distinguish a clear cause and effect relationship threat to internal validity due to there being a lack of control over extraneous variables that could be the reason for the DV rather than the IV

Question 62

What is a quasi experiment?

Answer 62

this is not a true experiment because the researcher has not deliberately manipulated the IV, they are randomly allocated to the control and the experimental conditions

Question 63

What are some strengths to a quasi experiment?

Answer 63

There would be high ecological validity which means the findings from the research are able to be generalised to real life situations a reduced amount of demand characteristics - participants are not often aware that they are then being studied so it will then be less likely they try and behave in a way that they may think is expected of them

Question 64

What are some weaknesses to a quasi experiment?

Answer 64

There is a lack of control over extraneous variables - this is a weakness because we do not know that the DV is being affect by the IV meaning we are not able to distinguish a clear cause and effect relationship threat to internal validity due to there being a lack of control over extraneous variables that could be the reason for the DV rather than the IV

Question 65

What is interval data?

Answer 65

The data can be ordered -the difference between the data makes sense -the 0 does not have a meaning - such as when counting correct answers

Question 66

What is ratio data?

Answer 66

Data can be ordered - the difference between the data makes sense -

Question 67

What do graphs further do ?

Answer 67

- Summarise quantative data -visual aid seeing patterns in data set - info to be communicated effectively- graph simple: Title,each axis labeled, IV horizontal x axis while DV is on the vertical y axis

Question 68

What does a bar chart further do ?

Answer 68

-Represents "discreet data" - data in categories and placed on the x axis -mean or frequency is on the y axis -columns do not touch and they have an equal width in spacing

Question 69

What is an example of a bar chart ?

Answer 69

- score on depression scale before and after treatment - this is nominal data

Question 70

What is a histogram?

Answer 70

-used to represent a "continous scale" - columns touch because each one scores a singal in a related scale like time -number of hours the students do each week - scores go on x axis - height of column shows frequency of values

Question 71

What is a line graph ?

Answer 71

-used as alternative to histogram - Lines show where the midpoints of each column of a histogram would reach - useful for comparing two or more conditions simultaneously and making use of a key

Question 72

What graph would you draw when you have certain data ?

Answer 72

Categories- bar chart - nominal Anything else is a histogram or a line graph 2 variables is a scatter graph

Question 73

Name all of the measures of central tendency?

Answer 73

Mean,median, mode, standard deviation and the range

Question 74

How are you supposed to calculate the mean ?

Answer 74

-adding up all the data and divide it by the number of data items - only used when there is ratio or interval data

Question 75

What is meant by the median ?

Answer 75

Middle value in an ordered list - if you have an even number of values u add the two central numbers and divide it by 2 -ratio,interval and ordinal

Question 76

How are we supposed to be calculating the mode ?

Answer 76

- this is the value that has the highest frequency count - most common data item If you have two sets of data groups with the same highest number of counts - you can then have two modes

Question 77

How are you then supposed to calculate the range ?

Answer 77

This is the arithmetic distance between the top and bottom values within the data set

Question 78

What is further meant by a normal distribution?

Answer 78

Mean,median and mode are all in the exact midpoint Symmertirical distribution around the midpoint The dispersion of scores or measurements either side of the mid point is consistent and can be expressed in standard deviations

Question 79

What is the meaning of a skewed distribution ?

Answer 79

-one or more outlying values - affect the mean -one tail is longer than other - curve is not symmetrical - tail longer on the left - negatively skewed -longer on right - positive skewed

Question 80

What is meant by the meaning of p=0.05 ?

Answer 80

There is a 95% accuracy of what you have found out about the IV

Question 81

What is the table that you need to know to identify which statistical test is considered best to use?

Answer 81

REMEMBER TO MAKE THIS FLASHCARD WHEN I GET HOME

Question 82

What is the meaning of one tailed ?

Answer 82

Stated the direction of prediction

Question 83

What is the meaning of two tailed ?

Answer 83

There will be a difference in conditions,but does not say the direction

Question 84

What does it further mean by ethical issues ?

Question 85

What is meant by nominal data?

Answer 85

data are in seperate catorgerories - such as grouping people according to there favourite football team

Question 86

What is meant by ordinal data?

Answer 86

data are ordered in some way, for example asking to put football teams in order of liking, difference between items not the same - they may like first item more than second but could only be small difference between second and third

Question 87

What is social desirability bias?

Answer 87

distortion in some way people answer questions - they tend to answer them in a way that is the representing them within a better light