RESEARCH METHODS Y1 Flashcards

(45 cards)

1
Q

What is an aim?

A

A general statement about what the researcher intends to investigate

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2
Q

What is a hypothesis?

A

A clear, precise and testable statement stating the relationship between the variables to be tested.

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3
Q

What are the types of hypothesis?

A

Null hypothesis = predicts no effect or relationship between variables
Alternative = predicts effect or relationship
- Directional (one tailed) - predicts direction of results
- Non directional (two tailed) - doesn’t predict direction but says there will be a difference

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4
Q

What is the experimental method?

A

Involved the manipulation of an independent variable to measure the effect on a dependent variable

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5
Q

What is operationalism?

A

Defining all variables in a hypothesis in a clear, measurable and specific way

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6
Q

What are three types of experimental design?

A

Independent groups - when two separate groups of participants are given two different conditions
Repeated measures - when all participants experience both conditions
Matched pairs - Participants are paired together on variables relevant to the experiment , and each randomly assigned to conditions

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7
Q

Evaluate strengths and limitations of independent groups study?

A

+ avoids order effects (such as practice or fatigue), as people only participate in one condition
more people are needed
participant variables may affect results (differences in participants)

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8
Q

Evaluate strengths and limitations of repeated measures study?

A

+ same participants are used, reducing participant variables
+ less people needed
order effects -performance in second condition may improve from practice

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9
Q

Evaluate strengths and limitations of matched pairs study?

A

+ reduces participant variables by using people with similar traits
+ avoids order effects so counterbalancing isn’t necessary
if one participant drops out, x2 data is lost
very time consuming to match pairs
participants will not be exactly the same

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10
Q

What is structured vs unstructured observation?

A

Structured > where researcher uses various systems to organise observations
Unstructured > where researcher writes everything down in rich detail, good for smaller scale observations

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11
Q

What are the systems of structured observations?

A

Behavioural categories - target behaviour broken up into components which are observable and measurable - must be mutually exclusive + objective

Sampling- Event sampling = researcher records an event each time it happens; Timed sampling = researcher chooses time frame and records behaviour at that time

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12
Q

What are types of self report techniques?

A

Questionairres - pre set list of questions to which participant responds - used to assess thoughts + feelings
Interviews - Face to face interaction between interview and interviewee

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13
Q

What are the types of questionairre?

A

Open - no fixed range of answers; produces more qualitative data that is rich in detail but hard to analyse
Closed - fixed number of responses; may produce either quantitive or qualatitive data

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14
Q

What are the types of interviews?

A

Structured- made of predetermined questions asked in a fixed order
Unstructured - like a conversation; general aim/topic but no fixed questions

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15
Q

What are the types of interviews?

A

Structured - made of predetermined questions asked in a fixed order
Unstructured - conversational, general aim/topic but no fixed questions

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16
Q

Evaluate questionairres

A

👍~ can gather large amount of info quickly
~ data produced is easy to analyse
~ can be completed w/o researcher present
👎 ~ responses may be affected by social desirability bias
~ often produce response bias - respondents more likely to choose yes or high on rating scale

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17
Q

Evaluate both types of interview

A

Structured
👍 ~ easily replicable
~ reduces differences in interviews
👎~ interviews are unable to deviate from topic or elaborate more
Unstructured
👍 ~ more flexibility : can expand upon points to gain more insight
👎~ difficult to analyse data
~ also risk of lying for social desirabilty

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18
Q

What aspects make a good questionnaire question?

A

Clarity - no double negatives, double barrelled questions (e.g do you suffer from sickness + headaches) or jargon
Bias - no leading questions (make one answer look more appealing
Analysis - Need to be written for easy analysis

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19
Q

What are all the types of observational design?

A

Controlled/Naturalistic
controlled=take place in highly controlled conditions
naturalistic=carried out in natural environment where the behaviour would normally occur
Participant/Non participant
Participant = observations made by someone also participating in activity; may affect objectivity
Non = observation made by outside observer
Overt/Covert
O = know they are being observed
C = don’t know they are being observed

20
Q

What are pros and cons of each type of observational design

A

Controlled - 👍 high internal validity, high control of variables 👎 low ecological validity (mundane realism), high risk of demand characteristics
Naturalistic - 👍 high ecological validity, low risk of demand characteristics 👎 low internal validity, no control of variables
Overt - 👍 more ethical 👎demand characteristics
Covert 👍 lower demand characteristics 👎 unethical

21
Q

What is a sample?

A

A group within a target population (the specific population you are interested in studying)

22
Q

Describe each type of sampling

A

Opportunity- taking a sample of whoever is available at the time + fits the criteria
Random- Compile list of participants in the target pop., each are assigned a number, then the sample is randomly generated + numbers are converted to names again
Stratified - Proportions of ppl in a pop.’s sub-group are represented in a sample; involves classifying the population into categories + choosing sample pops based on real pop. proportions
Volunteer- volunteers participate in study, may be through advertisements
Systematic - where every nth person is picked (e.g. every 3rd person)

23
Q

What are extraneous + confounding variables?

A

Extraneous = all variables that aren’t the IV which could/may affect the results of the experiment
Confounding = an uncontrolled extraneous variable that impacts results

24
Q

What are demand characteristics?

A

Cues that enable participants to guess the aim of the research or what is expected of them and change behaviour

25
What are ways to control participants ?
– screening people beforehand to ensure they have similar traits – all participants do test in same time + place – script interactions between participant + researcher – using covert observation – randomise when assigning people to conditions – standardise - use exact same instructions + procedures for all participants
26
What are the types of experimental method?
**Laboratory experiments**= conducted in highly controlled environments **Field experiments**= independent variable is manipulated in a natural, more every day setting **Natural experiments**= where researcher takes advantage of a pre existing independent variable, experimenter cannot manipulate IV as it naturally occurs **Quasi experiments**= independent variable based on an existing difference between people (age gender race )
27
What are the strengths and limitations of a lab experiment ?
😁 - have high control of extraneous variables; ensures IV alone is affecting DV - can be more easily replicated 😞 - may lack generalisability; lab environments may not reflect everyday life + may affect participant behaviour - participants are usually aware they’re being tested, doesn’t reflect reality + may cause unnatural behaviours
28
What are the strengths and limitations of a field experiment ?
😁 -have higher mundane realism than lab experiments; may produce more valid and authentic behaviour - participants are often unaware of being studied; high external validity 😞 - less control of extraneous variables, cause + effect between IV + DV may be harder to establish - ethical issues; participants are unaware and so cannot consent
29
What are the strengths and limitations of a natural experiment ?
😁 - provide opportunities to investigate research that may not otherwise eg unethical or impractical -often high external validity as they involve real life issues 😞 - may happen very rarely, limits ability to generalise -participants aren’t always randomly allocated to experimental conditions, may be unsure IV affected DV
30
What are the strengths and limitations of a quasi experiment ?
😁 - often carried out in controlled conditions + share strengths of lab experiments 😞 - cannot randomly allocate participants to conditions: may be confounding variables
31
What are the types of correlation?
Positive - as A increases, B also increased No correlation - no association Negative - As B increases, B decreases
32
What are strengths and weaknesses of correlations?
💪 ~ shows relationship between 2 variables, may be used as basis for further research ~ can be tested for reliability as it is quantitative data ~quick + cheap to carry out 😞 ~correlations can be misused + misinterpreted ~ only tells us HOW variables are lated and not WHY = no causation ~ third variable problem - another unaccounted for variable could be causing the relationship
33
What are the ethical guidelines from the British Psychological Society?
💧 DRIPP **D**eception - deliberately misleading participants in some way -> if used researcher must debrief participants thoroughly **R**ight to withdraw - all participants should know they can and how to withdraw from a study - data will also be removed + can leave partway through **I**nformed consent - participants should know as much as possible about procedure before they agree to it -> also should be aware of the aims and rights **P**rotection from harm - participants should be left in the same state as they entered the experiment; should not be subject to psychological or physical harm **P**rivacy - confidentiality should be ensured by removing names and any identifying details; researchers also shouldn’t observe people in situations w an expectation of privacy
34
What is peer review and what are its aims?
Peer review is when anonymous peers (experts) check the quality of a research proposal or paper before it is published > to allocate funding to ideas put forward for potential research > to check quality of a research paper before publication
35
What do peer reviews look for?
- purpose - will this further scientific knowledge? - is the method valid? - are results likely to tell us something new? - is the proposed method ethical? - how light findings be potentially beneficial to the economy
36
What is a pilot study?
A small scale trial run ahead of the actual investigation to identify any issues and modify the design or procedure > saves time + money
37
What is a single vs double blind procedure?
Single - where any information that might create expectations for the participants is withheld until the end ; reduces confounding effects of demand characteristics Double - where neither participant or researcher are aware of the aims, conditions, etc. ; both parties expectations will not affect experiment
38
Describe all the types of data
Nominal data - named data that can be separated into discrete categories Ordinal data - data placed in an order/scale (e.g 1-10), not fixed so is subjective Interval data - numerical data where difference between points is fixed (e.g a ruler) so is objective
39
What is a standard deviation?
A measure of how far scored deviate from the mean
40
What is normal and skewed distributions?
*Normal* distribution is a symmetrical ‘bell shaped’ curve, where most people are located in the middle area w few on the sides - mean, median + mode = all in middle *Skewed* distribution - when the distributions appears to lean towards one side (positive = leaning towards the left, negative = leaning towards the right), mode stays at highest peak but the mean is dragged towards the tail and median between the two
41
At what level of probability to psychologists accept a hypothesis?
0.05 (5%)
42
How would one carry out the sign test?
1) convert data to nominal data -> put a **+** if value A is higher and a **–** if value B is higher, ignore = 2) add up the number of pluses and minuses 3) the **S** value or calculated number is the lower value 4) next find the critical value from the given table, using N (total number of participants excluding =) , and level of significance (.05 for directional) 5) For the results to be significant the S value must be less than or = the critical value
43
Describe the table of statistical tests
Unrelated Related Correlation Nominal Chi-squa|Sign |Chi-square Ordinal Mann-Wh|Wilcox| Spearman’s Interval Unrelated|Relate|Pearsons r (*c*arrots *s*hould *c*ome *m*ashed *w*ith *s*wedes *u*nder *r*oast *p*otato)
44
Name all statistical tests
Chi-squared, sign test, chi-squared, Mann-Whitney, Wilcoxon, Spearman’s rho, Unrelated T-test, Related T-test, Pearson’s r
45
What three factors determine which statistical test should be used?
Unrelated (independent groups) or related (RM and MP); nominal, ordinal or interval data; correlation or test the difference