Scientific process Flashcards

Question

What is independent groups design?

Answer 1

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

Answer 2

All participants take part in all experimental conditions.

Answer 3

Pairs of participants are first matched on some variable(s) that may affect the DV. Then one member of the pair is assigned to Condition A and the other to Condition B.

Answer 4

An attempt to control for participant variables in an independent group design ensures that each participant has the same chance of being in one condition as any other. This is used in IGD.

Answer 5

A technique used to deal with order effects in a repeated measures design: half the participants experience the conditions in one order, and the other half in the opposite order.

Answer 6

It’s the order of the conditions having an effect on the participants’ behaviour. Performance in the second condition may be better because the participants know what to do.

Answer 7

- More participants are needed. - Least effective design for controlling variables. + Reduces the chance of demand characteristics. + Participants are randomly allocated

Answer 8

- Increased chance of demand characteristics. - Same participants are used in both conditions. + Fewer participants are needed. + Order effects like boredom and fatigue can be controlled through counterbalancing.

Answer 9

- More participants are needed. - It is not possible to match all the participant's characteristics. + Identical twins provide researchers with a close match. + Good attempt to control participant variables.

Answer 10

Objective Mutually exclusive Covers all possible behaviours

Answer 11

Time sampling Event sampling

Answer 12

It is where an observer records the number of times a certain behaviour occurs.

Answer 13

Time sampling is a method of sampling behaviour in an observation study and is where an observer records behaviour at prescribed intervals. For example, every 10 seconds. Recording behaviours within a specific time frame.

Answer 14

An observational study will use behavioural categories to prioritise which behaviours are recorded and ensure the different observers are consistent in what they are looking for. For example, a study of the effects of age and sex on stranger anxiety in infants might use the following behavioural categories to organise observational data:

Answer 15

Inter-observer reliability: In order for observations to produce reliable findings, it is important that observers all code behaviour in the same way. For example, researchers would have to make it very clear to the observers what the difference between a ‘3’ on the anxiety scale above would be compared to a ‘7’. This inter-observer reliability avoids subjective interpretations of the different observers skewing the findings.

Answer 16

A questionnaire is a set of written questions on a topic on which opinions are sought. Questionnaires are frequently used in survey research in which information is gathered regarding people’s attitudes and beliefs.

Answer 17

These have specific, limited answers. Often a statement is given to the respondent and they must choose from several fixed responses. The following example is often referred to as a Likert Scale.

Answer 18

With this type of question, the respondent is given a high level of freedom with their answers. Often the researcher simply asks a question and provides space underneath for the respondent to write their answer. This type of question would collect qualitative data.

Answer 19

+ It collects quantitative data which means that the researcher can statistically analyse the data, and produce graphs allowing for a thorough numerical analysis to be completed on the data. + Easy to replicate the study. This means that since the questions are standardised it is easy to replicate the questionnaire. - They obtain quantitative data. This is a weakness because the data can be criticised for not accurately representing the complexity of human behaviour. - Participants may respond in a socially desirable way. This is problematic because it means the findings are not representative of the truth.

Answer 20

+ Collects qualitative data. This is a strength because open questions collect rich qualitative data which helps researchers develop a better, more in-depth knowledge of human behaviour. + Easy to replicate the study. This means that since the questions are standardised it is easy to replicate the questionnaire. This is positive because it allows for the questionnaires to be assessed in terms of their reliability. - Data collected is in qualitative form. This is a weakness because when the researcher comes to analysing the data it is very difficult for them to carry out any statistical tests which means that it can be difficult to draw any firm conclusions on the basis of using inferential statistics. - Participants may respond in a socially desirable way. This is problematic because it means the findings are not representative of the truth.

Answer 21

Postal questionnaires: This involves sending out questionnaires to people through the post. However, this could cause an unrepresentative sample because only people who have time will respond to the questionnaires, this may exclude people who work, have or have full-time family commitments. Magazine and newspaper questionnaires: This involves asking the readers to send in the completed questionnaire. However, this could bring about an unrepresentative sample as only readers of that particular magazine will respond to the questionnaire. This will exclude individuals who don’t read this magazine.

Answer 22

CLARITY: respondent needs to know what is being asked of them. BIAS: avoid all questions that may lead to ppts answering in a certain way. ANALYSIS: questions need to be easy to analyse. PILOT STUDY: carry out a small-scale version in order to make changes. SAMPLING: use a sample that represents the population. SEQUENCE: leave more difficult questions to the end. FILLER QUESTIONS: irrelevant questions should be included to distract ppts, reducing demand characteristics.

Answer 23

Anything that can vary or change within an investigation

Answer 24

The variable altered/manipulated by the experimenter

Answer 25

The variable that is measured.

Answer 26

Explains how a variable is measured or manipulated.

Answer 27

Variables additional to the IV that should be accounted for and controlled to avoid their impact upon the DV.

Answer 28

An extraneous variable that hasn’t been controlled that may have affected the true nature of the study.

Answer 29

An extraneous variable that hasn’t been controlled that may have affected the true nature of the study.

Answer 30

- Random allocation - Counterbalancing - Randomisation - Standardisation

Answer 31

Randomisation in an experiment refers to a random assignment of participants to the treatment in an experiment to control the effect of extraneous variables. It is counterbalancing, which means testing different participants in different orders. Random allocation is when the researchers divide the participants and allocate them to certain groups using a random method e.g lottery method Standardisation refers to the process in which procedures used in research are kept the same.

Answer 32

Presence of demand characteristics in a study suggest that there is a high risk that participants will change their natural behaviour in line with their interpretation of the aims of a study, in turn affecting how they respond in any tasks they are set. Participants may, for example, try to please the researcher by doing what they have guessed is expected of them.

Answer 33

Investigator effects occur when a researcher unintentionally, or unconsciously influences the outcome of any research they are conducting. This can be done in several ways. 1 Non-verbal communication. The researcher can communicate their feelings about what they are observing without realising that they have done so.

Answer 34

A conflict about what is acceptable in psychological research.

Answer 35

Way of resolving the conflict.

Answer 36

Informed consent Deception The right to withdraw Protection from physical and psychological harm Confidentiality Privacy

Answer 37

Consent is a basic human right and should make an informed choice whether to be part of the research. Yet revealing the true aims of the study may cause demand characteristics and spoil the experiment.

Answer 38

It’s unethical for participants. Information must not be withheld from participants, nor should they be misled. Could have a negative impact on the psychological community.

Answer 39

Participants have the right to withdraw at any time during the research, beginning or end regardless of whether they have been paid or not. Participants leaving the experiment could hinder the validity.

Answer 40

No physical or psychological harm should happen during the study. However, it is considered ethical if the risk or harm is no greater than would be expected in ordinary life.

Answer 41

The data protection act makes confidentiality a legal right. Data must not be able to identify participants.

Answer 42

It’s difficult to avoid. People don’t expect to observe in certain situations. However, it may be more acceptable in public spaces.

Answer 43

After the investigation participants should be fully informed about the nature of the research.

Answer 44

Suggests ways of dealing with ethical issues that could arise during research.

Answer 45

Punishments Ethical guidelines Cost-benefit analysis Ethical committee

Answer 46

Psychologists who ignore guidelines and behave unethically or unacceptable will be barred from research.

Answer 47

Tells psychologists behaviours that are and aren’t acceptable. Gives guidance on how to deal with ethical dilemmas.

Answer 48

The costs of the research are judged against the benefits from the perspective of: 1) Participants 2) Society 3) Group of individuals

Answer 49

In places where research takes place abroad must approve the study before it begins, taking into consideration how issues will be dealt with and weighing up the costs and benefits.

Answer 50

Any deception should be approved by the ethics committee. Participants should be debriefed after the study. Problems are that ppts could feel embarrassed that they’ve been deceived.

Answer 51

Participants are asked to give their consent and agreement in participants through signing a detailed document. Problems are that it doesn’t guarantee the ppts understand what they’ve let themselves in for.

Answer 52

The researcher must also ensure that if vulnerable groups are to be used (elderly, disabled, children, etc.), they must receive special care. For example, if studying children, make sure their participation is brief as they get tired easily and have a limited attention span. Terminate the study if harm is suspected. Problems are that harm may not be apparent at the time of the study and only judged later with hindsight.

Answer 53

Participants should informed that they have the right to withdraw. Problems are that ppts may feel they shouldn’t withdraw because they will spoil the study.

Answer 54

Don’t make records of participants personal details. Problems are that it can be possible to work out who the ppts were using that information that has been provided.

Answer 55

Unless a public space, don’t study anyone without informed consent. Problems are is that there is no universal agreement about what contributes a public space.

Answer 56

Peer review is the process by which psychological research papers, before publication, are subjected to independent scrutiny by other psychologists working in a similar field who consider the research in terms of its validity, significance and originality. To allocate research funding; validation of the quality and relevance of research and improvements and amendments are suggested.

Answer 57

Published results from twin studies claiming that intelligence was inherited. at the time, the evidence was used to shape public policy. Test were introduced to the schooling system, designed to segregate kids according to their inherited abilities.

Answer 58

Useless= doesn’t benefit the understanding of behaviour. Incorrect psychological treatment and therapies. Discrimination of groups in society. Lack of trust for psychology as a discipline. Clearing up mistakes due to faulty data.

Answer 59

Lack of trust in the subject and any research findings. Public use of trusted data, that unbeknown to them is in fact faulty.

Answer 60

Typically reviewed, academic journals are periodicals in which researchers publish articles on their work. Most often these are to discuss recent research.

Answer 61

1. Allocation of research funding 2. Publication of research in scientific journals and books 3. Assessing the research rating of university departments Peer review is an important part of this process because it provides a way of checking the validity of the research, making a judgement about the credibility of the research and assessing the quality and appropriateness of the design and methodology. Peers are also in a position to judge the importance or significance of the research in a wider context. They can also assess how original the work is and whether it refers to relevant research by other psychologists. They can then make a recommendation as to whether the research paper should be published in its original form, rejected or revised in some way. This peer review process helps to ensure that any research paper published in a well-respected journal has integrity and can, therefore, be taken seriously by fellow researchers and by lay people.

Answer 62

With a large amount of information available on the internet new solutions are needed to maintain the quality of information.

Answer 63

+ Peer review is essential, as without it we don’t know what is opinion and speculation and what rigorously researched data is. We need to have a means of establishing the validity of scientific research. + Helps to prevent scientific fraud, as submitted work is scrutinised. It promotes the scientific process through the development and dissemination of accurate of knowledge and contributes new knowledge to the field. - Richard Smith (Boston Medical Journal editor) commented “Peer review is slow, expensive, profligate of an academic tie, highly subjective, prone to bias, easily abused, poor at detecting gross and almost useless at detecting fraud”. - Appropriate experts can’t always be found to review a research proposal, meaning poor research may be passed because the reviewer didn’t really understand it.

Answer 64

1. Psychologists study behaviour and write about their results. 2. They send their research paper to a journal editor who sends it for peer review. 3. Independent scrutiny by other psychologists working in a similar field who read the paper and provide feedback to the editor. 4. The work is considered in terms of its validity, significance and originality and an assessment of the appropriateness of the method and designs used. 5. The reviewer can accept the manuscript as it is or accept changes made, suggests the author makes revisions and resubmits or reject without the possibility of resubmission. 6. Editors may send review comments and may revise and resubmit their review. if it doesn’t meet the standards it will be rejected. The editor makes the final decision on whether it’s published. 7. If the article meets editorial and peer standards it is published in a journal.

Answer 65

All university science departments are expected to conduct research that is assessed in terms of quality (research excellence framework, REF). Future funding depends on good ratings from the REF.

Answer 66

Seeking a better understanding of peoples behaviour in their economic lives. Also referred to as ‘behavioural economics’.

Answer 67

- Provides solutions to social problems such as drug abuse or mental health. - Psychological conditions (depression) have a direct economic impact in the UK. So investing in psychotherapy has a positive impact on people so they can return to work. - Takes place out of unis like hospitals, businesses and gov. departments - often occurring without contributions from research councils.

Answer 68

- As psychology is so spread out it’s almost impossible to judge the economic impact of psychological research that may have been carried out decades earlier. - Placing an economic value on psychological research underestimates its true social value. - It’s difficult to calculate the economic beliefs of psychology as much research is carried out due to curiosity about human and animal behaviour.

Answer 69

Recent research has stressed the importance of multiple attachments and the role of the father in healthy psychological development. This may promote more flexible working arrangements in the family and means that modern parents are better equipped to contribute more effectively to the economy

Answer 70

A third of all days off work are caused by mental illness. Psychological research into the causes and treatments means that patients can have their disorders diagnosed quickly. Patients have access to therapies or psychotherapeutic drugs and sufferers can manage their condition effectively, return to work and contribute to the economy.

Answer 71

External: This measures consistency from one occasion to another. e.g. the same result should be found on different days, in different labs etc. Internal: This measures the extent to which a test or procedure is consistent within itself e.g. in the questionnaire, they should all be measuring the same thing.

Answer 72

Agree upon behavioural categories Ensure there is clarity in the behavioural categories Ensure observers have practice e.g. pilot studies using the categories.

Answer 73

- Test-retest - Inter observer reliability - Reduce ambiguity

Answer 74

To measure test-retest reliability, you conduct the same test on the same group of people at two different points in time. Then you calculate the correlation between the two sets of results. A high correlation between the test scores indicates the test has good external reliability.

Answer 75

The answer to the interviews carried out on different occasions is compared for consistency. Reliability can be assessed with one research behaviour, or assessed with two research is using the same method.

Answer 76

Measures the degree of agreement between different people observing or assessing the same thing. Here researchers observe the same behaviour independently (to avoid bias) and compare their data. If the data is similar then it is reliable. A more positive correlation coefficient (closer to 1)

Answer 77

Ensure all questions are clear in what they are asking. Participants should not be interpreting the questions in any way. Researchers should ensure there is clarity in the questions asked.

Answer 78

- Replace open-ended questions with closed questions - less ambiguous. - Use the same interviewer each time. - Train all interviewers - not to ask leading questions. - Use structured interviews. - Standardising procedures (i.e. making sure that procedures are carried out the same way each time), for instance by implementing interviewer training, and/or practice through pilot studies. - Operationalise behavioural categories. - Categories should not overlap. - All possible behaviours should be covered by the categories.

Answer 79

Inter-observer reliability: In order for observations to produce reliable findings, it is important that observers all code behaviour in the same way. For example, researchers would have to make it very clear to the observers what the difference between a ‘3’ on the anxiety scale above would be compared to a ‘7’. This inter-observer reliability avoids subjective interpretations of the different observers skewing the findings.

Answer 80

Internal and external

Answer 81

Internal validity refers to whether the effects observed in a study are due to the manipulation of the independent variable and not some other factor. External validity is the extent to which you can generalise the findings of a study to other situations, people, settings, and measures. In other words, can you apply the findings of your study to a broader context?

Answer 82

- Ecological validity - Temporal validity - Population validity - Content validity

Answer 83

Is a measure of how test performance predicts behaviours in real-world settings. The extent to which findings from a research study can be generalised to other historical times. Refers to whether you can reasonably generalise the findings from your sample to a larger group of people (the population. The extent to which a test measures a representative sample of the subject matter or behaviour under investigation.

Answer 84

Concurrent validity Face validity

Answer 85

Assessing concurrent validity involves comparing a new test with an existing test (of the same nature) to see if they produce similar results. If both tests produce similar results, then the new test is said to have concurrent validity. Face validity is about whether a test appears to measure what it’s supposed to measure. This type of validity is concerned with whether a measure seems relevant and appropriate for what it’s assessing only on the surface.

Answer 86

- Anonymity- confidentiality - Using a lie scale - controls for social desirability. - Triangulation - using a number of different methods. - Inclusion of direct quotes demonstrates interpretative validity. - Using a control group. - Standardised procedures. - Single/double-blind trial. - Behavioural categories well defined - shouldn’t be too broad, overlapping or ambiguous.

Answer 87

Trying to determine whether results are accurate and can be generalised to other settings.

Answer 88

- Objectivity - Empirical method - Replicability - Falsifiability - Theory construction - hypothesis testing - Paradigms - Paradigm shifts

Answer 89

Objectivity is a feature of science, and if something is objective it is not affected by the personal feelings and experiences of the researcher. The researcher should remain value-free and unbiased when conducting their investigations. An empirical method involves the use of objective, quantitative observation in a systematically controlled, replicable situation, in order to test or refine a theory through direct observation or experiment rather than from unfounded beliefs or arguments.

Answer 90

It means that a study should produce the same results if repeated exactly, either by the same researcher or by another. The consistency of the data. It is the principle that a proposition or theory could only be considered scientific if in principle it was possible to establish it as false. One of the criticisms of some branches of psychology, e.g. Freud's theory, is that they lack falsifiability.

Answer 91

A theory is a proposed explanation for the causes of behaviour. To be scientific, a theory needs to be a logically organised set of propositions that defines events, describes relationships among events, and explains and predicts the occurrence of events. A scientific theory should also guide research by offering testable hypotheses that can be rigorously tested. Hypothesis testing is an inferential procedure that uses sample data to evaluate the credibility of a hypothesis about a population. In other words, we want to be able to make claims about populations based on samples. This ensures the validity is being tested.

Answer 92

A paradigm consists of the basic assumptions, ways of thinking, and methods of study that are commonly accepted by members of a discipline or group. A paradigm shift, as identified by Thomas Kuhn (1962), is an important change in the basic concepts and experimental practices of a scientific discipline. It is a change from one way of thinking to another and is also referred to as the 'scientific revolution'.

Answer 93

Makes for generalisations from specific observations. Basically, there is data, then conclusions are drawn from the data. - Bottom-up approach

Answer 94

Starts out with a general statement, or hypothesis, and an exam is the possibility to reach a specific, logical conclusion. - Top-down approach

Answer 95

A collection of articles that is published regularly throughout the year. Journals present the most recent research, and journal articles are written by a psychologist, for psychologists. They may be published in print or online format, or both.

Answer 96

- Abstract - Introduction - Method - Results - Discussion - References

Answer 97

A summary of the study including aims, hypotheses, method, results conclusions and implications. it allows the reader to determine if the rest of the report is worth reading.

Answer 98

A review of previous research that is relevant to the current study, should lead logically to your research, it should start general and become specific and ends with the researcher stating their aims and hypotheses.

Answer 99

A detailed description of what the researchers did. There should be enough detail for someone to precisely replicate your study

Answer 100

Details of the findings which include: - Descriptive statistics - Inferential statisitcs

Answer 101

A summary of the results, the relationship it has with previous research, strengths and weaknesses, the implication for theories (real-world applications), the contribution that the investigation has made and suggestions for future research.

Answer 102

The full details of any journal articles, books or websites that are mentioned. For journals: Authors name(s), date, title of article, journal title, volume, page numbers. for books: Authors name(s), date, title of book, place of publication, publisher.