Uned 2 Flashcards
(62 cards)
1
Q
What is an aim in research?
A
A statement of what the researcher(s) intend to find out in a research study.
2
Q
What is a confounding variable?
A
Any variable which varies systematically with the independent variable that might potentially affect the dependent variable and thereby confound the results.
3
Q
What does it mean to debrief participants?
A
To inform the participants of the true nature of the study and to restore them to the same state they were in at the start of the study.
4
Q
What is a dependent variable?
A
The variable measured by the experimenter.
5
Q
What is an experiment?
A
A research method where causal conclusions can be drawn because an independent variable has been deliberately manipulated to observe the causal effect on the dependent variable.
6
Q
What is a hypothesis?
A
A precise and testable statement about the assumed relationship between variables.
7
Q
What is an independent variable (IV)?
A
Some event that is directly manipulated by an experimenter in order to test its effect on another variable - the dependent variable (DV).
8
Q
What does it mean to operationalise a variable?
A
Ensuring that variables are in a form that can be easily tested.
9
Q
What are standardised procedures?
A
A set of procedures that are the same for all participants in order to be able to repeat the study.
10
Q
Directional and non-directional Hypothesis
A
- Directional - people who have plentiful sleep have higher marks in class tests than people with a lower sleep average
- Non-directional - people who have plentiful sleep have different marks on class tests thatn people with a lower sleep average
Use directional when past research suggests that those will be the findings, non - directional when no past research has been done
11
Q
Null Hypothesis
A
- statement of no effect
- ‘there is no difference in the marks between…’
12
Q
What is a confounding variable?
A
A variable that is not the independent variable (IV) under study but varies systematically with the IV, potentially affecting the dependent variable and rendering the outcome meaningless.
13
Q
What does control refer to in research?
A
The extent to which any variable is held constant or regulated by a researcher.
14
Q
What is external validity?
A
The degree to which a research finding can be generalized to other settings, groups of people, and over time.
* Place research was conducted
* people who are studied
* historical period
15
Q
What are extraneous variables?
A
Have an effect on the dependent variable, make it more difficult to detect a significant effect because other factors have an influence.
for example, some people have better memories, higher iq.
16
Q
What is internal validity?
A
- Whether the IV produced the change in DV or did something else like a confounding variable
- Whether the researcher tested what she or he intended to test
- Whether the study possessed or lacked mundane realism
17
Q
What does mundane realism refer to?
A
How a study mirrors the real world, indicating the realism of the research environment.
Lack of mundane realism = not like everydau experience, results of study may not be very useful
Need realism to be able to generalise results
18
Q
What is validity in research?
A
Refers to whether an observed effect is a genuine one.
19
Q
Types of Experimental Designs
A
Repeated measures
* all participants receive all levels of the IV
* e.g each participant does task with TV on, then do similar task a week later with TV off, then compare performance
* Independent groups
* participants placed in seperate groups, each group does one level of IV
* e.g Group A does task with TV on, Group B with TV off, compare performance of two groups
* Matched pairs
* 2 groups of participants but match on key characteristics believed to have an effect on the DV
* matched characteristics must be relevant to the study.
20
Q
Disadvantages - Repeated measures
A
- order of conditions may affect performance - may do beter on the second test because of practice effect, or less anxious. Some do worse because of being bored with doing the same test again
- When doing second, may guedd the purpose of the experiment - may effect behaviour
- Dealing
- May use 2 different tests to reduce a practice effect - though must be equivalent
- Deal with order effects with use of counterbalancing
- cover story can be presented about purpose of test to avoid participants guessing the aims of the study
21
Q
Disadvantages - Independent groups
A
- Researcher cannot control the effects of participant variables - e.g group A may have better memories than Group B (this would be a confounding variable)
- needs more participants
- Dealing
- Randomly allocate participants to conditions which distribute them evenly
22
Q
Disadvantages - matched pairs
A
- Very time consuming and difficult to match participants on key variables
- Not possible to control all participant variables, can only match what is known to be relevant
- Dealing
- Restrict the number of variables to match to make it easier
Conduct a pilot study to consider key variables that might be important when matching
23
Q
Counterbalancing
A
Ensures that each condition in a repeated measures design is tested first or second in equal amounts.
24
Q
Location of research
A
- Laboratory
- most scientific way
- room equipped to allow scientific research and measurement
- research tends to be experimental, observational research
- Field
- outside laboratory, more natural setting
- e.g shopping cnetre, hospitals
- Online
- researchers able to access participant via the internet
- questionnaires
25
Evaluate - in a laboratory
* **Advantages**
* allow researchers to measure research variables more easily, making it easier to control confounding or extraneous variables, easier for others to replicate
* equipment e.e Raine et al - PET Scans
* **Disadvantages**
* may cause participants to demonstrate artificial behaviour - surrounding reminds them they are taking part in a piece of research, must be on best behaviour
* some cannot be conducted in lab because of the nature of the bahvour being researched
26
Evaluate - In the field
* **Advantages**
* useful to minimise the artificial nature of research - everyday environment = less likely to be aware of their participation
* allows to examine behaviour in a range of contexts - not possible in lab
* **Disadvantages**
* more difficult to measure research variables, and control confounding or extraneous variables
* replicate - might get different findings because of differences in settings
* difficult to get all equipment
27
Evaluate - online
* **Advantages**
* ability to access large group of participants - allow to seek out a diverse sample, less culturally biased
* cost effective - use free, cheap software - can quickly put info on internet
* Data analysis is quicker
* **Disadvantages**
* methods tends to be limited - surveys, questionnaires
* Trends tend to be infrequent
* Ethical issues - consent, protection from risk of harm
* difficult to debrief
28
Quasi-experiments
* 2 types - with an IV (Natural), with no IV (difference studies)
29
Quasi-experiments - Natural Experiments
* conducted when it isn't possible for ethical or practical reasons to deliberately manipulate an IV
* IV varies naturally, DV may be tested in a lab
* **e.g** - before 1995 people in St Helena had no TV, arrival of TV gave researchers a chance to see how esxposure to Western programmes might influence their behaviour - Charlton et al found no difference. - IV not controlled by researchers, natural
30
Quasi-experiments - Difference Studies
* IV is naturally occurring and DV may be measured in a lab
* IV has not been made to vary by anyone
* **e.g**- Sheridan and King tested obedience by asking male participants to give electric shocs of increasing advantage to a puppy - 54% delivered maximum shock, obedience rate for females 100% - IV=gender, difference that cannot be manipulated
31
Evaluation of Quasi-experiments
* **Manipulation of IV**
* lack of control over IV means we cannot say for certain that change in DV is caused by IV
* **Random allocation**
* not possible to randomly allocate participants to conditions in a quasi-experiment = may be biases in the different groups = may be uncontrolled confounding variables
* **Unique characteristics of participants**
* sample may have unique characteristics = findings cannot be generalised to other groups of people
32
Demand characteristics
* in an experiment participants are unsure what to do and how to behave so they look for clues on how to behave in that situations
* The clues are the demand characteristics - convey the hypothesis
* participants guess what the research is looing for and tend to behave in a certain way to get a certain result
* result - participant don't behave as they would usually
33
Researcher bias
* information from a researcher that encourages certain behaviours in the participant which might lead to a fulfilment of the investigator's expectations
* e.g - ask a question that leads a participant to give the answer the investigator wants
34
Dealing with Demand characteristics and researcher bias
* **Single blind design**
* participants are not aware of the research aim and of which conditions of the experiment they are receiving.
* Prevents participant from seeking cues about the aims
* **Double blind design**
* participants and the person conducting the experiment are blind to the aims and hypothesis.
* Conductor less likely to produce cues about what they expect
* **Experimental realism**
* participant pays attention to the task and not the fact they are being observed
35
Opportunity sampling
* Recruit people who are most convenient or available - e.g students at your school, people walking by on the street
* **Advantage**
* easiest method, just use the first suitable participants you can find
* Take less time to locate sample
* **Disadvantage**
* biased - sample is frawn from a small part of the target population
36
Random sampling
* Lottery method, random number generators
* **Advantage**
* unbiased - all members of the target population have an equal chance of selection
* **Disadvantage**
* Need to have a list of all members of the target population and then contact all those selected
* Takes a lot of time
37
Snowball sample
* Current participants recruit further participants from among people they know. Thus the sample group appears to grow like a snowball
* **Advantage**
* Enables researcher to locate groups of people who are difficult to access, such as drug addicts
* **Disadvantage**
* The sample is not likely to be a good cross-selection of the population because it is friends of friends
38
Self-selected sampling
* Advertise in a newspaper or on internet
* **Advantage**
* Gives acess to a variety of participants - make the sample more representative and less biased
* **Disadvantage**
* Sample is biased - participants are likely to be more highly motivated to be helpful, extra time on hands
* Volunteer bias
39
Stratified and quota sampling
* Subgroups within a target population are identified, participants are obtained from each of the srata in proportion to their occurrene in the target population
* for a stratified sample selection - using random technique
* quota sample selection - using non-random technique
* **Advantage**
* Likely to be more representative because there is a proportional representation of the sub-groups
* **Disadvantage**
* Very time-consuming to identify subgroups and select participants and contact them
40
Systematic sampling
* use a predetermined system to select participants - numerical interval is applied
* **Advantage** - unbiased as participants are selected using an objective system
* **Disadvantage** - Not truly unbiased/random unless you select a number using a random method and start with this person, then select every nth person.
41
Working with animals
* Research is governed by legislation such as the Animals Act 1986
* Strict requirements for the ethical treatment of animals:
* avoid or at least minimise discomfort to living animals
* asked to consider alternatives to using animals - such as computer simulations
* if using the is unavoidable - strict recommendations about factors such as the species type, care requirements ...
42
Working with vulnerable individuals (including children)
* BPS considers vulnerable populations to include - children under 16yo, people with learning or communication difficulties, patients in care, people in custody or probation, people engaged in illegal activities
* valid consent needs to be obtained from the person legally responsibly for the individual - may not fully understnd
43
Risk to the participants' values, beliefs, relationships, status, or privacy
* psychologists have to consider the impact that their research may have on the participants
* ensure that their attitudes and opinions are not demeaned, their associations with other people are not damaged
44
Types of observation
* **non-participant** - observer watches the behaviour of others from a distance and doesn't interact with the people being observed
* **Participant** - observer is part of the group being observed
45
Structuring observations
* **unsturctured** - researcher records all relevant behaviour but has no system
* **structured** - systems to organise observations: using behavioural categories and sampling procedures
* **Behavioural categories** - breaks up stream of behaviour into different behavioural categories, what is needed is operationalised
* **Sampling procedures** - Event sampling: counting number of times a certain behaviour occurs, Time sampling: recording behaviours in a given time frame
46
Evaluation of observational techniques
* what people say they do is often different from what they actually do, observations give a different take on behaviour than other research methods
* observer bias is a serious issue
* non-participant observers are likely to be more objective
* Participant observation may provide special insights
* Sampling methods make the task of observing behaviour more manageable
* time sampling may no alwayd represent what is happening
47
Self-report techniques
* **Questionnaires**
* set of written questions - collect information abou ta topic
* permit researcher to discover what people think and feel
**Interviews**
* Structured - has pre-determined questions, conducted in real time
* Semi-structured - has less structure, new questions are developed during the course of the interview, develop based on the answers given
48
Types of questions
* **Closed** -
* range of possible answers is fixed: listing possible answers for them to choose from
* easier to analyse, but forced to select answers that don't represent their real thoughts
* produce quantitative data
* **Open**
* infinite range of possible answers
* produce qualitative data - more difficult to summarise
49
Evaluation - self-report techniques
* +, allow access to what people think and feel
* -, people may not supply truthful answers, social desirability bias - answer lacks validity
* -, sample may lack representativeness - data cannot be generalised
50
Evaluation - questionnaire
* +, can be distributed to large numbers of people, cheap and quick. - enables to collect data from a large sample of people
* +, respondents may feel more willing to reveal personal info than in an interview
* +. reduce social desirability bias
* -, only filled by people who can read and write and are willing to spend time filling them in = biased
51
Evaluation - Interviews
* **Structured** -
* +, easily repeated as questions are standardised = answers from different people can be compared, easier to analyse
* -, if the interviewer behaves differently to other interviewers or at different occasions - low reliability
* -, interviewers may influence the answers the repondent gives
* **semi-structured** -
* +, more detailed info can be obtained
* -, require interviewer with more skill = more expensive
52
Correlational Studies
* correlation is a systematic association between two continuous variables
* positive correlation - two variables increase together
* negative correlation - one variable increases the other decreases
* zero correlation - no relationship between the two
53
Correlational hypothesis
* states the expected association between the co-variables
54
Evaluation - correlational studies
* **Disadvantages**
* jump to causal conclusions - misinterpretation may mean that people design programmes for improvement based on false premises
* intervening variables
* may lack internal and external validity, and generalisability
* **Advantages**
* used to investigated trends in data
* can easily be repeated again = findings can be confirmed
55
Content analysis and evaluation
* form of indirect observation
* has high ecological validity as it is based on observations of what people actually do
* Findings can be replicated
* observer bias
56
Case study and evaluation
* involves the detailed study of a single individual, institution, or event
* uses info from a range of sources
* Many techniques used - interviews, observations, questionnaires, IQ tests
* offer rich, in-depth data so info overlooked is likely to be identified
* useful to investigate human behaviour and experience
* difficult to generalise from individual cases
* involve recollection of past events - unreliable
57
Different kinds of data
* **Nominal**
* Data are in seperate categories, grouping people
* **Ordinal**
* data are ordered, list in order of liking
* **Interval**
* data are measured using units of equal intervals
* **Ratio**
* There is a true zero point
58
Display of quantitative data
* Tables
* Frequency table
* Bar chart
* Histogram
* Line graph
* Pie chart
* Scatter diagram
59
Quantitative data
* represents how much, how long, how many
* DV, closed questions
* numerical info
* data which can be measured
* looking at averages and differences
* easy to analyse and draw conclusions
* may oversimplify reality = conclusions meaningless
60
Qualitative data
* can't be counted
* open questions
* deals with descriptions
* provide detailed info which can provide unexpected insights to thoughts and behaviour
* difficult to analyse and draw conclusions
61
Primary data
* information observed or collected directly from first-hand experience
* collected by researcher for the study currently made
* involve designing the study, gaining ethical approval, piloting the study, testing participants, analyse data, draw conclusions. or questionnaire, observation
* researcher has contol over the data
* data collection can be designed so it fits the aims and hypothesis of the study
* Very lengthy and expensive process
62
Secondary data
* information that was collected for a pupose other than th current one
* use of government statistics, data held by hospital
* correlation study, review studies and meta-analysis use secondary data
* simpler to access someone else's data
* cheaper, less time and equipment needed
* the data may not fit the needs of the study
