Year 2 research methods. Flashcards
What is validity?
Validity= the extent to which an observed result is genuine and legitimate. Does it measure what it is meant to and can it be generalised?
What is internal validity?
-Whether the observed effects on the dependent variable are caused by the manipulation of the independent variable. Are we measuring what we intend to measure.
What factors can affect internal validity?
Demand characteristics, investigator effects.
How can we assess internal validity?
Face validity and concurrent validity?
What is face validity?
whether a test/scale/experiment appears to measure what it intends to on the face of it.
What is concurrent validity?
the extent to which a psychological measure relates to an existing similar measure. A new intelligence test getting similar results to the IQ test indicates the new test has internal validity. A 0.8 or above correlation between the two data sets is considered a close relationship.
What is external validity?
-The extent to which the findings can be applied to situations/settings outside the research.
What is ecological validity?
generalising the results of settings outside the research environment that has been created. If the research task is similar to an everyday task it will have high ecological validity.
What is temporal validity?
the extent to which results can be generalised to other historical time periods and eras. For example, Asch’s research is said to have low temporal validity because it was a product of an era of communist threat.
How can validity be improved in experiments?
Using a control group establishes whether changes are due to the independent variable.
Standardising instructions and procedures minimising participant reactivity and investigator effects, as well as single/double blind trials.
How can validity be improved in observations?
there should be specific behavioural categories and is covert.
How can validity be improved in self report?
In questionnaires, a lie scale assesses the consistency of responses, accounting for social desirability bias and ensuring the data is anonymous will enhance validity.
How can external validity be improved?
Qualitative methods are thought of as having high ecological validity due to the depth and detail helping to reflect a participants true experience. Increasing the number of sources (triangulation) helps validity.
External validity can be increased by using tasks with mundane realism and using a representative sample.
What are case studies?
-Involve a detailed, in depth analysis of an individual or event. It may be an unusual case or a more typical one.
-An idiographic approach.
Characteristics of case studies?
-Usually involves producing qualitative data using interviews, questionnaires, observations and experimental techniques.
-Case histories may be used to retrospectively gather information.
-Tend to be longitudinal and will involve gathering data from other sources as well.
What are the advantages of case studies?
Useful when researching a rare, unique or socially sensitive topic.
Increases reliability because a range of techniques is used which means triangulation.
Greater ecological validity because studies of events as they occur naturally.
Rich in depth data.
Can generate hypotheses for future research.
What are the disadvantages of case studies?
Difficult to generalise the results of a case study.
Subjective interpretation of the researcher.
Researcher bias as they may ask certain questions to get certain answers that fit with their aim.
Small scale and sample is lacking in scientific validity.
Retrospective may not be accurate.
What is content analysis?
-A type of observational research that studies people indirectly via the communications they have produced.
-This can include spoken word, written forms, media.
What is the aim of content analysis?
-The aim is to summarise the communications in a systematic way so conclusions can be drawn.
What is coding?
Initial stage of content analysis where meaningful categories are created.
This allows for the data to be analysed and put into the categories to produce quantitative data.
What is thematic analysis?
A form of content analysis with a qualitative outcome.
A theme is an idea that is recurrent throughout the communication.
This is more descriptive than the coding units.
Once the researcher is confident their themes cover all of the data, they will test the validity with a new set of data.
Advantages of content analysis?
Reliable way to analyse qualitative data as the coding units are objective.
Not too time consuming.
Allows statistical analysis to be conducted.
Avoids ethical issues with psychological research.
Flexible as it can produce qualitative or quantitative.
High external validity.
Disadvantages of content analysis?
Causality cannot be determined.
Description of the data cannot gather any deeper meaning.
Biases in the researcher conducting content analysis as they are taking the communication out of context.
What are the features of science?
Theory construction, hypothesis testing, empirical method, paradigm, replicability, objectivity and falsifiable.
Theory construction?
The gathering of evidence from a direct observation and bringing together previous ideas/definitions to construct a theory.
A theory provides an explanation for an event or a relationship between events.
Hypothesis testing?
It is important that a hypothesis is clear and testable.
Hypotheses are derived from a theory that is being tested.
Empirical methods determine whether to support or refute the hypothesis which strengthens the theory or leads it to be reviewed.
Empirical method?
All research evidence must be empirical and based on evidence gathered through carefully controlled and tested observations/experiments.P
Paradigm and paradigm shift?
A paradigm is a collective set of assumptions, concepts, values and practices.
It has been argued there is too much disagreement in psychology for it to be a pure science. Biology and physics have core principles that are all agreed on.
When a handful of researchers begin to question the paradigm, and new assumptions may be adopted, this is known as a paradigm shift.
Replicability?
Repeating an investigation in the same controlled conditions.
This enables the researcher to look at different situations which will determine whether the results can be generalised.
Experiments must be reported with detail and precision to ensure replicability.
Objectivity?
Must be free from personal feelings, prejudice and interpretations.
Falsifiability?
A theory cannot exist unless it admits the possibility it may be proved untrue.
A theory is not proved true, it just isn’t proved false after repeated testing.
Freud’s theories are not falsifiable and therefore are not scientific.
What is reliability?
A measure of consistency. If a particular measurement is made twice and the result is the same, it is said to be reliable. If a result is different, if the measurement is reliable, it is put down to a difference in what we are measuring.
When measuring reliability what is a significant correlation?
0.8
What is test-retest relaibility?
Involves administering the same test/questionaire to the same person on two different occasions. If the test is reliable, then the results should be the same or very similar.
What length of time should be between the test and retest?
There must be enough time between the test and retest to ensure the participant is not recalling their answers, but not so long that their attitudes and opinions may have changed.
How do we know there is test-retest reliability?
The sets of scores are correlated and if significant, the measure is reliable.
