Research mathods

Question 1

What is primary data

Answer 1

Data that a researcher has gathered themselves for the purpose of their study

Question 2

What are 3 strengths of primary data

Answer 2

. More control over collection of data so more valid
. More up to date
. Gather exact data you need

Question 3

What are the weaknesses of primary data

Answer 3

. Time consuming and expensive sive
. Potential for research bias as collecting directly

Question 4

What are 2 strengths and 1 weakness of quantitative data

Answer 4

• easy to analyse and make comparisons
• objective so less open to bias so increase validity as cant misinterpret
• cannot show insight into reasons behind behaviour so reduced internal validity as dont know why behaviour occurs

Question 5

what are 2 strengths and 1 weakness of qualitative data

Answer 5

• generates reasons behind behaviour so invreased internal validity as can find out why
• not limited so people are free to elaborate so increased internal validity
• subjective as its description based so more open to to researcher bias so decreases validity as may be open to interpretation

Question 6

explain the individual vs situational debate

Answer 6

individual= looks to person as the cause of behaviour specifically personalities or dispositions and not the environment
situational= draw on situations around indiviuals eg. group members or the environment context for the cause of behaviour

Question 7

explain the reductionism vs holism debate

Answer 7

Reductionism= breaks down behaviour into its constituent parts and using 1 factor to explain it eg, single genes or hormones
EG- simplifying schizophrenia into a single gene
Holism= human behaviour is too complex to be reduced to 1 factor. there are many factors contributing to behaviour

Question 8

what is the sample of a study

Answer 8

refers to the pp in a piece of research(who u do the research on)

Question 9

what is a target population and what must it gbe?

Answer 9

• a group of people they want to be able to generalise findings to
• the sample must be as representative of their target population as possible

Question 10

what is a longitudinal study?
what is a snapshot study?

Answer 10

longitudinal study= involves studying the samke pp over a long period of time, collects more than one measurement of behaviour, tracks changes and devlopments in behaviour
snapshot= conducted at one point in time, collects one set of data and do not track the development of behaviour

Question 11

explain the nature vs nurture debate and the interactionist approach

Answer 11

Nature= biological factors explain thinking and behavior eg. genetics, nervous system
Nurture= behavior as leared or acquired through past experiences
interactionist= accepts both nature and nurture are interconnected and human behavior is both

Question 12

explain the free will vs determinism debate

Answer 12

free will= entirely free to act as they choose and bear responsibility for their behavior
Determinism= we lack control of our behaviour and it is predetermined eg, genes and past experiences

Question 13

what are the 4 common methods of research

Answer 13

• observations
• correlation
• self-reports
• experiments

Question 14

what are observations

Answer 14

• watching people with/without consent usually looking for certain categories of behaviour that was pre decided

Question 15

what are self reports

Answer 15

asking people what they do or feel and think by questionnaires or intervews

Question 16

what are correlations

Answer 16

looking at how 2 variables are related to each other than plotted on a scatter graph

Question 17

what are experiments

Answer 17

3 different types: lab,field,natural/quasi
- involves setting up a situation decided by researcher and then studying behaviour
- they change something( indepandant variable)to see if it has an effect on something else

Question 18

what is ecological validity
- low EV?
- High EV?

Answer 18

• relates to whether or not a piece of research , the task and setting, are true to real life
  High EV- carried out in realsitic conditions, and task is something people would do in real life
  Low EV- carried out in highly controlled or artificial setting and task does not happen in real life

Question 19

what is quantitative data

Answer 19

data that is numerical
eg, number of times a behaviour occurs or responses to closed questions

Question 20

what is qualitative data

Answer 20

data presented in written form
eg, description or questionnaire/interview

Question 21

what is data

Answer 21

refers to how we measure a ppts behaviour

Question 22

what is secondary data

Answer 22

data that researcher obtained from elsewhere, collected not for the purpose of this study

Question 23

what are the 3 strengths of secondary data

Answer 23

• time and cost effective so more practical
• can often give a large sample of data
• no bias
• less intrusive as dont have to ask pp questions

Question 24

what are the 2 weaknesses of secondary data

Answer 24

• may be inaccurate/outdated
  -may be misinterprested

Question 25

what is included in the measure of central tendancy

Answer 25

- mode -median - mean

Question 26

definition of measure of central tendancy

Answer 26

an average of a data set - a summary that aims to describe a set of data using a single value

Question 27

what is the order of the measure of central tendancy

Answer 27

1. mean (strongest) 2. median 3. mode(worst)

Question 28

what are the 1 strength and 1 weakness of mean

Answer 28

+ all data is used to calculate answer so it is an accurate representation of the data - extreme scores/anomalous results can distort the value so can not be appropriate measure of central tendancy if the data set is skewed

Question 29

what are 1 strength and 1 weakness of the median

Answer 29

+ extreme scores do not distort the value so it is good if the data set is skewed by extreme values - can be difficult and time consuming to calculate with large data set and it is less representative because it is does not depend on all items in data

Question 30

what are 1 strength and 1 weakness of the mode

Answer 30

+ only measure of central tendency that can be used when data is not numerical. so allows for analysis of the most commonly occurring category - may not accurately reflect the data set so if theres no most popular answer it is effectively useless

Question 31

what is discrete data

Answer 31

data that can be placed in separate categories eg, whole entities, people

Question 32

what is continuous data

Answer 32

cannot be placed into distinct categories and can be put on a number line eg, distance 1.24 miles or time 3.2 hours

Question 33

what must be included in a graph

Answer 33

- 2 fully labbeled axis - title - scale

Question 34

what graph should you use for discreet data and when

Answer 34

BAR CHART - discreet and 6 categories or more PIE CHART - discreet and 6 categories or less

Question 35

what graph should you use for continuous data and when

Answer 35

SCATTER GRAPH - continuous and to show relationship/correlation LINE GRAPH - continuous and to show change over time HISTOGRAM - continuous and show inequalities (bigger than/more than)