Research methods

Question 1

What are the sampling techniques?

Answer 1

• Volunteer
• Random
• Opportunist
• Systematic = Selecting every “Nth” person
• Stratified = Selecting people that are proportionate to the sample as a whole (so it is representative of the population)

Question 2

What are the pros and cons of each sampling technique?

Answer 2

-Random:
Pro = Less biased
Con = Could have a smaller a range of people

-Random:
Pro = Less biased
Con = Impractical

-Systematic:
Pro = Less biased
Con = Not representative of population/ whole sample

-Stratified:
Pro = Representative of population/ whole sample and the amount from each group of people
Con = Can be inaccurate if the sample size is small

-Opportunist:
Pro = Convenient, easy
Con = Can be susceptible to researcher bias

Question 3

What are the types of experiment?

Answer 3

• Lab, IV is manipulated
• Field, natural environment but IV is manipulated
• Quasi, IV is not manipulated, it has happened due to naturally occurring events
• Natural, studies where the experimenter cannot manipulate the IV, so the DV is simply measured and judged as the effect of an IV

Question 4

What is meant by a self report technique?

Answer 4

• Self reports are a method of gathering data where participants provide information about themselves without interference from the experimenter.
• Such techniques can include questionnaires, interviews, or even diaries, and ultimately will require giving responses to pre-set questions.

Question 5

What is a type 1 error? [:(]

Answer 5

• A type 1 error is when a researcher incorrectly rejects a null hypothesis that is actually true
• This means that you report that your findings are significant when in fact they have occurred by chance
• This usually happens when the significance levels are too high (10%)

Question 6

What is a type 2 error? [:)]

Answer 6

• A type II error is when a researcher accepts a null hypothesis which is really false
• Here a researcher concludes there is not a significant effect, when actually there really is
• This usually happens when the significance levels are too low (1%)

Question 7

What is a P-value?

Answer 7

-The level of statistical significance is often expressed as a p-value between 0 and 1
-The smaller the p-value, the stronger the evidence that you should reject the null hypothesis
-For example: P0.05 = The hypothesis is very valid
P0.1 = The hypothesis is not as valid

Question 8

What is the table that shows the inferential statistical tests|? CSCMWSURP

Answer 8

|Unrelated | Related | Correlation
|Nominal | Chi2 | Sign test | Chi2
|Ordinal |Mann-Whitney U| Wilcoxon | Spearman’s Rho
|Interval | Unrelated T | Related T | Pearsons

Question 9

Which experimental design is used for unrelated and related tests?

Answer 9

Unrelated = Independent groups
Related = Repeated measures & Matched pairs

Question 10

What are the levels of measurement?

Answer 10

Nominal = Categorical (Smoker/Non-smoker) [Discrete]
Ordinal = Ordered data (Rating scales) [No equal intervals, subjective as it is ordered]
Interval = Data based on numerical scales (Weight, size, scores) [Objective and intervals are equal]

Question 11

What is the correct order for referencing?

Answer 11

-Name, Date, Book name, Place, Publisher
-For example:
Duck, S. (1992) Human Relationships, London: Sage

Question 12

What are descriptive statistics

Answer 12

• Descriptive statistics analyse data to help describe, show or summarise it in a meaningful way
• Examples are: Measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion

Question 13

What are measures of central tendency?

Answer 13

• Measures of central tendency are examples of descriptive data statistics that depict an overall ‘central’ trend of a set of data:
• The mode
• The median
• The mean

Question 14

What are measure of dispersion?

Answer 14

• Measures of dispersion describe the spread of data around a central value (mean, median or mode)
• They tell us how much variability there is in the data
• There are two measures of dispersion:
• The range
• The standard deviation

Question 15

What is standard deviation?

Answer 15

• Standard deviation is a measure of dispersion that shows the spread of scores around the mean
• The greater the standard deviation the great the spread of scores around the mean

Question 16

What are correlation co-variables?

Answer 16

-The two variables that are measured/collected by the researcher and then compared to each other

Question 17

What is a correlation coefficient?

Answer 17

• A number used to represent the strength and the direction of the relationship between the co-variables as a number between -1 and +1
• A perfect positive correlation is +1
• A perfect negative correlation is -1

Question 18

Why are correlations not a good way of analysing data?

Answer 18

• Correlation does not show causation
• This means that although a relationship may exist, it doesn’t show which co-variable caused the change
• Doesn’t show other extraneous variables which may be the cause

Question 19

How can investigator effects be avoided?

Answer 19

• Have an interviewer who had not witnessed the event
• Have an interviewer who doesn’t know the aims of the study so that they would not be affected by their own perception of the event
• Use open-ended questions so the interviewees are able to give a more detailed and accurate version of what they saw
• Use a questionnaire (Or other means) to collect data without face to face interaction

Question 20

What does probability mean?

Answer 20

• The numerical measure of the likelihood or chance that a certain event will occur
• The accepted level of probability in psychology is P<0.05

Question 21

How are statistical tests used to determine the probability that their results could have occurred by chance?

Answer 21

• Statistical tests allow psychologists to work out the probability that their results could have occurred by chance, and in general psychologists use a probability level of 0.05
• This means that there is a 5% probability that the results occurred by chance

Question 22

What are the statistical tests used in psychology?

Answer 22

• Chi2
• Sign test
• Chi2
• Ordinal
• Mann-Whitney U
• Wilcoxon
• Spearman’s Rho
• Interval
• Unrelated T
• Related T
• Pearsons

Question 23

What does P≤0.05 mean?

Answer 23

• This means that the likelihood that the results occurred due to chance/luck is equal to or less than 5%
• So the psychologist can be 95% certain that the results are down to changes in the independent variable
• If the results pass the statistical test at a P≤0.05 level then the null hypothesis can be rejected

Question 24

What is significance?

Answer 24

The level of probability (P) at which it has been agreed that the null hypothesis can be rejected

Question 25

What is a pilot study?

Answer 25

- A small scale practice investigation - Pilot studies are conducted before the full research to identify problems with the design, methodology the analysis of the findings and to gain feedback from the participants - The issues that are identified in the pilot studies are then dealt with before the main study is conducted

Question 26

What are some of the problems in experiments which could be identified in pilot studies?

Answer 26

- P's could not understand the questions/instructions/tasks - P's could figure out the aim of the experiment and develop demand characteristics which influenced the DV - The experiment could be too expensive or take up too much time due to the method or analysis of data. This could happen if the behavioural characteristics are too vague and hard to identify

Question 27

What are the different experimental designs?

Answer 27

- Independent groups - Repeated measures - Matched pairs

Question 28

What is counterbalancing?

Answer 28

- Splitting P's into groups to change the order in which they encounter the different conditions in the study - This method is used in repeated measures design in order to counteract order effects

Question 29

How does counterbalancing increase the validity of an experiment?

Answer 29

- Counterbalancing counteracts order effects as 50% of the P's are encountering condition 1 for the first time and the other 50% are encountering condition 2 for the first time - Counterbalancing counteracts the effects of boredom or fatigue on P's - Counterbalancing can reduce the effects of demand characteristics being developed in the conditions

Question 30

How is the standard deviation calculated?

Answer 30

- √Variance = SD - For example: If the data's highest score was 10 and the lowest score was 1 then the variance would be 9 and the SD would be √9 which is 3 - If the data's highest score was 5 and the lowest score was 1 then the variance would be 4 and the SD would be √4 which is 2 - Therefore a lower standard deviation means that the data is more clustered CLOSE to the mean rather than a higher SD which would be clustered further away from the mean

Question 31

What is discrete and continuous data?

Answer 31

- Discrete data is data is data that can only take certain values - For example: The number of students in a class, whole numbers and goals in a football match - Continuous data is data that can be measured on an infinite scale, It can take any value between two numbers - For example: Height, weight and length

Question 32

If a test in a class is too hard which type of skew would show on a distribution graph showing the scores?

Answer 32

- A positive (Right) skew would be shown as the majority of the students would get lower scores than normal - The data on the graph would be mostly on the left

Question 33

If a test in a class is too easy which type of skew would show on a distribution graph showing the scores?

Answer 33

- A negative skew would be shown as the majority of the students would get higher scores than normal - The data on the graph would be mostly on the right

Question 34

What are the features of science?

Answer 34

- Empirical method - Objective research - Controlled research - Replicability - Falsifiability - Theory construction - Hypothesis testing

Question 35

What does empirical mean?

Answer 35

- The information that is used is gained from direct observation of participants rather than providing information from reasoned argument or beliefs - This means theories must be tested

Question 36

What does objective mean?

Answer 36

- Data should not be affected by the expectations of the researcher, data collection should be systematic and free from bias - This maintains the validity of the findings

Question 37

What does controlled mean?

Answer 37

- In an experiment we assume that any changes in the DV is due to changes in the IV - However this may not be true if extraneous variables have affected the DV - A lack of control of variables makes it difficult to establish cause and effect

Question 38

What is replication?

Answer 38

- Scientists must record their methods and standardise them carefully so the same procedures can be followed in the future - Repeating a study is the most important way to demonstrate the validity of an observation or experiment - If the outcome is the same, this indicates the original findings are valid

Question 39

What is a paradigm shift?

Answer 39

- 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

Question 40

What is falsifiability?

Answer 40

-The principle that a proposition or theory could only be considered scientific if in principle it was possible to establish it as false

Question 41

What is theory construction?

Answer 41

-To be scientific, a theory needs to be a logically organized into a set of propositions that defines events, describes relationships among events, and explains and predicts the occurrence of events

Question 42

What is hypothesis testing?

Answer 42

-A scientific theory should also guide research by offering testable hypotheses that can be rigorously tested

Question 43

How does the sign test show that data is significant/non significant?

Answer 43

-If the S value is equal to or less than the critical value then the data shows a significant difference

Question 44

How is a content analysis performed?

Answer 44

-Firstly the transcript (What was said) must be categorized into data sets which could be particular terms or descriptions or how often something is shown

Question 45

What is thematic analysis?

Answer 45

- Thematic analysis is a form of content analysis - The outcome is qualitative - Thematic analysis identifies themes that are recurrent which can be developed into broader categories - For example: Stereotyping, treatment or control

Question 46

What are the strengths of content analysis?

Answer 46

- There are less/no ethical issues as the data is already in the public domain - The data has high external validity as it is from real sources that are published to the public

Question 47

What is a weakness of content analysis?

Answer 47

- People are studied indirectly meaning that communications are analysed outside of the context in which they occurred in - This means that the researcher may attribute opinions and motivations to the communications, therefore the analysis could lack objectivity due to biases from the researcher which could taint how the original communication is perceived

Question 48

What points must be identified when designing a study?

Answer 48

- Methodological issues - Ethical issues - Design - Materials/apparatus - Participant variables - The task chosen - The environment - Behavioural categories - The reliability/validity