Research Methods Flashcards by nini .

What is an independent variable?

the variable that the researcher manipulates to determine its effect on the dependent variable
it can be divided into levels (experimental conditions)

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What is a control condition?

provides a standard against which the experimental conditions can be compared (IV not manipulated at all)

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What is the dependent variable?

the variable that is being measured

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What are extraneous variables?

they are variables other than the IV that could affect the DV
e.g. sleep, weather, personal life events

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What are confounding variables?

they are variables other than the IV that have affected the DV
e.g. light, noise

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What is operationalisation?

where the variables are defined and stated how it will be measured
e.g. “aggression” = it means how angry/irritated an individual is and this can be measured by displays of verbal or physical acts of violence in a 10 min period”

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What are the four types of experiments?

laboratory:
- controlled environment (eliminates any EV)
- pits are randomly allocated to a condition
- conducted in an artificial setting
field:
- carried out in real world/natural setting
- IV is still manipulated or controlled by researcher
- e.g. observing people in the streets
natural:
- researcher takes advantage of naturally occurring IV to see its effect on DV
- variables are not directly manipulated by the experimenter
- the experimenter finds ppts who already meet the conditions of the study
quasi:
- contains naturally occurring IV
- the IV is naturally occurring difference between people (gender, age)
- usually takes place in laboratory setting

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What are the strengths/weaknesses of laboratory experiments?

strengths:
high level of control:
- easy to control for any extraneous variables (prevents them from becoming confounding variables)
researcher can easily establish the cause and effect of IV by directly manipulating them
repeatable:
- they can be easily repeated to check for the reproducibility
- similar findings show that the results are reliable
weaknesses:
demand characteristics:
- ppts may guess the aim of the experiment
- some may behave in a more positive light (social desirability bias)
high level of control may cause lack of mundane realism:
- so the study does not have ecological validity

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What are the strengths/weaknesses of field experiments?

strengths:
more mundane realism than in a lab:
- there is more ecological validity and can reflect real life better
clear cause and effect:
- researcher is able to directly manipulate IV
less chance of demand characteristics:
- ppts may not be aware that they are taking part in research (natural behaviour)
weaknesses:
less control over extraneous variables:
- effect on DV may not be caused by IV (research is not valid)
less control over sample:
- sample may not be representative of the target population
difficult to replicate (may be unreliable compared to lab experiments)

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What are the strengths/weaknesses of natural experiments?

strengths:
high level of mundane realism and ecological validity
useful for impossible/unethical variables:
- e.g. psychologists may study a group of naturally stressed men aged 60-65 with high levels of stress/cholesterol
weaknesses:
low control over extraneous variables compared to a lab experiment
difficult to replicate:
- often unreliable and if repeated it is less likely same results will be gained
difficult to determine cause and effect due to low levels of control

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What are the strengths/weaknesses of quasi experiments?

strengths:
high level of control:
- effects of EV are minimised
replication is very likely so it is easy to replicate to test reliability of findings
weaknesses:
lack of ecological validity due to the artificial setting
demand characteristics:
- ppts may either accurately or inaccurately guess the aim of the experiment
- this can make the results invalid

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What are the six types of observation?

non-participant:
- when researcher does not get directly involved with the interactions of the ppts
participant:
- when researcher is directly involved with the ppts and will engage in the activities that they are doing
covert:
- psychologist goes undercover and does not reveal their true identity
- they group do not know that they are being observed
overt:
- psychologist reveals their true identity and states that they are observing the group
naturalistic:
- researcher observes ppts in their own natural environment and there is no deliberate manipulation
controlled:
- researcher observes ppts in controlled environment and manipulates IV

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What are the strengths/weaknesses of non-participant observation?

strengths:
- can study situation in natural situation without altering any conditions
- good quality notes can be made
weaknesses:
- may lack validity as they do not have a deeper understanding of the observed characteristics of the ppts

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What are the strengths/weaknesses of participant observation?

strengths:
- less likely to be identified by the ppts
- more in depth understanding of the ppts
weaknesses:
- their presence may lead to biased/altered behaviour from the ppts (loss of objectivity)

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What are the strengths/weaknesses of covert observation?

strengths:
- less demand characteristics (ppts do not know they are being observed)
weaknesses:
- deception may be occurring (unethical as the ppts are unaware of the study taking place)

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What are the strengths/weaknesses of overt observation?

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strengths:
- researcher can freely make notes
- ethical as ppts are able to give consent
weaknesses:
- ppts may show demand characteristics (less valid)

What are the strengths/weaknesses of naturalistic observation?

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strengths:
- ppts are unaware that they are being observed (more likely to act naturally)
- high mundane realism (reflects everyday behaviour)
weaknesses:
- no control over extraneous variables (can make results invalid)
- lack of control also means that cause and effect cannot be established

What are the strengths/weaknesses of controlled observation?

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strengths:
- highly controlled environment so cause and effect is clear
- extraneous variables can be controlled making results more valid
weaknesses:
- low levels of mundane realism due to the high levels of control (lacks ecological validity)
- observer effects can occur as ppts know they are being observed

What is observer bias?

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if the observer is aware of the aim of the study they may only focus on behaviours that they think meets their aims/hypothesis
so the data may be inaccurate and subjective

What are the three behavioural design concepts?

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behavioural categories:
- specific types of behaviour that are being looked for in an observation
event sampling:
- observer decides in advance what types of behaviour they are interested in and records allocation occurrences
- all other behaviour is ignored
time-interval sampling:
- observer decides in advance that the observation will only take place during specified time periods
- they only record the occurrence of specified behaviour during that period

What is a pilot study (+ strengths/weaknesses)?

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a preliminary small scale investigation of the procedures that will be used in the main study
small sample is selected to carry out a trial run of the experiment
strengths:
can save time and money by fixing any flaws beforehand
weaknesses:
may not accurately reflect the main study as few ppts are not representative of the main sample

What are the two types of self-report techniques?

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interviews
questionnaires

What are the types of interviews?

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structured:
- all ppts asked the same questions in the same order
- provides quantitative data (counted/expressed numerically)
- closed questions
unstructured:
- informal in-depth conversational exchange between the interviewer and interviewee
- questions are not pre-planned (but are related to what the interviewer wants to discuss)
- provides qualitative data (uses words to describe what people think/feel
- open questions
semi-structured:
- mixture of structured and unstructured techniques (qualitative + quantitative data)
- closed and open questions
- some pre-planned questions which are followed by things interviewer wants to discuss

What are the strengths/weaknesses of a structured interview?

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strengths:
misunderstandings can be clarified
quicker than structured interviews (less time consuming)
weaknesses:
interviewer effects may occur:
- interviewer may affect respondent’s answers (unintentionally)
lacks qualitative and in depth data:
- answers are restrictive and factual (lack meaning/depth)

What are the strengths/weaknesses of an unstructured interview?

- strengths: - useful with investigating sensitive/controversial topics: - allows for probing of information to gain understanding of topic being investigated - weaknesses: - risk of social desirability bias (invalid/inaccurate results) - interviewers need to be well-trained to gain relevant data: - time consuming and expensive to ensure correct training is carried out

What are the strengths/weaknesses of a semi-structured interview

- strengths: - offers some flexibility unlike structured interviews (allows for in depth answers) - asking set questions can also allow for easy comparison between ppts - weaknesses: - can be quite time-consuming - high risk of subjectivity as researcher may ask leading questions

What should you consider when designing questionnaires?

- type of data: - closed (quantitative) or open (qualitative) - ambiguity - double barrelled questions - leading questions - complexity

What are the three types of correlations?

- positive: - as one variable increases the other variable also increases - negative: - as one variable increases the other decreases - no correlation: - no relationship between the variables

How are correlation strengths measured?

- between -1 and +1 - this is known as the *correlation coefficient*

What graph is used for correlations?

- scattergraphs/grams

What are the strengths/weaknesses of correlations?

- strengths: - allows psychologists to establish the strength of a relationship between two variables

What steps are used when conducting research?

- aim: - deciding an aim (precise statement about purpose of study) - operationalisation: - decide IV and DV - hypotheses: - a precise, testable statement about the expected outcome of an investigation - decide on a hypothesis and operationalise it - e.g. eating 250g of chocolate will mean that ppts are significantly more likely to score between 7-10 on a mood scale from 1-10 than if they have nit consumed chocolate

What are the two types of hypotheses?

- null hypothesis: - states that the IV will have *no* effect on the DV - alternative/experimental hypothesis: - predicts that IV *will* have an effect on the DV - non-directional (two tailed) = does not state direction of the predicted differences between conditions - directional (one tailed) = states the direction of the predicted difference between conditions

Research Methods Flashcards

(33 cards)