Research methods

Question 1

What is the aim of research?

Answer 1

This is a general statement about the purpose of the research.

Question 2

What is a Directional/One Tailed Hypothesis?

Answer 2

Specifies that the results will go in one particular way

Question 3

What is a non-directional/two-tailed hypothesis?

Answer 3

The direction of results is not specified. It starts with “there will be a difference”.

Question 4

What is a null hypothesis?

Answer 4

There is not a relationship and not a difference between the variables being tested. It starts with ‘there will be no difference’.

Question 5

What is operationalisation?

Answer 5

Clearly defining a variable in terms of how they can be measured.

Question 6

What are extraneous variables?

Answer 6

Unwanted factors that if they are not accounted for, they could negatively affect the data that is subsequently collected.

Question 7

What is a single-blind procedure?

Answer 7

Participants are not told the aim of the research at the beginning of a study.

Question 8

What is a double-blind procedure?

Answer 8

Neither the participants nor the researcher who conducts the study is aware of the aims of the investigation (often a third party conducts the investigation without knowing its main purpose).

Question 9

What are demand characteristics?

Answer 9

Clues in the study that lead to participants to formulate an idea about what they are expected to do and the aim of the study.
Participants will then change the way that they behave in the study.

Question 10

What are investigator effects?

Answer 10

Unwanted influence of the investigator on the research outcome.

Question 11

What is an independent group design?

Answer 11

This is when two separate groups of participants experience two different conditions of the experiment.

Question 12

What are the strengths of an independent group design?

Answer 12

✔ No order effects
✔ Demand characteristics

Question 13

What are the weaknesses of an independent group design?

Answer 13

❌ more participants needed
❌ group differences

Question 14

What is a repeated measures design?

Answer 14

This is when all participants experience both conditions of the experiment.

Question 15

What are the strengths of a repeated measures design?

Answer 15

✔ no group difference
✔ fewer participants needed

Question 16

What are the weaknesses a repeated measures design?

Answer 16

❌ order effects
❌ demand characteristics

Question 17

What is a matched pair design?

Answer 17

This is where similar participants are used in each condition.

Question 18

What are the strengths of a matched pair design?

Answer 18

✔ no order effects
✔ less group difference

Question 19

What are the weaknesses of a matched pair design?

Answer 19

❌ matching is difficult
❌ time-consuming

Question 20

What is random allocation?

Answer 20

This is where you randomly allocate participants to experimental and control conditions.

Question 21

What is counterbalancing?

Answer 21

An attempt to control order effects in a repeated measures design. Counterbalancing can control this where half the participants do Condition A followed by Condition B and half the participants do Condition B followed by Condition A.

Question 22

3 main Components of a lab experiment?

Answer 22

–> The researcher deliberately changes something (IV)
–> Participants know that they are being studied
–> The setting is not like real life

Question 23

Strengths of a lab experiment:

Answer 23

• easier to replicate and is therefore more reliable.
• allow for precise control over variables.

Question 24

Weaknesses of a lab experiment:

Answer 24

• artificial setting can encourage unnatural behaviour affecting ecological validity.
• Demand characteristics or experimenter effects may occur.

Question 25

3 main components of a field experiment:

Answer 25

- Field experiments are done in a real-world setting - The IV is still deliberately manipulated - Participants are often not aware that they are participating in an experiment

Question 26

Strengths of a field experiment:

Answer 26

- real life setting which increases ecological validity. - Less likelihood of demand characteristics.

Question 27

Weaknesses of a field experiment:

Answer 27

- Less control over extraneous variables.

Question 28

2 main components of a natural experiment:

Answer 28

- The experimenter has no control over the IV as it occurs naturally in real life - The research is merely measuring the effect of something that is already happening

Question 29

Component of a Quasi experiment:

Answer 29

- These are experiments where there is an IV which is based on an existing difference between people e.g. age and gender.

Question 30

Strengths of Quasi and Natural experiment:

Answer 30

- Behaviour in a natural experiment is more likely to reflect real life - There is less likelihood of demand characteristics affecting the results, as participants may not know they are being studied.

Question 31

Weaknesses of Quasi and Natural experiments:

Answer 31

- They may be more expensive and time consuming than lab experiments. - There is no control over extraneous variables that might bias the results.

Question 32

What Society has a code of ethics that all researchers must follow?

Answer 32

The British Psychological Society

Question 33

What is the cost-benefit approach?

Answer 33

Weighing up whether the benefits of research outweigh the costs.

Question 34

What does CAN DO CAN'T DO WITH PARTICIPANTS stand for?

Answer 34

Confidentiality Deception Consent (informed) Debrief Right to Withdraw Protection from harm

Question 35

Presumptive consent:

Answer 35

a similar group of people are asked if they think the research is accetable.

Question 36

Prior general consent:

Answer 36

giving permission to take part in a number of studies including a deceptive one.

Question 37

Retrospective consent:

Answer 37

asking for consent having already taken part in the study.

Question 38

If researchers use deception..

Answer 38

- participants should be debriefed. - participants should have the right to withhold data.

Question 39

If participants are harmed..

Answer 39

counselling must be offered.

Question 40

To maintain confidentiality:

Answer 40

participants should be referred to with their initials/numbers/letters.

Question 41

What is meant by informed consent?

Answer 41

a participant has given written agreement to participate in the study, and has fully understood what the study involves.

Question 42

What is meant by deception?

Answer 42

when a participant is told something about the study that is not true.

Question 43

What is meant by confidentiality?

Answer 43

refers to the researcher keeping the identity of the participant anonymous.

Question 44

What is meant by right to withdraw?

Answer 44

refers to participants having the right to quit the study at any point - researcher’s duty to communicate this to the participants before beginning the study.

Question 45

What is meant by protection from harm?

Answer 45

responsibility researchers have to protect participants, so that they are in no more physical or emotional harm than they would be in their everyday lives.

Question 45

What are the five main ethical guidelines that all psychology researchers should follow?

Answer 45

- informed consent - right to withdraw - protection from harm - confidentiality - deception

Question 46

how to decide the observational method:

Answer 46

1. controlled/naturalistic 2. overt/covert 3. participant/non-participant

Question 47

What is meant by inter-rater reliability?

Answer 47

a measure of how similar the data collected by different observers are.

Question 48

What are two limitations of using the observational technique?

Answer 48

- observer bias - doesn't say much about the person's thoughts and feelings.

Question 49

Discuss the limitations of using twin studies.

Answer 49

assume that both monozygotic and dizygotic twins have a similar amount of shared environment. So any difference in concordance rates between them must be due to genetic variation for the trait.