Scientfifc Process

Question 1

What is the peer review process ?

Answer 1

• checked for experimental design, methods , originality of findings , content , structure and findings
• article may be accepted or rejected or asked to review and re-submit
• once researcher reviews editor either accepts or rejects
• peer reviews help assess faults and methodology

Question 2

Explain why peer review is an important aspect of the scientific process

Answer 2

Peer review involves sending your research to another psychologist and it being either accepted , rejects or sent back

• the review may allow people to take it more seriously as reviewers are well-established
• it’s hard for researchers to find every mistake , having other people check it reduces risk of there being mistakes and makes research more reliable
• review removes personal views and unwanted claims
• peer review judge’s significance and quality of research in a wider context

Question 3

What is the difference between discrete and continuous data ?

Answer 3

Discrete data can be both categorical and numerical but only certain values can be included

Continuous data is qualitative on a continuous scale with 0 value

Question 4

Define investigator effects

Answer 4

• Where a researcher ( consciously or unconsciously ) acts in a way to support their prediction
• this can be a particular problem when observing events that can be interpreted in more than one way

Question 5

Define researcher bias

Answer 5

A process where the scientists performing the research influence the results in order to portray a certain outcome

Question 6

What’s the difference between investigator bias and research bias ?

Answer 6

Investigator = for observations
Research = for experiments

Question 7

Why is the peer review process so important ?

Answer 7

• provides a way of checking the validity of the research
• making a judgment about the credibility of the research and assessing the quality and appropriateness of the design and methodology
• peers are also in a position to judge the importance of significance of the researcher in a wider context
• they can assess how original the work is and whether it refers to relevant research by other psychologists
• make recommendations as to whether the research paper should be published in its original form,rejected or revised in some way
• helps to ensure that any research paper published in a well respected journal has integrity and can thus be taken seriously by fellow researchers and by lay people

Question 8

Case study

Answer 8

• A in depth study of one person or a group of people over time
• it is usually carried out in the real world
• they are idiographic and very individualistic

Question 9

Weaknesses of a case study

Answer 9

• findings cannot be generalised very easily to other individuals
• information gathered is often based on retrospective data which might not be accurate
• very difficult to replicate as a case study they lack reliability
• as case studies are unique situations it is difficult to generalise

Question 10

Replicability

Answer 10

The ability to repeat the method to assess if similar findings are achieved