Uned 2

Question 1

What is an aim in research?

Answer 1

A statement of what the researcher(s) intend to find out in a research study.

Question 2

What is a confounding variable?

Answer 2

Any variable which varies systematically with the independent variable that might potentially affect the dependent variable and thereby confound the results.

Question 3

What does it mean to debrief participants?

Answer 3

To inform the participants of the true nature of the study and to restore them to the same state they were in at the start of the study.

Question 4

What is a dependent variable?

Answer 4

The variable measured by the experimenter.

Question 5

What is an experiment?

Answer 5

A research method where causal conclusions can be drawn because an independent variable has been deliberately manipulated to observe the causal effect on the dependent variable.

Question 6

What is a hypothesis?

Answer 6

A precise and testable statement about the assumed relationship between variables.

Question 7

What is an independent variable (IV)?

Answer 7

Some event that is directly manipulated by an experimenter in order to test its effect on another variable - the dependent variable (DV).

Question 8

What does it mean to operationalise a variable?

Answer 8

Ensuring that variables are in a form that can be easily tested.

Question 9

What are standardised procedures?

Answer 9

A set of procedures that are the same for all participants in order to be able to repeat the study.

Question 10

Directional and non-directional Hypothesis

Answer 10

• Directional - people who have plentiful sleep have higher marks in class tests than people with a lower sleep average
• Non-directional - people who have plentiful sleep have different marks on class tests thatn people with a lower sleep average

Use directional when past research suggests that those will be the findings, non - directional when no past research has been done

Question 11

Null Hypothesis

Answer 11

• statement of no effect
• ‘there is no difference in the marks between…’

Question 12

What is a confounding variable?

Answer 12

A variable that is not the independent variable (IV) under study but varies systematically with the IV, potentially affecting the dependent variable and rendering the outcome meaningless.

Question 13

What does control refer to in research?

Answer 13

The extent to which any variable is held constant or regulated by a researcher.

Question 14

What is external validity?

Answer 14

The degree to which a research finding can be generalized to other settings, groups of people, and over time.
* Place research was conducted
* people who are studied
* historical period

Question 15

What are extraneous variables?

Answer 15

Have an effect on the dependent variable, make it more difficult to detect a significant effect because other factors have an influence.

for example, some people have better memories, higher iq.

Question 16

What is internal validity?

Answer 16

• Whether the IV produced the change in DV or did something else like a confounding variable
• Whether the researcher tested what she or he intended to test
• Whether the study possessed or lacked mundane realism

Question 17

What does mundane realism refer to?

Answer 17

How a study mirrors the real world, indicating the realism of the research environment.
Lack of mundane realism = not like everydau experience, results of study may not be very useful

Need realism to be able to generalise results

Question 18

What is validity in research?

Answer 18

Refers to whether an observed effect is a genuine one.

Question 19

Types of Experimental Designs

Answer 19

Repeated measures
* all participants receive all levels of the IV
* e.g each participant does task with TV on, then do similar task a week later with TV off, then compare performance
* Independent groups
* participants placed in seperate groups, each group does one level of IV
* e.g Group A does task with TV on, Group B with TV off, compare performance of two groups
* Matched pairs
* 2 groups of participants but match on key characteristics believed to have an effect on the DV
* matched characteristics must be relevant to the study.

Question 20

Disadvantages - Repeated measures

Answer 20

• order of conditions may affect performance - may do beter on the second test because of practice effect, or less anxious. Some do worse because of being bored with doing the same test again
• When doing second, may guedd the purpose of the experiment - may effect behaviour
• Dealing
• May use 2 different tests to reduce a practice effect - though must be equivalent
• Deal with order effects with use of counterbalancing
• cover story can be presented about purpose of test to avoid participants guessing the aims of the study

Question 21

Disadvantages - Independent groups

Answer 21

• Researcher cannot control the effects of participant variables - e.g group A may have better memories than Group B (this would be a confounding variable)
• needs more participants
• Dealing
• Randomly allocate participants to conditions which distribute them evenly

Question 22

Disadvantages - matched pairs

Answer 22

• Very time consuming and difficult to match participants on key variables
• Not possible to control all participant variables, can only match what is known to be relevant
• Dealing
• Restrict the number of variables to match to make it easier
  Conduct a pilot study to consider key variables that might be important when matching

Question 23

Counterbalancing

Answer 23

Ensures that each condition in a repeated measures design is tested first or second in equal amounts.

Question 24

Location of research

Answer 24

• Laboratory
• most scientific way
• room equipped to allow scientific research and measurement
• research tends to be experimental, observational research
• Field
• outside laboratory, more natural setting
• e.g shopping cnetre, hospitals
• Online
• researchers able to access participant via the internet
• questionnaires

Question 25

Evaluate - in a laboratory

Answer 25

* **Advantages** * allow researchers to measure research variables more easily, making it easier to control confounding or extraneous variables, easier for others to replicate * equipment e.e Raine et al - PET Scans * **Disadvantages** * may cause participants to demonstrate artificial behaviour - surrounding reminds them they are taking part in a piece of research, must be on best behaviour * some cannot be conducted in lab because of the nature of the bahvour being researched

Question 26

Evaluate - In the field

Answer 26

* **Advantages** * useful to minimise the artificial nature of research - everyday environment = less likely to be aware of their participation * allows to examine behaviour in a range of contexts - not possible in lab * **Disadvantages** * more difficult to measure research variables, and control confounding or extraneous variables * replicate - might get different findings because of differences in settings * difficult to get all equipment

Question 27

Evaluate - online

Answer 27

* **Advantages** * ability to access large group of participants - allow to seek out a diverse sample, less culturally biased * cost effective - use free, cheap software - can quickly put info on internet * Data analysis is quicker * **Disadvantages** * methods tends to be limited - surveys, questionnaires * Trends tend to be infrequent * Ethical issues - consent, protection from risk of harm * difficult to debrief

Question 28

Quasi-experiments

Answer 28

* 2 types - with an IV (Natural), with no IV (difference studies)

Question 29

Quasi-experiments - Natural Experiments

Answer 29

* conducted when it isn't possible for ethical or practical reasons to deliberately manipulate an IV * IV varies naturally, DV may be tested in a lab * **e.g** - before 1995 people in St Helena had no TV, arrival of TV gave researchers a chance to see how esxposure to Western programmes might influence their behaviour - Charlton et al found no difference. - IV not controlled by researchers, natural

Question 30

Quasi-experiments - Difference Studies

Answer 30

* IV is naturally occurring and DV may be measured in a lab * IV has not been made to vary by anyone * **e.g**- Sheridan and King tested obedience by asking male participants to give electric shocs of increasing advantage to a puppy - 54% delivered maximum shock, obedience rate for females 100% - IV=gender, difference that cannot be manipulated

Question 31

Evaluation of Quasi-experiments

Answer 31

* **Manipulation of IV** * lack of control over IV means we cannot say for certain that change in DV is caused by IV * **Random allocation** * not possible to randomly allocate participants to conditions in a quasi-experiment = may be biases in the different groups = may be uncontrolled confounding variables * **Unique characteristics of participants** * sample may have unique characteristics = findings cannot be generalised to other groups of people

Question 32

Demand characteristics

Answer 32

* in an experiment participants are unsure what to do and how to behave so they look for clues on how to behave in that situations * The clues are the demand characteristics - convey the hypothesis * participants guess what the research is looing for and tend to behave in a certain way to get a certain result * result - participant don't behave as they would usually

Question 33

Researcher bias

Answer 33

* information from a researcher that encourages certain behaviours in the participant which might lead to a fulfilment of the investigator's expectations * e.g - ask a question that leads a participant to give the answer the investigator wants

Question 34

Dealing with Demand characteristics and researcher bias

Answer 34

* **Single blind design** * participants are not aware of the research aim and of which conditions of the experiment they are receiving. * Prevents participant from seeking cues about the aims * **Double blind design** * participants and the person conducting the experiment are blind to the aims and hypothesis. * Conductor less likely to produce cues about what they expect * **Experimental realism** * participant pays attention to the task and not the fact they are being observed

Question 35

Opportunity sampling

Answer 35

* Recruit people who are most convenient or available - e.g students at your school, people walking by on the street * **Advantage** * easiest method, just use the first suitable participants you can find * Take less time to locate sample * **Disadvantage** * biased - sample is frawn from a small part of the target population

Question 36

Random sampling

Answer 36

* Lottery method, random number generators * **Advantage** * unbiased - all members of the target population have an equal chance of selection * **Disadvantage** * Need to have a list of all members of the target population and then contact all those selected * Takes a lot of time

Question 37

Snowball sample

Answer 37

* Current participants recruit further participants from among people they know. Thus the sample group appears to grow like a snowball * **Advantage** * Enables researcher to locate groups of people who are difficult to access, such as drug addicts * **Disadvantage** * The sample is not likely to be a good cross-selection of the population because it is friends of friends

Question 38

Self-selected sampling

Answer 38

* Advertise in a newspaper or on internet * **Advantage** * Gives acess to a variety of participants - make the sample more representative and less biased * **Disadvantage** * Sample is biased - participants are likely to be more highly motivated to be helpful, extra time on hands * Volunteer bias

Question 39

Stratified and quota sampling

Answer 39

* Subgroups within a target population are identified, participants are obtained from each of the srata in proportion to their occurrene in the target population * for a stratified sample selection - using random technique * quota sample selection - using non-random technique * **Advantage** * Likely to be more representative because there is a proportional representation of the sub-groups * **Disadvantage** * Very time-consuming to identify subgroups and select participants and contact them

Question 40

Systematic sampling

Answer 40

* use a predetermined system to select participants - numerical interval is applied * **Advantage** - unbiased as participants are selected using an objective system * **Disadvantage** - Not truly unbiased/random unless you select a number using a random method and start with this person, then select every nth person.

Question 41

Working with animals

Answer 41

* Research is governed by legislation such as the Animals Act 1986 * Strict requirements for the ethical treatment of animals: * avoid or at least minimise discomfort to living animals * asked to consider alternatives to using animals - such as computer simulations * if using the is unavoidable - strict recommendations about factors such as the species type, care requirements ...

Question 42

Working with vulnerable individuals (including children)

Answer 42

* BPS considers vulnerable populations to include - children under 16yo, people with learning or communication difficulties, patients in care, people in custody or probation, people engaged in illegal activities * valid consent needs to be obtained from the person legally responsibly for the individual - may not fully understnd

Question 43

Risk to the participants' values, beliefs, relationships, status, or privacy

Answer 43

* psychologists have to consider the impact that their research may have on the participants * ensure that their attitudes and opinions are not demeaned, their associations with other people are not damaged

Question 44

Types of observation

Answer 44

* **non-participant** - observer watches the behaviour of others from a distance and doesn't interact with the people being observed * **Participant** - observer is part of the group being observed

Question 45

Structuring observations

Answer 45

* **unsturctured** - researcher records all relevant behaviour but has no system * **structured** - systems to organise observations: using behavioural categories and sampling procedures * **Behavioural categories** - breaks up stream of behaviour into different behavioural categories, what is needed is operationalised * **Sampling procedures** - Event sampling: counting number of times a certain behaviour occurs, Time sampling: recording behaviours in a given time frame

Question 46

Evaluation of observational techniques

Answer 46

* what people say they do is often different from what they actually do, observations give a different take on behaviour than other research methods * observer bias is a serious issue * non-participant observers are likely to be more objective * Participant observation may provide special insights * Sampling methods make the task of observing behaviour more manageable * time sampling may no alwayd represent what is happening

Question 47

Self-report techniques

Answer 47

* **Questionnaires** * set of written questions - collect information abou ta topic * permit researcher to discover what people think and feel **Interviews** * Structured - has pre-determined questions, conducted in real time * Semi-structured - has less structure, new questions are developed during the course of the interview, develop based on the answers given

Question 48

Types of questions

Answer 48

* **Closed** - * range of possible answers is fixed: listing possible answers for them to choose from * easier to analyse, but forced to select answers that don't represent their real thoughts * produce quantitative data * **Open** * infinite range of possible answers * produce qualitative data - more difficult to summarise

Question 49

Evaluation - self-report techniques

Answer 49

* +, allow access to what people think and feel * -, people may not supply truthful answers, social desirability bias - answer lacks validity * -, sample may lack representativeness - data cannot be generalised

Question 50

Evaluation - questionnaire

Answer 50

* +, can be distributed to large numbers of people, cheap and quick. - enables to collect data from a large sample of people * +, respondents may feel more willing to reveal personal info than in an interview * +. reduce social desirability bias * -, only filled by people who can read and write and are willing to spend time filling them in = biased

Question 51

Evaluation - Interviews

Answer 51

* **Structured** - * +, easily repeated as questions are standardised = answers from different people can be compared, easier to analyse * -, if the interviewer behaves differently to other interviewers or at different occasions - low reliability * -, interviewers may influence the answers the repondent gives * **semi-structured** - * +, more detailed info can be obtained * -, require interviewer with more skill = more expensive

Question 52

Correlational Studies

Answer 52

* correlation is a systematic association between two continuous variables * positive correlation - two variables increase together * negative correlation - one variable increases the other decreases * zero correlation - no relationship between the two

Question 53

Correlational hypothesis

Answer 53

* states the expected association between the co-variables

Question 54

Evaluation - correlational studies

Answer 54

* **Disadvantages** * jump to causal conclusions - misinterpretation may mean that people design programmes for improvement based on false premises * intervening variables * may lack internal and external validity, and generalisability * **Advantages** * used to investigated trends in data * can easily be repeated again = findings can be confirmed

Question 55

Content analysis and evaluation

Answer 55

* form of indirect observation * has high ecological validity as it is based on observations of what people actually do * Findings can be replicated * observer bias

Question 56

Case study and evaluation

Answer 56

* involves the detailed study of a single individual, institution, or event * uses info from a range of sources * Many techniques used - interviews, observations, questionnaires, IQ tests * offer rich, in-depth data so info overlooked is likely to be identified * useful to investigate human behaviour and experience * difficult to generalise from individual cases * involve recollection of past events - unreliable

Question 57

Different kinds of data

Answer 57

* **Nominal** * Data are in seperate categories, grouping people * **Ordinal** * data are ordered, list in order of liking * **Interval** * data are measured using units of equal intervals * **Ratio** * There is a true zero point

Question 58

Display of quantitative data

Answer 58

* Tables * Frequency table * Bar chart * Histogram * Line graph * Pie chart * Scatter diagram

Question 59

Quantitative data

Answer 59

* represents how much, how long, how many * DV, closed questions * numerical info * data which can be measured * looking at averages and differences * easy to analyse and draw conclusions * may oversimplify reality = conclusions meaningless

Question 60

Qualitative data

Answer 60

* can't be counted * open questions * deals with descriptions * provide detailed info which can provide unexpected insights to thoughts and behaviour * difficult to analyse and draw conclusions

Question 61

Primary data

Answer 61

* information observed or collected directly from first-hand experience * collected by researcher for the study currently made * involve designing the study, gaining ethical approval, piloting the study, testing participants, analyse data, draw conclusions. or questionnaire, observation * researcher has contol over the data * data collection can be designed so it fits the aims and hypothesis of the study * Very lengthy and expensive process

Question 62

Secondary data

Answer 62

* information that was collected for a pupose other than th current one * use of government statistics, data held by hospital * correlation study, review studies and meta-analysis use secondary data * simpler to access someone else's data * cheaper, less time and equipment needed * the data may not fit the needs of the study