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94 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Experiment method - definition |
Assesses a cause and effect relationship. Involving the researcher directly manipulating the I.V. |
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Laboratory experiment - definition |
The manipulation of an independent variable that takes place in a setting or conditions that allows for the careful control of confounding variables. |
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Laboratory experiment - advantages |
Researcher has a high degree of control over variables. Researchers can easily replicate studies conducted by other researchers. |
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Laboratory experiment - disadvantages |
Can be artificial and different from real life situations. Participants may suffer from demand characteristics. |
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Field experiment - definition |
Researcher manipulates an I.V. in a controlled but 'real' situation. |
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Field experiment - advantages |
Higher levels of ecological validity than a lab setting. Lower risk of 'demand characteristics because they are less aware of taking part, therefore they behave naturally. |
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Field experiment - disadvantages |
Replication is more difficult and results cant be generalised to to all real-life situation situations. It is more difficult to establish precise control over confounding variables. |
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Natural experiment - definition |
Researcher does not manipulate an I.V but takes advantage of a 'naturally occurring' I.V. |
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Natural experiment - advantages |
Can be used to exploit a naturally occurring event which would be unethical or impractical to manipulate. The researcher does not intervene directly in the researcher situation and so realism may be higher. |
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Natural experiement - disadvantages |
The naturally occurring behaviour being investigated may occur rarely. Possible confounding variables are not being controlled by the investigator. |
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Operationalisation - definition |
Operationalisation is a process of defining the measurement of a phenomenon that is not directly measurable, though its existence is indicated by another phenomena. |
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Independent variable - definition |
The independent variable is what the researcher manipulates. |
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Dependent variable - defintion |
The dependent variable is what the researcher measures as a result of the I.V. |
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Extraneous variable - defintion |
Extraneous variables are anything apart from the I.V that affects the D.V. |
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Correlational Study - definition |
Researcher examines the relationship between 2 co-variables. |
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Correlational Study - advantages |
A powerful exploratory research tool which can be used when experiments are inappropriate e.g stress and illness. Provides valuable information on the strength of the relationship between the co-variables. |
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Corelational Study - disavantages |
Cannot assess mom-linear relationships. Impossible to establish cause and effect between variables. |
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Observations - Definition |
Researcher records behaviours being exhibited by participants. |
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Observations - advantages |
Can be used when experimentation is inappropriate e.g funerals. Is recording 'actual' behaviour, so results are likely to be valid. |
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Observations - disadvantages |
Replication may be difficult due to differences in naturalistic settings. The presence of an observer may change behaviour of those observed. |
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Behavioural categories - definition |
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Questionnaires - definition |
Researcher prepares questions and asks participants to give a written response. |
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Questionnaires - advantages |
Can be used to assess psychological variables that may not be obvious by just observing someone. Data can be collected from a large group of participants more quickly than interviewing them. |
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Questionnaires - disadvantages |
There is no guarantee that a participant is telling the truth. Different participants may interpret the same question in different ways. |
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Interviews - definition |
Researcher prepares questions and asks participants to give a verbal response. |
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Interviews - advantages |
Can permit issues to be investigated with sensitivity. Participants can ask for clarification of a question if they are unsure of its meaning. |
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Interviews - disadvantages |
Tends to be more time consuming to complete than questionnaires. The appearance (e.g ethnicity, gender etc) of the researcher may have an effect on the participants response. |
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Closed questions - defintion |
A close-ended question is a question format that limits respondents with a list of answer choices from which they must choose to answer the question. |
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Closed questions - advantage and disadvantage |
+The answers from participants would be easier to compare. +The answers can help the participants clarify what the question is asking -They can suggest ideas that the participant might not of though about. Might not have an answer that the participant wants to give. |
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Open questions - defintion |
Open questions cannot be answered with yes or no, they require a more detailed answer. |
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Open questions - advantage and disadvantage |
+They permit an unlimited number of possible answers. +Respondents can answer in detail and clarify their answer. -Different respondents give different degrees of detail in their answers. -comparisons and statistical analysis becomes more difficult. |
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Case Study - definition |
An in-depth exploration of the behaviour and experiences of an individual, who is usually unique. |
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Case Study - advantages |
Can collect data from individuals who have experienced situations which would be unethical to manipulate. Can be a good way to describe changes occurring as a result of psychological process which occur over time. |
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Case Study - Disadvantages |
Researcher's assessment may become less objective with familiarity. 'Unique' experiences of one person may have little/no application to the lives of others. |
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Aim - definition |
The aim of an investigation is it's general purpose. |
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Hypothesis - defintion |
The hypothesis is a precise, testable statement or predicition about the expected outcome of the investigation. |
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Directional Hypothesis - defintion and example |
Directional hypothesis predict the direction in which the results are expected to go for example 'studying improves exam marks' this is directional because it predicts the results to go in one direction. |
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Non-directional Hypothesis - defintion and example |
The hypothesis doesn't state the direction but simply states that one factor affects another, or that there will be a correlation between two variables. |
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Independent Groups - explanation |
An independent groups design involves using different participants randomly allocated to each condition. |
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Independent Groups - advantages |
No order effects participants as they only take part in one condition. Less chance of of demand characteristics as participants only take part in one condition. |
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Independent Groups - disadvantages |
Needs twice as many participants as a repeated measures design. There maybe unknown inter-group differences that are responsible for any difference in the D.V. |
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Repeated Measures - explanation |
A repeated measures design involves using the same participants in each condition of an experiment. |
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Repeated Measures - advantages |
Needs fewer participants than IG or MP designs. There is no chance of inter-group differences as all participants take part in all conditions. |
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Repeated Measures - disadvantages |
Order effects may occur and demand characteristics are more likely. Some research cannot use RM e.g IVs that can't be randomly allocated. |
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Matched Pairs - explanation |
A matched participants design involves using different but similar participants in each condition.if there are any important characteristics that might affect performance, researchers will try to match participants on those characteristics in each condition. |
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Matched Pairs - advantages |
No order effects as participants only take part in one condition. Less chance of demand characteristics as participants only take part in one condition. |
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Matched Pairs - disadvantages |
Takes time and resources to match participants. Even with our best matching there could still be an uncontrolled inter-group difference that is responsible for any difference in the D.V. |
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Random Sampling - definition and method |
Where each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected. |
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Random Sampling - advantages and disadvantages |
+Potentially unbiased as everyone in the target population has equal chance of being selected; the researcher doesn't intervene. -The selected sample could be biased (e.g. more of one sub-group than the other) |
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Opportunity Sampling - definition and method |
Where those easily available are selected. |
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Opportunity Sampling - advantage and disadvantage |
+As you are using the easiest to find, the sample tends to be quite quick to locate than using another sampling technique. -Sample is likely to be biased (e.g. cliques are unlikely to be representative) |
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BPS Code of Ethics - description |
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Ethical Issue - definition |
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Confidentiality - definition of issue and way of dealing with it |
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Observation - definition of issue and way of dealing with it |
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Withdrawl - definition of issue and way of dealing with it |
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Deception - definition of issue and way of dealing with it |
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Informed Consent- definition of issue and way of dealing with it |
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Protection from physical harm - definition of issue and way of dealing with it |
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Protection from psychological harm - definition of issue and way of dealing with it |
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Reliability - defintion |
Reliability refers to the consistency of a measuring instrument. In psychology this usually means the consistency of a test or of an observer. |
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Internal relaibility - defintion |
Internal reliability refers to whether a test is consistently measuring whatever it is supposed to be measuring. |
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External reliability - definition |
External reliability refers to whether the findings of research are found to be similar over time. |
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Validity - definition |
Validity refers to whether a measuring instrument measures what it is supposed to measure. |
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Internal validity - definition |
If a test or research finding have internal validity it has shown that what it has measured are due to the factors being assessed, e.g. intelligence test measures intelligence. |
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External validity - definition |
If findings have external validity then it can be said that they can be generalised to other people or situations than the research situation. |
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Demand Characteristics - definition |
Demand characteristics are all the clues which convey to the participants the purpose of the study which may cause them to behave in a way they would not have ordinarily done. |
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Investigator Effects - definition |
If the researcher conveys to participants (even unconsciously) how they should behave: these are called investigator effects. The researcher may be totally unaware of the influence and the clues may be very subtle. |
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Pilot Study - definition |
A pilot study is a small scale version of the research. It allows the researcher to check that all components of the research work as they are supposed to and if they don't changes can be made before the research goes ahead. |
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MOCT - Mean - defintion |
Measure of central tendency which is the result of the total of all scores divided by the number of participants. |
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MOCT - Mean - advantage and disadvantage |
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MOCT - Median - definition |
Measure of central tendency which is the middle value after all the scores being put in rank order. |
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MOCT - Median - advantage and disadvantage |
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MOCT - Mode - definition |
Measure of central tendency which is the result that is most frequently occuring. |
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MOCT - Mode - advantage and disadvantage |
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Range - definition |
Measure of dispersion that is the difference between the highest and lowest score in a data set. |
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Range - advantage and disadvantage |
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Standard Deviation - definition |
Measure of dispersion that assesses how varied a score from the mean. |
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Standard Deviation - advantage and disadvantage |
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Positive correlation - definition |
A positive correlation is a relationship between two variables such that their values increase or decrease together. |
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Negative correlation - definition |
A negative correlation is a relationship between two co-variables such as that as the value of the one increases the other decreases. |
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Correlation coefficient - definition |
A number between +1 and -1 calculated as to represent the linear interdependence of two variables or sets of data. |
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Bar chart - definition |
Graph which shows the frequency of category data. |
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Bar chart - advantage and disadvantage |
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Histogram/Line Graph - definition |
Graph which shows the frequency of continuous data. |
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Histogram/Line Graph - advantage and disadvantage |
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Scattergram - definition |
Graph which shows the frequency between two co-variables. |
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Scattergram - advantage and disadvantage |
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Qualitative Data - definition |
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Content Analysis - definition |
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Content Analysis - advantage and disadvantage |
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Content Analysis - processes involved in... |
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Volunteer Sample - Definition and method |
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Volunteer Sample - advantage and disadvantage |
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