Research Methods

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Advatages of Lab Experiments

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*Control- effects of confounding variables are minimised
*Replication- strict controls mean repeating the study is possible
*Casual Relationships- Able to determine if one variable causes change in another

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Disadvantage of Lab Experiments

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*Artifical- Lack Eco-Val
*Demand charecteristics- Participants may respond according to what they think is being investigated, bias results
*Ethics- Deception often used, informed consent difficult

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Advantage of Field Experiment

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*Casual Relationships- Can measure C.R. by manipulating key variable, difficult in field exp.
*Eco-Val- Relate to real life
*Demand Charectoristics- Can be avoided if participants do not know they are in a study

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Disadvantage of Field Experiment

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*Less control- Confounding variables more likely in natural environment
*Ethics- Participants who did not wish to take part in the study may experience distress, and often can't be debriefed. Observation must respect privacy

Front 5

Advanatges of Natural Experiments

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*Ethical- Possible to study variables that would be unethical to manipulate

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Disadvantages of Natural Experiments

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*Participant Allocation- Can't randomly allocate participants to condition, so confounding variables may affect results. With no control over variables, cannot say what caused what
*Rare events- Some groups of interest are hard to find
*Ethics- Deception often used, informed consent difficult. Confidentiality may be comprimised if community is identifiable

Front 7

Advatages of Naturalistic Observation

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*Eco-Val- Behaviour is natural, no demand charectoristics as participant unaware of observation
*Theory developement- Useful way of developing ideas about behaviour that can be tested later in more rigid conditions

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Disadvantages of Naturalistic Observation

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*Extraneous Variables- Cannot control variables that may affect behaviour
*Observer bias- Observers' expectation may affect what they focus on and record. Result reliability may be an issue
*Ethics- Observations should only be conducted where people might expect to be watched. Debriefing is difficult, privacy must be respected and informed consent can be tricky

Front 9

Advantages of Correlational Research

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*Casual Relationships- Can be ruled out if no correlation exists
*Ethics- Can study variables that would be unethical to manipulate

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Disadvantage of Correlational Research

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*Casual Relationships- Cannot be assumed from a correlation which may be caused by third, unknown party
*Ethics- Misinterpretation can be an issue. Sometimes the media and researchers infer causality from a correlation

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Advantage and Disadvantages of questionnaires

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Ad- Practical- Can collect large amount of data quickly and cheaply
Dis-
Bad Questions- Leading or unclear questions
Biased Samples- Some people are just more likely to respond to a questionnaire, can make a sample unrepresentative
*Self Report- Social Desirability bias, results can be unreliable
*Ethics- Confidentiality can be a problem, especially around sensitive issues

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Advantages of Interviews

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*Rich Data- Can get detailed info, fewer constraints than with questionn. Unstructured interviews provide richer info that structured
*Pilot Study- Interviews useful way to get info before a study

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Disadvantages of Inverviews

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*Self Report- Can be unreliable and affected by Social Desirablity Bias
*Impractical- Time consuming and required skilled researchers
*Ethics- Confidentiality can be a problem

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Advantage of Case Studies

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*Rich Data- Oppourtunity to study rare phenomena in great detail
*Unique Cases- Can challenge existing ideas and theories, and suggest ideas for future research

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Disadvantage of Case Studies

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Casual Relationships- Researcher has small control over variables
*Generalisation- Using just one case makes generalising results very difficult
*Ethics- Informed consent can be difficult to obtain if the subject has a rare disorder

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What are Hypotheses?

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*Theories tested by research

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Define Research Hypothesis

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*Proposed at the begining of research
*Usually generated from a theory

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Define Null Hypothesis

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*What you are going to assume is true during study
*Data collected will either back up or shoot down this assumptio
*If data does not support the null, it is rejected and we go with the alternative hyp.

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Define Experimental Hypothesis (Alternative Hypothesis)

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*If data has forced you to reject the null, take the alternate
*If the null was that variables are not linked, the alternate is that they are

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Define Directional Hypothesis

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*Directional may predict which group will do better- with and without
*If the hypo states which group will do better, it's a directional prediction
*Often used when previous research suggests which way results will go

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Define Non-Directional Hypothesis

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*Would predict a difference, but would not state which group would do better
*Can be used when there is little previous, or inconclusive research into that area

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What is a variable?

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*A quantity whose value can change

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Independant Variable

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*Directly manipulated by the researcher
*Exam guides- whether it was used, is the independant variable, directly under the control of researcher

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The Dependant Variable is only affected Indirectly

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*DV is variable you think is affected by changes in the IV (DV dependant on IV)
*DV is the exam grade, dependant on whether revision guide was used

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Define an Extraneous Variable

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*Any variable other than IV that could affect what is being measured
*If EV is influencing the DV they are called confounding variables