Psychology Aqa Research Methods

Front 1

Define

External Validity

Back 1

The extent to which a study can be generalised, including:

• ecological validity
  
• population validity
  
• temporal validity
  

Front 2

Define

Internal Validity

Back 2

Whether the study has tested

what it meant to test and can be generalised beyond the experimental setting

Front 3

Difference between

confidentiality and privacy

Back 3

confidentiality is the right to have personal information protected

privacy is the right for an individual to control the flow of information about themselves

Front 4

What is deception

Back 4

Participants are not told the true aims of the study and thus cannot give true informed consent

Front 5

What is

protection from harm

Back 5

Participants should not experience harmful psychological or physiological effects

Front 6

What is

informed consent

Back 6

The participants right to be given comprehensive information concerning the nature and purpose of the research and their role within it, so that they can decide whether they wish to participate in the experiment

Front 7

What is the

right to withdraw

Back 7

Participants should be have the right to leave the study at anytime if they feel uncomfortable

Front 8

Informed consent - How do you deal it and what are the limitations that come with this?

Back 8

• Researchers may be able to gain presumptive consent, and participants are offered the right to withdraw
  
• The information that is needed to be given may invalidate the purpose of the study
  
• The participants may not fully understand what they have let themselves in for
  

Front 9

Deception - How do you deal with deception and what are the limitations of this

Back 9

• Participants should be fully debriefed after the study
  
• This should also be approved by the ethics committee
  
• Participants may still feel embarrassment or have lowered self esteem
  

Front 10

Right to withdraw - How to deal with it and limitations with this method?

Back 10

• Participants should be fully made aware that they have the right to withdraw, especially those of a young age
• However, participants may feel like they cannot withdraw, for example (Milgram) if they have been paid or the experiment edges into coercion
  

Front 11

protection from harm - how to deal with it what are the limitations to this method?

Back 11

• Stop the study
  
• Take no unnecessary risks greater than real life
• Limitiations - the experimenter can never truly know the to what extent their study may harm the individual - they cannot always accurately predict the risks of the study
  

Front 12

Confidentiality - how to deal with it and limitations to this method

Back 12

• Participant's names should not be used, rather numbers or false names
  
• Participant identity may still guessable from the information received
  

Front 13

Privacy - limitations and

how to deal with this

ethical issue

Back 13

• make sure that participants are observed in a public place if they haven't given their informed consent
  
• participants may be allowed to withhold their data
• however, there is no universal agreement on what constitutes a public place
  
• not everyone may feel that this is acceptable
  

Front 14

What is a

directional hypothesis

Back 14

States the predicted difference between two conditions

eg. there will be a higher recall of words when using a mnemonic technique than when not using a mnemonic technique

Front 15

What is a non

directional hypothesis

Back 15

States that 'There will be a difference', However

does not state direction the difference will be

Front 16

What is a null hypothesis

Back 16

States there will be NO difference

Has no direction or prediction

Front 17

What is a pilot study

Back 17

Small scale investigation used to iron out any potential errors in the study before the real experiment takes place, with a view towards making improvements

Front 18

limitations of

repeated measures design

Back 18

Each participant repeats every condition - therefore, may be subject to practice

effects, fatigue effects, extraneous variables, participant variables, and demand characteristics

Front 19

Limitations of independent

groups design

Back 19

Participants are allocated to two or more conditions, each with a different experimental condition

Therefore, can be subject to participant variables, you need twice as many participants

Front 20

Limitations of the

matched pairs design

Back 20

Participants are matched due to their key variables -

However, there may not be control over all these variables and this is very time consuming

Front 21

Dealing with the limitations of repeated measures design

Back 21

1) use counterbalancing (where each participant does every condition and it is therefore measured in equal amounts) e.g. ABBA or AB BA

2) you can use a cover story (single blind)

Front 22

Dealing with the limitations of

independent groups design

Back 22

• use matched pairs design to control participant variables

• randomly allocate participants
  
• be prepared to spend time and money
  

Front 23

Dealing with the limitations of

matched pairs design

Back 23

• limit the number of extraneous variables tested
  
• conduct a pilot study
  

Front 24

What are

demand characteristics

Back 24

A cue that makes participants aware of what the researcher expects to find

Participants may change their behaviour to confirm the expectations

Front 25

What is

social desirability bias

Back 25

Tendency for participants to answer questions that will put them in a better light

Front 26

Give examples of

situational variables

Back 26

Time of day, temperature, noise

Front 27

Give examples of

participant variables

Back 27

Age, intelligence, motivation,

experience, gender

Front 28

Give the three measures of central tendency

and state their limitations and strengths

Back 28

Mean: uses all values; subject to extreme values and cannot be used with nominal data

Mode: Not subject to extreme values; can be used with nominal data; cannot be used when there are two modes; does not take into account all numbers

Median: not affected by extreme scores; but does not reflect all values

Front 29

Advantages and disadvantages

of the two measures of dispersion

Back 29

Range: Is easy to calculate and provides you with direct information, however it is affected by extreme values and doesn't take into account the number of observations

Standard deviation: More precise measurement because it takes into account all of the values, however is may hide extreme values

Front 30

Definition of a

lab experiment

Back 30

An experiment that is conducted in a highly controlled environment attempting to remove extraneos variable in order to study an IV with a DV

Front 31

Definition of a

field experiment

Back 31

An experiment carried out in a more natural environment where the IV is still manipulated by the experimenter though with less control of extraneous variables than in a lab

Front 32

Definition of a

natural experiment

Back 32

The experimenter does not directly manipulate the IV so causal conclusions cannot be made.

e.g. the study of Romanian orphans

Front 33

Advantages and

disadvantages of a

lab experiment

Back 33

• High control over extraneous variables, high internal validity, easily replicated
  
• Low external validity, artificial
  

Front 34

Advantages and disadvantages

of a field experiment

Back 34

• more external validity
  
• can still establish causal relationships
  
• avoids participant effects
  

• Does not have as high control over extraneous variables and this reduces internal validity

Front 35

Advantages and disadvantages

of a natural experiment

Back 35

• high in ecological validity, because real life problems are studied
  

• cannot establish a causal relationship
  
• no control over extraneous variables
  
• investigator effects
  

Front 36

Difference between event

and time sampling

Back 36

event: the number of times a behaviour occurs

time: behaviour recorded periodically e.g. every fifteen seconds

Front 37

What is a

controlled observation

Back 37

Behaviour is observed under

controlled conditions

Front 38

What is a

naturalistic observation

Back 38

Behaviour is observed in a naturalistic setting, where the investigator does not interfere in any way but merely observes the behaviour in question

Front 39

a) what is a behaviour checklist?

b) what is a coding system?

Back 39

a) A list of behaviours to be recorded during an observational study

b) A systematic method for recording behaviours in which individual behaviours are given a code for ease of recording

Front 40

Difference between covert

and overt observations

Back 40

Covert- observing without participants knowledge

Overt- observing with the participants knowledge

Front 41

Advantages of

observational research

Back 41

• High ecological validity
  
• More accurate info
  
• Preliminary experiment to produce hypotheses for future investigations
  

Front 42

Weaknesses of

observational research

Back 42

• no control over extraneous variables
  
• observer bias
  
• ethical considerations
  

Front 43

Define and evaluate an opportunity sample

Back 43

participants chosen by selecting people who are most easily available

easy to find participants

Cheap to find participants

biased because it is not random as the sample may be all from the same social group, age group, etc.

Front 44

Define and evaluate a

volunteer sample

Back 44

Relies on volunteers to make up the sample

• Easy to obtain
  
• Volunteer bias
  
• Limited variety of participants
  

Front 45

Define and evaluate a

random sample

Back 45

• Every person 'thrown into the hat' has an equal chance of being selected
  
• unbiased
  
• may end up with a biased sample anyway
  

Front 46

Define and evaluate a

systematic sample

Back 46

Selecting every (Nth) person. e.g. every tenth person on a list

Front 47

Define and evaluate

a stratified sample

Back 47

Sample obtained according to their frequency in the population. e.g. if 20% of your population is female then 20% of your sample should be

Front 48

What is an

unstructured interview

Back 48

No set questions, just a general area of questioning. This allows the participant's answers guide the subsequent questions

Front 49

Advantages and weaknesses

of questionnaires

Back 49

• easily replicated
  
• more willing to reveal truthful info
• biased - only certain types of people fill out questionnaires
  
• social desirability bias
  

Front 50

Advantages and weaknesses

of structured interviews

Back 50

• easily repeated (reliable)
  
• less interviewing skill required (cheap)
  
• easy to analyse, particularly if questions are closed
  

• interviewer bias as interviewer may behave differently on different occasions
  

Front 51

Advantages and disadvantages

of unstructured interviews

Back 51

• rich in detail (qualitative data)
  
• access more information
  

• interviewer bias
  
• well trained interviewers required
  

Front 52

Advantages and disadvantages

of a correlational analysis

Back 52

• if correlation is significant, can justify more research into the study
  
• if not significant can rule out a causal relationship

• cause and effect cannot be established
  
• lacks validity
  
• unknown variables could be causing the relationship
  

Front 53

Advantages and disadvantages

of a case study

Back 53

• rich in-depth detail
  
• rare cases
  

• low external validity
  
• ethical issues
  
• lack objectivity
  
• unreliable
  

Front 54

What is content analysis and how would this be performed on say, a magazine

Back 54

Behaviour is observed indirectly on verbal or written material

1) select sample method

2) select behavioural categories - quantitative or qualitative

Front 55

Advantages and

disadvantages of

content analysis

Back 55

• high ecological validity
  
• findings can be replicated and tested for reliability
  

• subjective - biased
  
• culturally biased
  

Front 56

What is attrition

Back 56

The loss of participants from a study over time

Front 57

What are

cohort effects

Back 57

A group of participants may have unique characteristics because of time specific experiences. People born in the 1950's are different to people born in the 1990's

Front 58

What is a

control group

Back 58

Acts as a baseline measurement in an experiment

Front 59

Definition of a

quasi experiment

Back 59

Researcher is unable to use random allocation because the IV is a particular feature of the participant e.g. gender or a mental disorder

Front 60

Advantages and disadvantages of quasi experiments

Back 60

• Control of variables when carried out under controlled conditions
  
• More likely to have ecological validity than a lab experiment
  
• Participant allocation not random
  
• difficult to prove causal relationship as the IV isn't being directly manipulated
  

Front 61

What are

research aims

Back 61

The aims of a study should be stated BEFORE the research begins and are the studies purpose e'g. Milgram's aim might have been to study the effect of authority on obedience

Front 62

What is the

dependant variable

Back 62

The dependent variable is the variable you think will be affected by changes in the independent variable

Front 63

What is the

independent variable

Back 63

The independent variable is the variable directly manipulated by the researcher

Front 64

What is a variable

Back 64

A variable is a quantity

whose value can change

Front 65

What is

operationalisation

Back 65

Operationalisation is describing the process by which the

variable will be measured

Front 66

What are the difficulties with

operationalisation

Back 66

Some things are easy to measure such as height, speed or weight, but how do you measure 'love'?

Front 67

What is the purpose of the experimental design

Back 67

An experimental design must make the hypothesis testable which requires an operationalised dependent variable

Front 68

Why does research need to be highly controlled

Back 68

To avoid the effects of extraneous variables by exposing all participants to them or removing them all together

Front 69

Define

counterbalancing

Back 69

Counterbalancing is mixing up the order of tasks to solve the problem of order effects

Front 70

What are

order effects

Back 70

If a person is involved in several conditions they may become bored, tired and fed up by the time they come to the second condition

Front 71

What is

random allocation

Back 71

Random allocation means that every participant has an equal chance of doing either condition in an independent groups design

Front 72

What are

standardised instructions

Back 72

A method of ensuring that every participant is given exactly the same instructions in an experiment to avoid researcher bias

Front 73

Strengths and weaknesses of overt observation

Back 73

• More ethically sound because the participants are aware they are being observed
  
• Might alter behaviou causing demand characteristics
  

Front 74

Strengths and weaknesses of covert observation

Back 74

• The participants are more likely to behave naturally and therefore increase validity
  
• Gaining ethical approval may be difficult
  

Front 75

Advantages of a

controlled observation

Back 75

• High in reliability as the experiment is easy to replicate
  
• Greater control of extraneous variable
  

Front 76

Disadvantages of a

controlled observation

Back 76

• Lower ecological validity than naturalistic observations
  
• Danger of demand characteristics
  

Front 77

What is an

operationalised definition

Back 77

A way of categorising behaviour for an observation by operationalising the concepts. e.g. what constitutes 'aggression' (punching, kicking, etc.)

Front 78

What is rating behaviour

Back 78

Behaviours are often a matter of degree rather than absolutes so each behaviour could have several categories or a scale to show this

Front 79

What is event sampling

Back 79

A researcher only records the events they are interested in

• Researchers know exactly what they are looking for
  
• Potentially interesting behaviours are ignored
  

Front 80

What is Time Sampling and what are the advantages and disadvantages

Back 80

A researcher only records behaviours at specific intervals

• Convenient for the researcher to carry out
  
• Interesting behaviours occurring outside of the time intervals would be missed
  

Front 81

What is

Inter-Observer Reliability

Back 81

A method used to ensure that all observers are defining and catagorising behaviours in the same way

Front 82

Things to consider and avoid in questionnaire design

Back 82

• Type of data required- open/closed -qualitative/qualitative
  
• Ambiguity of questions
  
• Double barrelled questions
  
• Leading questions
  
• Overly complex question
  

Front 83

Things to consider in

data analysis

Back 83

• Adequate data sampling to ensure representativeness
  
• careful use of language and operationalised definitions
  
• Researcher bias to be avoided
  

Front 84

What is

primary data

Back 84

Information collected during a researchers direct observations of participants

Front 85

What is

secondary data

Back 85

Information collected from

other studies

Front 86

What is a

meta-analysis

Back 86

This is the summarising of the results of a number of different studies

Front 87

What are the advantages

and disadvantages of

qualitative data

Back 87

• Difficult to analyse because of the level detail
  
• Low in reliability
  
• High in validity