Year 1 - Research Methods

Responses

________ are not always truthful- demand characteristic called social desirability bias may cause people to answer untruthfully.

Interview

________- live encounter where one person asks a set of questions to assess and interviewees own thoughts and experiences.

Investigator effects

________- Occur when a researcher unintentionally /unconsciously influences the outcome of research that they are conducting.

Questionnaire

________- set of written questions used to assess ones own thoughts and experiences.

Hypothesis

________- makes the aim testable.

EVs

________ are less of a problem as the observation is controlled.

Independent

________ variable- the variable that is being manipulated by the experimenter.

Operationalisation

________- the variables being measured should be clearly defined and measurable.

Demand characteristics

________- participants arent going to be passive in experiments and are going to be trying to understand the situation.

Null hypothesis

________- statement that predicts there will be no effect of the IV and the DV.

objectivity

Allows the researcher to maintain ________ and not identifying with the participants.

Ethics

________ are questioned as because the participants are unaware that they are being observed, they are not able to give consent . Participants may not want their behaviour to be noted down.

extraneous variables

An experiment that takes place in a controlled environment within which the researcher manipulates the IV and records the effect on the DV, whilst still maintaining strict control over ________.

large amounts of information

Cost effective and quick: can gather ________ and data quickly /can be mass printed cheaply.

Directional

________ (one tailed0 hypothesis- predicts the direction in which change is expected to occur.

Positive correlation

________- as one variable increases, so does the other.

higher external validity

Have ________ than lab experiments as the environment is more natural to the participant and so filed experiments are likely to produce behaviour that is more valid and authentic.

participant variables

Matched pairs- Two groups of participant but they are related to each other by ________ relevant to the study.

Negative correlation

________- as one variable increases, the other decreases.

Correlation

________- statistical technique used to measure relationship between two variables.

Situational Variables

________- any features of the experimental situation that may affect the DV.

Behavioural categories

________- when a target behaviour is broken down into something that is observable and measurable.

Response

________ bias- participants always tend to reply in a similar way.

Participant variables

________- any individual differences between participants that may affect the DV.

The IV has not been determined by anyone (the researcher or any other person)

the variables simply exist, such as age, gender etc

This means that a cause and effect relationship between IV and DV is going to be more difficult to establish. Ethical issues

if the participant does not know they are being observed then this means that they were not able to give consent and could constitute an invasion of privacy

Correlation

statistical technique used to measure relationship between two variables

Correlation coefficient

always between (-1) and 1

Positive correlation

as one variable increases, so does the other

Negative correlation

as one variable increases, the other decreases

Perfect positive coefficient

1.0

Perfect negative coefficient

-1.0

Aims

straightforward, states what you want to find out

Hypothesis

makes the aim testable

Alternative hypothesis

this is what you expect to happen

Null hypothesis

statement that predicts there will be no effect of the IV and the DV

Directional (one tailed0 hypothesis

predicts the direction in which change is expected to occur

They are precise and use words such as

bigger smaller, faster, slower

Non-directional (two tailed) hypothesis

predicts change but doesn't specify any direction

Not precise and uses words such as

change, difference

Operationalising variables

a variable is an object , entity or behaviour whose values can change

Independent variable

the variable that is being manipulated by the experimenter

Dependent variable

the variable that is measured by the experimenter

Operationalisation

the variables being measured should be clearly defined and measurable

Extraneous variables

only thing that should be effecting the DV is the IV

Confounding variables

they change systematically with the IV which means that it is difficult to establish the cause and effect relationship between the IV and the DV as you dont know whether the change in DV was caused by the IV or by the confounding variables

Demand characteristics

participants arent going to be passive in experiments and are going to be trying to understand the situation

Investigator effects

Occur when a researcher unintentionally/unconsciously influences the outcome of research that they are conducting

Participant variables

any individual differences between participants that may affect the DV

Situational Variables

any features of the experimental situation that may affect the DV

Independent group design

one group of participants do condition A, and another group of participants do condition B

Repeated measures

One group of participants go through all of the conditions in the experiment

Matched pairs

Two groups of participant but they are related to each other by participant variables relevant to the study

When participants are tested more than once, and experience all conditions of the experiment, there is an increased chance that they will become wise to the aims of the study

this is a disadvantage as the participant may start to change their behaviour because of this =

Observations

Way of seeing what people do

Controlled observation

some aspects of the observation are controlled by the researcher

Naturalistic observation

All variables of the observation are left free to vary

Covert observation

When the participant does not know that they are being observed and so the researcher does not have the participants consent

Overt research

When the participant is aware of the fact that the researcher is observing them and has given the researcher their consent

Participant observations

When the researcher will join a group and join in its activities

Non-participant observation

the researcher observes a group from a distance

Causation

it is not possible to establish a cause and effect relationship in an observation

Unstructured observations

when the researcher simply writes down what they see

Structured observations

This is when the researcher has target behaviours and notes down when or how these target behaviours where met

Advantages of naturalistic observations

high external validity as findings can be generalised to everyday life as participant behaviour has been studied in an environment in which it would usually occur

Disadvantages of naturalistic observations

Lack of control over research situation makes replicability hard as there could be uncontrolled EVs that make it difficult to judge a pattern of behaviour

Behavioural categories

when a target behaviour is broken down into something that is observable and measurable

Sampling methods

event sampling involves counting a number of times a specific behaviour occurs in a target individual or group

Time sampling

involves recording behaviour with a pre-established time frame

Advantage of event sampling

Useful for evens that happen quite frequently

Disadvantage of even sampling

Observer may overlook important details if the event is too complex

Advantages of time sampling

Reduces the number of observations that need to be made

Disadvantages of time sampling

May be unrepresentative of the observation as a whole

questionnaire

set of written questions used to assess ones own thoughts and experiences

Interview

live encounter where one person asks a set of questions to assess and interviewees own thoughts and experiences

Cost effective and quick

can gather large amounts of information and data quickly / can be mass printed cheaply

Responses are not always truthful

demand characteristic called social desirability bias may cause people to answer untruthfully

Requires minimal effort

postal questionnaires dont require for the researcher to be present

Response bias

participants always tend to reply in a similar way