Research methodology Psychology

Methodologies, Methods, Stat Concepts, Sampling, paradigms and general topics

Observational method

The methodology to study natural phenomenon by observing the phenomenon as it happens, without manipulation of variables.
It can be useful for describing behaviours and generating hypotheses, it does not allow for establishing causal relationships between variables

Correlation method

Research method examines the relationship between two or more variables without manipulating them. It is suitable for identifying associations but does not establish causality or direction

Quasi experimental method

the method in which the manipulation of an IV without the random assignment of participants to conditions or orders of conditions.

Usually used when The IV cannot be randomly assigned

Experimental method

The research design/method in which the researcher can manipulate the IV as they need and it has random assignment of participants makes it easy to control confounding variable

Cluster sampling

a probability sampling method where the researcher selects samples randomly from heterogenous groups based on demographic categories made from a large population

more practical and cost-effective than other sampling methods,

Simple random sampling

Probability sampling method in which Every individual in the population has equal chance of being selected, the sample accurately represents the population when a complete list of elements is available.

Systematic random sampling

The sampling method in which we start randomly in a starting point and then select every nth element from the population.

Stratified random sampling

A probability sampling technique in which the researcher identifies particular categories of interest and then randomly selects individuals from the cactegorised homogenous subgroups. Ensures representation of different subgroups in the sample.

Useful when there are distinct sub-populations with varying characteristics.

Probability sampling

A general sampling where every element of the population has non zero probability of being selected to the research

Convenience sampling

A non probability sampling method in which the researcher take participants from those who are easily reachable and available, it is used when the larger population is hard to reach and useful in exploratory research

snowball sampling/ chain referral sampling

Non probability Sampling method in which participants are chosen from the reference of other participants creating a chain of network. Useful when the population is otherwise hard to reach
usually in qualitative research

Quota sampling

a non-probability sampling technique where researchers divide the population into different stratas and then choose participants based on pre-set numbers for each group non randomly.

Quota

The predetermined number of participants a researcher aim to include in the sample from the subgroups divided based on specific characteristics or criteria is called?

non probability sampling

a sampling technique where individuals or elements from a population are selected based on criteria other than random selection is generally called

Purposive sampling

selecting participants based on specific criteria or characteristics relevant to the research question targeting specific groups or individuals of interest. Researchers purposefully choose individuals who meet the desired criteria.
usually used in exploratory research

Organismic variable/ Attribute variable/
Subject variable

A variable with a characteristic or attribute that is internal to the organism itself.
it cannot be manipulated

Artificially discrete variable

That variables that are treated as categorical or discrete for analytical purposes, even though it could theoretically be measured as a continuous variable.

This categorization is done for practical or methodological reasons rather than due to inherent characteristics of the variable itself.

Operational definition

a detailed explanation of the technical terms and measurements used during data collection.

Two tailed hypothesis /non-directional

A hypothesis that predicts a relationship between two variables but does not specify the direction of the relationship.

Directional hypothesis /one-tailed hypothesis

A hypothesis that predict both relationship and the direction of relationship of the variables

Null hypothsis

The crucial opposite of an alternative hypothesis is called

Alternate hypothesis

The proposed hypothesis in a research is called

Prospective cohort study

a type of time consuming observational study track a Cohort (group of individuals) over time, to study how specific factors influence outcomes.

Useful for determining the risk of developing a disease based on exposure status.

Case control study/ Case referent study

A type of observational study by comparing subjects who have a condition with those who do not have the condition but are otherwise similar.

useful for generating hypotheses about potential risk factors for diseases or conditions, where it's not feasible to follow a large cohort over time but it provide less evidence for causal inference

Typically retrospective.

Descriptive case study

a study that looks at the background of a person or groups and uses a descriptive narrative about how they deal with problems. They don't establish causality or relationships between variables

Randomized Controlled trial/ RCT

Specific type of experimental design commonly used in clinical research to test the effectiveness of treatments or interventions with random assignment.

used to control factors not under direct experimental control like comparing effects of drugs

Recall bias

A bias happens when participants in a research do not accurately remember the past events, can distort the true relationship between variables, leading to inaccurate conclusions.

Selection bias

the bias happens when certain groups of participants are systematically excluded or included in a study, leading to a non-representative sample

Randomised controlled trials

the highest level of evidence in scientific literature is generated by 

Matching

Confounding bias in a case-control study (compares ppl with a condition to those without it ) can be minimized by?

University of Leipzig, Germany by Wilhelm Wundt, 1879

The first experimental psychology laboratory was established in: 

Hermeneutics

a method of research analysis focused on interpreting texts to uncover hidden meanings or deeper understanding particularly in fields like literature, philosophy, theology, and qualitative social sciences.

Discourse analysis

a qualitative research method for studying “language in context.”explores how language constructs meaning, identities, power relations, and social reality.
The process goes beyond analyzing words and sentences, establishing a deeper context about how language is used to engage in actions and form social identity.

Semiotics

the study of the use of symbolic communication include signs, logos, gestures and other linguistic and nonlinguistic communication methods

#signs and symbols

Frequency count

assessment in which the frequency of a particular behavior is counted.

unable to conduct controlled research studies on human subjects.

What is a major shortcoming in the field of behavioral genetics in terms of their studies on human personality traits?

Control group

In a test, the group that is not being tested and the result being compared to is called?

Experimental group

In an experiment, the group that is being tested is called

Double blind procedure

an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies.

Operational definition and procedures

What is central to replication studies

Can’t be generalised

Major drawback of a case study?

correlational study/
Regression Analysis

What study design allow the prediction of how well one variable predict presence of another variable

experimental design

Operational definitions are unique to ——design

Research involving live humans

who should get IRB approval for a reasearch

debrief

Important ethical measure to do in a research if it involved deception

Debrief

provides participants with a full explanation of the hypothesis being tested, procedures to deceive participants and the reason(s) why it was necessary to deceive them.

Factor analysis

a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items on a test

Prospective cohort study

A researcher is interested in studying the development of creativity in children. She develops an appropriate test and gives it to 3 groups of children:
3-year-olds, 4-year-olds, and 5-year-olds.

Once a year for the next five years, she tests the creativity of her original subjects.

This study is an example of a?

Semantic differential scale by Osgood

A scale to measure attitudes and opinions using bipolar adjectives, to measure the connotative meaning of concepts or objects, allowing respondents to indicate their feelings along a continuum, based on the idea that people perceive and evaluate concepts along multiple dimensions or continuum.

Typically uses a 5-point or 7-point scale (Multipoint rating)

content validity

For an achievement test, what kind of validity is typically assessed?

judgement sampling/ authoritative sampling

a non-probability sampling technique where the researcher selects samples based on his own existing knowledge, or his professional judgment.

Ex post facto research

When researcher attempt to trace an effect that has already occurred in its probable cause, it is called?

Universal hypothesis

A hypothesis that applies universally and makes a general statement about all instances of a phenomenon.

existential hypothesis

A hypothesis that asserts the existence of at least one instance of a phenomenon.

Eg: "There is at least one person in the world who has never used a smartphone."

causal hypothesis

A hypothesis that postulate particular characteristics of a behaviour, or provide specific goal for the observation and A hypothesis that suggests a cause-and-effect relationship between variables.

descriptive hypothesis

A hypothesis used in exploratory research to describe phenomena and identify patterns by specifies the characteristics or relationships between variables without implying causation or direction.

Power test

The test which set no time limit so that the true level of knowledge or ability or skills can be assessed

Focus group

a qualitative research methodology where a small group of people discuss a specific topic guided by a moderator to gather insights and opinions.

focus group

A form of group interview that capitalises on communication between research participants to gain data

Pilot group

small, preliminary group of participants or subjects who are used to test and refine research procedures, methods, interventions, or protocols before conducting the main study.

Method of Summated rating

A method developed by LIKERT, or construction of attitude scales was named later by Bird as?

Time series design

ARIMA (Autoregressive Integrated Moving Averages) model is especially useful in analysing the data obtained through

1. doesn’t account individual differences in development

2. Snapshot limitation

3. Selection bias

4. cohort effect

Disadvantage/Cons of cross sectional design

cause comparative research/ ex post facto research

Non experimental design in which researcher compare 2 or more groups in term of cause that already happened

sampling bias

Systematic tendency towards over or under representation of some categories in sample is called

Selective attrition

Participants might drop out of study, happens in a systematic way based on certain characteristics of the participants, in longitudinal design, that is called

path analysis

A statistical analysis often using graphical representation to examines the relationships between 3 or more DVs and IVs to understand complex presumed Causal realtionships

Self selection sampling

the researcher puts out a call for volunteers and creates the sample group from those who answer the call.

Haphazard sampling

a selection based on no formal predetermined rules whatever. It cannot be considered an unbiased sample. The “person in the street” approach of television interviewers

Ecological validity

the judgment of whether a given study and its conclusions are sufficiently relevant to its population in the real world scenario

A subtype of external validity

Face validity

extent to which respondents can tell what the items are measuring or test is about?

Helps with test-taker acceptance and cooperation as it makes them feel the test is relevant

Predictive validity in criterion validity

The validity test does the test predict future performance?

Eg: Job interview score tells about job performance

Concurrent validity

Validity tells if a test result agrees with the measures gathered from other assessment which is proved valid already?

Helpful in clinical diagnosis, placement, or cross-checking with existing tools

Construct validity

The extent to which a test measures a particular hypothetical construct it is designed to capture.

Validity

Which term refers to a the degree to which a test is accurately measuring what it claims to measure?

1. Content

2. Criterion related

3. Construct

3 types of validity according to Trinitarian view?

Content validity

the extent to which the questions in the test accurately cover entire domain of interest the test is intended to measure.

Ensure comprehensive coverage

Important for

1. exams

2. achievement tests,

3. diagnostic checklists

Criterion related validity

Validity that assesses how well the test scores align with external criteria that are relevant to the construct

How well does the test relate to real-world performance or outcomes?

Predictive validity

Concurrent validity

Which are the two types of criterion related validity?

Convergent validity

A construct validity that focuses on evaluating if the test correlate positively with parallel tests measuring similar constructs?

Confirms the test is not random, but tapping into the right domain

• Eg: Your depression scale should correlate well with other depression scales.

Discrimininent validity

Degree to which a measure is not related to other measures that it theoretically should not be related to.
Ensures test is not overlapping with irrelevant traits

• eg: A self-esteem scale shouldn’t strongly correlate with IQ.

1. Convergent validity

2. Discriminant validity

Two types of construct validity tests

Construct validity

Factor analysis is best suitable for studying what validity?

Quasi experimental design

Research design in which we aim to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between variables without random assignment

field research/ naturalistic observation

What research design is based in naturalism

Counterbalancing/ reverse counterbalancing

a technique used to deal with order effects when using a repeated measures design. the participant sample is divided in half, with one half completing the two conditions in one order and the other half completing the conditions in the reverse order.

Non equivalent control group design

a Quasi experimental research design where participants are not randomly assigned to groups, leading to potential biases in comparing outcomes.

This design is common in educational research but requires careful consideration of confounding variables.

Demand characteristics

Cues that might indicate the research objectives to participants and can significantly affect/ reduce the validity of a research is called?

Meta analysis

Statistical procedure to draw conclusions ( A quantitative summary) from multiple studies to derive a pooled estimate of effect size.

Norm referenced test

test score is judged against the distribution of scores obtained by the other test takers

Criterion referenced test/ domain referenced Test

compare each individual's performance to an objectively stated standard of performance on that test

Arthur Jenson

Who suggested genetically based racial differences in IQ

Content validity

What validity depends a lot on actions and decisions made before any test items are actually administered

Criterion (Predictive) validity

What main validity tells how well the individual would perform in the future

Quota sampling

A sampling technique involves selecting sample from predetermined groups proportionate to the population but uses non random sampling to obtain the participants.

Hypothetico deductive model

Method of recording observations and regularities, and then developing theories to explain the regularities, and testing the predictions from those

Formulative

Explorative researches are also termed as

External validity

the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized or applied to populations, settings, or conditions beyond the specific sample, setting, or circumstances studied.

Representativeness

relevance

Real world scenario

Factors that can affect external validity

internal validity

the extent to which a study's design, methods, and procedures accurately measure constructs of interest without interference from extraneous factors or biases.