ethical issues and how to deal with them, correlations, observations

ethical issues

when conflict exists between rights of ppts and aims of the research

who to deal with ethical issues

bps code of conduct

what is the bps code of conduct

quasi legal document to protect ppts, based on 4 principles respect, competence, responsibility and integrity

what do ethics committees do before a study can happen

weigh up costs and benefits

informed consent

getting permission, informed about whether to take part in study

what can informed consent reveal

study aims

how do you get informed consent

consent forms, get parents to sign when needed

name alternative consent forms

presumptive- ask similar groups, prior general- agree to be deceived, retrospective- get consent after study

deception

misleading or withholding info

what does it mean if there is deception in the study

consent is not informed

in deception what is debriefing

telling ppts true aims of research, details not given during the study, what data will be used for, right to withhold data

protection from harm

ppts should be at no more risk than they would be in everyday life, shouldnt feel stressed or embarrassed

how to ensure protection of harm in a study

ppts given right to withdraw at any time, reassured that behaviour was typical of others, researcher should provide counselling if ppts distressed

privacy and confidentiality

right to control info about ourselves, if invaded confidentiality should be respected

true or false ppts for privacy and confidentiality data can be shared with other researchers

false

for privacy and confidentiality can researchers refer to ppts real names true or false

false, only numbers, initials, or false names

in privacy and confidentiality how should details be kept

should be protected, no personal details recorded

correlation

shows strength and direction of an association between 2 or more co variables

scattergram

shows relationship between 2 co variables, one on x axis, other on y axis

3 types of correlation

positive, negative, zero

positive correlation

as one co variable changes other changes in same direction

negative correlation

as one co variable changes other changes in opposite direction

zero correlation

no relationship between variables

how to tell the difference between correlations and experiments

in experiment researcher controls or deliberately changes iv and records effect on dv, in correlation no deliberate change made so cause and effect cant be demonstrated

STRENGTH: why is correlation a useful starting point for research

assess strength and direction of relationship, correlations provide measure of how 2 variables are related, if variables strongly related (+/-) may suggest hypotheses for future experimental research

STRENGTH: why is using a correlation relatively economical

no need for controlled environment or manipulate variables, use secondary data, less time consuming than experiments

LIMITATION: why does a correlation have a cause and effect

correlations often presented as causal, leads to false conclusions about causes of behaviour

name an example of how a correlation is presented as causal

by media when in fact they only show how 2 variables are related

LIMITATION: how are correlations intervening variables

another untested variable may explain relationship between co variables, may lead to false conclusions

observational techniques

way of seeing or listening to what people do without having to ask, often used as a way of assessing dv

strength of observational techniques

capture what people do they often act differently from how they say they will in self report observations useful as they give insight into real world behaviour

limitation of observational techniques

risk of observer bias, observers interpretation of situation may be affected by expectations,bias can be reduced using more than one observer

5 types of observational techniques

1. naturalistic

2. controlled

3. covert

4. overt

5. participant

6. non participant

naturalistic observation

takes place where target behaviour would usually occur

naturalistic observation strength

high external validity, in natural context behaviour more likely to be spontaneous, more generalisable to everyday life

naturalistic observation limitation

low control, may be uncontrolled evs, makes it more difficult to detect patterns

controlled observation

some controlled or deliberate change of variables including control of evs in environment

controlled observation strength

can be replicated, more easily repeated due to standardised procedures, findings can be checked to see if they occur again

controlled observation limitation

may have low external validity, behaviour may be contrived as a result of setting, findings cant be applied to everyday experiences

covert observation

ppts unaware they are being studied

covert observation strength

demand c reduced, ppts dont know they are being watched, natural behaviour, increases internal validity of findings

covert observation limitation

ethically questionable, people may not want behaviour to be recorded even in public, participants right to privacy may be affected

overt observation

ppts know they are being studied

overt observation strength

more ethically acceptable, ppts have given consent to be studied, they have right to withdraw

overt observation limitation

demand c, knowing being studied influences behaviour, reduces internal validity of findings

participant observation

researcher becomes part of group they are studying

what is a strength of a participant observation

lead to greater insight, researcher experiences situation as the ppts do, enhances external validity of findings

what is a limitation of a participant observation

possible loss of objectivity, researcher may identify too strongly with those they are studying with, threatens objectivity and internal validity of findings

non participant observation

researcher is separate from group they are studying

what is a limitation of a non participant observation

loss of insight, researcher may be too far removed, lose valuable insight, may reduce external validity of findings

what is a strength of a non participant observation

more objective, researcher maintains objective distance, less chance of bias, may increase internal validity of findings

name types of observational designs for a structured observation

behavioural categories, event sampling, time sampling

behavioural categories

target behaviour observed should be broken down into set observable categories, similar to operationalisation

one strength of behavioural categories

improves data collection, makes collection more objective, improves inter observer reliability

why are dustbin categories a limitation of behavioural categories

all forms of behaviour should be in list, not in one ‘dustbin’, dumped behaviours go unrecorded

why are behavioural categories difficult to make clear and are unambitious a limitation

categories should be self evident and not overlap, not always possible to achieve, ‘smiling’ and ‘grinning’= poor categories

event sampling

target behaviour or event recorded every time it occurs

strength of event sampling

useful for infrequent behaviour, researcher wont overlook these behaviours, such behaviours could easily be missed using time sampling

limitation of event sampling

complex behaviour oversimplified, if event is too complex important may go unrecorded, may affect validity of findings

time sampling

observations made at regular intervals, e.g once every 15 secs

strength of time sampling

reduces number of observations made, data recorded at certain intervals, observation is more structured and systematic

limitation of time sampling

may be unrepresentative, researcher may miss important details outside of timescale, may not reflect whole behaviour