IB Psychology - ethical + when reporthing or applying results/RM/Sampling/transferability/credibility

Informed consent

Consent must be given. Subjects must be briefed on the research. Minors require parental consent.

Deception

Deception can only be used if not harmful to subject. If deception is used, subject must be informed after completion of research.

Right to withdraw

Participants must be informed that they may withdraw in the study at any time, and can choose to withdraw their data from the study.

Confidentiality

Identifying information may not be revealed when reporting the results. Data collected must be kept in a confidential manner and not disclosed to anyone.

protection from physical/mental harm

no physical/mental harm in any way (injury, distress, humiliation, etc.)

debriefing

participants must be informed of any deception/true aim/purpose of study

ethics when reporting results (7)

• confidentiality

• consent

• protection from harm

• not influenced by researcher’s own bias/beliefs

• report actual findings (honesty)

• report any limitations of the findings

• report any conflicts of interest

ethics when applying the results (6)

• no harm to others when applying

• beneficial

• relevant to the group/individual to whom the results are being applied

• relevant to the settings where the results are being applied

• reflect the findings; limitations of the findings are considered in the application

random sampling

process where every member is the target population has an equal chance of being selected. This can help reduce selection bias. However, it may not represent each subgroup of the target population equally.

convenience/opportunity sampling

selecting people who are available and willing to participate in the study at a given time. It is a quick and easy way of getting participants. However, the participants are not chosen randomly so they may not be representative of the target population.

volunteering sampling

individuals choose to participate in a study. This ensured that participants are relatively easy to obtain. However, it is difficult to determine if the results of the study will apply to people outside of the group that took part in the study.

snowball sampling

participants who are already in a study help the researchers recruit more participants through their social network. It is often used when it may be difficult to access research participants.

purposive sampling

Participants are chosen because they possess necessary characteristics that the researchers are looking for. The participants may not be representative of the target population.

experiment

• research method that controls variables to show a clear relationship between IV and DV.

• Highly controlled conditions so a clear cause and effect can be determined between IV and DV

• experiment takes place in an artificial environment => lacks EV

field experiment

• experiment in the natural environment, can manipulate IV

• researcher manipulate the IV to measure the effect on the DV

• confounding variables may be caused

quasi experiment

• participants grouped based in common characteristic researchers determines the DV

• researcher does not manipulate or control the IV

• participants not randomly assigned to a condition of the IV

natural experiment

• type of experiment where the researcher doesn’t have control over the variables

• high EV

• cannot manipulate IV or DV as they are pre-existing

correlation

• conducted in situations to determine if there is a relationship between 2 variables but would be unable to control variables

survey

• collection of self-report data from a target population

• relatively simple/ straight forward to collect large amounts of information and at a low cost in a short period of time

• people may not always be honest

case study

• in-depth investigation of a group or individual that doesn’t collect numerical data

• ecological validity

• possible researcher bias

• researcher does not manipulate the IV or DV.

semi-structured interview

• informal conversation with some structure

• allows for elaboration of answers and flexibility in the questions that are asked

• possible bias by interviewer

focus groups

• small group discussion of ides of ideas

• quick/convenient way to collect data from many individuals at once

• group dynamics may influence the response

credibility

• the degree to which the research gives a true picture of what is being investigated and the results represent the perceptions/opinions of the research participants

• factor in establishing trustworthiness in qualitative research

what increases credibility?

1. using reflexivity: when a researcher reflects on their own biases with respect to their research. This could be in terms of the topic being investigated or whether a specific method is useful in achieving the aim of the study

2. do the findings trangulate with the findings of other researchers/other studies?

3. using researcher triangulation when collecting and interpreting the findings. Multiple observers or multiple researchers interpreting interview data can increase credibility.