Research Methods Part 2

Data analysis,

Measures of Central Tendency 

Mean, median, mode

Evaluation of Central Tendency

Mean - makes use of all values and good for interval data but its influenced by outliers so it can be unrepresentative

Median - not affected by extreme scores and good for ordinal data but doesn’t use all of the data

Mode - useful for nominal data but not useful when there are several modes

Measures of dispersion

Range - minus the lowest score from the highest score

Standard Deviation (SD) - The square root of the variance, low SD = more daa is clustered close to mean hence less data spread

Evaluation of measures of dispersion 

Range - easy to calculate but affected by extreme values and does not use all data 

Standard deviation (SD) - precise measure where all data values are taken into account but difficult to calculate and affected by extreme values 

Normal distribution

a symmetrical pattern of frequency data that forms a bell-shaped pattern

Skewed Distribution

a spread of frequency data that is not symmetrical, instead the data all clusters to one end.

Positive skew

most of distribution of data is concentrated on the right

Negative skew

most of the data distribution is concentrated on the left

Peer review 

the assessments of scientific work by experts in the same field done to produce high quality research

Purpose of Peer Review

Know which research is worthwhile hence funding can be allocated to it

Validate the relevance and quality of research

Suggests possible improvements of amendments

Peer Review Issues - Anonymity

anonymity affects the objectivity of reviewers to avoid this problem they can do open reviewing

Peer Review Issues - Publication Bias

Editors prefer to publish headline grabbing findings and positive results which causes a misconception of the current state of psychology 

Economic Implications

how what we learn from psychological research influences our country’s economic prosperity 

Economic Implications - Psychopathology

CBT for depression & drug therapy for OCD means workers are able to return to work lowering rate of absenteeism and strain on economy

Economic Implications - Attachment

Role of the Father (Tiffany Field - 1978) meant mothers could return to work, more flexible working arrangements for families and maximises income which can effective contribute to the economy.

Economic Implications - Social Influence 

Social influence leading to social change which can lead to health campaigns, unions strike make working conditions better, environment campaigns like getting companies to reduce their wate and use of non-renewable energy.

Economic Implications - Memory

Eyewitness testimonies led to police using the cognitive interview which reduces wrongful convictions hence reduces waste of money and space in jail

Levels of measurement

Nominal, ordinal or interval

Ordinal data 

represented in ranking form, no equal intervals, and it lacks precision as is based on the subjective opinion of people

Nominal Data 

data in the form of categories (discrete) and does not enable sensitive analysis. 

Interval Data

based on numerical scales which include equal units of precisely defined size.

Ethical Issues

Informed consent, deception, protection of harm, privacy and confidentiality

Self-report techniques 

Questionnaires and interviews

Questionnaires

a person’s thoughts or experiences through a number of different written questions.In

Interviews

a set of questions is asked by an interviewer to an interviewee to assess their thoughts or experiences

Open Question

Collects qualitative data and is structured in a way where the participant is free to answer how they like. 

It’s rich in depth and detail but difficult to convert to statistical data hence more difficult to analyse

Closed question

Strict and fixed number of responses.

It is easy to analyse data and compare with external data but lack of depth in detail and can be limiting for participants.

Questionnaires Evaluation

Strength: cost-effective, gathers large amounts of data quickly, researcher doesn’t need to be present, easy to analyse

Weaknesses - Time consuming to design, difficult to assess validity as biases, participant bias presented from factors such as time, age, gender

Construction of Questionnaires 

Clarity, avoid overuse of jargon, sequencing questions, filler questions, and pilot study

Structured interviews

a set of predetermined questions being asked during the interview

Structured interviews Evaluation

Strength - Standardisation is possible, easily replicable, can make comparisons between participants easily which is a strong benefit for job interviews

Weaknesses - interviewer bias, social desirability bias, participants not being able to elaborate

Unstructured interviews

no predetermined questions, instead questions develop as the interview goes on. Allows for questions to be tailored to individuals and s more free flowing

Unstructured interview evaluation

Strength - lots of data, depth and detail, can be tailored to individuals providing more insight

Weakness - skilled interviews needed, interview bias also presented, and social desirability bias

Construction and design of interviews

recording information

ethical issues

location

neutral questions