psych research methods

What is the scientific method?

1. Develop aims questions and hypothesis
2. plan and conduct investigations
3. comply with safety and ethical guidelines
4. generate and gather data
5. analyse and evaluate data and investigation methods
6. construct evidence
7. analyse and evaluate and communicate ideas.

What must already be finished before an aim?

the literature review / background research

What is an aim?

a statement outlining the purpose of the investigation

What is a hypothesis?

a testable prediction of the relationship between two or more variables

What is a variable?

Anything that can change in amount or type which is measurable.

What is the IV?

IV is the cause that triggers the DV. It is the variable that participants may or may not be exposed to.

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The experimenter is in control of the IV

What is the DV?

The DV is the behavior of the participants that is assumed to have changed because of the IV. You measure the DV and the outcome is the result of the cause.

What is a controlled variable?

One that is considered to have an effect on the dependent variable in an experiment; it therefore needs to be held constant to remove its potential effects.

what are scientific investigation methodologies?

they are the specific techniques used to collect and analyse data in an investigation

What is the population?

the entire group of research interest from which a sample is drawn that the researcher will generalise the results of their investigation to. they all have a shared characteristic.

what is a sample?

a **subset** or part of the population that is selected for research purposes. people from the sample are the participants.

what is sampling?

the process by which the subset is selected for an investigation.

What is a representative sample?

a sample that closely resembles the population from which it is drawn in key characteristics

what is a biased sample?

when a sample does not adequately represent the key characteristics of its population

what is a way of unbiased choosing?

Random sampling - a technique that makes sure every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected to be part of the sample.

how do you randomly sample?

1. define population
2. define sample size
3. obtain a list of the population
4. assign numbers to population numbers
5. generate random numbers
6. select the sample based on the numbers generated

what is stratified sampling?

the process of sampling a sample from a population made up of various subgroups in such a way that each subgroup is represented.

what is the subgroup also called?

strata

what are ethics?

the standards that guide individuals to identify good, desirable or acceptable conduct.

what are ethical concepts?

beneficience

justice

integrity

non-maleficence

respect

what is non-maleficence?

even if a course of action in a scientific research involves some harm, the harm as a result must not be disproportionate to the benefits of the position or course of action.

what is beneficience?

the maximizing of benefits and the minimizing the risk and harm involved in a particular position or course of action.

what is justice?

the moral obligation to ensure that there is fair consideration of competing claims. there is no unfairness on any group.

what are the ethical guidelines

confidentiality

informed consent procedures

debriefing

use of deception in research

voluntary participation

withdrawal rights

define confidentiality

the protection of privacy in the participant’s personal information in terms of the anonymity and personal details in the individual results

what are informed consent procedures?

ensuring that participants understand the nature and purpose of the experiment including the potential risks before agreeing to participate in the study

what is debriefing?

makes sure that at the end of the experiments, the participant understands all aspects of the research and that any questions are answered and support is provided. this is essential for any study that involves a measure of deception

what is the use of deception in research

the deception of research is only to be used if and when the participants knowing the true purpose of the experiment may affect their behaviour and therefore the results of the study.

what does voluntary participation mean?

ensures that no coercion or pressure is put on the participant to partake in any research or experiment. all participants must be voluntarily participating.

what are withdrawal rights?

the participant is allowed to discontinue their involvement in the experiment at any time during or after the experiment without a penalty.

what is the experimental design?

the experimental design tells the reader how the participants are going to be organized and what they are being exposed to

what is the experimental group?

the participants who are exposed to the iv

what is the control group?

participants who are not exposed to the iv

what is random allocation?

a procedure used to place participants in groups or conditions so that they are as likely to be in one group as the other.

what are within subjects?

where each participant is exposed to both conditions at an alternating point.

what do within subjects prevent?

the practice effect

what is the practice effect?

if they all participate in the same thing twice and then the other, they would already have prior experience which would then carry on into the second attempt and skewing the results.