Psychology - Research Methods

Empiricism

Experience

Theory

A set of general laws or principles that are used to explain behaviour

Theory Construction

Gathering evidence through direct observation and empirical methods to establish a general law

Hypothesis Testing

Can you make clear and precise predictions on the basis of theory?

Paradigm

A set of a shared assumptions and methods

Paradigm Shift

A scientific revolution

Replication

The extent to which findings can be repeated by others

Empirical Method

Data collected through direct observation

Objective

Data collected which is free from bias

Falsification

Proving something untrue

Aim

A general statement that describes what the researcher is investigating

Hypothesis

A precise, testable statement of what the researcher predicts will be the outcome of the study

Operationalisation

Clearly defining variables in how they are measured

Control Group

Used for the purpose of comparison with the experimental group so the researcher can be more certain of the effect of the IV on the DV

Directional Hypothesis

States the kind of difference you are expecting between the groups

Non-Directional Hypothesis

Simply states there will be a difference between the groups

Extraneous Variable

A variable other than the IV that may affects the results (the IV) of a study if it’s not controlled

Demand Characteristics

An example of an extraneous variable, when participants change their behaviour as a result of figuring out the aim of the study

Investigator Effect

An example of an extraneous variable, occurs when a researcher unintentionally, or unconsciously, influences the outcome of any research they are conducting

Experimental Design

The way participants are organised/arranged in an experimental study

Independent Group

Two separate groups are involved, each group does one of the conditions of the experiment

Repeated Measures

All participants take part in all conditions of the experiment

Matched Pairs

Participants are matched on some variable that is important to the experiment and then one of each pair is allocated to a different condition

Lab Experiment

Conducted in a controlled experiment with IV that is manipulated by the researcher and DV that is measured

Field Experiment

Conducted in a real-world setting/environment with IV manipulated by the researcher

Natural Experiment

Conducted in a natural environment, with IV not manipulated by researcher with no random allocation to groups

Quasi Experiment

Conducted in labs, an IV that is not manipulated and is based on an existing difference between people

Random Allocation

A technique that chooses individuals for treatment groups and control groups entirely by chance, reducing investigator effects and researcher bias

Ecological Validity

A type of external validity that refers to the extent to which the findings can be generalised in a real-life setting i.e. real-life settings