a level psychology paper 2

Research Methods

list experimental techniques

• laboratory experiments

• field experiments

• natural experiments

• quasi experiments

list non-experimental techniques

• correlation

• observations

• interviews

• questionnaires

• case studies

• content analysis

• thematic analysis

define the key term ‘validity’

• refers to how ‘real’ or accurate something is

• its an important issue that runs throughout the whole of psychology

define the key term ‘reliability’

• a measure of consistency

• if the results are not consistent- then the measure is not reliable

define the key term ‘Ethics’

• The set of moral principles that psychologists must follow to protect participants in research, ensuring they are treated safely, fairly, and with respect.

statistical analysis

• the use of descriptive statistics, which summarise data and inferential statistics-

• which tell us if the results are likely to be due to a chance or not ( based on probability)

define the term ‘ independent variable’

• the variable that the researcher manipulates → which is assumed to have a direct effect on the dependent variable (DV)

define the term ‘ dependent variable’

• the variable that the research measures → the variable is affected by changes in the independent variable

how many conditions does the independent variable have?

2 conditions

operationalisation

• where you clearly specify/define observable behaviours/ variable how it’ll be measured so that someone else can replicate it exactly