research methods

dualism

belief that the human body and mind are separate

materialism

belief that if something isn’t physically there, its not real, therefore the mind does not exist

determinsism

idea that free will does not exist

nature

biology - genes and DNA

nurture

our upbringing and environment

nomothetic approach

research methods including experiments, questionnaires, observations and interviews with closed questions. produces quantitative data in large samples of people

idiographic approach

research methods including questionnaires and interviews with open questions, and case studies. produces qualitative data from in-depth studies of individuals

introspection

paying attention to your own mental state and processes without replying on your memory

operationlising

making something more specific and measurable (less vague)

hypothesis

a statement made before a study describing the relationship between variables

participant variables

differences in participants that can effect DV (age, gender, intelligence, personality)

situational variables

factors in the environment that may effect DV (noise, weather, temperature, time of day, instructions)

extraneous variable

any variable that may effect DV other than the intentional IV

confounding variables

a sort of extraneous variable that varies with the IV

demand characteristics

any cue from the researcher or research situation that may reveal purpose of study. this could alter participants behaviour

investigator effects

investigators behaviour that may impact results conscious/unconscious

randomisation

chance methods to control effects of bias when deciding groups and order in investigations

standardisation

using exactly the same procedures and instructions for all participants in a study

independent group design

participants in each group represent one experimental condition (IV)

+ no order effects, less demand characteristics

- no control over participant variables, lots of participants needed

SOLUTION: random allocation

matched pairs

pairing participants based on a characteristic that may effect DV

+ no order effects, less demand characteristics

- time consuming, expensive and difficult

laboratory experiment

experiment taking place in special place where variables can be easily controlled. easy to repeat and greater accuracy but the situation is artificial

field experiment

more natural environment, some variables can be controlled but ethical considerations of privacy and consent

quasi experiment

IV naturally exists rather than determined by researcher (gender differences). controlled conditions and replicable but can’t randomly allocate participants

natural experiment

IV is not presented by researcher (impacts of an earthquake). provides rare reasearch opportunity but difficult to replicate and randomise participants

confederates

actors in an experiment

mundane realism

similarty to everyday life

internal validity

how well designed the experiment including how extraneous variables are controlled.

external validity

how confident we are that the results of an experiment tells us something about society

5 sampling methods

opportunity- people available nearby

stratified- identifying sub groups and collecting a representative amount of each

systematic- selecting every nth name in a list

random- completely unbiased, computer generator ect.

volunteer- advertising the need of participants for a study

participants in a srudy have the right to:

informed consent

not to be deceived

protection from harm

privacy and confidentiality

right to withdraw

presumptive consent

asking a similar group of people to the participants if they would consent to taking part in the study

prior general consent

asking participants to give consent to a range of studies, not knowing which one is actually happening

retrospective consent

asking for consent after the study has happened, during the debrief

debrief

meeting with researcher and participants after the study, full disclosure, when consent is given to use data ect.

inter-observer reliability

comparing results of multiple researchers to see if their interpretations correlate - 0.8 is ideal

statistical tests

rule of Rs

if statistical test has an R in, calculated value > critical value means significant results

null hypopthis

prediction that there is NO correlation/difference between variables

concurrent validity

if results from an experiment agrees with existing results

face validity

a good appearance of measuring the correct variables its meant to

temporal validity

how old the investigation is

ecological validity

mundane realism - how close to real life it is

test-retest method

for experiments and correlations, testing the same participants twice and comparing results, correlation coefficent of 0.8 is good

inter-observer reliability

for observations, two observers correlate their findings and results, 0.8 is good

difference between reliability and validity

content analysis

identifying qualitative themes and descriptions and creating qualitative data with it

thematic analysis

using qualitative data only, using descriptions to analyse data, NO NUMBERS

falsifiable

if there is a clear way to show if something is true/false

paradigm

unproven story used to prove facts within a branch of study

The Empirical Method

drawing conclusions based on what is repeatedly observed through the sences, rather than abstract ideas like love or maths

crisis in scientific knowledge

too many ideas do not fit the paradigm, causing a paradigm shift - the original theory is destroyed and replaced by a new one