Aice Psychology - Research Methods

Lab Experiment

Investigation looking for a relationship in which the IV is manipulated and is expected to be reasonable for changes in the DV

Strength:

- High standardization

-Easy to repeat for reliability

- High levels of control researchers are confident IV affects the DV

Weakness:

- Lack Ecological Validity

- Lack Mundane Realism

- Participants may respond to Demand Characteristics

Independent Variable

The variable the psychologists choose to manipulate or change

(CAUSES - WHAT SCIENTISTS MANIPULATE)

Variable which should change the dependent variable.

It is the experimental variable which causes something to happen.

Dependent Variable

The variable that the psychologist chooses to measure

(THE OUTCOME - WHAT SCIENTISTS DON'T TOUCH)

The experimental variable which is affected BY the independent variable.

Field Experiment

Takes place in a natural environment that might affect the DV (Weather, Time of day, etc.)

Strengths

- Has high ecological validity, participants do NOT know that they are part of

the study

- little to no demand characteristics

- behavior more natural and valid.

Weakness

- Situational variables hard to control so difficult to know if the IV affecting the

DV

- ethical guidelines (informed consent and deception)

Experiment types

Laboratory

- High internal validity

- High reliability

- Good ethics (consent, debriefed, Right To Withdraw)

Field

- Low internal validity

- Medium levels of reliability

- Some consent, debriefing more difficult no RTW

Natural

- Low internal validity

- Low levels of reliability

- Hard to repeat

- Hard to get consent and debrief also no RTW

Questionnaires

Strength - More likely to be truthful, large sample and short time increases the

representativeness and generalisability.

Weakness - May give socially desirable answers which lowers validity

Likert Scale (Questionnaire)

Statements (Ex. Owning a pet is good for your health, Strongly agree,

Agree, Disagree

Rating Scale (Questionnaire)

Questions or statements in a form of a number

Scale of 1-10 how happy are you in this class

Open ended (Questionnaire)

Participant develops an answer. (Ex. Tell me about a happy childhood

memory)

Closed-Question (Questionnaire)

A Yes or No, or set of options (Ex. Pick the emotion you are feeling

right now Happy, Sad, Moody, Tired)

Interviews

Answers are in spoken form

Strength

- Can give more reason why one behaves a certain way

Weakness

- Can be less likely to tell truth for social reasons

- Face-to-face

- Don't want to be judged

Structured (Interviews)

Uses a set of questions and every participant answers the same questions in the

same order

Unstructured (Interview)

Have an initial question to begin then each subsequent question will depend on the response

Semi-structured (Interview)

Involves certain questions that must be asked but can be in a different order or other questions can be asked

Case Study

In depth detailed analysis of the individual or close-knit group

Strength

- Collect a lot of rich data for more validity

Weakness

- Generalization is hard to make (only looked at one person also a relationship can form between participant/researcher which can lower validity)

Overt observation

Participant knows they are being observed

Covert observation

Participant does not know they are being watched

Participant observation

Researcher becomes part of the group they are observing and possibly interact with them

Strength

- Researcher understands motive for behaviors; increasing validity

Weakness

- Possibly informed consent or researcher just joined in

- Presence of an outsider can change the behavior of the group members

Non-Participant observation

Researcher is out of sight

Strength

- Behavior of group will not be affected

Weakness

- Don't exactly know why the behaviors are occurring so hard for qualitative data

Structured observation

Researcher has a coded behavior checklist

Strength

- The coding/checklist leads to quantitative data

Weakness

- Is very restrictive (time sampling)

- Does not give a reason why he behavior is occurring

Unstructured observation

Researcher notes all behavior they can see in qualitative form over a period of time. No checklist. Simply record what is happening in real time

Strength

- In depth Qual. data

Weakness

- may not understand why behavior is happening

Naturalistic Observation

Takes place in an animal's or person's personal environment

Strength

- Participants are unaware they are being watched

- Little demand characteristics

-General high ecological validity

Weakness

- Can't control extraneous variables

- Hard to determine cause and effect

- Replication can be difficult

Controlled Observation

Watched behind a one-way mirror so researcher can not be seen observing

Strength

- There is less chance for extraneous variables affecting the participant's behavior

Weakness

- Since settings are artificial the findings may lack ecological validity

Event Sampling in observations

Tally every time that a behavior is observed, within a set time period.

Time Sampling in observations

Behaviors are recorded in specific time intervals.(3 Types):

Instantaneous scan: record behavior at the start of each set time interval. (ie. every 10 seconds record the behavior)

Predominant activity scan: record the most frequent behavior shown in a set time period. (10 second period)

One-Zero scan: record whether the behavior happened (a 1) or didn't happen (a 0) within a set time period. frequency isn't recorded, just whether it happened or not.

Correlation

Relationship between two measured variables

Positive Correlation

If one variable increases so does the other variable

Negative Correlation

As one variable increases the other decreases

No Correlation

The two variables do NOT appear to be related

AIM

Written before study stating the study's purpose

Hypothesis

Predicts the finding of the study

Directional (One-tailed) hypothesis

Predicts the significant difference and direction of results (EX. Females will be able to spell more words correctly out of 25 compared to males)

Non-Directional (Two-tailed) hypothesis

Null Hypothesis

A testable statement saying that any difference or correlation in the results is due to chance. no pattern in the the results is because of the variables being studied.

Repeated Measures

When the participant takes parts in all levels of the IV

Strength

- Controlled

- Fewer participants needed

Weakness

- Chance for demand characteristics

- Participants get better practice

- Fatigue and boredom

Independent Measures

When the participant takes part in only one level of the IV

Strength

- Less likely to guess AIM (demand characteristics)

Weakness

- More people are required personally could affect DV since it is just one person

Extraneous Variable

Variables that can influence the relationship between the IV & DV

- They can effect the outcome or add error to the experiment

- EX. Listening to music

Uncontrolled Variables

- Variables that cannot be controlled by the researcher

- Can lower the validity of an experiment (affects the DV)

Participant Variables

Variables that the participant brings to the study that can affect the DV ( Prejudice, previous experience with similar study, personality)

Situational Variables

Variables that the situation brings to the study that can affect the DV

EX. Noise, weather, temperature

Quantitative Data

Numerical form to get statistical analysis

Strength

- Easy to compare data and get good conclusions

Weakness

- Miss out on valuable information. If analysis is simply yes or now we don't know the WHY?

Qualitative Data

Data comes in the from of a description

Strength

- Rich and detailed responses. You get to see the WHY response

Weakness

- Interpreting Data can be very subjective

- Researchers may only only select Data to fit their AIM creating bias

Sample

The participants with whom the study will be conducted. Should represent a wider TP allowing generalization

Opportunity Sample

Researcher recruits participants who happened to be around the time the researcher needs participants

Strength

- Large # of participants can be obtained easily

Weakness

- Unlikely to gain a wide variety of participants to allow for generalization because this draws in one type of person

Random Sample

Every Participant in the TP has an equal chance of being chosen

Strength

- Should be more representative to the population

Weakness

- obtaining details from participants

Volunteer/Self select

Researcher advertise for participants (used a lot in universities)

Strength

- Drop out rate is low, they want to participate

Weakness

- Unlikely to gain a wide variety of participants to allow for generalization

Ethics/Human

These are guidelines that should be followed when designing and running any study

Informed Consent

Giving potential participants sufficient information about research

Protection

Participants should leave the experiment in the same same manner in which they came in

Deception

Not allowing the participants to know what the true nature of the study is about

Confidentiality

Participants in research have the right to expect that information they provide will remain confidential

Privacy

Participant has the right to ignore any questions or aspect of the study. Participants should not reveal personal information

Debriefing

Appropriate information to the participants once the experiment is over

One Tailed Hypothesis (Directional Hypothesis)

these state the specific direction the researcher expects the results to move in (higher, lower, more, less)

Two Tailed Hypothesis (Non-Directional Hypothesis)

these state that a difference will be found between the conditions of the independent variable, but does not state the direction of the results. (typically these are always written "there will be a difference)

Operational Definition (i.e. operationalization)

A statement that defines the exact operations occurring in the research.

Self Report

obtaining data by asking people questions and recording their answers

Experimental Group

Subjects in an experiment who are exposed to the treatment

(INDEPENDENT VARIABLE)

Group being studied and compared to the control group

Control Group

Are not exposed to the independent variable

(DEPENDENT VARIABLE)

Results are compared to those of the experimental group

A.K.A - Control condition

Random Assignment

Assigning participants to the control and experimental groups by chance

Each participant should have an equal chance of being assigned into either group

Placebo

Researchers use a special kind of control, a placebo, to deal with expectation in some experiments

A non-active substance or condition administered instead of a drug or active agent

Given to CONTROL GROUP

Independent Groups

1. Recruit a group of participants

2. Divide into two groups

3. One group will be doing IV 1, the other group will be doing the IV 2

4. Measure the DV for each group

5. Compare results

(PROBLEMS)

-participant variable may affect DV measurement

-may seem that the IV has taken effect when it hasn't

(CONTROL)

-Randomly assigned ensure groups are similar on average.

Repeated Measures

1. Recruit a group of participants.

2. The group does the experimental task with the IV in condition 1

3. The group repeats the experimental task with the IV set in condition 2.

4. Compare

(PROBLEMS)

- Gives PP's practice

-Bore, tire

- Demand characteristics

(CONTROL)

- counterbalancing

Counterbalance

1. Identify all variables and possible conditions

2. Combine all variables in all possible order and combinations

3. Create groups

4. Expose groups to different variables in different orders

Extraneous Variables

Affect performance of participants needs to be controlled prior to experiment.