Research methods

Whole topic

Aim

general statement of what researcher intends to investigate (purpose of study), developed from the theory

Experimental method

a deliberate change is made to an IV in order to measure its effect on the DV. Experiments can be laboratory, field, natural or quasi (essentially a GCSE science style experiment)

Operationalism

clearly defining variables in terms of how they can be measured

Ensuring that the variables are not vague and that they are as measurable as possible.

Variables

any ‘thing’ that can vary or change within an investigation. Generally used to determine if changes in one thing result in changes to another

Independent variable

an aspect of the experimental situation that is manipulated by the researcher (or changes naturally) so the effect on the DV can be measured

Dependent variable

variable measured by researcher. Any effect on DV should be caused by IV.

Hypothesis

clear, precise and testable statement stating the relationship between the variables to be investigated if the theory is correct

Directional hypothesis

states the direction of the difference or relationship

makes clear the type of difference anticipated between different conditions or groups of people, and therefore uses ‘more, less, higher, lower, faster, slower’

Non-directional hypothesis

does not state the direction of the difference or relationship, simply states that there is a difference (eg the 2 groups differ in terms of…)

A directional hypothesis is usually used if…

A directional hypothesis is usually used if a theory or the findings of previous research studies suggest a particular outcome (they aren’t contradictory).

Extraneous variables

EVs are:

any variables besides the IV which have the potential to interfere with the DV. They are additional and unwanted so – where possible - the researcher identifies them at the start of the study so their influence can be minimised. It is important to control for EVs or they may bias the results.

Examples of EVs

age of participants, lighting in lab, individual participant motivation levels

Participant _________ is a significant EV – the participants trying to work out what is going on and adjusting their behaviour. _______ characteristics are cues from the researcher or research situation which may reveal the purpose of the investigation to the participant(s).

Participant reactivity is a significant EV – the participants trying to work out what is going on and adjusting their behaviour. Demand characteristics are cues from the researcher or research situation which may reveal the purpose of the investigation to the participant(s).

investigator effect

An investigator effect refers to the unwanted influence of the investigator on the research outcome. This can include unconscious cues and expectancy effects as well as leading questions.

The effect of EVs can be reduced by… (3)

Randomisation (using fair chance to reduce researcher’s unconscious bias)

Standardisation (all participants subject to same environment, info and experience)

Control groups (comparison group to determine whether IV had any effect on DV, acts as a baseline condition against which performance of experimental group can be measured)

What is an independent groups design?

Each group represents one experimental condition. Each participant experiences only one condition – the one allocated to their group.

Repeated measures design

All participants experience both conditions (control, then wait, then experimental)

Matched pairs design

Participants are grouped into pairs based on a variable related to the experiment. eg people with the most similar IQs should be paired together. Then split the pairs between the 2 conditions as they should supposedly act similarly.

Strengths and issues of independent groups

Strengths	Issues
Order effects are not a problem, participants less likely to guess aims of study	Participants in diff. groups are not the same in terms of participant variables reducing validity as DV change may be result of participant variables, not IV - random allocation helps this. Less economical as twice the people needed to produce same date as repeated measures (each participant contributes a single result only)

Strengths and issues of repeated measures

Participant variables are controlled (higher validity) and fewer participants are needed.

Order effects – boredom, improvement by practice, first drug still affecting body etc. Counterbalancing (ABBA) used to minimise the effect of these. Demand characteristics must be considered as participants are more likely to guess the study’s aim when they experience both conditions.

Strengths and weaknesses of matched pairs

Participants only take part in a single condition so order effects and demand characteristics are less of a problem.

Matching can be time and money consuming, particularly if a pre-test is required.   Participants can never be matched exactly as no two people are psychologically identical.

Types of experiment

What is a laboratory experiment?

Laboratory experiments are conducted in highly controlled environments (not necessarily an actual lab).

What is a field experiment?

Field experiments are when the IV changes in a natural, more everyday setting. The researcher goes to the participant’s usual environment rather than the participant coming to the lab.

What is a natural experiment?

Natural experiments are when the IV is controlled by someone or something else – not the researcher. For example, whether a natural disaster has occurred or not. The experiment may still happen in a lab or field setting.

What is a quasi-experiment?

Quasi-experiments have an IV based on an existing difference between people (eg age or gender). The IV can not be changed. These can also be done in lab or field.

Strengths and limitations of lab experiments

Strengths	Limitations
High internal validity as EVs controlled for. The high level of control allows for replication, which ensures that new EVs are not introduced when repeating the experiment.	Lacks generalisability as lab environment may not reflect everyday life (low external validity) - people always behave differently in unfamiliar surroundings. Increased demand characteristics usually created in lab setting. Often low mundane realism: tasks like memory tests may not reflect how memory is actually used in everyday life.

Strengths and limitations of field experiments

Higher external validity and mundane realism because people act more naturally in their normal environment.

Less control of EVs and precise replication often not possible. Ethics: If participants aren’t aware they’re being studied they can’t consent to being studied, and studying them without their consent could be seen as an invasion of their privacy.

Strengths and limitations of natural experiments

Provide opportunities for research that could otherwise not take place on practical or ethical grounds. Often have high external validity  because they involve study of real-world issues and problems as they happen.

Naturally occurring events can be rare and unpredictable, reducing opportunities for research and limiting generalisability of findings. IV not deliberately changed by researcher so we can’t be certain it caused the DV.

Strengths and limitations of quasi-experiments

Often carried out under controlled conditions so share strengths w laboratory.

IV not deliberately changed by researcher so we can’t be certain it caused the DV.

Sampling

Define the population

entire group of individuals who are focus of researcher’s interest, from which a sample is drawn. Often called target population as it is a subset of the general population.

An ideal sample is…

This is hard to achieve because…

Samples are selected using a sampling method which aims to…

An ideal sample is representative of the population, but this is hard to achieve given the inevitably diverse nature of populations. Samples are selected using a sampling method which aims to eliminate bias.

Random sample

All members of target population had equal chance of being selected. Obtain list of names, assign them all a number, use a lottery method like a random number generator.

Strengths and limitations of random sampling

Strengths	Limitations
Potentially unbiased, so EVs should be divided equally between groups, enhancing internal validity.	Difficult and time-consuming. Complete list of population hard to obtain. May still get unrepresentative sample. If selected participants refuse, you end up with something more like a volunteer sample.

Systematic sample

Every nth member of target population is selected. A sampling frame is produced, which is a list of the population in a certain order (eg alphabetical) and a sampling system is nominated (eg every 8^th person). Researcher could begin from a random point to reduce bias and then work through sampling frame until sample complete.

Strengths and limitations of systematic sampling

Strengths	Limitations
Objective sampling method – once system established researcher has no influence over who is chosen.	Time-consuming. If selected participants refuse, you end up with something more like a volunteer sample.

Stratified sample

Composition of sample reflects proportions of people in certain subgroups/strata within the target or wider population. Once strata are identified, proportions needed for the sample to be representative are calculated.

Strengths and limitations of stratified sampling

Strengths	Limitations
Produces a representative sample as it is designed to accurately reflect composition of population, meaning findings are generalisable.	Identified strata can not reflect all the different strata so complete representation is impossible.

Opportunity sample

Select anyone who happens to be nearby and available.

Strengths and limitations of opportunity sampling

Strengths	Limitations
Convenient and economical	Sample unrepresentative of target population as drawn from very specific area like one street – participants probably have very specific demographics and so findings can’t be generalised. Researcher bias – the researcher is choosing who to ask and who not to ask.

Volunteer sample

Also known as self-election – participants select themselves to be part of the sample

Strengths and limitations of volunteer sampling

Strengths	Limitations
Economical and less time-consuming. Produces engaged participants.	Volunteer bias – may attract a certain profile of person, may lead to please-U effect, which could affect how far findings can be generalised.

Ethics

When do ethical issues arise?

Ethical issues arise when a conflict or dilemma exists between the rights of participants and the goals of researchers to produce authentic, valid and worthwhile data.

What are the 4 major issues outlined in the BPS code of ethics?

Informed consent

Deception

Protection from harm

Privacy and confidentiality

Informed consent

·       Making participants aware of the aims of research, procedures, participant rights (including right to withdraw at any point) and what their data will be used for

Deception

·       Deliberately misleading or withholding information from participants at any stage

·       Participants who have not received adequate information when they agreed to take part are not able to give informed consent.

Protection from harm

·       Participants should not be placed at any more risk than they would be in their daily lives

·       Protected from physical and psychological harm including embarrassment, feeling inadequate or being placed under undue stress or pressure

·       Participants to be reminded that they have right to withdraw at any point

Privacy and confidentiality

·       Right to control information about themselves = privacy

·       If this is invaded then confidentiality should be protected

·       Confidentiality is our right under the Data Protection Act to have any personal data protected

What is a cost-benefit approach?

weighing up the ethical damage (cost) against the benefit of the study. For example, a slightly unethical experiment could be approved if it could have groundbreaking findings.

How do psychologists deal with informed consent? Outline 3 alternative ways of getting consent.

·       Participants issued with consent letter or form detailing all relevant info that might affect their decision to participate. Parental consent is required for u16s

Alternative ways of getting consent:

·       Presumptive consent – similar group of people are asked if study is acceptable. If the group agrees, consent of the original participants is ‘presumed’.

·       Prior general consent – participants consent to taking part in a number of different studies, including one that will involve deception. By consenting, they consent to be deceived.

·       Retrospective consent – participant asked for their consent during debriefing (post-study). They may not have been aware of their participation or they could’ve been deliberately deceived.

How do psychologists deal with deception and protection from harm?

·       Participants should be given a full debrief at the end of the study, in which they should be made aware of the true aims of the investigation and any details not supplied during the study, like the existence of other groups or experimental conditions.

·       Participants should also be told what their data will be used for and given the right to withdraw from the study or withhold data.

·       Participants may have natural concerns relating to their performance so they should be reassured that their behaviour was typical of others and in extreme cases of stress or embarrassment the researcher should require counselling.

How do psychologists deal with privacy and confidentiality?

·       If personal details are held they must be protected

·       Easier to maintain anonymity – refer to participants using numbers or initials in the write-up

·       During briefing and debriefing participants should be reminded that their data will be protected throughout the process and told that the data will not be shared with other researchers.

Procedures

Pilot study

·       Small-scale trial runs of an actual investigation (‘road-testing’)

·       Self-report techniques: try out questions to remove or reword those that are ambiguous or confusing

·       Observational studies: check behavioural categories

Single-blind procedure

Participants do not know which condition they are in or anything about the other conditions

Double-blind procedure

Neither researcher or participants know the conditions

Third party called ‘investigator’ conducts investigation without knowing main purpose

Observational techniques

What is the difference between observational techniques and observational design?

 

Observational techniques: how you are observing (covert, naturalistic, participant)

Observational design: what you are observing (behavioural categories, event sampling)

Outline covert vs overt observation with strengths and weaknesses

COVERT = participants unaware they are being observed

STRENGTH: Reduces demand characteristics, high external validity

WEAKNESS: Ethics - consent can not be gained from participants before observation

OVERT = participants are aware they are being observed, and they have given informed consent beforehand

STRENGTH: Better ethics

WEAKNESS: Higher demand characteristics, people act unnaturally, low external validity

Outline naturalistic vs controlled observation with strengths and weaknesses

NATURALISTIC: may occur in field experiment, participants involved in usual environment

High external validity as act naturally

Low internal validity as EVs not controlled for

CONTROLLED: may occur in a lab experiment as participants are observed in  a lab

High internal validity as EVs controlled for in a lab

  Low external validity as people act unnaturally in a lab

Outline participant vs non-participant observation with strengths and weaknesses

PARTICIPANT: observer pretends to be a participant, or at least in the same group as the true participants

Covert observation, people act naturally. Researcher has increased insight. High external validity

Researcher may come to identify too strongly with those they are studying and lose objectivity (low internal validity). This can be referred to adopting a local lifestyle (line between researcher and participant becomes blurred)

NON-PARTICIPANT: you don’t pretend to be one of them

Maintain objective psychological distance from participants (high internal validity)

Demand characteristics, may lose insight

Observational design

Unstructured vs structured observation

Unstructured observation = write down everything you see. Rich in detail but only good for small-scale observation with few participants

Structured observation = target behaviours simplified using behavioural categories

Behavioural categories (define)

Target behaviour is broken up into behavioural categories (checklist) to produce a structured record of what the researcher observes. Target behaviours should be precisely defined so they are observable and measurable.

What makes good behavioural categories?

·       Categories are as clear as possible and not require further interpretation (improves inter-observer reliability)

·       All possible forms of target behaviour are on the checklist. There should not be a ‘dustbin category’ in which many different behaviours are deposited.

·       Categories are exclusive and do not overlap (eg ‘smiling’ and ‘grinning’ too similar to be separate categories)

Event sampling

counting the number of times a particular behaviour occurs in a target individual or group.

Time sampling

recording behaviour at pre-established time intervals. Make a note of what is happening (or just whether it is happening or not) every 30 secs, for example.

Self-report techniques

What is a questionnaire? What are the two types of questionnaire questions?

Pre-set list of written questions (items) to which a participant responds.

Assesses thoughts and/or feelings.

Types of questionnaire questions can be broadly divided into open and closed questions

What are open questions? What type of data do they produce?

Don’t have a fixed range of answers

Participants can respond in any way they wish

Tend to produce qualitative data that may be difficult to analyse because there are a wide range of different responses

What are closed questions? What type of data do they produce?

Offers a fixed number of responses

Yes/no/maybe, 1-10 rating etc

Produce quantitative data – easy to analyse but may lack depth and detail

Strengths and limitations of questionnaires

Strengths	Limitations
Cost-effective and fast Can be completed without researcher present Usually straightforward to analyse and compare with graphs and charts	Responses may not always be truthful. Social desirability bias (form of demand characteristic): keen to present themselves in a positive light. Response bias: favour a certain answer (eg yes) and fail to read Qs properly. Acquiescence bias (yea-saying) is the tendency to agree with items on a questionnaire regardless of the content of the question.

What are the 3 broad types of interview?

Structured, unstructured and semi-structured

What is a structured interview? What are their strengths and weaknesses?

Pre-determined set of Qs asked in a fixed order. Basically a face-to-face questionnaire.

STENGTH: Straightforward to replicate thanks to standardised format, also reduces differences between interviewers.

LIMITATION: Richness of data limited by impossibility to deviate.

What is an unstructured interview? What are their strengths and weaknesses?

Works like a conversation. No set Qs but a general aim that a certain topic will be discussed, then free-flowing interaction. Interviewee encouraged to expand and elaborate as prompted.

STRENGTH: Better insight.

LIMITATIONS: Interviewer bias, may have to sift through irrelevant data and struggle to draw firm conclusions.

Lying due to social desirability also a possibility.

What is a semi-structured interview?

set list of Qs, but the interviewers are free to ask follow-up question

Self-report design

What is a likert scale?

Indicate your agreement with a statement using a scale of usually 5 points from strongly agree to strongly disagree:

“I feel safe at school” circle one number.

1	2	3	4	5
Strongly agree	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Strongly disagree

 They are a type of closed question.

What is a rating scale?

You identify a value that represents your strength of feeling about a particular topic:

“How safe do you feel at school?” circle one number.

Very safe

1

2

3

4

5

Not at all safe

 They are a type of closed question.

What is a fixed-choice option?

List of possible options, indicate those that apply to you:

“What makes you feel safe at school?” tick all that apply.

o   Teachers

o   Friends

o   Pastoral team

o   Physical security

A type of closed Q.

The list of questions the interview tends to cover is known as the…

It should be … to reduce the contaminating effect of interviewer bias.

Interview schedule

Should be standardised

1to1 interview should take place in…

and begin with … Qs to make the interviewee feel comfortable and relaxed, increasing the likelihood of them opening up.

1to1 interviews should be done in a quiet room and begin with some neutral Qs to make the interviewee feel comfortable and relaxed. This increases likelihood of them opening up.

4 things to avoid in order to write good questions

Avoid overuse of jargon (specialist terms only familiar to those within a specialised field or area. The best questions are simple and easily understood.

Avoid emotive language and leading questions. The researcher’s attitude towards a particular topic should not be clear from the phrasing of a question.

Avoid double-barrelled questions, where the question contains two questions in one. The respondent may have different responses to those two questions but only give one.

Avoid double negatives. These are unnecessarily difficult to decipher.