Research Methods
- Created by: lyds28
- Created on: 07-01-19 20:05
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- Research Methods
- Experimental Methods
- Lab experiments:It takes place in a lab ( a controlled environment).Researcher manipulates the IV.
- Strict control so more objectivity. Everyone gets the same so easy to replicate.
- Artificial conditions may produce artificial behaviour, therefore lack of ecological validity. Demand characteristics & experimenter bias. Ethics - problems of deception possible
- Field experiment: takes place in the participants natural environment. Researcher manipulates the IV.
- Greater ecological validity than lab experiments. If p's are unaware of being tested less demand characteristics.
- Less control so more possibility of influence of confounding variables and more difficult to replicate. Ethics - consent, deception, invasion of privacy.
- Natural experiments: Takes place in the p's natural environment. Researcher does NOT manipulate the IV.
- Great ecological validity. No demand characteristics or bias due to sampling
- Very difficult to replicate. Hard to infer cause and effect due to little control over extraneous variables. Ethics - consent, deception, invasion of privacy.
- Quasi experiments:Not quite an experiment, controlled environment, researcher does NOT manipulate IV, variable simply exists
- Carried out in a controlled environment - shares strengths of lab exp.
- Can not randomly allocate p's to a condition so there may be confounding variables
- Lab experiments:It takes place in a lab ( a controlled environment).Researcher manipulates the IV.
- Sampling
- Opportunity sampling: Most used by students. Takes the sample from those available at the time and fit the criteria.
- Quick, convenient, low cost.
- Two biases, unrepresentative of the target population, researcher controls the selection of p's so many avoid certain looking people (researcher bias)
- Random sampling: a sample in which every member of population has an equal chance of being chosen. No researcher bias.
- Unbiased sample
- Difficult if the target is large as you need a list of everyone in it. freak result may give unrepresentative results. People may refuse to take part.
- Stratified sampling: classifying the population into categories then choosing a sample from each category.
- Avoids researcher bias, more representative of wider population.
- Isn't perfect. cant reflect differences between people, so complete representation isn't possible
- Volunteer sampling: consists of p's becoming part of a study because they volunteer when asked or by adverts.
- Convenient, less time consuming. No bias from the experimenter in choice of p's.
- Often unrepresentative, biased on part of p's (volunteer bias). Volunteers might all have a similar 'profile'.
- Opportunity sampling: Most used by students. Takes the sample from those available at the time and fit the criteria.
- Variables
- Independent - Variable that is changed or manipulated.
- Dependent - Variable being measured (the result).
- operationalisation of variables. May of the concepts used in hypothesis are abstract (i.e. intelligence, aggression), operationalising a hypothesis is saying what you are going to specifically observe.
- Control of Variables
- Extraneous variables: Factors in the experiment that might have an effect on the dependent variable if they are not controlled. Dont vary systematically with the IV e.g. the amount of light in a room.
- Experimental Methods
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