Research Method
- Created by: Zak12345678910
- Created on: 02-05-16 14:29
Research Methods
Experiment - Conducting research of a hypothesis in a controlled way
Lab Experiments
- Control - of IV and DV
- Replication - Carry out the experiment over and over again
- Artificial / low ecological validity - might not represent real life
- Demand characteristics
- Ethical issues - deception and lack of informed consent
Field Experiments
Research Methods
Natural Experiments
looks at an IV affects an DV without any intervention / manipulation, the event occurs naturally
- Ethical - variables are not manipulated unethically like other types of experiments
- Demand characteristics
- High ecological validity
- Casual relationships - hard to establish if variables are not manipulated
- Ethical issues - Deception, lack of infored consent and confidentiality
Quasi Experiments
allocated the pts. to different conditions because the IV is a particular feature like gender
- Control - carried out under controlled conditions
- High ecological validity
- Participant allocation
- Casual relationship - hard to establish cause and effect
Research Methods
Observations
observing subjects in their natural environment and do not interfere in any way
- Naturalistics observation = observing in natural enviroment
- Controlled observation = research carried out in controlled conditions, lower ecological validity
- High ecological validity
- Theory development - can be developed and tested later
- Extraneous variables
- Observer bias - reliability of results may be a problem
- Ethical issues - Debriefing is difficult and getting informed consent also difficult
Correlational research
Observing the relationship between two variables without any manipulation and looking at the relationship between them and if any other variables are involved
Research Methods
Questionnaires
- Practical - can collect large amounts of data quickly and cheaply
- Leading questions
- Demand characteristics
- Biased samples
- Ethical issues - confidentiality can be an issue
Interviews
Structure = follow a fixed set of interviews and vice versa for unstructured interviews
- Rich data - detailed information
- Pilot study - key way to get information before a study at a later date
- Impractical - time consuming
- Data analysis - hard and large amounts of data
- Ethical issues - confidentiality can be a problem
Research Methods
Hypothesis'
Null Hypothesis - What you assume will hapen in the experiment, usually no relationship between the two variables
Alternative Hypothesis - there is a relationship between two variables
Directional Hypothesis - making a prediction between two variables
Non-directional Hypothesis - not making a prediction between two variables
Independant Variable - what you change
Dependent Variable - what you measure
Operationalisation = shows how the variables will be measured
Research Methods
Experimental Design
1 - Independent groups design - Different pts. do different tasks in invididual groups
- No order effect - no one gets practice or gets bored
- Participant variables - different between the people in the groups can affect the results
- More participants needed
2. Repeated measures design - All pts. do the task in different conditions
- Participant variables - should not effect the results
- Fewer pts. needed
- Order effect - practice through the conditions
3. Matched pairs design - Pts. matched on variables such as age, gender etc.
- No order effect
- Need more pts.
- Time consuming
Research Methods
Extraneous Variables
Counterbalancing - Mixing up the orders of the task to stop order effect
Random allocation - Everyone has an equal chance of doing the certain conditions
Standardised instructions - Ensure the pts. act in a similar way
Randomisation - Material presented in a random order to stop order effect
Observations
Participant Observation - researcher participates in the activity under study
Non-participant Observation - researcher does not get involved, just observes
Summarising lots of studies
Meta-Anlysis = analyse results from lots of studies and come up with a general conclusion
Research Methods
Extraneous Variables
Counterbalancing - Mixing up the orders of the task to stop order effect
Random allocation - Everyone has an equal chance of doing the certain conditions
Standardised instructions - Ensure the pts. act in a similar way
Randomisation - Material presented in a random order to stop order effect
Observations
Participant Observation - researcher participates in the activity under study
Non-participant Observation - researcher does not get involved, just observes
Summarising lots of studies
Meta-Anlysis = analyse results from lots of studies and come up with a general conclusion
Research Methods
Sampling
1. Random Sampling - equal chance of being selected, either done manually or by a computer
- Fair - everyone has an equal chance
- No guarantee for a representative sample
2. Opportunity Sampling - whoever is available and willing to be studied
- Quick and practical
- Not representative
3. Volunteer Sampling - people actively volunteer to be studied
- Large numbers may respond
- Not representative
Research Methods
4. Systematic sampling - every certain nth name from register is taken
- Evenly sampled
- Not representative
5. Stratified sampling - Taking a sample of different groups such as ethicity, gender etc.
- Representative
- Takes time and money
Participants sometimes act differently during an experiment or when being studied.
Hawthorne effect = pts. get attention from researcher, they try harder
Demand characteristics
Social desirability bias = Act like people want them to act (e.g. questionnaire)
Research Methods
Ethical Issues and BPS rules and regulations
Informed Consent - Always give consent, be told the aims and nature of the study, right to withdraw at anytime
Deception - Only acceptable if there is scientific justification and no other alternative procedure
Protection from harm - No harm should come to pts. than that of what they would face in their day to day lives
Debrief - Important if deception has been used, answers any questions, worries etc.
Confidentiality - No pts. should be identified in any reports, findings etc.
Animal issues - wrong to harm animals and they cannot be generally identified to that of humans
Research Methods
Psychology and the Economy
People with mental health issues may need time off work - May need treatment or therapy
Research into sleep behaviour can help workers on shifts - They can be more productive and therefore better at work
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