Research Methods

• Formulate research question
• Formulate aim- based on theory and should allow predictions
• Formulate hypotheses
  • Needs to be operationalise the variables

Hypotheses

• Research (H1)= Directional~ will increase/decrease
• Null (Ho)= No difference
• Alternative (Ha)= Non directional~ will be a significant difference                                            Used when primary hypothesis is the Null

Variables

• Independent (IV)= Cause (object changed/manipulated)
• Dependent (DV)= Effect (object measured/observed)
• Confounding (CV)= Variable that may have effected the DV, that is not the IV
• Extraneous (EV)= Variable that could affect DV that is not the IV

Standardisation:

• Keepimg variables the same e.g. participants, environment, tasks, measures

Counterbalancing:

• Ensuring variables occur in all possible combinations an equal number of times. 
• Danger of Order Effects- Practise Effect (improve), Fatigue Effect (worsens) and Demand Characteristics (behave in the way they believe they are expected)

Randomisation:

• Deciding the order or use of variables by chance

Laboratory

• Carried out in a controlled environment
• Strength: Allows random allocation (each participant has an equal chance of being in each condition) when appropriate to ensure findings are not biased
• Limitation: Findings tend to lack Ecological Validity

Field

• Carried out in a natural environment
• Strength: More Ecological Validity
• Limitation: No control over environmental factors making it more difficult to reliably establish cause and effect

Quasi

• Experimentor does not directly control the IV when it is naturally occuring e.g. the Weather
• Can take place in a laboratory or in the field
• Less ethical issues as participants are not being manipulated as much as in Laboratory or Field

Experiments will have at least two conditions;

• Experimental: Condition where variable is tested
• Control: Condition that acts as a comparison; nothing changes

After establishing conditions need to choose an Experimental Design: way participants are used in conditions within an experiment

Types of Experimental Design

Repeated (related) Measures

• Same participants are used in all conditions
• Strength: Differences between conditions are likely due to the IV and not due to participant variables (differences between characteristics of participants
• Limitation: Order effects (reduced by counterbalancing or randomising condition order)

Independent Group

• Different participants randomly allocated to different conditions
• Strength: no order effects
• Limitation: Differences between may be due to participant variables.  Larger sample (participants selected from the population) lower probability of a significant participant variables

Matched Pairs Design

• Different participants are used in each condition but are matched in terms of Key Characteristics
• Strength: No order effects
• Limitation: Time consuming and expensive (random allocation tends to give a balance of participants anyway)

• Methods that don't involve direct manipulation of a situation or behaviour
• Used as they are seen as more Ethical

Self-Report Methods

Questionnaires

• List of pre-determined questions
• Strength: Easily made anonymous.  More honest/valid responses given
• Limitation: Respondents may misunderstand/ misinterpret questions~ invalid responses

Interviews

• Directly asking participants questions and recording their responses, often done on a one-to-one basis
• Structured: Pre-determined questions.  Easier to compare interviewees' answers
• Unstructured: Start with some common questions and tend to be directed by participants.  Interviewer can follow lines of enquiry and interviewees may introduce relevant ideas

Open and Closed Questions

Closed

• Participants offered fixed set of responses- Yes/NO response; Rating Scales (1-5); Multiple Choice
• Quantatative Data
• Easier to compare answers, helps researchers stay focused

Open

• Doesn't restrict responses
• Qualitative Data
• Better exploring answers in more depth- closer to truth

Pilot Studies

• Small scale, trial study to identify any factors that might negatively affect the outcome of a study
• Ceiling Effects- too easy
• Floor Effects- too difficult

• Participants' behaviour recorded through watching them
• Carried out in a number of ways;
  • Scoring System (1-5)
  • Check list of Criteria
  • Keeping a tally
  • Making notes
  • Video recording

Need to decide how observation will be carried out;

• Laboratory or natural setting
• Covert or Overt
• Participant or Non-participant

Laboratory

• Strength: High level of control- easier to establish cause and effect
• Limitation: Artificial environment means findings lack ecological validity

Natural

• Strength: High level of Ecological Validity so findings should be generalisable to real life
• Limitation:Many uncontrolled variables making it difficult to draw any conclusion about causation

Covert

• Undercover observation
• Strength: Behaviour should be normal giving valid results
• Limitation: Ethical Concerns- is it right to watch someone without concent?

Overt

• Open observation (aware)
• Strength: Ethically sound but may withdraw themselves as a consequence
• Limitation: Observer effect- behave different making unreliable results

Participant

• Joining in with activity
• Strength: allows researcher to experience a situation giving greater insight increasing validity
• Limitation: Researcher may become too involved and lose their ability to be objective

Non-partcipant

• Not joining in
• Strength: Researcher remains objective
• Limitation: researcher may not have a true understanding of behaviour being too removed from the situation

• Relationship shown graphically using a scattergram and measured by correlation co-efficient

Positive /

• Relationship between variables- both increase and both decrease
• Co-efficient of +1

Negative \

• Relationship between variables- one increases as the other decreases and vise versa
• Co-efficient of -1

Zero

• No relationship between variables
• Co-efficient of 0

Difference between correlation studies and Experiments:                                                    Correlation Studies cannot reliably establish cause and effect

• Interpreting secondary material as a means of understanding people
• Data can be quantitative (counting- number/percentage) or qualitative (more descriptive)
• Strength: few ethical issues- no or little direct contact with 'participants'
• Limitation: Easier to misinterpret their thoughts and behaviour

Qualitative Data

• Methods: Self Report (interviews); Describing Observations; Case Study
• Strength: Generally seen to have more construct validity

Quantitative Data

• Methods: Experiments; Structured Observations; Correlation
• Strength: Easily summarised into graphs or statistics

• Sample of target population- wider group of people that research findings should apply to
• Sample is then projected onto the rest of the population
• Need to ensure there is not a biased sample
• Taken from the sampling frame that is within the Target Population

Types of Sampling Techniques

Random Sampling

• Every person in the sampling frame has an equal chance of being selected
• Strength: Avoids bias, once researcher has decided the nth Term, there is no control over who is selected
• Limitation: Chance (although unlikely) of a 'freak' sample

Systematic Sampling

• Choosing every nth person in the sampling frame (every person in the sampling frame doesn't have an equal chance of being selected
• Strength: avoids bias, once researcher has decided the nth term, as there's no control over who is selected
• Limitation: Freak sample

Stratified Sampling

• Divided the sampling frame into key groups and selecting from each of these groups
• Strength: Avoids 'freak' sampling
• Limitation: Time-Consuming

Opportunity Sampling

• Participants chosen because they are conveinient
• Strength: Less time-consuming
• Limitation: Likely for biased as only certain types of people would volunteer

Respect- for all individuals

• No more risk of harm than everyday life
• Negative effects of an investigation and long term consequences
• Debrief
• Use the smallest number of people as possible

Unethical Research is possible if psychologist can show that means justify the ends

• Tables graphs etc are immediate representation of data that is easy to read
• Bar Graphy (gap between)
• Line Graph
• Histograms (no gap)
• Scatter grams

Descriptive Data

Central Tendency

• Mode- most common
• Median- Ordered list and find the middle (2 numbers divided by 2)
• Mean- Add up and divided by number of figures

Range- Highest take away from the smallest

Standard Deviation

(Equation)