AQA Psychology UNIT 1

PILOT STUDIES - This is a small-scale trial run of a specific research investigation to test ouf the planned procedures and identify any flaws/areas for improvement, before time and money are invested in carrying out the main study. It is carried out on a small number of ppts to find out whether there are any problems with..

• the design
• the clarity of intructions or ppts and the procedures
• the measuring instruments employed

- A questionnaire/interview shoudl be piloted on people from the appropriate target population.

- The researcher will usually inform the ppts that they are taking part in a pilot study and ask them to highlight any problematic areas they come across during the trial run.

ETHICAL ISSUES - Most psychological research is carried out on people and animals, so there is the potential to harm ppts which raises important ethical issues.

1. Informed consent

2. Right to withdraw at any time

3. Confidentiality and anoymity

4. Deception

5. Debriefing

SAMPLING TECHNIQUES - A target population is usually far too large for each individual to be investigated, so a smaller amount of the population (a sample) is investigated instead.

1. RANDOM SAMPLING - every person in a given target population has an equal chance of…