Component 2- Part 1

?
Dependent variables
Variable measured by the experimenter
1 of 64
Independent variables
The event directly manipulated by the experimenter to test the effect on other variables
2 of 64
Confounding variables
Variables that varies systematically with the IV and could affect the DV so confounding results
3 of 64
Extraneous variables
Variables that don’t vary systematically so don’t’ act as an alternative IV but could affect the DV
4 of 64
Demand characteristics
Cues that make participants are aware of the aims of the study so they change their “natural behaviour” to match what they think the aims are and to match what the researcher expects to find
5 of 64
Research bias
When the investigator’s actions have an effect on the participant’s performance in the study
6 of 64
Social desirability bias
Participants answer in a way that will make them seem more socially acceptable
7 of 64
Leading questions
A question that suggests the desired answer to the respondent
8 of 64
Order effect
Participants responses in the study are affected by the order of the study ( only happens in repeated measures)
9 of 64
Participant variables
The different abilities or characteristics of each participant)
10 of 64
Validity
Concerned with the legitimacy(truth)
11 of 64
Internal validity
If it’s measuring what it intends to measure
12 of 64
Face validity
If the measure appears (on the surface) to measure what it intends to
E.g. common sense
13 of 64
Construct validity
If it measures what it’s supposed to successfully
14 of 64
Concurrent validity
If a measure is in agreement with pre-existing measures
(checked by correlating the new measures with the pre-existing ones)
15 of 64
Predictive validity
If the scores can predict later behaviour/performance in other tests
16 of 64
Content validity
If the measurement measures the intended content
17 of 64
Dealing with internal validity
-Opperationalise and revisit
-Single blind design ( participants are not aware of research aims)
-Double blind design ( participants and experimenter aren;t aware of research aims)
-Experimental realism ( making the experiment more engaging)
18 of 64
Internal validity is affected by
-Extraneous variables
-Demand characteristics
-Research bias
-Social desirability bias
-Leading questions
19 of 64
External validity
If the findings can be generalised outside of the research situation
20 of 64
Temporal validity
If the findings apply to different time eras
21 of 64
Ecological validity
Weather data is generalised to other situations or environments
22 of 64
Population validity
If the data is generalisable to different groups of people (not just the original sample)
23 of 64
Dealing with external validity
Stratified sampling
24 of 64
External validity is affected by
-Unrepresentative samples
-Highly controlled artificial situations
25 of 64
Reliability
How consistent the results are if the method was to be repeated
26 of 64
Inter-rater reliability
When 2 people use the same method
27 of 64
Dealing with internal reliability
-This Is tested with the split half method.
-Remove some questions and retest to see if the answers are the same
28 of 64
External reliability
Measure of consistency on several occasions
29 of 64
Dealing with external reliability
-This is tested with the test-retest method,for example a group is given the same test and repeat later, the tests are then compared by assessing correlation
-Standardisation of methods and operationalisation
30 of 64
Repeated measures and disadvantages
- All participants take part in all of the conditions of the experiment
Disadvantages:
-Order effect may affect performance
-Practice effect- may do better on the second test due to practice
-Boredom effect - could do worse due to being bored
-May guess t
31 of 64
Methods to deal with the disadvantages of repeated measures
-Counterbalancing (divide participants into 2 groups, group 1 does A then B and group 2 does B then A)
-To avoid guessing the aim, a cover story can be presented
32 of 64
Independent groups and Disadvantages of independent groups
-Participants are placed in separate groups
Disadvantages:
-Researchers can’t control participant variables (the different abilities or characteristics of each participant)acting as confounding variables
-Independent groups need more participants than rep
33 of 64
Methods to deal with the disadvantages of independent groups
Randomly allocate participants to conditions which (theoretically) distributes participants evenly
34 of 64
Matched pair
Disadvantages of matched pairs
-The use of 2 groups of participants whose characteristics match believed to affect performance on the DV
Disadvantages:
-Very time consuming and it’s hard to match participants on key variables
-Not possible to control all participant variables known to
35 of 64
Methods to deal with the disadvantages of matched pairs
-Conduct a pilot study to consider important key variables when matching
-Restrict the number of variables to make matching easier
36 of 64
Laboratory experiments, strengths and weaknesses
-Room equipped to allow scientific research and measurements.
strengths:
-Easier to control confounding and extraneous variables and easier to replicate
weaknesses:
-Causes artificial behaviour as a lab reminds participants that it’s a research
-Low eco
37 of 64
Field experiments, strengths and weaknesses
-Conduct and collect research in a natural setting
e.g. trains, hospitals, shopping centres, cafes,
strengths:
-Minimise artificial research
-People are less aware of the research as they’re in an everyday environment
weaknesses:
-Difficult to measure
38 of 64
Online experiments, strengths and weaknesses
-Access to participants via the internet or social networking tools
E.g. questionnaires
strengths:
-Ability to access a large group of participants
-Less cultural bias due to diverse sample
-Cost-effective
-Quick to put research on the internet
-Data anal
39 of 64
Quasi-experiment
Studies that are almost experiments as the experimenter didn’t deliberately manipulate the IV directly
40 of 64
Natural experiments
Conducted when it’s not possible (due to ethics) to deliberately manipulate the IV. The IV varies naturally so that the DV is tested.
41 of 64
Difference study, Strengths and Weaknesses
-The independent variable has not been made to vary by anyone, there is a natural difference between people
strengths- It allows for some situations to be researched without having to deliberately cause harm
weaknesses:
- Lack of control over the IV means
42 of 64
Opportunity sampling, strengths and weaknesses
-Recruiting participants who are most convenient at that time and place
strengths:
-Easier as you use the participants you can find
-Less time to locate the sample

weaknesses:
-Biased at it’s not representative of the population
-Harder to replicate and
43 of 64
Random sampling, strengths and weaknesses
-Individuals are chosen randomly out of a larger set
strengths:
-Unbiased as everyone has an equal chance of selection
weaknesses:
-Time-consuming as you’d have to make a list of target population
44 of 64
Snowball sampling, strengths and weaknesses
-Participants recruit other participants from the people they know
strengths:
- Can locate people who are difficult to find
weaknesses:
-Not very representative of population
45 of 64
Self-selected sampling, strengths and weaknesses
-Advertise in a newspaper or on the internet
strengths:
-Access a variety of participants
-Less biased and is more representative
weaknesses:
-Sample is volunteer biased
46 of 64
Stratified (quota) sampling, strengths and weaknesses
-Identifying subgroups of the population and selecting participants from the subgroups
strengths:
-More representative as there is a proportional representation in the subgroups
weaknesses:
-Extremely time-consuming to select and contact participants
47 of 64
Systematic sampling, strengths or weaknesses
-The sample obtained from selecting every nth person
strengths:
-Unbiased because its using an objective system
weaknesses:
-Not truly unbiased unless the nth person number is random
48 of 64
Valid consent and dealing with it
-Participants consent to research understanding the purpose of the research and their role
How to deal with valid consent:
-Participants have the right to withdraw at any point of the research
-For children under 16 and incapacitated people a carer must g
49 of 64
Deception and dealing with it
-Participants aren’t told about the aims of the study so can’t give valid consent
How to deal with deception:
-Debrief at the end
Participants have the right to withdraw at any time of the research
50 of 64
Risk of harm and dealing with it
-The risk that participants experience negative physical or psychological effects due to the study
How to deal with risk of harm:
-Writing risk assessments to identify any risks and find ways to avoid them
-Stopping the research if any risk arises
-Follow
51 of 64
Confidentiality and dealing with it
-Keeping the participant’s personal information anonymous
How to deal with confidentiality:
-Consent form to inform participants that their confidentiality is going to be kept
-Use fake names or participant numbers
52 of 64
Privacy and dealing with it
-Not studying anyone without valid consent unless it’s a public place
How to deal with privacy:
-Consent form
-The right to withdraw at any given time
53 of 64
Working with vulnerable individuals and dealing with it
- Vulnerable people might not understand what's being asked of them and therefore my not be able to give informed consent

How to deal with working with vulnerable: individuals
-Proxy consent
-Ask them to explain the study back
54 of 64
Observational studies
Studies where the researcher watches or listens to participants engaging in behavior
Strength: captures spontaneous behaviours
Weaknesses: difficult to be objective, doesn’t provide information on how they think/feel, observer bias is an issue
55 of 64
Non-participant observation
The researcher observes from a distance and doesn’t interact with the participants being observes
Strengths- more objective, less ethical issues
Weakness- context might not be considered so it’s more likely to be 1 sided
56 of 64
Participant observations
Researcher is part of the group being observed
Strengths- has a better insight in the behaviour and the causes of the behaviour
Weaknesses- risks social desirability and demand characteristics, more ethical issues
57 of 64
Unstructured observations
The researcher records all relevant behaviour but has no system
Weaknesses- too much is recorded and only eye-catching behaviour is observed not the most relevant
58 of 64
Structured observations
-Behavioural categories (when you break up target behaviors into operationalised components)
Sampling procedures:
Event sampling - count the number of times the behaviour was repeated
Time sampling - recording the behaviour in a time frame
Strengths - eas
59 of 64
Closed questions
-Questions that have a predetermined range of answers for respondents to choose from
-Strengths- easier to analyse, produces quantitative data
-Weaknesses- forced to select answers that may not represent their real beliefs and Limited range of answers
60 of 64
Open questions
-Questions that allow respondents to provide their own answers
-Strengths- produces qualitative data, reflects respondents true beliefs and therefore the answers are more valid
-Weakness- difficult to detect patterns, there’s an infinite range of possible
61 of 64
Questionnaires
-Data collected through the use of written questions
-Strengths- can be distributed cheaply and quickly, due to impersonal nature reduces social desirability
-Weaknesses- takes a long time to design, only collects data from educated people and people who
62 of 64
Structured interviews
-Interviews where questions are decided in advance
-Strengths- easily repeated as questions are standardised, easier to analyse answers
-Weaknesses- low reliability if the interviews behaves differently in different interviews, interviewer bias is a probl
63 of 64
Semi- structured interview
-Interview it’s less structure as the interviewer develops new questions as they go along
-Strengths- more detail is obtained as questions are tailored to the respondent, tailors specific questions so more depth answer on the respondent’s thoughts and fee
64 of 64

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Independent variables

Back

The event directly manipulated by the experimenter to test the effect on other variables

Card 3

Front

Confounding variables

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Extraneous variables

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Demand characteristics

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
View more cards

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar Psychology resources:

See all Psychology resources »See all Research methods resources »