Research Methods

Aim

A general statement to help to explain the reason why a study is being carried out.

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Hypothesis

A clear statement of what the researcher believes to be true. It is a precise and testable statement of the relationship between two variables.

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Directional Hypothesis

Predicts the expected direction of the results

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Non-directional Hypothesis

Simply predicts that there will be a difference of the relationship between two conditions or two groups of participants.

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Null Hypothesis

States there will be no significant effect in the study

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Laboratory experiments; key features are:

•Conducted in an environment that can be controlled by the experimenter- possible to control extraneous variables. • It takes place in an artificial environment. • The IV is directly manipulated by the researcher

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The different types of sampling are:

Opportunity, Volunteer, Random, Systematic, Stratified

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Describe opportunity sampling

Simply approach anyone who happens to be available

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Give one advantage and one disadvantage of opportunity sampling

Advantage- Easiest method to use. Disadvantage- Inevitably biased because the sample is drawn from a small part of the target population, meaning it won't be representative.

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Describe volunteer sampling

Advertisements are used to attract participants

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Give one advantage and one disadvantage of volunteer sampling

Advantage- No ethical issues as ppts have chosen to take part; it gives access to a variety of ppts. Disadvantage- Volunteer bias- ppts are usually more highly motivated or have time on their hands; it won't be representative.

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Describe random sampling

Every member has an equal chance of being selected; eg. selected by drawing names from a hat

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Give one advantage and one disadvantage of random sampling

Advantage- least biased- all members of target population have an equal chance of being selected; more likely to be representative. Disadvantage- No gauarantee that the sample will be representative .

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Describe Systematic sampling

A system is used to select ppts from a 'sampling frame' of the target population.

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Give one advantage and one disadvantage of systematic sampling

Advantage-Avoids researcher bias; once system is selected the researcher has no influence over who is chosen. Disadvantage-No guarantee that the sample will be representative.

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Describe stratified sampling

Involves dividing target population into different sub-groups. This will give you a sample that will represent the size of each strata.

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Give one advantage and one disadvantage of stratified sampling

Advantage- produces a more representative sample as it's designed to reflect the population. Disadvantage- The identified strata cannot reflect all the ways ppts are different so is not fully representative.

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Types of ethics

Informed consent, Deception, Right to Withdraw, Confidentiality/privacy, Protection from harm, Respect,Debriefing

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Infromed Consent is:

Ppts must be told what they will be doing, how long it will take & the true aims of the study. they are reminded of other ethical rights.

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Deception is;

Not revealing true aims & misleading ppts. Therefore ppts cannot give informed consent.

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Right to Withdraw is:

Every ppt should know they can leave & take their data from the study at any time.

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Confidentility/Privacy is:

None of the ppts in a study should be identifiable. Names should not be used. Personal space of ppt should be respected

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Protection from Harm is:

Nothing should happen that would make ppts less happy, embarressed or lower self-esteem. Ppts should be protected fromrisk.

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Respect is:

Respect individual & cultural differences; eg. social economic status, age, sexual orientation, religion.

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Debriefing is:

Way of dealing with ethical issues. Done after research is complete. Ppts are told true aim of investigation, reminded of other ethical rights (such as right to withdraw), given the chnce to ask any questions they may have.

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Role of Peer Review

A way of validating new knowledge: psychological knowledge develops through conducting research & sharing findings.Before new knowledge is published it must be peer reviewed.

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What is peer review?

Psychological reserh is subject to independant scrutiny by other psyschologists who are experts in the field.

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Why is peer review important?

Ensures any research paper published in a scientific journal has integrity & can be taken seriously by other researchers. The reviewer will assess the work in terms of its validity, significance, originality.

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Problems with peer review:1)2)

1) Conservative research that contradicts other research is less likely to be published. 2) Lack of objectivity/anonymity- difficult for peers to be objective as they often know the writer due to the research field being small.

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Problem with peer review: 3)

3) Publication bias- jounal editors have a tendancy to publish significant headline grabbing findings to increase the popularity of their journals.

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Self-Report Mthods are:

Interviews & Questionnaires

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Describe Interviews

Either structured (- set questions) or unstructured (-no set of questions). Usually done face-to-face. Responses are either written down or recorded so they can be analysed.

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Strengths of Interviews are:

1)Likelyto contain open questions which produce qualiative data that is more in-depth & detailed. 2)Any misunderstandings can be clarified by the interview increasing the validity of the data.

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Weaknesses of Interviews are:

1)Greater chance of social desirability bias as answers are not given anonymously so ppts may feel pressured to change their answers. 2)Higher chance of investigator effects as ppts may be influenced by how a questoin is presented eg. non-verbal cues

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Strengths of Questionaires are:

-Less chance of social desirability bias as questions are answered anomalously. -Less time consumming & questionaires can be easily distributed compared to an interview as they require no specialist training. -No investigator effects

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Weaknesses of Questionaires are:

Any misunderstandings cannot be clarified as there is no one present to ask. Ppts may answer incorrectly. -Likely to contin more closed qestions which provides quantitative data that is not as in-depth &lacks detail.

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Open Questions:

Produces qualitative data which is not numerical & usually leads to richer, more detailed information.

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Closed Questions:

Provide qauntitative data which can be easily analysed.

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Pilot Study

Small scale trial of a research design run before doing the real thing. The aim is to check procedures & materials; eg. if instructions are understood, demand characteristics.

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A Pilot Study in an Observation is essential because:

It checks: -The coding system / behavioural categories are adequate. -That you can see & hear the ppts clearly. -If recording: check the equipment works.

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Methological Issues in Observation:

-Hard to catergorise behaviours, eg. aggression. -Observer bias; own interpretations can lower validity. -Demand characteristics; esp. if overt.

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Naturalistic Observation:

They are either: Carried out in a natural environment. Conducted under more controlled circumstnces.

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Advantage & Inconvience of a naturalistic observation:

Advantage- Less demand characteristics; increases ecological validity. Inconvience- Not standardised.

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Advantage & Inconvience of a controlled observation:

Advantage: Standardise procedure, easily replicated. Inconvienent: Geater risk of demand characteristics.

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Observational Sampling

Reseasrcher has to decide how to record data

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Event Sampling

Recordings take place as the behaviour occurs

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Time Sampling

Recordings take place at specified time intervals.

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Correlation Hypothesis

Non-directional- There will be a correlation between variable 1 & variable 2. Diretional- There will be a positive/negative correlation between variable 1 & variable 2.

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Correlation Method

Strength-can look at situations which cannot be manipulated experimentally due to ethics.Weakness-It is only a relationship therefore, cause & effectcannot be established- there may be other varibles involved.

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Confounding Variable

Any variable that varies sytematically with the IV that may have an affect on the DV- can't be controlled in a lab.

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Extraneous Variable

Is a variable which inadvertantly affects the experiment.

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Research Methods

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