Research Methods

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Aims
A statement of what the researcher intends to find out in a research study.
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Debriefing
A post-research interview designed to inform participants of the true nature of the study and to restore them to the state they were in at the start of the study. Can also gai nuseful feedback about procedures. Means of dealing with ethical issues.
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Ethical issues
concern questions of right and wrong. They arise in research where there are conflicting sets of values between researchers and participants concerning the goals, procedures or outcomes of a research study.
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Experiment
A research method where causal conclusions can be drawn because an IV has been deliberately manipulated to observe the causal effect on the DV.
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EV
Do not vary systematically with IV and therefore don't act as an alternative IV but may affect the DV. Are nuisance variables that muddy the waters and make it more difficult to detect a significant effect.
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Hypothesis
A precise and testable statement about the assumed relationship between variables. Operationalisation is a key part of making the statement testable.
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IV
Some event that is directly manipulated by an experimenter in order too test its effect of the IV.
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Informed consent
Participants must be given comprehensive information concerning the nature and the purpose of the research of the research and their role within it to make sure they can make an informed decision about whether to participate.
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Operationalise
Ensuring that variabels are in a form that is easily tested. E.g. educational attainment - GCSE grade in Maths
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Standardised procedures
A set of procedures that are the same for all participants in order to repeat the study. This includes standardised instructions - to perform the task.
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Confounding variable
A variable under study that isnt the IV but varies systematically with the IV. Changes in the DV may be due to this CV rather than the IV so the outcome is meaningless.
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Control
The extent to which any variable is held constant or regulated by a researcher.
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External validity
The degree to which a research finding can be generalised to other settings, other groups of people or over time.
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Internal validity
The degree to which an observed effect was due to the experimental manipulation rather than other factors such as confounding/extraneous variables.
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Mundane realism
How a study mirrors the real world. The research environment is realistic to the degree to which experiences encountered in the research environment will occur in the real world.
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Confederate
An individual in a study who isn't a real participant and has been instructed how to behave by the investigator.
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Directional hypothesis
The direction of the predicted difference between two conditions or groups of ps.
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Non-directional hypothesis
Predicts simply that there will be a difference between two conditions or two groups of participants without stating its direction.
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Counterbalancing
An experimental technique used to overcome order effects when using repeated measures design. Counterbalancing ensues that each condition is tested first or second in equal amounts.
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Experimental design
A set of prcoedures used to control the influence of factors such as participant variables in an experiment.
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Independent groups design
Participants are allocated to 2+ groups representing different levels of the IV. Allocation is usually by random techniques.
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Matched pairs design
Pairs of participants are matched in terms of variables such as age and IQ. One member of each pair is allocated is one condition under test and the second is allocated to the other.
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Order effects
In a repeated measures design, an EV arising from the order in which the conditions are presented e.g practise effect, fatigue effect.
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Random allocation
Allocating participants to experimental groups or conditions using random techniques
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Repeated measures design
Each participant takes part in every condition under test i.e. each level of the IV.
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Field experiment
A controlled experiment conducted outside a laboratory. The IV is still manipulated and therefore causal relationships can be demonstrated. Lower internal validity and higher external validity.Usually unaware they are participating.
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Laboratory experiment
An experiment carried out in a controlled setting. High internal validity but low ecological validity.
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Natural experiment
A research method in which the experimenter has not manipulated the IV directly. The IV would vary regardless.
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Quasi experiment
Studies that are almost experiments. The Iv is not something that varies, but rather a condition that exists.
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Demand characteristics
A cue that makes participants unconsciously aware of the aims of a study or helps them work out what the researcher expects to find.
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Investigator effect
Anything that an investigator does that has an effect on a participant performance in a study other than what as intended. May act as a CV or Ev.Includes direct and indirect.
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Bias
A systematic distortion.
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Generalisation
Applying the findings of a particular study to the population.
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Opportunity sample
A sample of participants produced by selecting people who are most easily available at the time of the study.
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Population
The group of people that the researcher is interested in and from whom the sample is drawn and about whom generalisations can be made.
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Random sample
A sample of participants produced by using a random technique such that every member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected.
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Sampling
The method used to select participants or to sample behaviours in an observation like event or time sampling.
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Stratified sample
A sample of participants produced by identifying subgroups according to their frequency in the population. Then participants are selected randomly from the subgroups.
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Systematic sample
A sample obtained obtained by selecting every nth person. This can be random if the first person is selected using a random method.
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Volunteer bias
A form of sampling bias because volunteer participants have special characteristics such as usually being more highly motivated.
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Confidentiality
Concerns the communication of personal information from one person to another and trust that the information will be protected.
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Deception
A participant is not told the true aims of a study (e.g. what participation will involve) and thus cannot give truly informed consent.
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Privacy
A person's right to control the flow of information about themselves.
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Protection from harm
No negative physical or psychological injury.
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right to withdraw
Participants can stop participating in a sudy if they're uncomfortable in any way. This is especially if its not possible to give fully informed consent. They can also refuse permission for their data to be used.
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Cost benefit analysis
A systematic approach to estimating the negatives and positives of any research.
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Ethical guidelines
A set of principles designed to help professionals behave honestly and with integrity.
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Ethics committee
A group of people within a research institution that must approve a study before it begins.
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Presumptive consent
A method of dealing with lack of informed consent or deception, by asking a group of people who are similar to the participants whether they would agree to take part in a study. If they consent it is presumed the real ps would also.
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Controlled observation
A form of investigation in which behaviour is observed but under conditions where certain variables have been organised by the researcher.
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Covert observations
Observing people without their knowledge. Knowing that behaviour is being observed is likely going to alter it.
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Inter-observer reliability
The extent to which there is agreement between two or more observers involved in observations of behaviour.
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Naturalistic observation
An observation carried out in an everyday setting in which the investigator does not interfere in any way.
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Participant observation
Observations made by someone who is also participating in the activity being observed which may affect their objectivity.
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Behavioural categories
Dividing a target behaviour (such as stress) into a subset of specific and operationalised behaviours.
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Event sampling
An observational technique in which a count is kept of the number of times a certain behaviour occurs.
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Structured observation
A researcher uses various systems to organise behaviours like behavioural categories.
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Time sampling
An observational technique in which the observer records behaviours in a given time frame e.g. what a target individuals is doing every 15 seconds. They may select multiple behavioural categories to tick at this time interval.
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Interview
A research method or technique that involves a face-to-face, 'real-time' interaction with another individual and results in the collection of data.
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Interviewer bias
The effect of an interviewer's expectations, communicated unconsciously, on a respondent's behaviour.
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Questionnaire
Data are collected through the use of written questions.
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Social desirability bias
A distortion in the way people answer questions - they tend to answer questions in a way that presents themselves in a better light.
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Structured interview
Any intervuew in which the questions are decided in advance.
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Unstructured interview
The interview starts out with some general aims and possibly some questions, and lets the interviewee's answers guide subsequent questions.
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Closed questions
Have a predetermined range of answers from which respondents select one. Tends to produce quantitative data.
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Open questions
Questions that invite respondents to provide their own answers. Produce qualitative data.
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Co-variable
The two measured variables in a correlational analysis. The variables must be continuous.
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Continous variable
A variable that can take on any value within a certain range. E.g liking football on a scale of 1-10.
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Correlation
Determining the extent of an association between two variables - they may not be linked at all (zero) they may both increase together (positive) or as one increases the other decreases (negative)
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Correlation coefficient
A number between -1 and +1 tha t tells us how closely the co-variables in a correlational analysis are associated.
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intervening variable
A variable that comes between two others, which can explain the association between them.
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Linear correlation
A systematic relationsip between co-variables that is defined by a straight line.
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Scattergram
A graphical representation of the correlation between two sets of scores.
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Significance
A statisticall term indicating that the research findings are sufficiently strong for us to accept the research hypothesis under test.
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Content analysis
A kind of observational study in which behaviour is observed indirectly in written/verbal material like interviews, conversations, books, diaries etc.
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Effect size
A measure of the strenght of the relationship between two variables
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Meta-analysis
A researcher looks at the findngs from a number of different studies and produces a statistic to represent the overall effect.
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Review
A consideration of a number of studies that have investigated the same topic in order to reach a general conclusion about a particular hypothesis.
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Case study
A research investigation that involves a detailed study of a single individual/institution/event. They provide a rich record of human experience but are hard to generalise from.
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Order of magnitude
A means of expressing a number by focusing on the overall size (magnitude) bu expressing the number in terms of powers of 10.
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Mean
The arithmetic average of a data set. Takes the exact values of all the data into account.
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Measure of central tendency
A descriptive statistic that provides information about a 'typical' value in that data set.
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Measure of dispersion
A descriptive statistic that provides information about how spread out the data are.
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Range
The difference between the highest and lowest item in a data set. Usually 1 is added as a correction.
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Standard deviation
The amount of variation in a data set. it assesses the spread of data around the mean.
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Inter-observer reliability
The extent to which there is agreement between 2+ observers involved.
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Reliability
Consistency of measurements.
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test-retest reliability
The same test or interview is given to the same participants on two occasions to see if the same results are produced.
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Card 2

Front

Debriefing

Back

A post-research interview designed to inform participants of the true nature of the study and to restore them to the state they were in at the start of the study. Can also gai nuseful feedback about procedures. Means of dealing with ethical issues.

Card 3

Front

Ethical issues

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Experiment

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

EV

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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