Research methods

Created by: Dannielle_Woods
Created on: 08-12-16 12:57

Validity: Whether research measures what it set out to measure. To what extent are your results accurate.

Internal validity: This looks within the experiment to see whether the experimenter measured what they intended to. External validity: looks outside the experiment, to how far it can be generalised to different situations.

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Laboratory experiment: This type of experiment is conducted in a well-controlled environment – not necessarily a laboratory – and therefore accurate and objective measurements are possible.

Strengths: controlled environment- precise and repeatable. Limitations: Can't observe normal behaviour and lacks ecological validity

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Field experiment: These are conducted in the everyday (i.e. natural) environment of the participants but the situations are still artificially set up.

Strengths: High ecological validity. Limitations: unethical (covert observation), hard to control

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Hypothesis: A prediction about what a researcher thinks they will find out from their study

Directional hypothesis: states the direction of the difference or relationship. Non-directional: Does not state the direction

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Oppotunity sample: Uses people from target population available at the time and willing to take part. It is based on convenience.

This is a quick way and easy of choosing participants (advantage), but may not provide a representative sample, and could be biased (disadvantage).

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Random sample: Everyone in the entire target population has an equal chance of being selected.

The advantages are that your sample should represent the target population and eliminate sampling bias, but the disadvantage is that it is very difficult to achieve (i.e. time, effort and money).

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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Strengths: controlled environment- precise and repeatable. Limitations: Can't observe normal behaviour and lacks ecological validity

Back

Laboratory experiment: This type of experiment is conducted in a well-controlled environment – not necessarily a laboratory – and therefore accurate and objective measurements are possible.

Card 3

Front

Strengths: High ecological validity. Limitations: unethical (covert observation), hard to control

Back

Card 4

Front

Directional hypothesis: states the direction of the difference or relationship. Non-directional: Does not state the direction

Back

Card 5

Front

This is a quick way and easy of choosing participants (advantage), but may not provide a representative sample, and could be biased (disadvantage).

Back

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Research methods