Research Methods Checklist

• Experimental Method: Types of experiment, laboratory and field experiments; natural and quasi-experiments.

  Observational Techniques: Types of observation: naturalistic and controlled observation; covert and overt observation; participant and non-participant observation.

  Self-report Techniques: Questionnaires; interviews, structured and unstructured.

  Correlations: Analysis of the relationship between co-variables. The difference between correlations and experiments.

  Content Analysis and Case Studies.
• Aims: stating aims, the difference between aims and hypotheses.

  Hypotheses: directional and non-directional.

  Sampling: the difference between population and sample; sampling techniques including: random, systematic, stratified, opportunity and volunteer; implications of sampling techniques, including bias and generalisation.

  Pilot studies and the aims of piloting.

  Experimental designs: repeated measures, independent groups, matched pairs.
• Observational design: behavioural categories; event sampling; time sampling.

  Questionnaire construction, including use of open and closed questions; design of interviews.

  Variables: manipulation and control of variables, including independent, dependent, extraneous, confounding; operationalisation of variables.

  Control: random allocation and counterbalancing, randomisation and standardisation.

  Demand characteristics and investigator effects.
• Ethics, including the role of the British Psychological Society’s code of ethics; ethical issues in the design and conduct of psychological studies; dealing with ethical issues in research. The role of peer review in the scientific process. The implications of psychological research for the economy.
• Reliability across all methods of investigation. Ways of assessing reliability: test-retest and inter-observer; improving reliability.

  Types of validity across all methods of investigation: face validity, concurrent validity, ecological validity and temporal validity. Assessment of validity. Improving validity.
• Features of science: objectivity and the empirical method; replicability and falsifiability; theory construction and hypothesis testing; paradigms and paradigm shifts. Reporting psychological investigations. Sections of a scientific report: abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion and referencing.
• Quantitative and qualitative data; the distinction between qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques.

  Primary and secondary data, including meta-analysis.

  Descriptive statistics: measures of central tendency – mean, median, mode; calculation of mean, median and mode; measures of dispersion; range and standard deviation; calculation of range; calculation of percentages; positive, negative and zero correlations.
• Presentation and display of quantitative data: graphs, tables, scattergrams, bar charts, histograms.

  Distributions: normal and skewed distributions; characteristics of normal and skewed distributions.
• Analysis and interpretation of correlation, including correlation coefficients.

  Levels of measurement: nominal, ordinal and interval.

  Content analysis and coding. Thematic analysis.
• Introduction to statistical testing; the sign test.

  Probability and significance: use of statistical tables and critical values in interpretation of significance; Type I and Type II errors.

  Factors affecting the choice of statistical test, including level of measurement and experimental design. When to use the following tests: Spearman’s rho, Pearson’s r, Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney, related t-test, unrelated t-test and Chi-Squared test.