research methods

• what is nominal data?

  data with frequency of occurence
• what is ordinal data?

  data characterised by rank order
• what is interval/ratio data?

  data characterised by standard units of measurements
• what is the difference between interval and ratio data?

  • interval = arbitrary zero point
  • ratio = absolute zero point
• what is parametric?

  • make assumptions about population from sample
  • normally distributed
• what is non-parametric?

  • does not make assumptions about characteristics of population from sample
  • not normal distribution
• which level of measurement is under parametric?

  interval data
• which level of measurement is under non-parametric?

  ordinal and nominal
• what is the data type and experimental design for the Mann-Whitney test?

  • ordinal
  • independent groups - unrelated
• what is the data type and experimental design for the Wilcoxon test?

  • ordinal
  • repeated measures - related
• what is the data type and experimental design for the unrelated t-test?

  • interval
  • independent groups - unrelated
• what is the data type and experimental design for related t-test?

  • interval
  • repeated measures - related
• what is the data type and experimental design for the spearman's rho test?

  ordinal

  repeated - related
• what is the data type and experimental design for pearon test?

  • interval
  • repeated measures - related
• what is the data type and experimental design for chi-squared test?

  • nominal
  • independent groups - unrelated
• is independent groups related or unrelated?

  unrelated
• is repeated measures related or unrelated?

  related
• what is a type 1 error?

  • false positive
  • rejecting null hypothesis, when it's actually true
• what is type 2 error?

  • false negative
  • accepting null hypothesis when false
• what is the significance level in psychology?

  less than / equal to 0.05
• what data type and experimental design is the sign test?

  • nominal
  • repeated measures - related
• how many tests do I need to be aware of?

  8
• what is the sign test a test of?

  difference
• what are the steps for calculating sign tests?

  1. know the difference
  2. count number of times the less frequent sign appears = S
  3. count total = N
  4. use table (less than/equal)
  5. state conclusion
• what are the strengths of content analysis?

  • ease of application - cheap
  • Useful (can verify other research methods)
  • Reliable (replicable)
• what are the weaknesses of content analysis?

  • descriptive (doesn't explain reasons for behaviour)
  • flawed results (trend may not reflect reliability)
• what is a strength of using repeated measures?

  control for individual differences

  ensures that not due to characteristics
• how to calculate S for sign test?

  count least common sign
• how to calculate N in sign test?


  add all signs that are +/-
• what are two strengths of lab experiments?


  • controlled variables
  • ethical guidelines followed
• how to remember statistical tests?

  Can Simon Cowell

  Make Winners Sing

  Under Real Pressure
• What are the experimental designs?

  Repeated measures

  Independent groups and matched pairs
• What is a weakness of independent groups?

  Participant variables are not controlled

  Use random allocation
• What is a strength of independent groups?

  No order affects
• What is a limitation of repeated measures.

  Order effects

  use counterbalancing

  demand characteristics
• What is a strength of repeated measures?

  Participant variables controlled
• what is a strength of matched pairs?


  No order effect
• what is a limitation of matched pairs?

  Cannot match exactly

  Time consuming
• What is the difference between extraneous and confounding variables?

  Extraneous variables are variables that are not of interest in a study but may still influence the outcome. Confounding variables are variables that are related to both the independent and dependent variables, making it difficult to determine the true cause-effect relationship.
• What study is an example of lab exp?

  Asch’s conformity