psych

    Subdecks (3)

    Cards (351)

    • experiments
      all involve comparing at least 2 conditions to see if a variable has an effect of an outcome
    • IV
      variable that is manipulated
    • DV
      the changing variable as a result of the IV (baso the one measured)
    • extraneous v

      v's other than IV that COULD affect DV
    • confounding v

      v's that HAVE affected the DV
    • operationalisation
      to make clear and measurable
    • field experiments
      conducted in a participants natural environment

      ADV:
      - high ecological validity
      - low chance of demand characteristics

      DIS:
      - less control
      - potential ethical issues
    • lab experiments
      conducted in a controlled environment of researches choosing

      ADV:
      -easy to replicate
      - high degree of control

      DIS:
      - low ecological validity
      - demand characteristics
    • natural
      IV natural occurring. Researcher cannot directly change it - ext ft of env, experimenters can't change
    • quasi
      IV is a characteristic of participants and so not under researcher's control (e.g. age, race, gender) - internal ft of env, experimenters can't change
    • Evaluation
      NATURAL
      strengths:
      - high ecological validity
      - allow study of sensitive issues
      Limitations:
      - difficult to replicate
      - less control

      QUASI:
      strengths:
      - high degree of control
      - replicable (unlike natural)
      limitations:
      - random allocation to conditions not possible
      - can be hard to find a sample
    • observations def

      involving observing behaviour and recording these. No IV as researches simply recording what is in from of them
    • LOCATION:
      1) naturalistic
      2) controlled
      1)in a participant natural env
      ADV: realistic pic of natural env therefore high ecological validity (lower if overt)
      DIS: little control of other things- means something unknown to observer may account for beh observed
      2) controlled area of researcher's choosing
      ADV: observer can focus on particular aspects of behav
      DIS: control comes at cost of env feeling unnatural, participants behaviour = lower natural as a conseq (observations lack validity)
    • ROLE OF RESEARCHER:
      1) participant
      2) non-participant
      1) researcher's join in with activity carried out by participants
      ADV: provide special insight into behav
      DIS: observers biased, overt = participation issues
      covert = ethical issues
      2) researcher observes participants but can't join
      ADV: observers more objective
      DIS: less inside info
    • IDENTITY OF RESEARCHER:
      1) covert
      2) overt
      1) researcher undercover and participants don't know they are being observed
      ADV: unaware - behav natural
      DIS: ethical issues - if observing private behav
      2) participants know they are being watched
      ADV- consent
      DIS- not in natural env
    • HOW DATA RECORDED:
      1) structured
      2) unstructured
      1) tallying behaviours using behavioural checklist
      2) free notes made
    • observational design
      if observation structured, the researchers would have a proformas (e.g. tally charts) to record behaviours
      behaviour in tally called behavioural categories - should be clear and not ambiguous
    • event sampling
      only recording specific events of interest, good when looking for very specific behaviour
    • time sampling
      observing and recording data at regular points e.g. every 30s
      good for when behaviours might last a long time or overlap
    • Inter-observer reliability
      checking each observers observing in the same way
      1) both observers watch the same thing using same behavioural categories
      2) observations compared to each other and a correlation coefficient calculated
      3) over 0.8 (80% agreement) = reliable
    • what are self-report methods
      non experimental method
      methods of data collection in which people are asked to provide information about themselves, such as in surveys or questionnaires
    • What are questionnaires?

      - lists filled in by the participant, can be used in their own right as non-experimental methods, but some are used as tool in experimental and correlational research
      -written and may be delivered on paper, postally or using an online system
    • what is a structured interview
      set list of questions that cannot be deviated from
    • what is an unstructured interview
      conversation
      not set questions
    • What are semi-structured interviews?
      set list of questions but flexible
      add on questions can be asked and questions can be missed out
    • what are closed questions
      can only be asnwered in a limited number of ways e.g. tick box/circle questions
      produce quantitative date - numerical
      likert scale (agree, disagree, strongly disagree etc)
      forced choice question
    • what are open questions
      require participant to write something for their answer - no two responses the same
      produce qualitative data
    • how do we design good questions?
      short and don't collect personal info if possible - anonymity
      start with easy questions
      avoid jargon
      avoid leading questions
      make sure choices don't overlap and there is a choice for everyone
    • what are correlations
      observed associations between two variables
      don't say that one variable caused another, just that they are related
    • PROCESS of a correlation
      1) two sets of data taken from each participant and recorded
      2) data plotted on a scattergram (need right labelled axis and title. can do LOBF)
      3) correlation co-efficient is calculated (number from +1 to -1 that tells you how strong the correlation is b/w two variables. closer to 0 is weaker as zero means none.
      4) can see if you have a positive or negative correlation. Positive if one inc and so does the other, negative if one inc and other dec, none = no relationship b/w variables
      +1 = perfect +ve -1 = perfect -ve)
    • EVALUATION of correlations
      ADV:
      - allow preliminary research to be carried out - researches can use correlations to explore new areas
      - quick and easy - involve gathering two pieces of data from each person

      DIS:
      - cause and effect cannot be inferred - unlike experiments we can't say that one variable inc the other
      - curvilinear relationships aren't picked up on
    • Case studies def

      - in depth studies of one person or a few
      -collection of qualitative data
      -usually of unusual cases
      - delving into past of person
      -methods include unstructured/semi structured interviews, observations
    • Evaluation of case studies
      ADV:
      - rich detialed data
      -abnormal cases can help us understand normal behaviour

      DIS:
      - subjectivity/low internal validity
      - low generalisability - not able to apply findings beyond the specific individual
      - ethical issues: e.g., extreme anxiety of patients makes them prone to exploitation, should offer protection. Another regarding confidentiality; pseudonyms can be used but can be worked out
    • content analysis def
      - analsysing qualitative (non-numerical) data by coding content
    • what is the procedure for content analysis?
      1) make sure whatever you have is in a written out format e.g. transcripts
      2) decide on your categories looking for and assign each a code (e.g. newspaper article and looking for derogatory terms for mental illness such as "mad"). Decide categories from pilot study
      3) work through the qualitative data and code each time a category appears
      4) add up how many times each code appeared
      5) can be expressed as %, in graph, or analysed with a statistical test
    • EVALUATION of content analysis
      ADV:
      - not normally ethical issues as data already freely available - secondary data

      DIS:
      - participants not usually met so words/ intentions may be misinterpreted if categories not specific
      - lack of objectivity also if categories not specific
      - oversimplify or miss info
    • What is thematic analysis?
      analysing qualitative data by developing themes
      come up with themes as you go - cannot be predetermined
    • what is the process for thematic analysis?
      1)transcribe data if recorded
      2) read through data first to familiarise
      3) break the data into meaningful chunks e.g. one line, one sentence
      4) decide on the theme of each chunk
      5) group themes together into larger categories
    • EVALUATION of thematic analysis
      - more ethical can secondary data used
      - not limited by restrictive codes

      - participants not usually met so words/ intentions may be misinterpreted if categories not specific
      - subjective
      - lots of different ways for thematic analysis - difficult to compare between researchers
    • how do we phrase aims?
      experiments: to investigate the effect of (IV) on (DV)
      correlations: to investigate the relationship between (variable 1) and (variable 2)
      non exp: to investigate (whatever you are investigating)