Research methods

• What is an aim?

  A statement of what the researchers intend to find out in a study.
• what is a hypothesis?

  An explanation or prediction that can be tested through research about the assumed relationship between variables.
• Operationalising variables is the process of defining the variables in a way that allows them to be measured. eg. number of people in a group. This is done so that the research is replicable, establishing reliability.
• The independent variable is the variable that is manipulated by the researcher to determine the effect on the dependent variable.
• The dependent variable is the outcome of the experiment and is the variable that is measured. by the researcher.
• extraneous variables are variables that are not directly related to the independent variable but may affect the dependent variable.
• Examples of extraneous variables are age or gender.
• an alternative hypothesis is a statement that states what you expect to happen in the experiment. states an expectation of an effect or relationship between variables.
• a null hypothesis is a hypothesis that states that there is no difference or relationship between the variables being studied.
• a directional hypothesis is a hypothesis that predicts the precise direction of the relationship between the independent and dependent variables using previous research. (uses words like more, less, faster)
• a non-directional hypothesis is a non-specific statement about the prediction of a relationship between two variables.
• Internal validity: the degree of which the results of the study are due to the independent variable and not due to other factors.
• external validity: the extent to which the results of a study can be generalised to other populations.
• ecological validity is the extent to which the findings of the study can be generalised to the real world.
• population validity is the extent to which the results of the study can be generalised to the population as a whole.
• historical validity is the extent to which the research findings are still generalizable to other situations over a period of time.
• mundane realism refers to how a study reflects real-world situations and how the research environment is similar to experiences that occur in reality.
• Ethical issues Acronym

  DR PIC
• what are the ethical issues?

  deception, right of withdrawal, protection of participants, informed consent, confidentiality.
• Dealing with informed consent

  Sign a form, reminder of ROW
• Dealing with deception

  Debriefing
• Dealing with right of withdrawal

  Participants are reminded before the study of this right
• dealing with protection of participants

  Avoid unnecessary risks not found in real life, or stop study entirely
• dealing with confidentiality

  Give anonymity of ppts in the study results (fake names)
• dealing with privacy

  Do not study people without informed consent
• cost-benefit analysis: a method of decision making that compares the benefits of a decision with its costs
• Demand characteristics: cues that unconsciously convey the aims of the experiment to the participant or helps them work out how the experimenter wants them to behave.
• Order effects: an extraneous variable caused as a result of the order in which conditions are presented to participants in a repeated measures design. These include practice effects or fatigue effects.
• Counterbalancing: a technique used to counter the order effects by ensuring each condition is tested first or second in equal amounts.
• Investigator effects (experimenter bias): cues from an investigator that influence the way a participant behaves in a study. These can be direct (interaction between ppt and investigator) or indirect (consequence of the design of the study by the investigator).
• Participant variables: when the characteristics of an individual participant in a study affect the conditions of the study. These include age, gender, IQ, memory span, etc.
• Situational variables: features of an experimental environment that influence behaviour or conditions of a study. These act as confounding variables and could be the time of day, temperature of a room, lighting, etc.
• Single blind design: when a participant does not know the true condition of the study, but the researcher does. Prevents ppt seeking cues about the aim.
• Double blind design: when neither the ppt or the researcher knows the aims/hypotheses of the study. This is done by not using the actual investigator of the research as the study conductor. Reduces experimenter bias and demand characteristics.
• Experimental realism: when the researcher makes the study task engaging enough that the ppt pays full attention to the task and not on the observer.
• Interviews: a research method that involves a researcher asking questions to an individual face-to-face to gather information and data.
• Interviewer bias: unconsciously communicated cues to an interviewee about the interviewer’s expected answers. This can come in the form of leading questions.
• Questionnaires: A questionnaire is a research method consisting of written questions that is used to gather information from a large number of people.
• Social desirability bias: when an individual responds untruthfully to questions in order to present themselves in a better light.
• Structured interview: an interview where the questions are pre-written and the interviewer asks the questions in a set order.