Research Methods

• Weaknesses of peer reviews?

  Reviews may not always be objective e.g personal bias
• Strengths of peer reviews?

  •Protects society from bad/harmful research

  •Helps researchers to constantly improve their research
• Define peer review

  The process where other researchers in a field review, criticise and suggest improvements for a report before it is published, used by journals to decide whether to publish reports
• What are 2 methods of data collection?

  Self report technique and observational technique
• Define single variable studies

  Non-experimental method that measures a single variable
• What are the 3 types of non-experimental method?

  •Single variable studies

  •Case studies

  •Correlational studies
• What are non-experimental methods?

  Studies that don't investigate cause and effect relationships and don't have an IV
• Define temporal validity

  Results of study generalise across time
• Define population validity

  Results of the study generalise to other populations
• Define ecological validity

  When results of the study generalise to how people behave in everyday life
• What are the 3 types of external validity?

  ecological, population, temporal
• How can demand characteristics be controlled?

  Single blind studies
• How can participant variables be controlled?

  •Matching

  •Random allocation
• How can investigator effects be controlled?

  •Standardisation

  •Double blind studies
• How can you control situational variables?

  •Standardisation
• What are situational variables?

  Features of the environments that may influence a person's behaviour, thus affecting the results of a study
• What are participant variables?

  Personal characteristics of the participants
• What are the 3 main types of EVs?

  •Participant variables

  •Investigator effects

  •Situational variables
• How can we assess internal reliability?

  Split half method: splitting test items in 2 to see if test items are consistent across the 2 halves of the test
• When does a test (questionnaire) have internal reliability?

  Individual items within a test are consistent with each other
• How can you assess for external reliability?

  Test-retest method: the same participant to take the same test on separate occasions and comparing results obtained both times
• When does a test have external reliability?


  Getting consistent results every time a test is repeated
• What are the 2 types of reliability?

  Internal and external reliability
• How do you assess concurrent validity?

  Comparing results to a test that is known to be valid
• What are 2 ways to assess validity?

  Face validity and concurrent validity
• How do you assess face validity?

  Look at the test to decide if it appears to measure what it claims to be measuring
• When is a test valid?

  When it measures what it claims to be measuring
• Define objectivity

  Not letting personal bias affect the way an experiment is carried out
• Weaknesses of case studies?

  •Longitudinal - people tend to drop out: attrition

  •Lacks replicability, low reliability

  •Low generalisability due to being idiographic

  •Time consuming and expensive

  •Subject reactivity - demand characteristics

  •Researcher bias - rapport building over time

  •Ethics - difficult to maintain anonymity and consent

  •Reliance on self report method/retrospective data - low validity

  •Can't establish cause and effect
• Strengths of case studies?

  •High ecological and external validity

  •Holistic

  •Qualitative data - rich in detail

  •Collect both quantitative and qualitative data - high reliability and validity

  •Opportunity to study unethical/impractical/rare events

  •Sometimes the only way to investigate phenomenon

  •Data from many places - comparisons can be done - high reliability and test retest reliability
• Which type of data is often collected through case studies?

  Qualitative data
• Why are case studies different from other methods of research?

  It is idiographic instead of nomothetic
• What is a psychometric test?

  A type of questionnaire which specifically measures some aspect of personality or ability
• What methods are used in case studies?

  Combination of many types of research method: mixed-method research
• What are case studies?

  An in-depth study of one person or a small group of people; can also refer to the study of an institution or event; are longitudinal
• Strengths of single blind studies?

  •No demand characteristics: increased internal validity
• Strengths of double blind studies?

  •No researcher bias

  •No investigator effects
• What are the benefits of using control groups in psychological research?

  •Easy to establish cause and effect

  •No EVs so increased internal validity
• Define time sampling

  Recording behaviours within a pre-established time frame
• Define event sampling

  Counting the number of times a particular behaviour occurs in a target individual or group