Research Methods

• Scatter graph


  Graphs which show how two sets of data are related to each other.
• negative correlation


  a relationship between two variables in which one variable increases when the other decreases
• positive correlation


  two variables change in the same direction, both becoming either larger or smaller
• questionnaire data


  from people's responses (on paper, online, by post or verbally filled in) about attitudes, awareness, intentions, behaviors.
• unstructured interview


  An interview in which the question-answer sequence is spontaneous, open-ended, and flexible.
• structured interview


  a research procedure in which all participants are asked to answer the same questions in the same order
• spread of data distribution


  a measure of the amount of variability, or how "spread out" a set of data is.
• central tendency


  a measure that represents the typical response or the behavior of a group as a whole.

  mean, median, mode
• Y axis

  Dependent variable goes here on a graph of your results
• X axis

  Independent variable goes here on a graph of your results
• Null hypothesis


  A statement that the IV will have no effect on the DV. This is rejected if there is support for the alternate hypothesis.
• Scatter graph


  Two variables on x and y axes and points plotted to find a correlation. Used with ordinal/interval data (numbers on a scale, e.g score on a test)
• Normal distribution curve

  Most people fall in the centre, smaller numbers of people towards the edge, creating a bell shape graph
• Systematic sampling


  Asking every Nth person on a list of your target population to take part. Requires a list of all target population
• Stratified sampling


  Taking a selection of people from important layers of your population to get a very representative sample.
• Random sampling


  Time consuming but representative sample of all participants in the target population. Very difficult to achieve (informed consent from random ppts)
• Opportunity sampling


  A fast but not very representative method of recruiting participants
• Confidentiality


  An ethical guideline for studies that involve people as participants, which ensures that information gained must not be shared with others without permission.
• Privacy


  An ethical guideline for studies that involve people as participants, which ensure that their names must not be recorded and they must not be identifiable.
• Reliability


  Refers to whether findings from a study would be found again if the study was repeated. A study is reliable if the findings are replicated in a different method..
• Quantitative data

  Data involving numbers and statistics, such as percentages.
• Aim


  A statement of what the study is being carried out to find.
• Objective

  Where the researcher's views do not affect the information that is gathered.
• Subjective


  Where the researcher's view is somehow affecting the information that is gathered
• Generalisable


  Refers to findings of studies and whether they can be true of other people (who were not studied in the experiment)
• Valid


  Refers to findings of studies and means that they are about real-life situations, real-life behaviour or feelings that are real.
• Qualitative data


  Data involving stories or attitudes, data is descriptive language rather than statistics
• Case Study


  A research method studying an individual or a small group and gathering in-depth and detailed information using various methods
• Ethical guidelines


  Advice to help psychologists solve ethical issues.
• Right to withdraw


  A participant's right to leave a study at any time
• Informed consent


  An individual's right to know what will happen in an experiment, and its aims, before agreeing to participate.
• Ethical issues


  Potential psychological or physical risks for people in experiments.
• Range


  A way to show how spread out a set of results is by looking and the biggest and smallest scores.
• Mean


  An average that is calculated by adding up the scores in a set and dividing by the number of scores
• Median


  An average that is the middle number in a set of scores when they are put in order from smallest to largest.
• Bar chart


  A graph with separate bars. usually there is one bar for each condition in an experiment.
• Descriptive statistics

  Ways to summarise results from a study. This could be a measure of central tendency or spread of data.
• Mode


  An average that is the most common score in a set.
• Controls


  Ways to keep variables constant in all conditions of an experiment.
• Hypothesis


  A testable statement (of the difference between the conditions in an experiment). This is rejected if not enough evidence is found and the null is accepted.