Paper 2 Research Methods (part 2)

• What 5 things should be included in Report writing?

  - Abstract

  - Introduction

  - Method

  - Results

  - Discussion
• What does an Abstract provide?

  Short summary of the whole report
• What should the Abstract include?

  Summary of the aim, hypothesis, method/procedure, results and conclusion
• The Abstract should be no longer than?

  Approx 200 words
• The Abstract is the


  Last thing the researcher writes but the first thing that appears in the written report
• Whar is the purpose of the Abstract?

  Allow other psychologists/researchers to identify those investigations that are worthy of further investigation
• What does the Introduction review?

  Existing research in that area
• What does the Introduction provide?

  A reason for the investigation that is about to be undertaken
• What does the Introduction follow?

  Logical progression- starts off with a broad perception (other people's research in the area), which then becomes more specific (reason for doing their research) until the aims and hypothesis are presented at the end.
• What is the Method for?

  Explain exactly how the research was carried out.
• The Method must be written in a way for what?

  Replication
• What subsections does the Method consist of?

  - Design

  - Sample

  - Materials

  - Procedure
• For Quantitive data the results include what?

  - Descriptive statistics

  - Inferential statistics
• Define Descriptive statistics

  Such as tables, graphs & charts, measures of central tendency and measure of dispersion
• Define Inferential Statistics


  Should include reference to choice of statistical test, calculated and critical values, levels of significance and final outcome.
• What should not be included in the results?

  Raw data
• What should all graphs and tables have?

  Titles and labels
• For Qualitative data, the results include what?

  An analysis of themes and/or categories
• What does the discussion section explain?

  What the results mean
• What does the discussion section consist of?

  - An explanation of finding linked to your background research

  - An assessment of limitation of the research and possible improvements thar could be made

  - Practical applications of the research are suggested

  - Suggestions for further investigations are made
• What does referencing involve?

  Writing a full list at the end of the report detailing any resource material that the researcher drew upon or cited in the report
• Referencing can include?

  - Articles

  - Books

  - Websites
• How do you reference in books?

  author(s) (full last name followed by first initial), date, title of book (italics), place of publication, publisher

  e.g. Skinner, B.F (1953) Science and human behaviour. New York: MacMillan
• How do you reference in journal articles?

  author(s) (full last name followed by first initial), date, title of article, name of journal, volume, and issue number (in italics and issue number in brackets) and page number(s)

  e.g. Gupta, S. (1991) Effects of time of day and personality of intelligence test scores. Personality and individual difference, 12 (11), 1227-1231
• How do you reference for websites?

  source, date, title, weblink, date accessed

  e.g. NHS (2018) Phobias: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/phobias/ [accessed May 2020]
• Why write a reference?


  - Enables readers to track down the source used

  - Avoid plagiarism

  - Give credit to other researchers/acknowledge their ideas
• Within the design section of the method what should be included?

  - Appropriate research design decisions have been made & justified- research method/experimental design has been used and why

  - Key variables clearly stated & fully operationalised

  - Identification of relevant extraneous variables & how its controlled

  - Identification of relevant ethical issues & details of how these will be dealt with
• Within the Participants section of the method what should be included?

  - Key descriptive details about participants: total number, gender divides, age range, where from

  - Details given of sampling strategy & how allocated to conditions
• Within the Materials section of the method what should be included?

  - Enough details of materials needed to complete study in same way
• Within the procedure section of the method what should be included?

  - Evidence of pilot study being conducted (if relevant)

  - Clear ethical rights of participants maintained- gaining consent & debrief

  - Step by step outline exactly how it was carried out to allow precise replication
• Quantitative data?

  - Data expressed numerically

  - Psychology studies that gather quantitative data typically involve individual scores from participants such as the number of words recalled in a memory experiment

  - Closed questions
• Qualitative data?


  - Non-numerical data

  - Usually expressed in words (written/spoken)

  - E.g. it can take the form of a written description of thoughts, feelings and opinions of the participant

  - Open questions
• Example of Quantitative data

  Students rate their enjoyment of research methods on a scale of 1-10
• Example of Qualitative data


  A recovering patient describes his experience with schizophrenia
• Strength of Quantitative data

  Quantitative data is quick and easy to display, analyse and draw conclusions from. As a result, the data is typically higher in reliability and is more objective.
• Weakness of Quantitative data

  However, quantitative data lacks detail and is often collected in artificial settings which may fail to represent 'real life'. Therefore, quantitative data typically has lower external validity.
• Strength of Qualitative data

  Qualitative data is rich and detailed as it is typically collected in a real setting and allows the participant to fully report their thoughts, feelings and opinions on a given subject. Therefore, this type of data typically has greater external validity.
• Weakness of Qualitative data

  Qualitative data is difficult and time consuming to analyse. As a result the data is typically subjective and lower in reliability.
• Define Primary data

  Info that has been obtained first hand from participants taking part in a study that the researcher has designed and is conducting specifically to address aims & hypotheses.
• Example of Primary data

  An interview with people with OCD about their experiences