Psych RM

• An aim is a general statement outlining what the researcher is investigating
• Operationalisation is clearly defining variables so that they can be measured numerically and specifically
• We operationalise to make findings more objective and to help researchers replicate studies
• Reliability is how consistent the findings of an experiment are. Whether they occur in a similar way repeatedly. If results are consistent then they are said to be reliable
• How do you test reliability

  Test-Retest method

  • Participant completes an experimental task (e.g. "")
  • After a period of time, the same participant completes the same experimental task again. (e.g. "")
  • The researcher runs a spearman's rho - correlational analysis with variable one as participants "test" score from the first test and variable 2 as the same participants "test" score from the second test
  • A strong positive correlation with a correlation coefficient of 0.8 or higher indicates high reliability
• A strong positive correlation with a correlation coefficient of 0.8 or higher indicates high reliability
• You improve reliability by using a standardised procedure. Using high levels of control allows another researcher to repeat the experiment to test for reliability
• Internal validity is the extent to which the experiment measures what it intends to measure
• External validity is the extent to which the findings can be applied to the wider population
• Ecological validity is the extent to which findings can be applied to other environments/settings
• Population validity is the extent to which findings can be applied to individuals from the target population
• Temporal validity is the extent to which findings can be applied to other time periods or eras