basic research methods

• What is an experimental method?


  Involves the manipulation of an IV to measure the effect on the DV. Experiments can be lab, field, natural or quasi
• What is a Lab Experiment?

  • Controlled environment
  • Researcher manipulates IV and records effect on DV
  • Maintain strict control of confounding variables
• Strength of Lab Experiment: Controlled

  • Can see cause and effect
  • No extraneous variables will occur
• Strength of Lab Experiment: Replication

  • Can be replicated due to how controlled it is
  • If results are similar reliability and replicability can be established
  • Well carried out lab experiments can be repeated
• Weakness of Lab Experiment: Ecological Validity

  • The ability to repeat the experiment in a different setting and get the same results
  • Due to the high levels of control we have a lack of ecological validity and can get the same results
  • Difficult to generalise the findings to other settings
• Weakness of Lab Experiment: Lack of Mundane Realism

  • The extent to which an experiment reflects the real world
  • As lab is controlled it never does reflect the real world
  • Cannot be generalised to get similar results
• Weakness of Lab Experiment: Demand Characteristics

  • A cue that makes PPs aware of what the researcher expects to find or how the PPs are expected to behave
  • This then affects the results
  • Lacks validity
• What is a Field Experiment?

  The IV is manipulated but the experiment takes place in a more natural setting
• Strength of Field Experiment: Mundane Realism

  • The setting is like a real life situation
  • There would be authentic behaviour so less demand characteristics
  • Results would be more valid
• Strength of a Field Experiment: High Ecological Validity

  • Ecological validity- repeat the experiment in a different setting (type of external validity)
  • Measure authentic behaviour so less demand characteristics as they won't know the true aim of the experiment
• Weakness of Field Experiment: Less control over variables

  • Hard to control extraneous variables as there is less control
  • Hard to establish cause and effect as a result
• Weakness of Field Experiment: Ethical Issues

  • Lack of informed consent as they may not know they are part of an experiment
  • Ethical Issues like this need to be dealt with properly e.g debrief
• Weakness of Field Experiment: Time consuming

  • Natural setting may mean we have to wait for set conditions to occur
  • Due to less control over variables
• What is a Natural Experiment?

  • IV is not directly manipulated but occurs naturally
  • Researcher has no control over the allocation of PPs
• Strength of Natural Experiment: Carry out unethical Research

  • This kind of research allows us to investigate situations that would be unethical to create or manipulate
  • For example being part of a gang to see what happens there
• Strength of Natural Experiment: High External Validity

  • Studying real life issues in real life situations
  • Reduced demand characteristics as they do not know they are taking part in the study
• Weakness of Natural Experiment: Limited Opportunity

  • Natural Experiments happen rarely
  • Limited scope for generalisation to other groups
  • This makes replication for this really hard
  • Hard to verify external validity
• Weakness of Natural Experiment: Lack of random allocation

  • As the IV occurs naturally we cannot randomly allocate PPs to IV
  • IV is not directly manipulated so less control
  • Cannot establish cause and effect due to many confounding variables
• What is a Quasi-Experiment?

  • Experiment that has an IV based on existing differences
  • Examples include gender or age
  • The variable exists without manipulation
• Strength of Quasi Experiment: Controlled

  • Controlled like a lab experiment
  • It is carefully carried out to allow for replication to occur
• Weakness of Quasi Experiment: Lack of random allocation

  • As the IV occurs naturally we cannot randomly allocate PPs to different groups
  • Leads to confounding variables
• Naturalistic Observation


  Watching and recording behaviour in the setting within which it would occur
• Controlled Observation


  Watching and recording behaviour within an environment where some variable are measured
• Covert Observation


  PPs behaviour is watched and recorded without their knowledge or consent
• Overt Observation


  PPs behaviour is watched and recorded with their knowledge and consent
• Participant Observation


  The researcher becomes a member of the group whose behaviour they are observing
• Non participant observation


  The researcher remains outside of the group whose behaviour they are recording and watching
• What is a strength of observations?

  • Have the benefit of capturing what people actually do (prevent demand characteristics)
  • Give special insight into behaviour
• What are some weakness of observations?

  • One limitation of observations is observer bias
  • The observer’s interpretation of a situation may be affected by their expectations
  • Another limitation is observational studies cannot demonstrate causal relationships
• Evaluation of Naturalistic Observations

  • Have high external validity as findings can often be generalised to everyday life
  • The behaviour is studied within the environment where it would normally occur
  • The lack of control over the research situation makes replication of the investigation hard
  • There may be many confounding/extraneous variables that make it more difficult to judge any pattern of behaviour
• Evaluation of Controlled Observations

  • May produce findings that cannot be as readily applied to everyday life
  • Demand characteristics may affect results of PPs behaviour
  • Less confounding/extraneous variables may be less of a factor
  • Replication can occur due to control of variables
• Evaluation of Covert Observation

  • PPs do not know they are being watched removes the problem of demand characteristics and ensures behaviour observed will be natural
  • This increases the internal validity of the data gathered
  • Ethics may be questioned as people may not wish to have their behaviours noted down (right to privacy)
  • ‘shopping’ would generally be recognised as a public activity but the amount of money people spend on a shopping trip is private
• Evaluation of Overt Observation

  • More ethically acceptable but the knowledge participants have that they are being observed may act as a significant influence on their behaviour
  • Demand Characteristics
• Evaluation of Participant Observations

  • Researcher can experience the situation as the PPs do giving them increased insight into the lives of the people being studied
  • Increases the external validity of the findings.
  • But the researcher may come to identify too strongly with those they are studying and lose objectivity
  • So the line between being a researcher and being a participant becomes blurred
• Evaluation of Non-participant Observations

  • Allow the researcher to maintain an objective psychological distance from their participants
  • There is less danger of them adopting a local lifestyle
  • But they may lose the valuable insight to be gained in a participant observation as they are too far removed from the people and behaviour they are studying
• What is a questionnaire?

  A set of written questions used to assess a person's experience
• What type of questions do questionnaires include?

  1. Open question - qualitative data
  2. Closed question - quantitative data
• Strengths of questionnaire

  • Cost effective - can gather large amounts of data quickly because they can be distributed to large numbers of people
  • Quick and easy - can be completed without the researcher being present which reduces the effort involved
  • Easy to analyse - data that questionnaires produce is usually straightforward to analyse especially if the questionnaire comprises mainly of closed questions The data leads to comparisons between groups of people can be made using graphs
• Weaknesses of questionnaires

  • Social desirability bias - responses given may not always be truthful as respondents may be keen to present themselves in a positive light which influence their answers
  • Response bias - Respondents tend to reply in a similar way e.g answering at the same favoured end of a rating which may be due to respondents completing the questionnaire too quickly
• What is an interview?

  A 'live' encounter where one person asks a set of questions to assess an interviewee's thoughts. They can be structured or unstructured.