Research methods pt2

• What are strengths of a natural experiment?


  Provides opportunities that may not otherwise be undertaken

  High external validity
• What are weaknesses of a natural experiment?

  May only happen very rarely

  Participants can't be randomly allocated

  Can't control extraneous variables
• What is a quasi experiment?


  Iv is based off an existing difference (e.g. gender)
• What are strengths of a quasi experiment?


  Can easily compare groups
• What are weaknesses of a quasi experiment?

  Can't randomly allocate

  Demand characteristics
• What body is responsible for ethical guidelines in Britain?

  British psychological society
• What is informed consent?

  When pps are made aware of the aims of the research, the procedure, their rights, and what the data will be used for when asking for consent.
• What is a limitation to asking for informed consent?

  It may make the research pointless as the pps behaviour will be unatural.
• How can you deal with informed consent?

  Pps should be issued with a consent letter or form detailing all relevant information. For investigations involving children parental consent is required.
• What is deception in research?


  Deliberately misleading or withholding information from pps at any stage of the investigation. (there are occasions when deception can be justified if it does not cause the pp stress)
• What is protection from harm in experiments?

  Pps should not be placed at any more risk than they would be in their daily lives and should be protected from physical and psychological harm. Pps should be reminded of their right to withdraw.
• How can you deal with deception and protection from harm?


  At the end of a study, pps should be given a full debrief including the true aims and any details they were not supplied with during the study.

  They should be told what their data will be used for and given the right to withdraw.

  If they require counselling the researcher should provide it.
• What is privacy and confidentiality?


  Pps have the right to control information about themselves, this is the right of privacy. Can withdraw information at the end.
• How can you deal with privacy and confidentiality?

  If a persons details are held they must be protected (locked)

  in case studies initials or numbers are normally used.
• What is a paradigm?

  An agreed apon , shared set of theoretical assumptions about a subject and its method of enquiry.
• What is a paradigm shift?


  A change from one way of thinking to another in light of new research/technology.
• What is falsifiability?


  The principle that a theory cannot be considered scientific unless it admits the possibility of being proved untrue
• What is replicability?


  The extent to which scientific procedures and findings can be repeated by other researchers.
• What is the empirical method?


  The scientific process of gathering evidence through direct observation and experience
• What is objectivity?


  Minimises all sources of personal bias to prevent distortion or influence on the research process
• What is induction?


  Observations lead to developing hypothesis and testing it empirically which could lead to new questions or construction of a theory
• What is deduction?


  Construct a theory first; then create a hypothesis to test and confirm
• What is peer review?

  The assessment of scientific work by others who are specialists in the same field to ensure that any research intended for publication is of high quality.

  Should be considered in terms of validity, significance and originality
• What is the purpose of peer review?


  Allocation of funding

  Validates the quality of research

  To suggest amendments or improvements
• What are limitations of peer review?

  Biased reviewers

  Publication bias

  Finding an expert isn't always possible

  Preserving the status quo (they prefer work that fits with existing findings)
• What are strengths of peer review?

  Less opportunity for plagiarised work or duplications
• What is the order of an investigation report?

  Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, Referencing
• What is face validity?


  Does the test appear to be measuring what the researcher intended to measure (internal)
• What is concurrent validity?

  The extent to which performance on a test is close to a previously established test of the same topic (internal)
• What is ecological validity?

  The extent to which findings can be generalised to other settings and situations (external)
• What is population validity?

  Whether you can reasonably generalise the findings from your sample to a larger group of people (external)
• What is temporal validity?

  The extent to which findings from a research study can be generalised to other historical times and eras. (external)
• How could you improve validity in observations?

  -Ensure behavioural categories are not too broad, overlapping or ambiguous

  -Researcher should remain undetected
• How can you improve validity in questionnaires?

  Include a lie scale within questions to assess consistency of pps responses and to control for the effects of social desirability bias
• How can you improve validity in experimental research?

  -The use of single-blind and double-blind procedures

  -Standardised procedures

  -Control group
• How can you improve validity of qualitative methods?

  -Coherence of the researcher's reporting

  - Triangulation (using a number of different source as evidence)
• How can knowledge of social influence affect the economy?

  By showing statistics about the majority paying their taxes on time improved taxes payed within 23 days which helps the economy
• How can knowledge on maternal deprivation (adoption) help the economy?

  A happy childhood creates a better adjusted child that is more productive - improves economy

  Changed the adoption process of children

  In hospitals parents can now be there the whole time

  Physical contact in the first few hours of life

  Children are less likely to need support and productivity of people increases
• How can knowledge of memory help the economy?

  Cognitive interviews can gain more EWT

  Memory research when applied to criminal justice improves the economy
• How can knowledge of neurotransmitters help the economy?

  Drug treatments can be used to treat the imbalance of neurotransmitters (imbalance of neurotransmitters is linked to mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, DCP and schizophrenia)

  Improves economy as reduced cost to NHS. Improving workers productivity and increases number of workers paying taxes