research methods

• pilot studies 


  a small scale trial run of the experiment, this is done in order to find out if the study works
• confederates 


  someone who is hired by the researcher who poses as a pts but knows the aims of the investigation
• ceiling effect 


  where everyone scores high on a task (task was too easy)
• floor effect 


  where everyone scores low on a task (task was too difficult)
• ethics of research

  • respect
  • competence
  • responsibility
  • integrity
• ethics of research - respect 


  all human beings (regardless of real or perceived social status) should be recognised for their worth
• ethics of research - competence 


  the BPS says people should not provide professional services outside of their knowledge or experience
• ethics of research - responsibility 


  members must accept responsibility for what is in their control and ensure others are not abused
• ethics of research - integrity 


  being honest in your actions, methods and outcomes - requires one to behave professionally and set aside their interests
• ethical guidelines

  • informed consent
  • right to withdraw
  • deception
  • debriefing
  • protection from harm
  • confidentiality
  • competence
• ethical guidelines - informed consent 


  pts should know as much as possible about the study before they agree to take part
• ethical guidelines - right to withdraw 


  all pts should be told that they can drop out of the study at any time and how they can go about doing this (they can also withdraw their data at a later point if necessary)
• ethical guidelines - deception 


  intentionally giving pts false info about the study or its aims
• ethical guidelines - debriefing 


  researchers must speak to all pts at the end of the study to fully explain the real aims and support pts who were harmed
• ethical guidelines - protection from harm 


  researchers must not cause distress to pts, if harm has occurred aftercare must be provided
• ethical guidelines - confidentiality 


  researchers need to ensure pts privacy and identity is protected at all times (usually done by pts being referred to by a number/pseudo-name)
• ethical guidelines - competence 


  the capability to identify ethical and moral aspects of care, reflect on your own knowledge and actions as a researcher
• target population


  the group that the researchers draws the sample from and wants to generalise the findings to
• sample 


  a small number of people selected from the target population who take part in the investigation
• random sampling 


  when names of individuals are selected randomly, these elected pts become the sample
• random sampling - strength

  the best technique for being representative because every person in the population has an equal chance of being selected
• random sampling - weakness

  the sample may still be unrepresentative (especially if the sample us too small) because pts with similar demographics could all be selected
• opportunity sampling 


  obtaining people who are available at a certain location and time to take part in the research
• opportunity sampling - strength

  it is easier and more convenient than other types of sampling because it requires less time, money and resources
• opportunity sampling - weakness

  the sample is not likely to be representative because...

  1. the sample will be drawn from one specific area
  2. the researcher may decide who they approach
• volunteer sampling 


  when people respond to an advert and the researcher contacts them to ask if they wish to be part of the study
• volunteer sampling - strength

  it is easier and more convenient than random sampling because it requires minimal input from the researchers so uses less time and money
• volunteer sampling - weakness

  its not likely to be representative because volunteers may have a certain 'profile' or person (more helpful/curious), this can affect how the findings are generalised
• systematic sampling 


  when every nth member of the target population is selected and placed in different conditions of the study
• systematic sampling - strength

  it is convenient if the sample is small because you are likely to get a complete sampling frame that can be used
• systematic sampling - weakness

  it is difficult if the population is hard and may still be unrepresentative because it is hard to obtain a complete sampling frame for a large population
• stratified sampling 


  when researchers divide the target population into strata (subgroups) based on their characteristics and calculate the proportions of the population to reflect the proportions of the sample
• stratified sampling - strength

  most representative method of sampling because it ensures that the strata in the sample reflects the strata in the target population
• stratified sampling - weakness

  requires the most amount of time and resources because a full sampling frame must be obtained and the correct proportions of each group must be calculated and pts must then be randomly allocated
• experimental method 


  the manipulation of variables to establish cause-and-effect, this requires standardised procedures and random allocation of pts into controlled groups
• standardisation 


  when procedures, materials and instructions within a study are kept the same for all pts (except for the IV)
• alternative (experimental) hypothesis 


  a prediction of what the researcher thinks will happen to the DV when the IV changes
• null hypothesis 


  when the IV will have no effect on the DV and any observed differences will be due to chance
• operationalising 


  phrasing variables (and hypotheses) to make them measurable and as specific as possible
• non-directional hypothesis 


  (type of alternative hypothesis) predicts there will be a difference between 2 conditions or groups of pts, without stating the direction