Research methods key terms

• What does validity assess in research?


  Validity assesses whether the test measures what it intended to measure
• How can validity be improved in research?

  By refining the measurement methods and ensuring accurate implementation
• What is reliability in the context of research methods?

  Reliability is the consistency and standardization of a measure
• How can reliability be improved in research?


  By standardizing your measure
• What are demand characteristics in research?


  Demand characteristics are when participants change their behavior to fit the perceived aims of a study
• How do social desirability effects influence participant behavior?

  Participants may change their behavior to align with socially accepted behaviour
• What is researcher bias?

  Researcher bias occurs when the researcher's knowledge of the study's aims influences the results
• How can investigator effects impact research outcomes?


  Investigator effects can lead to conscious or unconscious influences that support the researcher's predictions
• What is validity?


  The way that you carry out your measure allow you to achieve accurate results. Does the test measure what you intend it to measure?
• What is ethnocentrism?

  Research is generalised to other cultures without considering how cultures are different.
• What is population validity?

  Being able to generalise results from a sample to the target population and still hold true
• what is opportunity sampling?

  anyone who is available at time of research
• What are strengths of opportunity sampling?

  • quick and easy, relies on people around at the time
  • collects participants with similar characteristics which can be applied to targets population
• what are weakness of opportunity sampling?

  • May not be representative
  • Higher chance of researcher bias when approaching people
• What is volunteer sampling?

  participants choose themselves to take part in study through emails/surveys/adverts/poster, sign up
• strength of volunteer sampling

  • relatively easy
  • more likely to be committed as they chose to take part
  • wide variety of people obtained through advertisement
• What is systematic sampling?

  systematic method chosen for selecting from target group e.g every 4th person in a list