Research methods topic companion psych PDF

Preview

Summary

Download Research methods topic companion psych PDF

Description

AQA A Level Psychology

Research Methods

Joseph Sparks & Helen Lakin

Page 2

AQA A LEVEL Psychology topic companion: RESEARCH METHODS

Contents Topic

www.tutor2u.net/psychology

Experimental Methods

3

Observational Techniques

8

Self-Report Techniques

15

Correlations

20

Case Studies [A-Level Only]

23

Aims, Hypotheses, IVs And DVs

25

Sampling

28

Pilot Studies and Experimental Design

34

Control, Demand Characteristics, and Investigator Effects

38

Ethical Guidelines, Peer Review and The Economy

41

Types of Data

47

Descriptive Statistics

50

Presentation and Display of Quantitative Data

57

Distributions: Normal and Skewed Distributions

59

Content Analysis [A-Level Only]

60

Features of Science [A-Level Only]

63

Reliability [A-Level Only]

66

Validity [A-Level Only]

69

Reporting Psychological Investigations [A-Level Only]

72

The Sign Test [As And A-Level]

77

Levels of Measurement [A-Level Only]

80

Probability and Significance [A-Level Only]

83

Statistical Tests [A-Level Only]

85

Appendices

90 Copyright tutor2u Limited / School Network License / Photocopying Permitted

Page 3

AQA A LEVEL Psychology topic companion: RESEARCH METHODS

EXPERIMENTALMETHODS Specification:Experimentalmethod.Typesofexperiment:laboratoryandfield experiments;naturalandquasiexperiments.  WHATYOUNEEDTOKNOW  Outlineandevaluatelaboratoryexperiments.  Outlineandevaluatefieldexperiments.  Outlineandevaluatenaturalexperiments.  Outlineandevaluatequasiexperiments. 

Introduction Experimentalmethodsallhaveonethingincommon:theyareattemptingtofindacauseandeffect relationshipbetweenanindependentvariable(IV)anddependentvariable(DV),andtomeasurethe extentofthiseffect.Therearefourdifferenttypesofexperiment: 1. Laboratoryexperiment 2. Fieldexperiment 3. Naturalexperiment 4. Quasiexperiment 

SummaryofExperimentalMethods 

SETTING

IV

DV

LABORATORY Controlledconditions

ManipulatestheIV

MeasurestheDV

FIELD

Naturalconditions

ManipulatestheIV

MeasurestheDV

NATURAL

Naturalconditions

QUASI

Controlledconditions /Naturalconditions

IVisnaturallyoccurring (e.g.unemploymentandan MeasurestheDV earthquake) IVisadifferencebetween people(e.g.genderand MeasurestheDV age)



LaboratoryExperiments Laboratoryexperimentsareconductedunderspecifiedcontrolledconditionsinwhichtheresearcher manipulatestheindependentvariable(IV)tomeasuretheeffectonthedependentvariable(DV).The conditionsareheavilycontrolledinordertominimisetheeffectofanyextraneousvariables,toprevent themfrombecomingaconfounding variablewhichmightadverselyaffect theDV.Participantswillbeaware thattheyaretakingpartinan investigationduetothecontrived natureofthesituationwhichmay feelunlikereal‐life.  

  Copyright tutor2u Limited / School Network License / Photocopying Permitted

www.tutor2u.net/psychology

Page 4

AQA A LEVEL Psychology topic companion: RESEARCH METHODS

EvaluatingLaboratoryExperiments 

 

Astrengthoflaboratoryexperimentsisthehighdegreeofcontroloverextraneousvariableswhichcan beachieved.Aresearcheristhereforeable,inmostcases,topreventextraneousvariablesfrom becomingconfoundingvariableswhichnegativelyaffecttheDV.Thisprovidesahighdegreeofinternal validityallowingforconclusionsaboutcauseandeffecttobedrawnbetweentheIVandDV. Alimitationoflaboratoryexperimentsisthattheycanlackexternalvalidity.Theartificialnatureofthe environmentinwhichtheinvestigationistakingplacemeansthatthestudycanlackecologicalvalidity. Thismeansthatthefindingsofthestudycannotalwaysbegeneralisedtosettingsbeyondthe laboratoryasthetasksoftenlackmundanerealismandwouldnotbeeverydaylifeoccurrences.Since participantsknowtheyarebeinginvestigatedtheirbehaviourcanalsochangeinanunnaturalmanner resultingindemandcharacteristicsbeingseen.



FieldExperiments Fieldexperimentsarecarriedoutinnaturalconditions,inwhichtheresearchermanipulatesthe independentvariable(IV)tomeasuretheeffectonthedependentvariable(DV).The‘field’isconsidered anylocationwhichisnotalaboratory.Participantsinafieldexperimenttypicallydonotknowthattheyare takingpartinaninvestigationwithaviewtoobservingmorenaturalbehaviour. 

EvaluatingFieldExperiments 

 

Thenaturalsettingmeansthatfieldexperimentsoftenhaveahigherlevelofecologicalvalidity,in comparisontolaboratorystudies.Thismeansthattheresultsaremorelikelytoberepresentativeof behaviourwitnessedineverydaylife.However,becausethesettingismorenatural,thereisless controloverextraneousvariables.Thesecanthenbecomeconfoundingvariablesanddistortthe findingsmeaningafirmcauseandeffectrelationshipcannotbedrawnsinceotherfactorscouldhave hadanimpactontheDV,otherthantheIV. Thereareimportantethicalissuesassociatedwithfieldexperiments.Sinceparticipantsareoften unawarethattheyareinfactparticipantsinapsychologicalinvestigation,theycannotgiveinformed consenttotakepart.Assuch,theresearchmayinvolveabreachoftheirprivacyrightsandacost‐ benefitanalysiswillneedtobeconductedbeforeproceedingwithanystudytoensuretheperceived outcomesfromtheresearchwilloutweighanypersonalcoststothoseinvolved.



NaturalExperiments Inanaturalexperiment,theresearcherdoesnotmanipulatetheIVandinsteadexaminestheeffectofan existingIVonthedependentvariable(DV).ThisIVisnaturallyoccurring,suchasafloodorearthquake, andthebehaviourofpeopleaffectediseithercomparedtotheirownbehaviourbeforehand,when possible,orwithacontrolgroupwhohavenotencounteredtheIV.ItisimportanttonotethatitistheIV whichisnaturalinthistypeofexperiment,andnotnecessarilythecontextinwhichtheinvestigationis takingplacesinceparticipantscouldbetestedinalaboratoryaspartofthestudy. 

EvaluatingNaturalExperiments 

ThenaturallyoccurringIVmeansthatnaturalexperimentsoftenhaveahigherlevelofexternalvalidity comparedtolaboratoryandfieldexperiments.Thesetypesofinvestigationsareconsideredhighin ecologicalvaliditygiventhereal‐lifeissuesthatarebeingstudiedratherthanmanipulatedartificially. However,naturalexperimentshavenocontrolovertheenvironmentandsubsequentextraneous variables,whichmeansthatitisdifficultfortheresearchtoaccuratelyassesstheeffectsoftheIVon theDV.Itmaybethataconfoundingvariablehasaffectedtheresultssoacauseandeffect relationshipmustbedrawnwithextremecaution,ifatall. www.tutor2u.net/psychology

Copyright tutor2u Limited / School Network License / Photocopying Permitted

Page 5

AQA A LEVEL Psychology topic companion: RESEARCH METHODS 

Astrengthofusingnaturalexperimentsistheuniqueinsightsgainedintoreal‐lifesituationsfromusing thismethodology.InvestigatinganaturallyoccurringIVallowsforresearchtobeconductedintoareas ofpsychologythatcouldnotbegeneratedforethicalreasonsorbecauseoflogisticalandpractical constraints.However,anaturallyoccurringeventthatinterestsresearchersmayonlyoccurveryrarely. Thislimitstheopportunitytogeneralisetheresultstoothersimilareventsorcircumstances.



QuasiExperiments Quasiexperimentsalsocontainanaturallyoccurringindependentvariable(IV),butonewhichalready exists.However,inthisinstancetheIVisadifferencebetweenpeoplesuchasgender,ageorapersonality trait.TheresearcherexaminestheeffectofthisIVonthedependentvariable(DV).Quasiexperimentsdo nothavetobeconductedinanaturalsetting,althoughtheyoftenare.Theymayalsobeconductedina laboratorysetting,undercontrolledconditions. 

EvaluatingQuasiExperiments 

 

Alimitationofquasiexperimentsisthatparticipantscannotberandomlyallocatedtoresearch conditionstoremovetheissueofbiasintheprocedure.SincetheIVisanaturallyoccurringdifference betweentheparticipants,thelevelofIVtowhichtheybelongispredecided.Thismeansthe psychologistwillbelesscertainthattheIValonewillhavecausedtheeffectwhichismeasuredthrough theDVasotherdispositionalorenvironmentalfactorsmayhaveplayedaroleintheoutcome.That beingsaid,quasiexperimentsallowresearcherstocomparedifferenttypesofpeopleeasilytoprovide insightintosimilaritiesordifferencesbetweenthesegroupswhichcouldnotbeethicallygenerated otherwise. Therearemethodologicalissuesassociatedwithconductingquasiexperiments.Whenquasi experimentstakeplaceundernaturalconditions,thereisnocontrolovertheenvironmentand subsequentextraneousvariables,makingitdifficulttobesurethatfactorssuchasage,genderor ethnicityhaveaffectedtheDV.Ontheotherhand,whenquasiexperimentstakeplaceunder laboratoryconditionsthehighlevelofcontrolmeansthattheresearchoftenlacksecologicalvalidity, andthefindingscannotalwaysbegeneralisedtoareal‐lifesettingsincebehaviourmaynottranslate outsideoftheresearchenvironment.



ComparisonofExperimentalMethods  ECOLOGICALVALIDITY LABORATORY Low

EXTRANEOUSVARIABLES Controlled

REPLICABILITY High

FIELD

High

Notcontrolled

Low

NATURAL

High

Notcontrolled

Low

QUASI

*Low/High

*Controlled/Notcontrolled

*High/Low

*Thelevelofeachfactordependsonwhetherthequasiexperimentsarecarriedoutinalaboratorysetting orundernaturalconditions. 

PossibleExamQuestions 1. DrHelpfulwasinterestedinstudyingexpectationswhenmeetinganewworkcolleagueforthefirst time.Eachparticipantwhovolunteeredtotakepartwastakentothesameroomwheretheylistened toadescriptionoftheirnewpotentialworkmatecalled‘MsB’.Theparticipantswererandomly allocatedtooneoftwogroupsintheexperiment.DrHelpfulgaveeachparticipantexactlythesame backgroundinformationabout‘MsB’,buttheorderoftheinformationvarieddependingthe experimentalconditionasfollows: Copyright tutor2u Limited / School Network License / Photocopying Permitted

www.tutor2u.net/psychology

Page 6 Group1 Group2

AQA A LEVEL Psychology topic companion: RESEARCH METHODS ThreestrengthsofMsB’sCVwerefollowedbythreenegativecomments. ThreenegativecommentsaboutMsB’sCVwerefollowedbythreestrengths.

 AfterlisteningtotheexcerptfromMsB’sCV,eachparticipantwasaskedtostatewhethertheythought MsBwouldbeacompetentcolleaguetohaveontheirworkteamornot.DrHelpfulrecordedhow manyparticipantsineachgroupstatedthatMsBwas‘competent’.  IdentifywhichtypeofexperimentthatwasconductedbyDrHelpful.(1mark)  2. Whatismeantbytheterm‘quasiexperiment’?(2marks) ExamHint:Itisimportantforstudentstorememberthatquasiexperimentscanbeconductedineithera laboratoryoranaturalsetting.  3. Identifytwofeaturesofanexperiment.(2marks)  4. Outlinewhatismeantbyalaboratoryexperiment.(2marks)  5. Identifyandexplainonedifferencebetweenalaboratoryandafieldexperiment.(2marks)  6. Apsychologistwasinterestedininvestigatingwhetherpeoplewithphobiasweremoreawareoftheir ownheartbeatthanpeoplewhodonotsufferwithaspecificphobia.Amatchedpairsdesignwas adopted.Thesampleincludedeightindividualswithaphobiaandeightpeoplewithoutaphobia.The investigatoraskedeachparticipanttomakeanestimationabouthowfasttheirheartwasbeating(in beatsperminute).Thisfigurewascomparedtotheiractualheartbeatmeasurement.Resultsshowed thatpeoplewithaphobiaweremoreaccurateatestimatingtheirownheartbeatthanpeoplewhodid notsufferwithaphobiaatall.  Explainwhythisstudyisconsideredaquasiexperiment.(2marks) ExamHint:ManystudentsoftenrecognisethatquasiexperimentsdonotinvolvemanipulationoftheIV, butinquestionslikethiscanstruggletoapplythisunderstandingtothecontextofthequestion;that phobiascouldbepre‐existing(evolutionary/biologicalorigin)ornaturallyoccurring(learnedfromthe environment).  7. Describeonedifferencebetweenanaturalexperimentandafieldexperiment.(2marks)  8. Donald,amiddle‐agedmalepolitician,approachedanadultinabusystreetandaskedfordirectionsto thenearestbusstop.Herepeatedthiswith14otheradultsinthesamecity.  Eachofthe15adultsaskedwerethenapproachedbyasecondresearcher,calledMelania,who showedeachofthemsixphotographsofdifferentmiddle‐agedpoliticians,includingaphotographof Donald.Melaniaaskedthe15adultstochoosetheimageoftheindividualwhohadaskedthemfor directionstothebusstop.  Melaniaestimatedtheageofeachofthe15adultsandnotedwhethereachparticipanthadchosenthe correctphotographofDonald.  Suggestonereasonwhytheresearchersdecidedtouseafieldexperimentratherthanalaboratory experiment.(2marks) ExamHint:Studentscangainmarkshereforresponsesreferringtothebenefitsintermsofvalidityor fewerdemandcharacteristicsbutmustelaboratetheirpointfullytoachievethesecondmark.  www.tutor2u.net/psychology

Copyright tutor2u Limited / School Network License / Photocopying Permitted

Page 7

AQA A LEVEL Psychology topic companion: RESEARCH METHODS

9. Whatismeantbyanextraneousvariable?(2marks) ExamHint:Studentsneedtoavoidvaguedefinitionsofextraneousvariablessuchas,‘somethingthat cannotbecontrolled’or‘somethingthatmustbecontrolled’.Answersmustbespecificbyreferringto thefactthatanEVisavariablethatisnotmanipulatedbytheexperimenterbutmayhaveaneffecton thedependentvariablemakingitdifficulttoestablishacauseandeffectrelationship.  10. Explainwhyitisimportanttocontrolextraneousvariablesinexperimentalresearch.(2marks) ExamHint:Strongeranswerstothisquestionwillreferto‘confoundingvariables’intheiranswer.        11. Eleanorwasinterestedininvestigatingtheimpactofcaffeineonmemory.  Discussadvantagesofcarryingoutanexperimentlikethisinalaboratory.(4marks) ExamHint:Ifstudentswriteaboutdisadvantagesherenomarkswillbeawardedasthequestionclearly asksfor‘advantages’.Answerswhichrefertospecificadvantages(e.g.highercontrolofextraneous variables)andlinkitappropriatelytothescenario(e.g.strengthofcaffeinateddrinkassured)willbe abletoaccessthefullrangeofmarksavailable.  12. Outlineandevaluatetheuseoflaboratoryexperimentsinpsychologicalresearch.Refertospecific examplesinyouranswer.(8marks)   

Copyright tutor2u Limited / School Network License / Photocopying Permitted

www.tutor2u.net/psychology

Page 8

AQA A LEVEL Psychology topic companion: RESEARCH METHODS

OBSERVATIONALTECHNIQUES Specification:Observationaltechniques.Typesofobservation:naturalisticandcontrolled observation;covertandovertobservation;participantandnon‐participantobservation. Observationaldesign:behaviouralcategories;eventsampling;timesampling.  WHATYOUNEEDTOKNOW  Outlineandevaluateobservationaltechniques,including: o Covertandovert o Participantandnon‐participant o Naturalisticandcontrolled o Structuredandunstructured  Outlineandevaluatethefactorsinvolvedinthedesignofobservationalresearch,including: o Behaviouralcategories o Eventsamplingandtimesampling 

IntroductiontoObservationalTechniques Whenconductinganobservation,theresearcherhasthechoicebetween:  Covertandovert  Participantandnon‐participant  Naturalisticandcontrolled  Structuredandunstructured  Itisimportanttonotethatthesetechniquesarenotmutuallyexclusive:itisquitepossibleforan observationtobenaturalistic,unstructured,participantandcovertallatthesametime,astheseterms refertodifferentaspectsofthemethods. 

CovertObservations Acovertobservationisalsoknownas‘undisclosed’observationandconsistsofobservingpeoplewithout theirknowledge;forexample,usingaone‐waymirror(covertnon‐participant)orjoiningagroupasa member(covertparticipant).Participantsmaybeinformedoftheirinvolvementinthestudyafterthe observationhastakenplace. 

EvaluatingCovertObservations 

Astrengthofcovertobservationcomparedtoovert observationisthatinvestigatoreffectsarelesslikely.Since theinvestigatorishiddeninthistypeofobservationthere islesschancethattheirdirectorindirectbehaviourwill haveanimpactontheperformanceoftheparticipants.As aresult,thereislesschanceofdemandcharacteristics occurringwherebytheparticipanttriestoguesstheaimof theinvestigationandactaccordingly,sincetheyare unawarethattheyarebeingobserved.Thismeansthatthe participants’behaviourseenwillbemorenaturaland representativeoftheireverydaybehaviour.   Thereareethicalissuesassociatedwiththecovertmethod ofobservationinherentwithinitsdesign.Asparticipants arenotawaretheyaretakingpartinaninvestigation,they www.tutor2u.net/psychology

Copyright tutor2u Limited / School Network License / Photocopying Permitted

Page 9

AQA A LEVEL Psychology topic companion: RESEARCH METHODS

cannotgivefullyinformedconsentnorexercisetheirrighttowithdraw.Thatbeingsaid,itisperfectly acceptabletoobservehumanbehaviourinapublicplacesuchasashoppingcentre.Thismeansthatan assessmentismadebytheinvestigatorbeforetheobservationbeginstoensurethatnoprivacylaws arebeingviolated. 

OvertObservations Anovertobservationisanobservationaltechniquewheretheobservationsare‘open’andtheparticipants know/areawarethattheyarebeingobserved.Forexample,filmingpublicly(overtnon‐participant)or joiningaclassandinformingtheotherstudentsthatyouarecarryingoutanobservation(overt participant). 

EvaluatingOvertObservations Astrengthoftheovertmethodisthatitisoftenmor...