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Planning and Conducting Research (Validity (criterion: how much one…
Planning and Conducting Research
Aims and Hypothesis
research aim: what the experimenter is trying to find out
research question: what the experimenter is interested in
null hypothesis
predicts no effect of IV on DV
there will be no significant difference/correlation
alternate hypothesis
predict effect of IV on DV
there will be a significant difference/correlation
one-tailed hypothesis: say how one variable will increase or decrease the other
two-tailed hypothesis: hypothesis where no direction is predicted; IV could either cause increase or decrease
Sampling
target population: group of people that the experimenter wants to study
random sampling: use random number generator and pick randomly for person to take part in experiment, from target population; each person in target population has equal chance of being selected
snowball sampling: find one participant who introduces you to more and more until your sample size is large enough; useful for if the target population is hard to find
opportunity sampling: take participants from people who are readily available; convenience
self-selected sampling: sample made up of volunteers responding to an advertisement for example
biased sample: a sample that is not representative of its target popluation
sample: a group of selected participants
Report Writing
abstract
summary of piece of research; outlines aim, method, p's, results, and conclusions at start of paper
introduction
considers area the study is located in, and previous research; aim and hypothesis
results
part of research paper which refers to raw data, verbal summaries, and descriptive statistics
discussion
focus on what study has discovered; evaluation, alternative explanations, improvements, plans for the future
references
Lastname, Firstnameinitial. (Yearpublished) Nameofarticle Nameofjournal, volumeissue, pagenumbers
appendices
at end of research paper; contains raw data, calculations and anything else the reader needs to fully understand the research
method
contains design, sample, apparatus, procedure
Reliability
split-half: when both halves of questions give same levels of scores; each half of questions presented separately to test
inter-rater: where two observers consistently rate/observe the same behaviour and the two sets of ratings are correlated to ensure observations are not subjective
internal: consistency of results of a test across items within that test
external: the extent to which a test score varies from one time to another
test re-test: if same results are obtained when p's are retested
consistency of research or findings; whether a test can be used more than once and produce similar results
Validity
criterion: how much one measure predicts the value of another measure
construct: when a test or study actually measures the behaviour it was set out to measure
internal: where research does not have a lot of extraneous variables and the effect of the IV on the DV is truly being measured
face: how good the test appears to be testing what is it meant to be testing
concurrent: when a test is validated against an already existing measure
external: where research can be generalised to other settings
population: how accurately a sample represents its intended population
ecological: where the research is true to life
how accurate a piece of research/test is at measuring what it aims to measure
Ethics
Responsibility
protection: p's are protected from short term and long term harm
debrief: discussion between p and experimenter to explain aims, and to ensure p will not be traumatised
Respect
right to withdraw: o's can exit the experiment and have all their data removed
informed consent: ensure all p's have agreed to take part in experiment
confidentiality: protect privacy of p's by not associating names with responses
Competence
psychologists work within capabilities and qualifications
peer review of research
Integrity
deception: p's are tricked into believing study is about something different than what it actually is
Variables
Independent variable: the thing that is being changed/manipulated in the experiment
Dependant variable: the thing that is being measured or observed in the experiment
Extraneous Variables:undesirable variables that may influence the relationship between the IV and the DV
e.g. situational variables e.g. the room, social setting, time of day etc
e.g. participant variables e.g. age, gender, ethnicity
undesirable variables that may influence the relationship between the IV and the DV
control:
standardisation: keeping test conditions same for each participant; control situational variables
randomisation: p's are allocated to conditions randomly; avoid experimenter bias
counterbalancing: changing the order of tasks given to p's; reduce order effects
Methodological issues
order effects
where the order that experimental tasks are given affects results
practice: p's perform better on second task due to already knowing what to do
fatigue: p's perform worse second time as they may get bored and uninterested
researcher/observer bias: where the p's interpret the behaviour of p's in favour of what they expect to see
researcher/observer effect: effects on participants brought about by experimenter's presence
demand characteristics: where p's interpret the aims of the experiment and change their behaviour to fit these aims
social desirability: where p's try to present an image of themselves as being a good members of society
representativeness: small quantity of p's that accurately reflect the wider population (sample)
generalisability: the extent to which a specific research finding can be applied to the wider population (results)
ethnocentric bias: when only one type of person is used to represent a diverse population
gender bias: androcentric study uses only male p's; omits a gender, therefore reduces generlisability
culture bias: only one country/area is represented; other cultures may not understand research in same way
age bias: certain age groups are omitted; e.g. using only students to represent all adults
systematic bias: tendency of experiment or process to support particular outcomes
Sammer Sheikh