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Psych: Research Methods - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Allows researchers to infer informal explnnation between variables
      - Easy design to replicate
      - Maximises control of extraneous variables
      - Allows for generalisations
    - - May not apply to real world. Lab behaviour and real behaviour may differ
      - The sample may not always been representative of the population in question
      - Ethical concerns i.e. you can't force pregnant people to smoke to observe the results in experimental research
      - Many variables are difficult or impossible to control in a lab setting’
      - Extraneous variables may prevent valid conclusions
  - - - Allows for the study of complex phenomena that can’t be studied in a lab environment
      - Allows for the study of variables that would be unethical to manipulate. Such as smoking during pregnancy.
  - - - Focus Groups
        
        A facilitator runs a group discussion/interview to find people’s attitudes on a particular topic.
        
        2-8 participants are asked which questions which creates discussions, personal exchanges and comments which are recorded by a scribe
        
        A process known as content analysis occurs to process what the participants say
      - The Delphi Technique
        
        Gains responses on a given topic from a small group of ‘experts’. Experts can be professionals in the field or any other people with an interest or experience on a topic.
        
        Responses are typically presented in a written format either via email or post
        
        A series of questionnaires are used to obtain a consensus of people’s opinions on the topic, where the experts give open-ended opinions on the topic,
        
        Themes of the opinions are grouped together and a questionnaire relating to these is redistributed as a self administered test
        
        This process of redistributing tests is repeated until a consensus is reached.
      - Surveys
        
        Fairly basic research method, essentially a questionnaire that asks people about their attitudes and behaviours towards a given topic.
        
        They can be administered easily to a large group of people.
      - Naturalistic observation
        
        Observation of a predetermined behaviour in an animal or human.
        
        The researcher observes behaviour without any preconceived ideas in a natural environment.
        
        It is effective when little is known about a phenomenon as it occurs in the natural environment.
      - Case studies
        
        A single participant or several closely related cases are examined in great depth and detail
        
        Data may be gathered from a number of sources, using a variety of techniques such as surveys, focus groups and naturalistic observations.
      - Advantages
        
        Often more convenient
        
        Collects extensive rich data
        
        Participants are free to express their own opinions
        
        Provides more in-depth and detailed responses
        
        Can be used when little or nothing is known about a topic
      - Disadvantages
        
        Does not allow for generalisations
        
        The presence of an observer may influence results and behaviour
        
        Can not establish causation
        
        Interpretation of results may be effected by bias.
- - - - Standardised Tests
        
        Tests that are designed to be used in exactly the same way on every occasion;
        
        There is uniformity in the content, format, instructions and the method of scoring
        
        Scores on the test should have the same meaning are transferable.
      - Physiological Measures
        
        Any measure of body functions, e.g. heart rate, blood pressure, galvanic skin response, and brain waves/activity.
      - Behavioural counts
        
        A record of how often a particular behaviour was observed during a period of time. E.g. the amount of times someone blinks.
  - - - Rating scales
        
        A set of opinions from which respondents select their response to a fixed response question or statement.
      - Questionnaire
        
        A written set of questions (e.g. for a personality test)
  - - - Thought Diary
- - - - Most commonly used to describe an entire dataset
    - - May be useful if extreme outliers are present
    - - Used when the data is categorical