methodology

MethodologyRevision

Ethical guidelinesInformed consent:Participants should be briefed with as much information as possible about a study to enable them to make an informed judgement as to whether to take part or not. However …What sort of information should we give participants? Should we reveal everything? Why might we want to hide some information?

Not everyone is capable of giving informed consent

Deception0Deception should only be used if there is no

alternative0We should seek approval from an ethics committee 0Debriefing does not justify deception

Right to withdraw0We must make participants aware that they are free to

leave a study at any time, even if we’ve paid them! They can also refuse permission for their data to be used

Protection from physical and psychological harm:0Participants’ psychological and physiological safety

must be ensured0We cannot expose them to greater risk than their

normal life experiencesConfidentiality0 Information about our participants is protected by the

Data Protection Act0They must not be identifiable in published research

Participants are given numbers or referred to by a code or their

initials

Participant 21

Privacy:0Often tricky if we’re conducting observations when

people are unaware they’re being watched, but we must maintain their right to privacy

0We should only observe people where they would expect to be observed by others in public places…

Debriefing:We must always debrief participants after a study to allow them to ask questions and for the researcher to remind them again of their right to withdraw

0Sometimes, we uncover problems during research

0If we believe these might be detrimental to a participant’s future well-being, we have a duty to sensitively inform them or gain appropriate professional help

That brain tumour’s so big it’s a wonder your head

hasn’t exploded

We’ve had a look at the parts of your brain that are active in processing

emotions. We’d like to get a doctor from our

neurology department to come and see you.

We must all take responsibility for good practice. We should challenge colleagues who are not acting in

an ethical manner.

Mnemonic

Peter Piper Cried When Charles Darwin Died

Protection of participants Privacy Consent Withdrawal Confidentiality Deception

Debriefing

When we carry out research we need people to take part, these are called participants. It is important to use suitable participants in your study.

The population is the group of people from whom the sample is drawn. For example if the sample of participants is taken from sixth form colleges in Luton, the findings of the study can only be applied to that group of people and not all sixth form students in the UK and certainly not all people in the world because they are not representative (they might have different characteristics )

Opportunity sampling is the sampling technique most used by psychology students. It consists of taking the sample from people who are available at the time the study is carried out and fit the criteria you are looking for.

Want to be in my study?

Geek!Advantages: quick and convenientDisadvantage: unrepresentative of the target population.

This is a sampling technique which is defined as a sample in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being chosen. This involves identifying everyone in the target population and then selecting the number of participants you need in a way that gives everyone in the population an equal chance of being picked.

Advantage: best chance of an unbiased representative sample of the target population.Disadvantage: Difficult to do when the target population is large.

Stratified sampling involves classifying the population into categories and then choosing a sample which consists of participants from each category in the same proportions as they are in the population.

= 60% female

40% male

= 60% female

40% male

Advantage: more representative of the wider population than opportunity sample as all categories of the target population are represented.Disadvantages: difficult and time consuming.

Self selected sampling (or volunteer sampling) consists of participants becoming part of a study because they volunteer when asked or in response to an advert.

Volunteers needed for psychological study on

learning

Sounds rubbish…

Gotta do my hair..

I just love to be helpful…. I’ve always wanted to

be in a study….

Advantages: convenient, no bias from the experimenter in the choice of participants.Disadvantages: often unrepresentative, biased on the part of the participants- volunteers might be different from non-volunteers.

Pilot studyThis is a smaller version of a study carried out before the main research. The aim is to identify any flaw in the  study and carry out the necessary modifications before doing the full scale study.

Research methods

0Laboratory experiments0Field experiments0Natural experiments

0Correlational studies0Observations0Content analysis0Questionnaires0 Interviews

Experimental methods Non-experimental methods

What is an experiment?

A research method in which:0There is an independent variable (IV) manipulated

by the researcher .0The effects of the IV on another variable are observed

or measured. This variable is called the dependent variable (DV).

0The participants are allocated randomly to the conditions.

Different types of experiments

0Laboratory experiment: it takes place in a laboratory (a controlled environment) and the researcher manipulates the IV

0Field experiment takes place in the participants natural environment and the researcher manipulates the IV

0Natural experiment: takes place in the participants’ natural environment the researcher does not manipulate the IV

Writing an experimental hypothesis

The IV will affect the DV

Before you write an hypothesis make sure you first determine what are the IV and the DV.

Null Hypothesis

0 It is a statement that the results will be due to chance not to the manipulation of the IV

The IV will not affect the DV

Directional non-directional

0A directional hypothesis states the kind of difference or relationship between the IV and the DV. It is sometimes called one-tailed hypothesis.

0A non-directional hypothesis simply predicts that there will be a difference between conditions. It is sometimes called two-tailed hypothesis.

OperationalisationMany of the concepts used in hypothesis are abstract (i.e. intelligence aggression), operationalising an hypothesis is saying what you are going to observe , for example if you are speaking about measuring aggression you might count the number of punches given by participants.

Other variables…

The results can be influenced by other variables:Extraneous variablesParticipants characteristicsSituational variablesExperimenter effects

If you have a question on this topic, choose a variable which is relevant to the study you are given in the question.

There are 3 different ways to carry out the experiment with participants. These are known as Experimental Designs.

Independent measures design

Repeated measures design

Matched pairs design

Hmmm…...

Pictures

Participants only take part in one condition of the experiment (2 separate groups)

Words

Advantages: Avoids order effects. If a person is involved in several tests they man become bored or tired . Less demand characteristic as they do only one condition.Disadvantages: More people are needed than with the repeated measures design . Differences between participants in the groups may affect results, for example; variations in age, sex or social background. These differences are known as participant variables.

Pictures

Participants take part in both conditions of the experiment (1 group)

Words

Advantages: Avoids the problem of participant variables. Fewer people are needed.Disadvantages: Order effects are more likely to occur.Demand characteristic more likely as participants might guess the aim as they take part in all the conditions.

Counterbalancing

Alternating the order in which participants perform in different conditions of an experiment. For example, group 1 does ‘A’ then ‘B’, group 2 does ‘B’ then ‘A’ this is to eliminate order effects.

Participants are matched in each condition for characteristics that may have an effect on their performance. e.g. A memory test

1 1 1

1 12

2 2 2

2

Advantages: Reduces participant variables. Avoids order effects.Disadvantages: Very time-consuming trying to find closely matched pairs. Impossible to match people exactly. Requires more participants.

• Advantages: • Strict control therefore more objectivity.• Standardisation therefore easy to replicate.• Disadvantages:• Artificial conditions may produce artificial behaviour

therefore lack of ecological validity• Demand characteristic and experimenter bias• Ethics: problems of deception, …. possible

Lab. experiment

s

• Advantages: • Greater ecological validity than lab experiments• If the participants are unaware of being tested less demand

characteristic.• Disadvantages:• Less control so more possibility of influence of confounding

variables and more difficult to replicate.• Ethics: consent, deception, invasion of privacy.

Field experiments

• Advantages:• Great ecological validity• No demand characteristic, or bias due to sampling.• Disadvantages:• Very difficult to replicate• Hard to infer cause and effect due to little control over

extraneous variables.• Ethics: consent, deception, invasion of privacy.

Natural experiment

s

Correlational Studies0A way of establishing whether there is a

relationship between two variables0Assessing the strength of that relationship0unlike experiments, correlational studies

do not tell you about causal relationships (we cannot say that it is because one factor varies that the other factor increases/ decreases)

Correlational Studies

0Measure the two variables to obtain two sets of paired scores there is no IV or DV0Analyse the relationship by:0Drawing a scattergraph0Calculating a correlation coefficient

Writing an hypothesis for a correlation

Two tailed (non-directional) hypothesis:There will be a correlation between variable 1 and variable 2One tailed (directional) hypothesis:There will be a positive (or negative) correlation between variable 1 and variable 2.Null hypothesis:There will not be a correlation between variable 1 and variable 2. any difference will be due to chance.

Correlation Coefficient

0A statistical method for assessing the strength of a correlation0The sign (+ or -) tells you the

direction of the correlation0The number (between 0 and 1)

tells you the strength

How strong is the relationship between the two factors?

0No

correlation

-1 perfect negative

correlation

+1 perfect positive

correlation

Weak Weak Strong Strong

We calculate a coefficient between -1 and +1

The closer to 1 (+ or -) the stronger the relationship

Scattergraphs

When one variable increases so does the other variable

When one variable increases the other variable decreases

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages

Can be used when an experiment would be unpractical or unethical.If the correlation is significant then further investigation is justified

DisadvantagesA cause and effect relationship between the two factors studied cannot be established because other factors might be involved To get the AO2 marks you need to give an example and explain examples of factors which might be influential.

ObservationsNon-participant observationAn observation that is conducted by someone that is not part of the group being observed.0 Advantages: can be ethical but do

the Ps know that they are being observed? Is it in a public place?

0 Disadvantages: the presence of the observer can alter the group’s behaviour. Impossible to replicate.

Participant observationAn observation that is conducted by someone who is part of the group being observed.0 Advantages: high ecological

validity if observer is undisclosed. Can give in-depth and detailed information.

0 Disadvantages: difficult to record data objectively, impossible to replicate, ethical problems of consent.

Naturalistic observations Structured observations: Uses tables of pre-determined categories of behaviour and systematic sampling. Two ways to structure observation: time or event sampling

Unstructured observations:record what happens.

Advantages: High ecological validity, can be used as a preliminary study before a more detailed research.

Disadvantages: cannot establish a cause-effect relationship as no variable is manipulated. No control over conditions so replication is impossible. Ethical problems of consent and invasion of privacy.

Carrying out an observation

1. Determine the behavioural categories to be observed

2. Train observers to classify the same behaviours in the same categories (inter-observer reliability)

3. Carry out a pilot study4. Carry out the observation

Definition - Content Analysis

A kind of observational study in which the behaviour is observed indirectly in written or verbal material.A detailed analysis is made of books, TV, newspapers…

How to conduct a content analysis

0Decide a sampling method (what material is to be used for the research)

0Decide the coding unitsThen decide how you are going to carry out the analysis:1. Frequency - the number of times certain words or themes come up (e.g. number of times that sexual references come up in day-time television)2. Amount of space devoted to a certain topic

Advantages0 Likely to have high

ecological validity as the material is not produced for the research but as part of normal activities (i.e. TV & magazines)

0 Ethical as no participants are used however in diary analysis there might be an issue of invasion of privacy if no informed consent has been sought.

0 Fairly cheap as no new material has to be created and no participants are used.

Disadvantages0 Very time consuming0 Little or no control of

extraneous variables0 Open to bias as the researcher

has to interpret the content in order to fit the data in the coding units and this depends on the interpretation of the material however this can be partly overcome by using more than one researcher and establishing inter- rater reliability.

0 Ethical issues could arise if using diary analysis (confidentiality and invasion of privacy)

Self-reporting methodsQuestionnairesA list of standardised set of questions is given to each respondent; they give their answers in writing0 Closed questions0 Open questions

InterviewsQuestions are asked orally 0 Structured interviews has

predetermined questions.0 Unstructured interviews:

questions are developed as a response to the answers given

Both interviews and questionnaires can yield quantitative or qualitative data

Quantitative vs qualitative data

Easier to analyse. Can be processed using

statistical tests Easier to compare

people or groups

BUT Lacking in detail and

often superficial

Rich in detail Can be analysed in more

depthBUT More difficult to analyse Difficult to compare

people or groups

Quantitative dataNumerical data (in number)

Qualitative dataData in words

Types of Question0Open questions

0 Allow respondents to answer however they want0 Generate qualitative data

0Closed questions0 Restrict respondent to a predetermined set of responses0 Generate quantitative data

Types of Closed Question0Checklist

0 What is the highest academic qualification you hold?0G.C.S.E.s0A Levels0Batchelor Degree0Post-graduate Degree

0Numerical (Likert) response scale0 Psychology is the most interesting A-Level subject

Ranking scale

Rank the following activities according to how much time you spend on them each day (1 = most time, 4 = least time)

• Talking face to face• Talking on the telephone• Text messaging• Other (e.g. MSN, Facebook chat)

Ways of Administering:

0Face to face in a private/public place.

0En masse to a group in a public setting.

0Through the post.

0Via the internet.

0Over the telephone.

Strengths Limitations0 Large numbers of

questionnaires can be administered quickly: cost-efficient and less time consuming.

0 Easy to reach a wide range of participants from target population.

0 Completed privately and easily made anonymous: more honest (valid) responses should be gained.

0 Response rates are low, making it hard to generalise the results to the target population.

0 Response bias: only certain types of people will return the questionnaire.

0 Respondents may misunderstand the questions, leading to invalid data.

0 Participants might be influenced by social desirability (they will give answers which make them look good).

Evaluating questionnaires

Evaluation of interviews0Closed questions give

quantitative data, easy to analyse using statistical tests.

0Open questions gather qualitative data which is rich in detail and depth

0Time consuming to administer

0The interviewer has to be trained

0Open questions yield qualitative data which is more difficult to analyse and the interpretation can be biased.

0Participants can be influenced by social desirability.