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Summary Alevel psychology research methods notes
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detailed but concise notes of the whole research methods topic. both a01 and a03 notes provided.
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Research MethodsA research method is a way of obtaining data.
There are 2 sources of data.
Primary sources – first-hand information collected by the researcher him/herself.
Primary data comes directly from the source i.e., participants and is collected for the
purpose of the study (it is original)
Advantage – this data hasn’t been interpreted by anybody else and the method can be
geared to the aims of the research.
Secondary sources – data gathered by others including statistics, published studies,
textbooks, journal, diaries etc. Secondary data does not come directly from the
source and is not specific to the study (not original)
Advantage – inexpensive, less time consuming and readily available.
Different types of studies – Longitudinal and Cross-sectional, Cross-cultural studies, Case
Studies
, Longitudinal (time) – studies carried out over a long period of time the same, the
same participants are studied at regular intervals.
Advantages – ideal for identifying social processes and trends as the same participants
are studied over time. Controls for individual differences, controls/explaining.
Disadvantages – time consuming and expensive to conduct. Sample members may be
lost (sample attribution)
Cross-sectional (time) – a cross sections of participants of different ages are selected
to conduct the study e.g., years 5,7,9,12.
Advantage – less time consuming, more cost efficient
Disadvantage – doesn’t control for individual differences.
Cross cultural studies – this is a research method. The same
test/interview/questionnaire is conducted on different cultures to be able to
discover similarities and differences between the cultures.
Advantages – they reveal the taken for granted assumptions about the world.
Disadvantages – translating between languages.
Case studies – case studies involve obtaining detailed information about an
individual or group.
Advantage – rich and detailed source of information. Yield hypothesis for testing
Aims and Hypothesis – A hypothesis is a statement that can be tested to see if it is true.
Definition: testable statement of cause and effect. It states a ‘relationship’ between two
variables. It is a prediction, an educated guess.
There are different types: the research hypothesis (general), experimental hypothesis
(experiments), the alternate hypothesis (interviews, observation), the null hypothesis.
The Research Hypothesis – this is a general prediction. It does not give enough detail
on which to base an investigation. E.g., eating cheese before bed causes nightmares.
The Experimental/Alternate Hypothesis – this gives enough detail for the
investigation to be carried out and replicated by others. The IV and DV of the
hypothesis must be operationalised. Operationalised means observable and
measurable. E.g., eating 100g of cheddar cheese an hour before going to bed will
significantly increase the number of nightmares experienced by participants.
There are 2 directions for a hypothesis – non-directional (two-tailed) or directional (one-
tailed).
Non-directional hypotheses example – there will be a significant different between
the scores A and B. Drug A will have a significant effect on migraines. Stem cell
surgery will have a significant effect on the symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease.
Directional hypotheses examples – a directional hypothesis specifically states which
way the results will go. Males are significantly more likely to show aggressive
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