PSYCHOLOGY PSY10005 Exam Revision Notes

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the psychological experiment? • Advantages: identifies causal relationships, there is an ability to manipulate variables, experiments can be controlled • Disadvantages: Non-manipulated variables aren’t tested, results are acquired in an artificial environment, inadequate methods of enquiry What are the different research settings in which experimental research is conducted, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each setting? • Field – conducted in real life. Advantage: not subject to artificial settings. Disadvantage: cannot be controlled as effectively. • Laboratory – conducted in lab setting. Advantage: can be controlled. Disadvantage: situation is very artificial. • Internet – study conducted over the internet. Advantages: ease of access to diverse participants, bringing the experiment to the people, larger samples, cost saving. Disadvantages: Multiple submissions, lack of control, self-selection, dropout rate. What is nonexperimental quantitative research? No manipulation of the independent variable (IV). Used to identify and describe. What is the difference between correlational research and natural manipulation research? In correlational research no manipulation is present, but in natural manipulation research an event occurs that one might be seen as a manipulation In what ways is correlational research and natural manipulation research similar? They are both looking for relationships between variables What are cross-sectional and longitudinal designs? • Cross sectional – all data is collected at one time • Longitudinal – data is collected at two or more points in time How are cross-sectional and longitudinal designs different? The main difference is that cross-sectional studies interview a fresh sample of people each time they are carried out, whereas longitudinal studies follow the same sample of people over time. How does the cohort-sequential design combine characteristics of cross-sectional and longitudinal designs? Different age groups are tested multiple times What is qualitative research, and explain each of the components included in this definition. Interpretive research approach relying on multiple types of subjective data and investigation of people in particular situations in their natural environment • Interpretive – taking results and being able to understand and put them in context • Multimethod – using a variety of methods to collect data • natural setting- ensuring data is collected in the participants natural setting What are the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research? • Strength: Issues can be examined in depth. Questions can be changed ad hoc. Research direction can be revised, • Weakness: Difficult to generalize, data might be interpreted differently by different people, objective hypothesis testing procedure not used. Research quality is heavily dependent on the individual skills of the researcher and more easily influenced by the