RESEARCH

METHODS
 VARIABLES AND CONTROLS

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE: A variable that is being manipulated to test for its impact on the dependent
variable. It has at least two conditions, usually an experimental condition and a control condition
I
. Experimental condition: The group on whom the IV is being tested to see if it has any impact
on the behaviour of the participants. For example the doodling group in Andrade
II. Control condition: The group on whom the IV is not being implemented, and is instead, being
used to compare the results to the experimental condition to make sure it is only the IV that is
causing the difference in behaviours, for example, the control condition in Andrade did not
doodle.
▶ Participants can be split into the control condition and experimental condition by the
researcher’s choice, or by random allocation which means randomly allocate some participants to
the control group and others to the experimental group (also referred to as randomized control
trials/RCTs). The advantage of this is that the two groups will have different types of participants in
each condition which will make it less biased and more valid. However, the weakness of this is that
randomly allocating participants to the two conditions can cause individual differences, for example,
more intelligent participants may be allocated to one condition by chance, which could lower the
validity

DEPENDENT VARIABLE: A variable that is being measured to test if the IV has an impact on it. For
example, in Andrade, the DV was the scores on the monitoring task and recall tasks
 VARIABLES AND CONTROLS

CONFOUNDING VARIABLE: Also referred to as extraneous variables, these are

variables other than the IV that can affect the DV and confuse the researcher and lower
validity. For example, if a researcher wants to test if AC affects concentration, the AC is
the IV and concentration is the DV, but other factors that could also affect the
concentration such as lighting would be a confounding variable
▶ Participant variables: These are confounding variables that are directly brought about
by the participant such as their personality, age, gender, intelligence, memory etc.
▶ Situational variables: These are confounding variables that are directly brought about
by the situation such as lighting, weather, noise etc.

▶ Uncontrollable variables: These are confounding variables that cannot be controlled or

eliminated from a study and will lower the validity. They can be both situational or
participant variables
 VARIABLES AND CONTROLS

CONTROLS: When confounding variables are being reduced or removed from a study, we say
they are being “controlled”.
▶ For example, if a researcher wants to test if AC (IV) affects concentration during a test (DV), he can
split participants into two conditions – the AC condition who will be exposed to AC at a certain
temperature, e.g. 16 degrees, and a control condition who will not have an AC on.
▶ The researcher will compare if the people in the AC on condition will concentrate better than those
in the control condition. However, there can be confounding variables in this experiment which can
also affect concentration such as the lighting in the room.
▶ Perhaps one room has brighter lighting and the other doesn’t. So there is a chance that the
lighting is the reason for better concentration rather than the AC.
▶ In order to remove this confusion, the researcher will need to control the lighting so that it is the
same in both groups, so that any difference in concentration is due to the AC factor and nothing
else.
 VARIABLES AND CONTROLS

▶Controls can affect both validity and reliability of a study

▶When a study has high levels of controls, it makes the procedure standardized
which makes the study easy to replicate in order to test for reliability

▶ When a study has high controls, it is reducing confounding variables, which makes
the researcher more confident that it is only the IV affecting the DV and not any
other variable, which increases the validity
 VALIDITY AND ITS TYPES

VALIDITY: is how accurately a study is measuring what it aims to measure.

▶ Validity for experiments is how confident the researcher is that it is only the IV
affecting the DV and not any other variable (confounding variable)
▶ Therefore, more controls over confounding variables, means a researcher is
more confident that it is only the IV affecting the DV which increases validity
▶ Demand characteristics can also lower validity. This is when a participant is
aware of the true aim of the study, and changes their behaviour and does not
behave naturally. As a result, the researcher will not be accurately measuring the
participant’s authentic or natural behaviour, which reduces validity
 VALIDITY AND ITS TYPES

▶ Socially desirable responses also reduce validity. This is when participants

respond to questions in self reports according to what they think is socially
accepted, rather than giving their own true honest response, which will reduce
the validity

▶ Some researchers conduct a double-blind technique to increase validity of their

procedure. This is when neither the participants are aware which group/condition
they are in (to avoid demand characteristics), nor do the observers who are
recording the behaviour of the participants know which condition the participants
are in (to avoid researcher bias).

For example, one group is administered an anti-depressant drug, and another a

placebo, and neither of the two groups, nor the experimenter knows which group is
being administered what treatment (double-blind placebo-controlled trials)
 VALIDITY AND ITS TYPES

ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY: is the extent to which a study matches a real life setting.

▶ When a study is being conducted in a real life or natural setting (field experiment) such as a
hospital, park, subway etc. it has ecological validity as this is a setting that is a real life
environment
▶ When an environment is highly controlled, the setting becomes more artificial (lab experiment),
and this lowers the ecological validity
▶ Mundane realism is a term that should be used with ecological validity, and it refers to how
close the task the participants are performing in the procedure is to a real life task. For e.g.
helping someone who has fallen is something one can expect to do in everyday life and
therefore has high mundane realism (Piliavin), however, giving another person an electric
shock for answering incorrectly on a word pair list is not something you expect in everyday life
and therefore, lacks mundane realism (Milgram)
 RELIABILITY AND ITS
TYPES
RELIABILITY: is when a study has high levels of controls, it is highly standardized,
which means it can be replicated or repeated in order to test for consistency of results

▶ What this means is, if a researcher conducts a study to test if AC affects

concentration in a test, and proves that it does indeed improve concentration, then
he should be able to repeat this study again and get the same results every time
▶ This will mean the results are consistent or reliable and we can always expect the
same result in this situation every time
▶ This can only be done when the same study is repeated more than once the
exact same
standardized way
▶ Standardization is when the procedure of a study is the same for everyone
because of high levels of controls
 RELIABILITY AND ITS
TYPES
INTER-RATER RELIABILITY: When two observers are observing and rating the same
behaviour of participants, and have consistency in their ratings

▶ For example, two observers are observing how aggressive a participant is from 1
(not at all) to 5 (very much)
▶ If both raters give consistent ratings, such as 5/5, then that means we can be
confident that the participant is actually aggressive
▶ If there is only one rater, they can make a mistake in their ratings or observations,
which is why if a second rater is also observing and rating the same behaviour, and
gives the same or similar rating, then there is a lesser chance of a mistake being
made
▶ Both raters will not know what each other is rating to avoid any bias. They will only
know what each other has rated after rating the behaviour
 RELIABILITY AND ITS
TYPES
INTER-OBSERVER RELIABILITY: This is the same as inter-rater reliability, except
that in this, the two observers are not rating the behaviour, but only reporting
observations

▶ For example, two observers are observing how aggressive a participant is, but rather
than giving ratings, both report that the participant was “punching”

▶ As both observers are reporting the same consistent behaviours that they are
observing,
then the study will have high inter-observer reliability
 GENERALISABILITY

GENERALISABILITY: The extent to which the findings of a study can be applied to a wider
population. The term “representative” is often used with generalisability in questions in CAIES.

▶ The larger and more diverse a sample, the more generalizable the findings

▶ For example, a study being done on a sample of 10 female adult participants has very low
generalisability as the sample size is very small and only includes adults and females and so, the
findings cannot be applied to a larger group of people, or to males or children

▶ Another example is a sample of 5000 people with males and females, various ages, all from
Karachi. The generalisability is very high as the sample size is large and includes both genders
and people of different ages and so can be applied to a larger population. However, it cannot
be applied to people outside Karachi as they are not being represented
 Hypotheses and operationalisation

● A hypothesis is a statement where the researcher predicts what they think will happen in the research
● It is important that the hypothesis is operationalised.
● This means that the independent and dependent variables (in an experiment) or the co-variables (in a
correlation) are clearly defined.
● The units of measurement (e.g. milliseconds) should always be included.
● When psychologists talk about operational definitions, they mean how something (variable) is
observed or measured.
● For example, a phobia could be measured using a score from a self-report questionnaire, heart rate
from a heart rate monitor (in beats per minute), a participant’s body language from an observation
(e.g. number of times they touch their face or hair, cross and uncross their legs, etc.) or a
measurement of cortisol (a stress hormone) in their saliva. (USE EXAMPLES FROM STUDIES)
TYPES OF HYPOTHESIS
 DIRECTIONAL HYPOTHESIS

● The term experimental hypothesis is used for studies where this is an independent variable (e.g.
laboratory and field experiments),
● whereas the term alternative hypothesis is used in non-experimental studies, such as correlational
studies.
● Hypotheses can be directional (also known as one-tailed) or non-directional (or two-tailed).

Directional Hypothesis

● Definition: Predicts the specific direction of the effect or relationship (e.g., better/worse, positive/negative).
● The researcher will predict whether the experimental group will perform significantly better or worse than the
control group (or in a correlation, whether it will be a positive or a negative correlation).
● Example: "Group A will score significantly higher on the memory test than Group B."
 NON DIRECTIONAL

Non-directional Hypothesis
● Definition: Predicts that a significant difference or correlation will occur, but does not specify the
direction.
● For a non-directional hypothesis, the researcher states that there will be a significant difference
between the experimental and control groups but does not state in which direction that difference
will be – for example, whether the experimental group will be faster or slower. Similarly, with a
correlation, the researcher will state that there will be a significant correlation between two
variables, but not whether it will be a positive or negative correlation.
● Non-directional hypotheses tend to start with the words ‘There will be a significant
difference/correlation...’.
● Example: "There will be a significant difference in test scores between Group A and Group B."
 NULL HYPOTHSIS

Null Hypothesis
● Definition: Predicts no effect or no relationship between variables. Any observed
difference is due to chance.
● The null hypothesis is the statement that the independent variable will have no effect
on the dependent variable, or that two variables are not correlated with each other. It
is important for the null hypothesis to also be operationalised.
● Null hypotheses normally start with ‘There will be no difference/correlation...’, and they
usually finish by saying that ‘any difference that does arise will be due to chance’.
● Example: "There will be no difference in test scores between Group A and Group B,
and any difference that does arise will be due to chance."
 DATA
▶
DATA refers to the results or findings of a study

1. Quantitative Data: This is data that is objective and numerical and allows for comparisons
to be made.
▶ It tells us ‘what’ the results of a study are, but does not tell us why they are this way
▶ It can be used to compare the scores of two groups in tasks, such as the AS/HFA group and the control
group scores in the Eyes Test and the AQ Test in Baron Cohen

2. Qualitative Data: This is data that is detailed, in-depth and subjective and in the form of
comments, opinions, and behaviours
▶ It tells us the reason behind a behaviour
▶ For example, the comments made by females in Piliavin explain why majority helpers were male
 SUBJECTIVE AND OBJECTIVE DATA

Subjective and objective data

Subjective data means that the data can be influenced by a person’s personal thoughts, feelings or
opinions. This is more likely to be an issue with qualitative data, which requires interpretation by the
researcher when being analysed.

Objective data is unbiased, factual and not influenced by a person’s personal thoughts or opinions.
For example, research that uses ratings scales that are quantifiable is more objective as the data
does not require interpretation by the researcher. In scientific research, it is important to be as
objective as possible.

Researchers can improve objectivity by getting another researcher, who does not know the aim of
the study, to interpret the data. This person is likely to be more objective than the primary researcher,
who will have already formed hypotheses about what the data will show.
 SAMPLING METHODS

Sampling Methods are the ways in which a researcher can acquire participants for
their study. A sample refers to all the participants who take part in a study. They are
usually representative of a target population.
A population refers to a group sharing one or more characteristics from which a sample
is drawn.
1. OPPORTUNITY SAMPLE

2. VOLUNTEER SAMPLE

3. RANDOM SAMPLE
 SAMPLING METHODS

OPPORTUNITY SAMPLE
▶ Also referred to as convenience sample, this is when participants are readily available at the time
of the study. For example, a researcher goes to a park, or subway, or hospital and does a study
on whoever is already available there, this will be an opportunity sample
STRENGTHS:
1. It is convenient and less time consuming as participants are already available, and may be available in
large numbers, which can increase the generalisability
2. Participants may not be aware they are part of a study and won’t show demand characteristics which will
increase validity
WEAKNESSES:
1. The researcher cannot control the specific features such as age, gender etc. of the participants, nor the
sample size, which may limit the generalisability
2. If participants are unaware they are part of a study, it may be unethical as they have not provided
informed consent
 SAMPLING METHODS

VOLUNTEER SAMPLE
▶ Also referred to as self-selecting sample, this is when participants select themselves to be part of
a study by volunteering such as by responding to an ad in the newspaper
STRENGTHS:
1. The participants are volunteering and therefore providing their informed consent which makes the
study ethical
2. The researcher can control the specific features of the participants by specifying the criteria in the ad,
such as stating they may want participants aged 20-50 years only
WEAKNESSES:
1. If participants are aware they are part of a study, they may show demand characteristics which will lower
the validity
2. It may be time consuming as participants have to respond to the ad, and may even be
expensive as they may have to be paid for participation. Placing an ad can also be expensive
 SAMPLING METHODS

RANDOM SAMPLE
▶ This is when all participants have an equal chance of being selected at random from a
target population. For example, there are names of 50 people on pieces of paper placed in
a bowl, and the researcher randomly selects any 10 papers – they will make the sample
STRENGTHS:
1. Everyone has an equal opportunity of being selected for the study
2. The sample will always be representative of the target population from where it is selected and
can be generalized to this target population
WEAKNESSES:
1. The sample cannot be generalized beyond the target population
2. The researcher cannot control specific features of the sample, for example, they may randomly
select majority females over males, restricting the generalisability to females only
 ETHICS

▶ ETHICS refer to the legal and moral guidelines researchers should follow when
conducting studies. There are different ethical guidelines for humans as participants
and different for animals as participants. It is important to follow/maintain/uphold
these guidelines rather than to break them

Human Ethical Guidelines:

1. Deception: This is when participants are lied to about certain aspects of the study
such as not being told the true aim of the study, or being deceived within certain
aspects of the procedure, or perhaps even through the use of a
stooge/confederate/actor (a researcher who pretends he is a participant to deceive
the actual participants). It is unethical to deceive participants in studies, but it
is often done in order to avoid demand characteristics so participants can
behave more naturally and increase the validity of the study
 ETHICS

2. Informed Consent: It is unethical to conduct a study on participants without their

informed consent, or in other words, without their permission. At times participants
provide their consent, but they are deceived about the true aim, and therefore are not
providing their informed consent for the real purpose of the study

3. Right to Withdraw: Participants have the right to leave the study whenever they
wish and should not be forced to continue against their will as this will be
unethical and can cause psychological harm to them

4. Protection from Harm: Participants should be protected from both

physical and psychological harm during the procedure
 ETHICS

5. Confidentiality: Results of participants in a study should not be named as theirs. Personal

information of participants such as their address, and identities, or place of work should not be
revealed when publishing the study, and instead should be kept confidential, as participants may
be embarrassed by their behaviour during the study and would not want their identities revealed,
as this may cause psychological harm

6. Privacy: The researcher should not ask participants any personal questions about their private
lives that may make them feel uncomfortable as this may cause them psychological harm

7. Debriefing: Participants should be told the true purpose and aim of the study they are
participating in. At times this is done at the beginning of the study, but sometimes when
participants are deceived at the start of the study, they are often debriefed once the study is
concluded to avoid any long term psychological harm
 ETHICS

Animal Ethical Guidelines:

1. Numbers: The minimum number of animals possible in order to achieve the results
of a study should be used. If a study can be completed with 5 chimpanzees, then
there is no need to keep 10

2. Replacement: Consider replacing animals in the study with video footage of other
previous similar studies if this is an option, or even with computer simulations,
rather than actually testing the animal in lab

3. Pain and Distress: The animals should not be caused any physical or psychological
pain or distress during the procedure
 ETHICS

4. Reward, Deprivation, and Aversive Stimuli: The animals should be rewarded with toys
for example for showing any positive or desired behaviours. They should not be deprived of
their basic need such as food or water. Do not place any aversive stimuli which might
threaten or harm the animal, in their environment

5. Social Housing: Social animals should be kept with other animals of the same species
rather than being isolated as this may cause them psychological harm. Similarly, non-
social animals shouldn’t be kept with other animals as they may harm them

6. Caging: Animals shouldn’t be kept in small cages, and if they can be released, then they
shouldn’t be kept in cages throughout the whole period of the study. They shouldn’t be kept in
overcrowded cages either or with other animals that may harm them
 ETHICS

7. Species and Strain: The researcher should ensure they are using the correct
species of animal for the study, for example, if the study is suitable for dogs but not
cats, they should make sure they are conducting it on dogs only and not cats as this
could cause psychological distress to the cats

8. Anesthesia, Analgesia, and Euthanasia: If an operation or surgery is being

conducted on the animal, then the researcher should consider using anesthesia to
numb them from the pain, or analgesia which are pain killers. Euthanasia is a last
resort when there is very little chance of survival for the animal or if they are in
extreme pain, then they can opt to euthanize the animal (mercy killing)
 RESEARCH METHOD TECHNIQUES

3. SELF REPORT
1. EXPERIMENTS
▶ Interview
▶ Lab ▪ Structured

▶ Field ▪ Unstructured
▪ Semi-Structured
▶ Natural
▶ Questionnaire

2. OBSERVATIONS 4. CASE STUDY

▶ Overt vs Covert 5. CORRELATION
▶ Positive
▶ Participant vs Non-
Participant ▶ Negative
▶ Structured vs Unstructured
6. LONGITUDINAL STUDIES
▶ Naturalistic vs Controlled
 RESEARCH METHOD TECHNIQUES
EXPERIMENTS: A study in which the IV (independent variable) is manipulated to test for its effect
on the DV (dependent variable).
(Experimental designs are an important feature of experiments – refer to the slide on experimental
design)

▶ Independent Variable: A variable that is being manipulated to test for its impact on the
dependent variable
▶ Dependent Variable: A variable that is being measured to test if it is affected by the
independent variable

Example: A researcher wants to test if the weather has an impact on a person’s happiness.
He will investigate whether they are happier during rain or during a snow.
The IV here is the weather as it is the variable that is having an effect on a behaviour of
the individual. The DV is the happiness as it is affected by the weather.
 RESEARCH METHOD TECHNIQUES

▶ Lab Experiment: A study in which the IV is being manipulated to test for its impact
on the DV in the artificial and highly controlled setting of a lab
STRENGTHS:
1. High levels of controls which makes the procedure highly standardized and easy to
replicate to test for reliability
2. High level of controls which allows for confounding variables to be reduced, making
the researcher more confident that it is the IV affecting the DV, hence increasing
validity
3. A lot of quantitative data can be obtained which is objective and numerical and
easy to compare
4. As participants are aware they are taking part in a study, they may be providing their
informed consent which makes the study ethical
 RESEARCH METHOD TECHNIQUES

WEAKNESSES:
1. As the study is conducted in an highly controlled and artificial setting, the study is low in
ecological validity and the task the participants are taking part in during the procedure
is usually not something they experience in everyday life, and therefore, lacks mundane
realism
2. If participants are aware they are part of an experiment, they may change their behaviour
as they may be aware of the true purpose of the study, and hence show demand
characteristics which lowers validity
 RESEARCH METHOD TECHNIQUES

▶ Field Experiment: A study in which the IV is being manipulated to test for its
impact on the DV in a natural setting (e.g. a subway, airport, hospital, school, park
etc.)
STRENGTHS:
1. As the study is conducted in a natural environment the study has ecological validity and
usually the task the participant is taking part in during the procedure is close to an everyday
life task, and therefore has mundane realism
2. Participants may not be aware they are part of a study and are less likely to show demand
characteristics and show their natural behaviour which will increase validity
3. Both quantitative data and qualitative data can be obtained. Quantitative data is
objective and numerical which allows for comparisons to be made. Qualitative data is
subjective and in the form of opinions, comments and behaviours and explains the reason
behind the behaviour
RESEARCH METHOD TECHNIQUES

WEAKNESSES:
1. It is more difficult to keep the procedure standardized due to fewer controls compared to a
lab experiment which will make it more difficult to replicate the study in order to test for
reliability
2. It is more difficult to control confounding variables which will confuse the researcher if it is
the IV affecting the DV or any other variable, which reduces the validity of the study
3. If the participant is unaware they are part of an experiment, they may not have given their
informed consent which makes the study unethical
 RESEARCH METHOD TECHNIQUES

▶ Natural Experiment: A study in which the IV is naturally occurring and has an

impact on the DV. Note: A natural setting does not necessarily make the experiment
a natural experiment. An example of a natural experiment is – if boys will perform
better in math or girls. Gender will be the IV and as it is a natural IV as gender
cannot be manipulated, this will be a natural experiment
STRENGTHS:
1. As the IV of the study is naturally occurring, this adds ecological validity to the study

WEAKNESSES:
1. As the IV is naturally occurring, it may be difficult and time consuming to replicate the
study to test for reliability
 RESEARCH METHOD TECHNIQUES
OBSERVATION: A study in which the behaviour of participants (humans or animals) are
observed. Note: This research method technique does not have an IV or DV as this is a feature of
just an experiment. If you come across a study where there is an observation and you see and IV
and DV in the study as well, then this study is mainly an experiment which also used an
observation, and the IV and DV are aspects of the experiment, not the observation

▶ Covert Observation: This is when the observer is “hidden” are the participants are
unaware they are being observed
STRENGTH:
1. Participants will be unaware they are being observed, and will behave more naturally and not show
demand characteristics, which will increase validity
WEAKNESS:
1. As participants are unaware they are being observed, it is unethical as there is no informed
consent
 RESEARCH METHOD TECHNIQUES

▶ Overt Observation: This is when the participants are aware they are being observed
by an observer

STRENGTH:
1. As participants are aware they are being observed, it is ethical as they would be providing
informed consent
WEAKNESS:
1. If participants know they are being observed, they may change their behaviours and not
behave naturally or may show demand characteristics which can lower the validity
 RESEARCH METHOD TECHNIQUES

▶ Participant Observation: This is when the observer becomes part of the group
they are observing and is close by to the participants. This can be either covert or
overt

STRENGTH:
1. As the researcher is near the participants, they will be able to observe the participants
more closely and get more accurate information which can increase validity
WEAKNESS:
1. If the participants are aware they are being observed, then the presence of the observer
being close to them may make them change their behaviour and show demand
characteristics which can lower validity
 RESEARCH METHOD TECHNIQUES

▶ Non-Participant Observation: This is when the observer is away from the

participants they are observing, for example, by being behind a one-way mirror, or
at a distance, or even observing through a video camera. This can also be either
overt or covert

STRENGTH:
1. Participants may behave more naturally as the observer is away from them, particularly if
they are unaware they are being observed, and not show demand characteristics, which
will increase the validity
WEAKNESS:
1. If the observer is far away, they may miss out on some important behaviours which could
lower the validity
 RESEARCH METHOD
TECHNIQUES
▶ Structured Observation: This is when the observer uses a behavioural
checklist which is a list of behaviours they want to observe and are not interested
in observing any other behaviours the participants may show that are not on the
list.
STRENGTHS:
1. The behavioural checklist is standardized and can be replicated for reliability
2. The researcher can note the number of times each behaviour is displayed which can
provide
quantitative data
3. The observer is interested in specific behaviours on the checklist and as a result, will not
miss out
on them if displayed by the participants
WEAKNESS:
1. Any other behaviour outside the checklist that could be important and is shown by
 RESEARCH METHOD TECHNIQUES

▶ Within a structured observation, observers can record the behaviour of participants

through a technique referred to as observation sampling

▶ This is a technique of recording behaviours while observing them within a certain time
period. There are a few ways to do this:
▶ Time Sampling: Setting a certain time period, for e.g. 20 minutes, and recording the behaviour of
participants at every 10 second interval – instantaneous scan
▶ Another way of doing time sampling is to set a time period, for e.g. 20 minutes, and recording
whether a particular behaviour was displayed by the participant or not – one-zero scan
▶ A third way of time sampling is to set a time period, e.g. 20 minutes, and noting down which
behaviour in particular was displayed more than any other – predominant activity scan
▶ Event Sampling: Setting a certain time period, for e.g. 20 minutes, and recording the number
of
times a certain “event” or behaviour is displayed by the participant
 RESEARCH METHOD
TECHNIQUES
▶ Unstructured Observation: The observer is not using any checklist and notes down
any behaviour that is being shown by participants

STRENGTH:
1. The observer can collect rich detailed qualitative data as the participant can show a range of
relevant and important behaviours
WEAKNESS:
1. As there is no checklist, it is not standardized and cannot be replicated to test for reliability
 RESEARCH METHOD
TECHNIQUES
▶ Controlled Observation: This is when an observation is being conducted in a
highly controlled environment such a lab (can also be a field with high controls such
as Piliavin)

STRENGTHS:
1. High levels of controls allows for the study to be standardized and easily replicated for
reliability
2. Extraneous variables may be controlled which will increase the validity of the observation
WEAKNESSES:
1. As the environment is highly controlled, the observation may lack ecological validity
2. As participants are being observed in a high controlled environment, they may change
their behaviour and show demand characteristics which can lower validity
 RESEARCH METHOD
TECHNIQUES
▶ Naturalistic Observation: This is when an observation is being conducted in a natural
environment with no controls (for e.g. when the children in Bandura were observed in their
natural nursery environment when they were tested for their pre-existing aggression levels)

STRENGTHS:
1. As the study is conducted in a natural environment with no controls, it is high in ecological
validity
2. As participants are being observed in their natural environment, they may behave more
naturally and not show demand characteristics which can increase validity
WEAKNESSES:
1. As the observation is conducted in a setting with little or no controls, it may be difficult to
standardize the procedure in order to replicate for reliability
2. Few or no controls over extraneous variables may reduce the validity of the observation
 RESEARCH METHOD
TECHNIQUES
SELF REPORT: This is a research method technique where the participant is
providing information themselves to the researcher. This can be done in the form of
an interview or through a questionnaire (also referred to as psychometrics in
A2). Like observations, this research method does not have an IV or DV or
experimental design.

▶ Interview: When participants respond to questions in verbal form

▶ Structured Interview: When all participants are asked the same pre-set list of
questions in the same order
▶ Unstructured Interview: When the following questions are asked based on the
answers to the previous question
▶ Semi-Structured Interview: When there are some fixed questions that will be asked to
everyone, but some questions will be asked depending on answers to previous questions
RESEARCH METHOD
TECHNIQUES
STRENGTHS:
1. As the interview involves the participant providing information verbally, it allows for rich in-depth and
detailed qualitative data to be collected, particularly if it is an unstructured interview as additional
relevant questions can be asked
2. If it is a structured interview then it is standardized and can be easily replicated to test for reliability
3. If it is a semi-structured interview, it will include the strengths of both a structured and
unstructured interview

WEAKNESSES:
1. Participants may give socially desirable responses and not answer truthfully which may lower the
validity
2. Interviews can be time consuming to conduct as they are done individually
3. If it is a structured interview then additional important questions cannot be asked which could provide
qualitative data
4. If it is an unstructured interview then it will not be standardized and cannot be replicated for
reliability
 RESEARCH METHOD
TECHNIQUES
▶ Questionnaires: When participants respond to questions in written form

▶ Open/Unstructured questions: when there are no restrictions to the responses of

participants and
they can answer freely on the topic
▶ Close/Structured questions: when there are restrictions to the participants responses and
they can only answer according to the options. This can include rating scales which are
options in numerical form such as 1 – 10, or Likert scales which are options in the form of
statements such as “agree”, “neutral”, “disagree” etc.

Note: Psychometrics are a form of self-report, particularly close ended (part of A2 syllabus)
 RESEARCH METHOD
TECHNIQUES
STRENGTHS:
1. Questionnaires are standardized and can easily be replicated to test for reliability
2. A large amount of data can be collected in a short time as questionnaires can be handed out to a large
sample at the same time
3. Participants may answer truthfully if they have the option to be anonymous which can increase
validity
4. An open questionnaire will allow for more in depth qualitative data to be collected
5. A close questionnaire will allow for more quantitative data to be collected particularly if the options are
numerical (rating scales)
WEAKNESSES:
1. Participants can still give socially desirable responses which can lower the validity
2. If the questions are only open it may lack quantitative data
3. If the questions are only close it may lack qualitative data
 RESEARCH METHOD
TECHNIQUES
CASE STUDY: Case studies have two main features which are that they are longitudinal
which means they are conducted over a long time period, and secondly, they are conducted
on one participant. Case studies do not have an IV or DV (unless an experiment is being
conducted as well), and usually use self report and/or observations to collect data

STRENGTHS:
1. Rich, in-depth detailed qualitative data can be collected
2. Development of the participant’s behaviour overtime can be studied
WEAKNESSES:
1. There is little or no generalisability as there is just one single participant
2. As the researcher is studying the participant for a long time period, an attachment can develop
between the two which can lead to researcher bias and lower the validity
3. There is a possibility of sample attrition which is if the participant withdraws from the study
 RESEARCH METHOD
TECHNIQUES
CORRELATION: These are studies in which the relationship between two variables are
studied. This relationship is not cause and effect, which means, they are not an IV and a DV.
The data obtained is usually through self-report or observation

▶ Positive Correlation: this is when two variables increase or decrease together. For
example, a researcher wants to test for a correlation between ‘height’ and ‘weight’ on a
sample of 5 participants. It will be a positive correlation if the taller the participants are,
the more their weight will be (this does not mean height is the reason for more weight as
this would change the relationship to cause and effect and make height the IV and weigh
the DV)
▶ Negative Correlation: This is when two variables are in opposite direction, which
means, one will increase and the other will decrease. For example, a researcher finds a
negative correlation between money and happiness, this will indicate that those with more
money will be less happy and vice versa (but money is not the IV and happiness is not the
DV as it is not showing cause and effect)
RESEARCH METHOD
TECHNIQUES

▶ The strength of a correlation can be determined by its correlation coefficient

which is a numerical value from -1 to +1.

▶ The minus sign indicates a negative correlation and the plus sign indicates a positive
correlation, where as the number indicates the strength. The closer the number is to 1, the
stronger the relationship.

▶ For example, if the correlation coefficient of ‘height’ and ‘weight’ is 0.9, it means it is a
very
strong positive correlation. If the correlation coefficient of ‘money’ and ‘happiness’ is – 0.5, it
is an average strength negative correlation
RESEARCH METHOD
TECHNIQUES

STRENGTHS:
1. Quantitative data can be collected which is numerical and allows for comparisons
2. Correlations allow for the relationship between two variables to be determined
3. Correlational studies are generally more ethical to conduct compared to experiments
WEAKNESS:
1. It is not possible to determine cause and effect between the two variables as they are not
an IV
and a DV
 RESEARCH METHOD
TECHNIQUES
LONGITUDINAL STUDY: A longitudinal study is one that follows a single group of
participants over time and studies one or more variables at different intervals. People
can change over time in terms of their age, behaviour, among other variables, and this
type of study allows the researcher to study these changes over time such as weeks,
months, or years.
Longitudinal studies can be experiments, case studies, or even correlational studies that
are
conducted on one group of participants over an extended period of time

STRENGTHS:
1. Researchers can be confident that any changes or development in behaviours are due to the
passage of time
2. Participant variables are reduced as the same participants are tested over a long time
period, increasing validity
 RESEARCH METHOD
TECHNIQUES

WEAKNESSES:
1. The generalisability is low as the same group is studied over a long time period
2. As the researcher is studying the participant for a long time period, an attachment can develop
between the two which can lead to researcher bias and lower the validity
3. There is a possibility of sample attrition which is if the participant withdraws from the study
4. Doing a study over a long time period can make it difficult to standardize the procedure in order to
test for reliability
5. It can be difficult to obtain consent from parents for children as participants for longitudinal
studies

CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY: A study that compares people at different ages or stages

by comparing different groups of participants at one point in time
 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Experimental designs refer to how participants are exposed to different levels of the
IV. An independent variable must have at least two levels or conditions, which are often
referred to as an experimental condition (the group on whom the IV is being
implemented) and a control condition (the group on whom the IV isn’t being
implemented, and is used as a comparison).

1. INDEPENDENT MEASURES/GROUPS DESIGN

2. REPEATED MEASURES/GROUPS DESIGN

3. MATCHED PAIRS DESIGN

 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

INDEPENDENT MEASURES DESIGN

▶ This is when there are different participants in each condition of the IV. For example, in
Andrade, there are different participants in the doodling condition, and different participants in
the control condition
STRENGTHS:
1. As there are different participants in each group, there will not be any order effects as they are only
taking part once in the procedure, which increases validity
2. As it requires twice as many participants than repeated measures, the sample may be more
generalizable than if a repeated measures design were to be used
WEAKNESSESES:
1. As there are different participants in each group, there can be individual differences or participant
variables such as intelligence, memory, age, gender etc. which can lower the validity of the study
2. It requires twice as many participants as repeated measures, which can be difficult to acquire
 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

REPEATED MEASURES DESIGN

▶ This is when the same participants are being repeated in each level of the IV
STRENGTHS:
1. As the same participants are being repeated in both conditions, there will not be any individual
differences which increases validity
2. It requires half as many participants as independent measures, which can be easier to acquire
WEAKNESSES:
1. As the same participants are being repeated in both conditions, they can take part in the task
more than once and show order effects which can lower the validity of the study
2. As it uses half as many participants as an independent measures design, the sample may be less
generalizable than if an independent measures design were to be used
 Order effects, including fatigue and practice effects

When participants have to perform a task twice under different conditions, behaviour in the second condition may be
different to the first, not because of the changes in the independent variable, but due to the fact they have performed the
task once already.

● For example, they may perform better the second time due to the experience gained in the first condition (a practice
effect) or increased motivation, or worse due to boredom, tiredness or the strain of concentrating in the first condition
(a fatigue effect).
● Therefore, order effects are a threat to validity as it becomes unclear whether the independent variable is affecting the
dependent variable or whether the order of the conditions has brought about any changes observed.
● One way researchers can reduce the impact of order effects is to leave a significant time period between first and
second conditions. When this is not possible, they can be addressed using a technique like counterbalancing.

Counterbalancing is a technique that can be used in a repeated measure design so that order effects do not compromise the validity of the findings.
Participants are put into one of two groups: group one does the experimental condition first and then the control condition, and group two does the
control condition first and then the experimental condition. This way, although practice effects will still occur, their impact on the findings is reduced.
 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

MATCHED PAIRS DESIGN

▶ This is not a main experimental design, unlike independent measures and repeated
measures, but is a secondary experimental design that can only be used with an
independent measures design. It is when two groups are matched in terms of a
particular variable such as age, gender, IQ etc. For example, in Baron Cohen, Groups
1 and 4 were matched in terms of IQ
STRENGTH:
1. It removes individual differences in independent measures designs, which increases
validity WEAKNESS:
1. It can be difficult and time consuming to administer as participants would have to be
split according to certain factors such as IQ
 ORDER EFFECTS

ORDER EFFECTS: When the order of a task affects the behaviour of the
participants or the result of the study. It reduces validity

1. Practice Effects: When a task is repeated, the participant can learn or memorize the
task and may improve their performance, but it is not an accurate representation of
their behaviour. For e.g., if a participant gets 15/20 in a test, and takes the same test
again the next day, they may already have memorized the test and will know the
answers and will get a higher score, but it is not a true representation of how well
they have studied, so lowers validity

2. Fatigue Effects: When a task is performed more than once, the performance of
the participant can decrease as they may become tired or even bored (boredom
effects)
 ORDER EFFECTS

▶ One way to overcome order effects is through randomization.

▶ This is when a task is completely randomized so that the order or sequence

cannot be
learnt.

▶ For example, in a study by Yamamoto, the stick and straw trials were randomized
which means, at any time, either the stick or straw would be needed.

▶ If this wasn’t randomized and it followed a fixed sequence such as 24 stick trials first,
the helper chimpanzee would learn immediately that only the stick is needed, and
without even trying to understand what the recipient chimpanzee is asking for, he will
pick up the stick out of habit and offer it, which lowers validity. This will be avoided by
 ORDER EFFECTS

▶ Another way to overcome order effects is through counterbalancing

▶ This is a process whereby two tasks – Task A, and Task B, are performed in the order
AB, BA.

▶ For example, a researcher wants to test if people remember names better or faces. If the
participants are shown a list of 20 names first, and a list of 20 faces after, and one day
later are asked to recall how many names and how many faces they remember, it is
possible they may recall more faces, but not because faces are more memorable than
names, but maybe because of the order as faces were shown more recently. This will lower
validity as it is the order in which the two variables are shown that is affecting their
memory

▶ This can be overcome by counterbalancing the tasks which means, half the participants will
be shown faces first and then names, and the other half will be shown names first and then
places, and if both groups still are able to remember more faces than names, then we know
 ORDER EFFECTS

▶ One final way to overcome order effects is by using an experimental

design of independent measures

▶ This will ensure that there are different participants in each level/condition of the IV
and will not be repeated in the task so will remove the chances of practice or fatigue
effects, and increase validity

▶ Refer to the slide on independent measures design for further detail