Changing the way you learn

Research Methods-Part 1

Define research
1. The process of gathering knowledge
2. Define research methods
  1. Different ways of conducting experiments, questionnaires, interviews, correlation,observations or case studies.
Define a sample
1. When a target population is too big to be tested therefore a fraction of the population is investigated instead
  1. Define a target population
    1. A large group that the researcher wishes to study. A sample is drawn using sampling techniques
Define stratified sampling
1. A sample of proportional representation of the population. The sample which is broken into smaller sub-groups which is proportional to the sample. Eg: If 40% of the population was male, 40% of the sample should be male
  1. Advantages
    1. It is very representative of the target population as every sub-group is represented in the sample therefore results are more genralisable.
  2. Disadvantages
    1. It is very time consuming as it takes time to divide the population into sub-groups and to select the correct proportion from each.
Define random sampling
1. This is where each member of target population has an equal chance of being selected eg: putting the target population on separate pieces of paper and putting it into a hat or container.First 'x' names drawn from the hat will be the sample.
  1. Advantages
    1. Researcher has little influence on who is being selected therefore there is no researcher bias. Everyone has an equal chance of being selected.
  2. Disadvantages
    1. Its time consuming and difficult to carry out on a large sample. Also it does not garantee that the sample will be representative of target population.
Define systematic sampling
1. This is when target population is arranged in an order (eg alphabetical) and then it uses a method of systematic selection (eg every nth name) until desired sample size is reached.
  1. Advantages
    1. The researcher has little influence over who is being selected therefore there is no researcher bias.
  2. Disadvantages
    1. It may not be representative of the targer population. Also not everyone has an equal chance of being selected causing issues in genralising results.
Define an independent variable
1. A factor which is altered or manipulated by the researcher to look for an effect on another variable .This factor usually produces two conditions for the study.
Define a dependent variable
1. The factor that the researcher measures to see id the independent variable has affected it
Define extraneous variables
1. Any other factors other than the independent variable the could affect the DV and hide the affect of the IV
Anomalous result
1. An extremely high or low result that does not match the other results in a set order. It has an affect on mean and range and should be discarded before any further calculations are made.
Standardised procedures
1. How
  1. Participents should have the same experiences when taking part in an experiment:same place, conditions and at roughly the same time.
2. Why
  1. Makes the experiment unbiased If treated differently, the internal validity can be affected.
Standardised instructions
1. How
  1. Participents are given the exact same set of orders which are written down especially when given a task. This avoids researcher bias in tone of voice . Orders must be clear , unambiguous and simple
2. Why
  1. So the researcher can be sure that the difference in results is due to the independent variable and not what they were told to do in the experiment.

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Research Methods-Part 1

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	Created by Lucy Andrews about 8 years ago