Planning Research

Planning Research

1. Ethical Considerations

   • Informed consent: When a participant is informed on what the aim of the study is, and they agree to take part in it
   • Issues of research that take intoo account the welfare of the participants
   • Right to withdraw: When participants are allowed to stop participating in a study/the study altogether.
   • Confidentiality: Protecting the identity of participants by not giving any real names or details
   • Protection of participants: Should not be-Deceived, Distressed, Harmed (should generally leave as they came)

2. Hypothesis

   • A statement predicting the outcome of research
   • Alternate [H1]: A statement which predicts a difference or correlation in results
   • Null[H0]: A statement which predicts no difference or correlation in results

3. Experimental Designs

   • A way of allocating participants to conditions in an experiment
   • Repeated measures: An experimental design in which participants take part in each condition
     • Disadvantages: Participants may do worse in next condition due to tiredness, boredom etc, or better due to practise
     • Advantages: Any change in dependent variable is due to the independent and not sure to them being another person. Also cuts down on num of participants.
   • Independent groups: An experimental design in which participants are different in each condition.
     • Advantages: Participants are not affected by the previous conditions.
     • Disadvantages: Change can be due to the change in person

4. Variables

   • Anything that is open to change
   • Independent: Something that the researcher changes or manipulates.
   • Dependent: Something that is measured to see if it has changed through the IDV being changed
   • Extraneous: A variable that isn't the IDV which could affect the DV if not controlled
   • Standardisation: A way of controlling the EV's to keep variables the same across all conditions

5. Sampling Techniques

   • Sample: A small group selected to represent a larger population
   • Target population: The entire set of people researches want to generilise their results to
   • Representative: A small group of people that are a good cross-section of the population
   • Random: Where everyone in target population a equal chance of being chosen. Good as there is no bias, bad as it is uncontrolled.
   • Opportunity: Sample drawn because they are available and convenient. Good as it is easy, bad as isn't representative.