key terms in AS psychology, research methods

Question	Answer
Covert observation	observing a participant without their knowledge or consent
Content analysis	a research tool used to indirectly observe the presence of certain words, images or concepts within the media (e.g. advertisements, books films etc.).
pilot study	an initial run through of a study to work out the kinks before it is applied to a larger sample
ecological validity	how well a study can be applied to real life situations
non-participant observation	the researcher does NOT join in, simply observes
participant observation	the observer IS a participant in the activity; this can affect observer objectivity
structured observations	where the researchers design a type of coding scheme to record the participants' behavior. Structured observations generally provide quantitative data

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	Created by Bianca Moore almost 12 years ago