Summary Research Methods Notes AQA Psychology Year 12

RESEARCH METHODS:
Bower(1969) created a Laboratory Experiment which tested memory
Definition of a Laboratory Experiment:Highly controlled experiments in
which the researcher decides where and when the experiment will take
place,who will be involved in the experiment and what they will be doing as
the researcher allocates each participant a condition (often using random
allocation) They control situational factors using standardised procedures
to eliminate extraneous variables. In an experiment, an independent
variable is manipulated by the dependent variable.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS:
Experimental Designs refers to how participants are allocated to the
different conditions in the experiment.There are two types of lab
experiments:
● Independent Measures Design:Each participant is only tested on
one condition(participants are split into two or more groups)
● Repeated Measures Design:Each participant is tested in all
conditions(they take part in two or more conditions)
● Matched Pairs Design:Participants are matched on a quality and
then are placed into separate groups
● STANDARDISED PROCEDURE:Established actions the
experimenter takes to reduce the chance of bias occurring in the
experiment(random allocation ect)
● EXTRANEOUS VARIABLE:Variables that are not the independent
that could affect the results of the experiment.
● INDEPENDENT VARIABLE:The variable which is controlled and
manipulated by the experimenter so that the dependent variable can
be measured
● DEPENDENT VARIABLE:The variable that is being measured and
tested in the experiment and should be caused by the IV
● EXPERIMENTAL METHOD:Involves manipulation of an independent
variable to measure the effect on the dependent variable:experiments
can either be laboratory, field, natural or quasi.
● AIM:A general statement on what the researcher intends to
investigate

, ● HYPOTHESIS:A clear precise, testable statement that states the
relationship between the variables to be investigated and is stated at
the outset of any study
● DIRECTIONAL HYPOTHESIS:States which direction the results are
expected to go in. Often referred to as one tailed as they expect the
results to go in on direction. With a correlational study,a directional
hypothesis states that there is a positive or negative correlation
between two variables, e.g. boys are more aggressive than girls.
● NON DIRECTIONAL HYPOTHESIS:Does not state the
direction/relationship and simply says that one factor affects the other
or that there is a correlation between the two variables, e.g. alcohol
affects reaction time
● VARIABLES:Any ‘thing’ that can be changed within an investigation
OPERATIONALISATION:Clearly defining variables in terms of how they
can be measured
CASE STUDY:An in depth study that gathers a lot of detail about one
person or a small group. Case studies can include:
● Observations
● Interviews
● Experiments
● Secondary data
● Questionnaires
● Case histories
LONGITUDINAL STUDY:A study that has taken place over a long period of
time.
QUALITATIVE DATA:Detailed data that is expressed in a non numerical
form
QUANTITATIVE DATA:Numerical data that is easily expressed in graphs
and charts
Clinical Case Studies of Amnesia:Marilyn Moyer:an artery burst in her brain
causing significant loss of long and short term memory
Scott Bolzan:Ran a successful business until he slipped on the floor at
work and suffered from retrograde amnesia. Lost 46 years of his life in
memories but his STM remained reasonably intact.