AL WORK RESEARCH METHODS REVISION QUESTIONS
1. Mean is the average of a set of numbers
2. Median is the middle value
3. Mode is the most common value
4. Add up all values and divide by the total number of values
5. Put all values in ascending order and take the middle value (if 2 values in between:
add these up and divide by 2)
6. Find the most common value amongst others
7. Opportunity sampling is selecting participants that are conveniently available at the
time and place of the experiment
8. Quick and convenient
9. Biased sample as it may not represent the characteristics of the whole target
population
10. Volunteer sampling is when participants have volunteered to take part in the
experiment
11. No experimenter bias
12. The sample may be biased because the participants may represent people with a
complaint and willing nature, therefore this would skew the results
13. Random sampling is selecting participants within the target population at random,
using a random number generator
14. The sample is not biased
15. Could still end up with an unrepresentative sample of the target population
16. Selecting members of the target population in an unbiased way but guaranteed to be
representative in certain ways
17. Sample more representative of target population as you make sure each strata / sub
group gets represented
18. Not always obvious which strata are important or represent characteristics of the
target population
19. A hypothesis is a specific testable prediction about what you expect to find after
analysing the data from participants
20. An experimental hypothesis is a statement about a predicted outcome of a study,
usually based on theory or previous research.
E.g. females will perceive themselves to be more obedient than males.
21. An alternative hypothesis is a prediction used in research that states a definite
difference will be found in the data
E.g. there will be a difference in the number of males and females who thank the bus
driver before alighting, compared to those who do not thank the bus driver.
22. A null hypothesis is prediction that states no difference (other than which might
happen by chance) will be found
Eg. there will be no significant difference in the number of males and females who
thank and do not thank the bus driver before alighting. Any differences found will be
due to chance factors.
23. Independent groups design, ordinal / interval level data, when the hypothesis predicts
a difference between 2 sets of data
1. Mean is the average of a set of numbers
2. Median is the middle value
3. Mode is the most common value
4. Add up all values and divide by the total number of values
5. Put all values in ascending order and take the middle value (if 2 values in between:
add these up and divide by 2)
6. Find the most common value amongst others
7. Opportunity sampling is selecting participants that are conveniently available at the
time and place of the experiment
8. Quick and convenient
9. Biased sample as it may not represent the characteristics of the whole target
population
10. Volunteer sampling is when participants have volunteered to take part in the
experiment
11. No experimenter bias
12. The sample may be biased because the participants may represent people with a
complaint and willing nature, therefore this would skew the results
13. Random sampling is selecting participants within the target population at random,
using a random number generator
14. The sample is not biased
15. Could still end up with an unrepresentative sample of the target population
16. Selecting members of the target population in an unbiased way but guaranteed to be
representative in certain ways
17. Sample more representative of target population as you make sure each strata / sub
group gets represented
18. Not always obvious which strata are important or represent characteristics of the
target population
19. A hypothesis is a specific testable prediction about what you expect to find after
analysing the data from participants
20. An experimental hypothesis is a statement about a predicted outcome of a study,
usually based on theory or previous research.
E.g. females will perceive themselves to be more obedient than males.
21. An alternative hypothesis is a prediction used in research that states a definite
difference will be found in the data
E.g. there will be a difference in the number of males and females who thank the bus
driver before alighting, compared to those who do not thank the bus driver.
22. A null hypothesis is prediction that states no difference (other than which might
happen by chance) will be found
Eg. there will be no significant difference in the number of males and females who
thank and do not thank the bus driver before alighting. Any differences found will be
due to chance factors.
23. Independent groups design, ordinal / interval level data, when the hypothesis predicts
a difference between 2 sets of data
