AQA A Level Psychology Research
Methods
Methods are what psychologists use to conduct their research. There are two areas of methods,
what are these? - ANSExperimental Methods and Non-Experimental Methods
Outline what experimental methods consist of - ANSLab, natural, field and quasi experiments
Outline what non-experimental methods consist of - ANSCorrelational analysis, observations,
case studies and self report (interviews and questionnaires)
Outline a lab experiment and evaluate it - ANSConducted within a lab which has high control
over the environment.
:) - High level of control over variables meaning that extraneous variables are likely to be
controlled and thus a cause and effect relationship can be established between IV and DV
:) - High reliability of results due to the tight control over variables meaning that it can be
repeated and findings can be checked for consistency
:( - It lacks ecological validity as it takes place in a very fake setting, with possibly a fake task,
therefore making it hard to generalise the results to other environments or settings
:( - It can encourage demand characteristics as participants know they are being
watched/recorded and thus they change their behaviour based on clues on what the aim is, to
suit what the researcher wants to see, this affects the accuracy of the results
Outline a field experiment and evaluate it - ANSTakes place in a real environment such as a
school, and there is then an IV that is manipulated to effect the DV.
:) - Less prone to demand characteristics as people may not know they are taking part is an
experiment and thus will display natural behaviour
:) - High ecological validity as the setting is real life meaning the findings can then be
generalised to other settings beyond the study
:( - It lacks reliability in the findings as it is done in a setting where there is little control over
confounding variables meaning it is difficult to replicate it and get consistency in results
:( - Ethical issues can arise when conducting a field experiment as people are not aware they
are taking part and thus there is no informed consent that they are giving to be able to study
them, therefore there is risk that the participants will not want their results used and thus must
be removed
Outline a natural experiment and evaluate it - ANSIn a real setting with a naturally occurring IV,
for example looking at the effect of stress after an earthquake hits a city.
:) - Participants show no demand characteristics at all as at the time of the IV occurring they did
not know about the study as this will show natural behaviour
, :) - Very high ecological validity as it is set in a real environment and nothing is controlled, so
therefore you are able to generalise the findings beyond the setting of the study
:( - It lacks reliability as there is zero control over variables meaning that it is difficult to replicate
the experiment and get consistent results
:( - Due to the lack of control over extraneous variables it is very difficult to establish a cause
and effect relationship and thus this reduces the internal validity
Outline a quasi experiment and evaluate it - ANSQuasi experiments have an IV that is based on
an existing difference between people such as age, no one has manipulated this variable and it
exists on its own, for example comparing achievement level of first-born children with that of
later-born children.
:) - They are often carried out in controlled conditions and therefore they share similar strengths
to that of a lab experiment
:( - Like natural experiments participants cant be randomly allocated to experimental conditions
so there may be confounding variables such as individual differences
Outline the 7 types of observations and for each evaluate them - ANSControlled observation -
this is where the conditions are manipulated by the researcher and may be carried out in a
laboratory
:) - High level of control over variables meaning that extraneous variables are likely to be
controlled and thus a cause and effect relationship can be established between IV and DV
:( - It can encourage demand characteristics as participants know they are being
watched/recorded and thus they change their behaviour based on clues on what the aim is, to
suit what the researcher wants to see, this affects the accuracy of the results
Naturalistic observation - Simply watching a natural behaviour in a natural environment, no
intervention occurs at all
:) - No room for demand characteristics as people do not know they are being watched and thus
wont change their behaviour
:( - They are almost impossible to replicate and this makes it lack reliability as ow level of control
over extraneous variables therefore it is hard to check for consistency
Covert observation - This is where the participants are not aware they are being observed (one
way mirror/CCTV)
:) - No room for demand characteristics as people do not know they are being watched and thus
wont change their behaviour
:( - Ethical issues can arise as people are not aware they are taking part and thus there is no
informed consent that they are giving to be able to study them, therefore there is risk that the
participants will not want their results used and thus must be removed
Overt observation - Participants are aware they are being observed
:) - This avoids ethical issues arising
Methods
Methods are what psychologists use to conduct their research. There are two areas of methods,
what are these? - ANSExperimental Methods and Non-Experimental Methods
Outline what experimental methods consist of - ANSLab, natural, field and quasi experiments
Outline what non-experimental methods consist of - ANSCorrelational analysis, observations,
case studies and self report (interviews and questionnaires)
Outline a lab experiment and evaluate it - ANSConducted within a lab which has high control
over the environment.
:) - High level of control over variables meaning that extraneous variables are likely to be
controlled and thus a cause and effect relationship can be established between IV and DV
:) - High reliability of results due to the tight control over variables meaning that it can be
repeated and findings can be checked for consistency
:( - It lacks ecological validity as it takes place in a very fake setting, with possibly a fake task,
therefore making it hard to generalise the results to other environments or settings
:( - It can encourage demand characteristics as participants know they are being
watched/recorded and thus they change their behaviour based on clues on what the aim is, to
suit what the researcher wants to see, this affects the accuracy of the results
Outline a field experiment and evaluate it - ANSTakes place in a real environment such as a
school, and there is then an IV that is manipulated to effect the DV.
:) - Less prone to demand characteristics as people may not know they are taking part is an
experiment and thus will display natural behaviour
:) - High ecological validity as the setting is real life meaning the findings can then be
generalised to other settings beyond the study
:( - It lacks reliability in the findings as it is done in a setting where there is little control over
confounding variables meaning it is difficult to replicate it and get consistency in results
:( - Ethical issues can arise when conducting a field experiment as people are not aware they
are taking part and thus there is no informed consent that they are giving to be able to study
them, therefore there is risk that the participants will not want their results used and thus must
be removed
Outline a natural experiment and evaluate it - ANSIn a real setting with a naturally occurring IV,
for example looking at the effect of stress after an earthquake hits a city.
:) - Participants show no demand characteristics at all as at the time of the IV occurring they did
not know about the study as this will show natural behaviour
, :) - Very high ecological validity as it is set in a real environment and nothing is controlled, so
therefore you are able to generalise the findings beyond the setting of the study
:( - It lacks reliability as there is zero control over variables meaning that it is difficult to replicate
the experiment and get consistent results
:( - Due to the lack of control over extraneous variables it is very difficult to establish a cause
and effect relationship and thus this reduces the internal validity
Outline a quasi experiment and evaluate it - ANSQuasi experiments have an IV that is based on
an existing difference between people such as age, no one has manipulated this variable and it
exists on its own, for example comparing achievement level of first-born children with that of
later-born children.
:) - They are often carried out in controlled conditions and therefore they share similar strengths
to that of a lab experiment
:( - Like natural experiments participants cant be randomly allocated to experimental conditions
so there may be confounding variables such as individual differences
Outline the 7 types of observations and for each evaluate them - ANSControlled observation -
this is where the conditions are manipulated by the researcher and may be carried out in a
laboratory
:) - High level of control over variables meaning that extraneous variables are likely to be
controlled and thus a cause and effect relationship can be established between IV and DV
:( - It can encourage demand characteristics as participants know they are being
watched/recorded and thus they change their behaviour based on clues on what the aim is, to
suit what the researcher wants to see, this affects the accuracy of the results
Naturalistic observation - Simply watching a natural behaviour in a natural environment, no
intervention occurs at all
:) - No room for demand characteristics as people do not know they are being watched and thus
wont change their behaviour
:( - They are almost impossible to replicate and this makes it lack reliability as ow level of control
over extraneous variables therefore it is hard to check for consistency
Covert observation - This is where the participants are not aware they are being observed (one
way mirror/CCTV)
:) - No room for demand characteristics as people do not know they are being watched and thus
wont change their behaviour
:( - Ethical issues can arise as people are not aware they are taking part and thus there is no
informed consent that they are giving to be able to study them, therefore there is risk that the
participants will not want their results used and thus must be removed
Overt observation - Participants are aware they are being observed
:) - This avoids ethical issues arising
