AQA A Level Psychology Research Methods
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_2xknqd
1. Methods are Experimental Methods and Non-Experimental Methods
what psycholo-
gists use to con-
duct their re-
search. There are
two areas of
methods, what
are these?
2. Outline what ex- Lab, natural, field and quasi experiments
perimental meth-
ods consist of
3. Outline what Correlational analysis, observations, case studies and self
non-experimen- report (interviews and questionnaires)
tal methods
consist of
4. Outline a lab Conducted within a lab which has high control over the
experiment and environment.
evaluate it :) - High level of control over variables meaning that ex-
traneous 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 partic-
ipants 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
5. Outline a field Takes place in a real environment such as a school, and
experiment and there is then an IV that is manipulated to effect the DV.
evaluate it :) - Less prone to demand characteristics as people may
, AQA A Level Psychology Research Methods
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_2xknqd
not know they are taking part is an experiment and thus
will display natural behaviour
:) - High ecological validity as the setting is real life mean-
ing 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 experi-
ment 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
6. Outline a natural In a real setting with a naturally occurring IV, for example
experiment and looking at the effect of stress after an earthquake hits a
evaluate it 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 environ-
ment 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
7. Outline a quasi Quasi experiments have an IV that is based on an existing
experiment and difference between people such as age, no one has ma-
evaluate it nipulated 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
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_2xknqd
1. Methods are Experimental Methods and Non-Experimental Methods
what psycholo-
gists use to con-
duct their re-
search. There are
two areas of
methods, what
are these?
2. Outline what ex- Lab, natural, field and quasi experiments
perimental meth-
ods consist of
3. Outline what Correlational analysis, observations, case studies and self
non-experimen- report (interviews and questionnaires)
tal methods
consist of
4. Outline a lab Conducted within a lab which has high control over the
experiment and environment.
evaluate it :) - High level of control over variables meaning that ex-
traneous 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 partic-
ipants 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
5. Outline a field Takes place in a real environment such as a school, and
experiment and there is then an IV that is manipulated to effect the DV.
evaluate it :) - Less prone to demand characteristics as people may
, AQA A Level Psychology Research Methods
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_2xknqd
not know they are taking part is an experiment and thus
will display natural behaviour
:) - High ecological validity as the setting is real life mean-
ing 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 experi-
ment 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
6. Outline a natural In a real setting with a naturally occurring IV, for example
experiment and looking at the effect of stress after an earthquake hits a
evaluate it 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 environ-
ment 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
7. Outline a quasi Quasi experiments have an IV that is based on an existing
experiment and difference between people such as age, no one has ma-
evaluate it nipulated 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
