Psychology Research Methods Guide

The systematic techniques used to collect and analyze data in psychology, focusing on how people think, behave, and why they act in certain ways.

Participants must be fully informed about the study's purpose, procedures, risks, and benefits before agreeing to take part.

Participants should not be misled about the true nature of the study. If deception is necessary, full debriefing is required.

Participants must be protected from physical or psychological harm during the study. Support must be offered if harm occurs.

Participants can leave the study at any time, even after starting, and can request their data be removed.

Participants' identities must be kept secret, usually using pseudonyms, initials, or numbers.

Researchers should only collect data that they have specific consent for, respecting participants' personal spaces.

A session after the study where participants are informed of the true purpose, explained deception, and reminded of their right to withdraw.

Gathering consent from a similar group of individuals to assume consent from the actual participants.

Establishing that a change in one variable (IV) directly leads to a change in another (DV), without influence from uncontrolled factors.

Factors that could potentially influence the dependent variable but are not the independent variable, such as temperature, noise, or lighting.

Uncontrolled variables that have impacted the dependent variable, making it unclear if the change is due to the independent variable or something else.

One group of participants completes all tasks or conditions, comparing their own performance on each.

Different groups of participants, each completing only one specific task or condition.

Participants are paired based on similar characteristics, with each member of a pair completing a different task.

Possible changes in participant performance due to the order of tasks, such as boredom, fatigue, or practice.

Controlling for order effects by splitting participants into groups and having them complete tasks in different orders, balancing the impact.

A mini-version of the experiment conducted before the main study, testing the design and identifying potential issues.

A testable prediction about what the researcher expects to find in a study, written as a statement, not a question.

A hypothesis that specifies the exact direction of the expected difference or relationship.

A hypothesis that predicts a difference or relationship but does not specify the direction.

A hypothesis stating that there will be no difference or relationship between variables in the study.

Defining variables in a specific and measurable way, making them clear and understandable.

A prediction about the relationship between two or more variables, without implying cause and effect.

A connection between different categories, not implying cause and effect, like the relationship between birth order and career choice.

A technique used to record behavior directly in a natural or controlled environment, with different design factors to consider.

An observation conducted in a controlled environment, allowing manipulation of variables.

An observation conducted in the real world, without manipulation of variables.

An observation where the researcher actively joins the group being observed.

An observation where the researcher observes from a distance, without actively participating.

An observation where the researcher is hidden and not visible to the participants, for more natural behavior recordings.

An observation where the researcher is visible to the participants, who know they are being observed.

The tendency of participants to change their behavior simply because they know they are being observed.

Recording data during observation by creating behavior categories and tallying the occurrence of each category.

Recording data during observation by noting what is happening at predetermined time intervals.

The consistency of data recordings between two or more observers, calculated using correlation analysis.

A technique for analyzing recorded information, such as media or documents, identifying categories and tallying their frequency.

Analyzing qualitative data to identify and summarize the key themes present in written or recorded information.

An in-depth investigation of a single individual, often exhibiting unique behavior or circumstances.

Combining data from several different studies to create a larger data set for reanalysis, enhancing the power of the research.

A study that tracks changes over an extended period of time, often years or decades, showing how variables evolve.

A smaller group of individuals selected from a larger population, representing the target group for the study.

A sample that accurately reflects the characteristics of the target population, allowing for generalizability.

A technique where each individual in the target population has an equal chance of being selected.

A technique where participants are selected based on their availability at the time of the study.

A technique where participants are selected from those who volunteer to take part.

A technique where participants are selected using a regular interval, such as every 10th or 20th person on a list.

A technique where participants are selected proportionally based on specific groups or subgroups within the target population.

The extent to which the results of a study can be applied to other populations or settings.

A set of techniques used to summarize and describe data, providing an overview of the findings.

Numerical data that uses numbers or measurements.

Non-numerical data that uses words, descriptions, or observations to provide detailed information.

Data collected directly by the researcher for their own study, providing high internal validity.

Data collected by someone else and used by the researcher, providing a quick and cheap source of information.

The average of a set of data, calculated by summing all values and dividing by the total number of values.

The middle value in a set of data, calculated by arranging values in order and finding the center.

The most frequent value in a set of data.

A measure of how spread out data is, indicating how much individual values deviate from the mean.

The difference between the highest and lowest values in a set of data.

A symmetrical distribution of data, forming a bell-shaped curve, with the mean, median, and mode all at the peak.

A distribution of data where one tail is longer than the other, indicating an uneven distribution of values.

A skewed distribution where the tail is longer on the right side, indicating more extreme values on the higher end.

A skewed distribution where the tail is longer on the left side, indicating more extreme values on the lower end.

A graph that uses bars to represent frequencies or differences between groups or categories.

A graph that shows the relationship between two covariables, representing the strength and direction of the relationship.

A table used to display frequencies of categories, often used in Chi-square tests to analyze relationships.

A graph that uses bars to represent frequencies of continuous data, where bars are adjacent, showing the distribution of values.

The extent to which the research measures what it intends to measure, ensuring accurate testing of the hypothesis.

The extent to which the research findings can be generalized to other populations, situations, or settings.

A quick check of whether the research appears to measure what it intends to measure, based on surface level appearance.

Comparing a new research technique or tool with an existing, validated method to see if they produce comparable results.

Repeating a research method on the same participants with a time gap to see if the results are consistent.

Comparing the results of two halves of a research technique, such as a questionnaire or exam, to see if they are consistent.

The consistency of data recordings between two or more raters or observers, calculated using correlation analysis.

Cues or hints in a study that participants pick up on and try to change their behavior to fit what they think the researcher is looking for.

The researcher unconsciously influencing the results of the study to support their hypothesis.

Participants knowingly try to please the researcher by behaving in ways that confirm the researcher's hypothesis.

Participants deliberately trying to sabotage the research by behaving in ways that contradict the researcher's hypothesis.

A comparison of two quantities, often reduced to its simplest form.

A way of expressing very large numbers by indicating the number of decimal places needed to make it a number between 1 and 10.

An acronym to remember the order of sections in a psychological report: Title, Abstract, Introduction, Method, Participants, Results, Discussion, References.