Psychology · Research methods
Understand how research methods are used by psychologists to investigate cognition, emotions, and behaviour.
Evaluate different research methods including experiments, self-reports, case studies, observations, and correlations.
Define and operationalise key features of the research process such as hypotheses, variables, and sampling.
Analyse and interpret different types of data using measures of central tendency and spread.
Apply knowledge of research methods to novel research situations, considering ethical and methodological issues.
Distinguish between different experimental designs and their strengths and weaknesses.
Identify and address ethical considerations in psychological research, including informed consent and confidentiality.
Standard Deviation
Used to calculate the average difference between each score and the mean. A larger value indicates greater variation in the data set. The deviation 'd' can sometimes be used in place of (x - \bar{x}).
Confusing correlation with causation: Students often assume that if two variables are correlated, one must cause the other, but a third variable could be responsible.
Confusing independent and dependent variables: Students sometimes mix up which variable is manipulated (IV) and which is measured (DV) in an experiment.
Confusing random sampling with random allocation: Random sampling is about selecting participants from a population, while random allocation is about assigning participants to experimental conditions.
Forgetting 'plus one' in range calculation: In psychology, the range is calculated as (highest score - lowest score) + 1 to account for continuous scales.
Overlooking order effects in repeated measures design: Students often forget to consider practice and fatigue effects and how to control them (e.g., counterbalancing).
Vague operationalisation of variables: Students often define variables broadly (e.g., 'happiness') instead of specifying exactly how they will be manipulated or measured (e.g., 'score on a 1-10 happiness scale').