Quantitative Methods
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What are the 3 features of a good research question?
Unknown, impactful and practical
Define QUANTITATIVE
Numerical and graphical realisation of the distribution of variables and their relation to each other
What are the benefits of QUANTITATIVE research?
• Objectivity - Generalisability
How does quantitative research ensure OBJECTIVITY?
Data collection via universal, non-subjective methods of measurement, commonly yielding numerical data
How does quantitative research ensure GENERALISABILITY?
• Uses large participant groups • Sampling from a well-defined population • Uses inferential statistics to give confidence estimation
Define VARIABLE
A measurement with a well defined set of potential values
What are the features of a CATEGORICAL VARIABLE?
• Can take a finite set of discrete values - No intrinsic ordering
How does an ORDINAL variable differ from a CATEGORICAL variable?
ORDINAL variables have an intrinsic order
What are the features of a CONTINUOUS variable? What are the 2 sub-types of CONTINUOUS variable?
• Can take any value within a continuous range • INTERNAL: subtraction and addition are meaningful operations • RATIO: subtraction, addition and multiplication are meaningful operations
What are the 6 psychological variables?
Experimental Manipulation, Physical Behaviours, Neural Responses, Physiology, Latent Traits, Demography
What is EXPERIMENTAL MANIPULATION? Describe the 2 ways in which these are carried out
• Changing something about a stimulus to measure its effect on a separate variable • REPEATED MEASURE approach: applying a manipulation to the same participant and recording the difference • BETWEEN GROUPS approach; splitting the participant group and performing separate manipulations/keeping one a CONTROL variable, and recording the difference between them
How do PHYSICAL BEHAVIOUR and PHYSIOLOGY differ?
PHYSICAL BEHAVIOUR relates to outward bodily changes whilst PHYSIOLOGY concerns inward bodily change
What are the 3 main types of neural imaging scan?
• EEG: Electroencephalography • MEG: Magnetoencephalography • fMRI: Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
How does EEG work? What are the advantages and disadvantages?
• Records the neural patters of the outer brain • High temporal sensitivity • Low sensitivity to localisation of brain activity
How does MEG work? What are the advantages and disadvantages?
• Records the the magnetic fields of neurons • High temporal sensitivity • Medium sensitivity to localisation of brain activity
How does fMRI work? What are the advantages and disadvantages?
• Measures the changes in blood flow in the brain; more blood flow = higher activity (needs oxygen) • Low temporal sensitivity • High sensitivity to localisation of brain activity
What are LATENT TRAITS?
Personal characteristics that control the behaviour of an individual
What are the ‘BIG FIVE’ latent traits?
Extraversion, Agreeableness, Openness to New Experiences, Conscientiousness and Neuroticism
What DEMOGRAPHIC variables? Give some examples
• Generalised characteristics of population members - Age, Sex, Country of Birth etc
What 2 features need to be kept in mind during QUANTITATIVE data collection? How may experimental design effect this?
• VALIDITY: are you actual measuring what you intend to measure? • RELIABILITY: will the same measures under similar conditions yield the similar results?
How does an increased sample size effect the quality of data collection?
• Increased Reliability • More representative of the population and therefore more accurate/generalisable • More likely to have outliers (by chance)
Define INDEPENDANT VARIABLE
The measure manipulated by the experimenter (what is changed)
Define DEPENDANT VARIABLE
An unchanged measure
How are CORRELATION and CAUSALITY related?
CORREALTION is a sign of CAUSALITY; however, two variables may CORRELATE but remain independent of each other: • Coincidental occurrence by chance • Both caused by a third external variable