Confused about Research Methods

[Genericname2365]

I didn't do Psych units 1 + 2 but rather skipped straight to units 3 & 4. I've had a brief readthrough through Research Methods (I understood enough to get me through the SACs) but I assumed that it would be covered later, possibly in unit 4. Now in the last week of the holidays, by this stage I've covered chapters 2-5 and am going through Memory but I'm thinking I was wrong about Research Methods: I think it's in Unit 3, which would presumably mean I'd now have to cover that whole chapter this week on top of everything else that I'm doing, which is not ideal. 

Research methods and ethical principles associated with the study of the brain and states of
consciousness, as outlined in the introduction to the unit.

Looking at the study design, this seems to be where it is covered. So can anyone just clarify for me that I do have to cover now for Unit 3, and also how detailed I should be in note-taking for it? My notes for the other chapters are fairly in-depth but I'm not sure if it should be for this chapter.
Thanks

[ktrah]

I didn't do 1 & 2 either but our class went through research methods briefly at the start of this year. We didn't spend much time on it, just covered mainly extraneous variables and participant selection & allocation. So I would say your notes wouldn't need to be as detailed as the other chapters, especially because a lot of research methods is common sense. But it is assumed knowledge for both units 3 & 4 so it would definitely be a good idea to go through it

[amilss]

• experimental research: construction of research hypotheses; identification of operational independent
and dependent variables; identification of extraneous and potential confounding variables including
individual participant differences, order effects, experimenter effect, placebo effects; ways of
minimising confounding and extraneous variables including type of experiment, counterbalancing,
single and double blind procedures, placebos; evaluation of different types of experimental
research designs including independent-groups, matched-participants, repeated-measures; reporting
conventions
• sampling procedures in selection and allocation of participants: random sampling; stratified
sampling; random-stratified sampling; random allocation of participants to groups; control and
experimental groups
• techniques of qualitative and quantitative data collection: case studies; observational studies; selfreports;
questionnaires; interviews; brain imaging and recording technologies
• statistics: measures of central tendency including mean, median and mode; interpretation of
p-values and conclusions; reliability including internal consistency; validity including construct
and external; evaluation of research in terms of generalising the findings to the population
• ethical principles and professional conduct: the role of the experimenter; protection and security of
participants’ rights; confidentiality; voluntary participation; withdrawal rights; informed consent
procedures; use of deception in research; debriefing; use of animals in research; role of ethics
committees.

^ that's off the study design for research methods

[Slumdawg]

Sorry to break it to you, but you need to know research methods in just as much detail for your unit 3 exam as for your unit 4 one.

There will be approximately 8 marks allocated to research methods out of the 90 available marks in your unit 3 exam.

Make sure you learn it in just as much depth as all the other chapters, it's usually the topic that students 'bomb' and do very poorly in.

That list above is what you'll need to know like the back of your hand, so get started asap on learning it all

Best of luck!

[Genericname2365]

Sorry to break it to you, but you need to know research methods in just as much detail for your unit 3 exam as for your unit 4 one.

There will be approximately 8 marks allocated to research methods out of the 90 available marks in your unit 3 exam.

Make sure you learn it in just as much depth as all the other chapters, it's usually the topic that students 'bomb' and do very poorly in.

That list above is what you'll need to know like the back of your hand, so get started asap on learning it all

Best of luck!

Ah, damn. But that's good to know, thanks for the advice.