1. Application of
psychology to
everyday life
Can the results of this study be applied to everyday life? Is this a strength or a weakness of the study?
If we can apply the results of this study to real life what does that mean?
Why can we apply the results of this study to real life? What did the experimenter do that has helped make the study apply to real life?
What does this study help us understand?
Ecological Validity
What does it mean when something is ecologically valid?
Is this study ecologically valid? Why?
Is ecologically validity a strength or a weakness for this study?
What could be done to make the study more ecologically valid?
Is it important for research to be ecologically valid? Why?

2. Sampling bias /
method
What was the sample like in this study? Large – small? Was there a good split of male and females?
How was the sample collected? Has that affected the participants in the sample?
Is the sample representative?
Is the sample a strength or a weakness of the study?
Why is it important to have a representative sample of participants in a study?
Qualitative and / or
quantitative
measures
What kind of data was collected in this study?
Is the data that has been collected a strength or a weakness of the study?
Why do you think that the experimenter choose to collect that type of data?
How could the data have been collected differently? Would this have an effect on the results and conclusions?

3. Reductionism
Has the researcher narrowed the reasons for a behaviour down to only one (or a small) number of reasons?
Is this a good or bad thing? Why?
What does it mean to be reductionist?
Why might experimenters want to be reductionist? Why might they want to avoid it?
Is reductionism a strength or a weakness of this study? Why?
Reliability
Could you say that this study is reliable? Why?
What does it mean to have reliability? Is it really that important?
What could we say if a study doesn’t have reliability?
Is reliability a strength or a weakness of this study?
What could the experimenter have done to make this study more reliable?

4. Validity
Could you say that this study is valid? Why?
What does it mean to have validity? Is it really that important?
What could we say if a study doesn’t have validity?
Is validity a strength or a weakness of this study?
What could the experimenter have done to make this study more valid?
Usefulness of
psychological
research
Is this research useful? What does it tell us about people’s behaviour or psychology in general?
Is it important for research to be useful? What if it’s not?
Why is this study useful?
Is there anything that the experimenter could have done to make the study more useful?

5. Methodology
What type of method was used? Experimental? Non-experimental?
What’s so good about using this method of research?
What effect has the methodology of the study had on the overall effectiveness of the research?
Could the study have been conducted in a different way? How?
What effect could this have had on the results?
Controls
What are controls? Why do experimenters use them?
What controls (if any) did the experimenter have in the study?
What is the downside of having lots of control over the variables?
Is control a strength or a weakness of this research?
What else could the experimenter have controlled for? What effect would this have had on the results?

6. Generalisations
What do we mean by generalising a finding or conclusion?
Can we always make generalisations? What aids us in making generalisations?
Can we make generalisations from this research? Why?
Is this a strength or a weakness of the study?
What could the experimenter have done (if anything) to make the study more generalisable?
Cost
Was this an expensive experiment? Why?
What methods were used? What equipment was used? Were participants paid?
Is the cost an advantage or a disadvantage?
Could the experiment have been conducted in a different way that would have made it more / less expensive?
What effect would this change have on the findings?

7. Replication
Possible
Could we replicate this study now? Think about the cost, ethical and even moral issues of doing it again.
Why is it important that we should be able to replicate studies like this?
Would you have to change the study to replicate it today?
What effect would this have on the results?
Could this be a strength or a weakness of the study?
Time involved
How much time was involved in this study? Was it quick and easy or long and involved?
Why did the study take this amount of time?
Is the time taken for this piece of research a strength or a weakness of the study?
Could the study have been conducted in a different way that would have made it quicker?
Would this change have affected the results at all?

8. Consent
Did all of the participants give their informed consent to take part in the study?
How?
Why is it important for participants to give their informed consent?
Is there ever a time when an experimenter might not get informed consent? Why might this be?
If the experimenter didn’t get informed consent: could he have done it without effecting the results? Why?
Deception
Was there any deception in this study? When?
Was the deception ‘required’? What was the reason for this?
Could the study have been conducted without deception? Would this have affected the results at all?
Why is it important not to deceive any participants when conducting research?

9. Debriefing
Were the participants debriefed? What form did this take?
Why do we need to debrief participants?
What effect could research have on participants if they weren’t debriefed?
Right to withdraw
Did participants have the right to withdraw from the study? Think of an example.
Why should experimenters always allow their participants to withdraw at any time?
Why might some experimenters not allow their participants to withdraw from their research?
Could not allowing someone to withdraw from a study have an effect on the results and findings of a study?