1. Arrange students into groups. Each group needs at least ONE person who has a mobile device.
2. If their phone camera doesn't automatically detect and decode QR codes, ask students to
4. Cut them out and place them around your class / school.
1. Give each group a clipboard and a piece of paper so they can write down the decoded questions and their answers to them.
2. Explain to the students that the codes are hidden around the school. Each team will get ONE point for each question they correctly decode and copy down onto their sheet, and a further TWO points if they can then provide the correct answer and write this down underneath the question.
3. Away they go! The winner is the first team to return with the most correct answers in the time available. This could be within a lesson, or during a lunchbreak, or even over several days!
4. A detailed case study in how to set up a successful QR Scavenger Hunt using this tool can be found here.
Question | Answer |
| 1. It is rarely possible to include everyone who should be involved in a research project. Time and cost mean that this is usually not an option. If you do include everyone (the population) then this is a CENSUS. For most studies even with smaller population (eg differences in between male and female soldiers, there are still too many to test all of them! Almost always in psychology a study involves a SAMPLE of the population of interest. TARGET POPULATION – all the people the study is about – those to whom the FINDINGS will be applied.The chosen SAMPLE must be REPRESENTATIVE of the POPULATION and, if possible, not BIASED. REPRESENTATIVE – includes members of each type of person in that population, usually in the correct proportions. Example of bias – having all young males and older females in a sample for a study where gender is important. Can be difficult to get a representative sample because there are problems in obtaining participants. | point 1 | 2. As the target population may be very large this is usually reduced to a manageable SAMPLING FRAME. Eg To examine obedience in male and female soldiers, researchers could choose one regiment then choose their sample from this. | point a | 3. SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLING gives EVERYONE AN EQUAL CHANCE OF BEING CHOSEN. The main rule is that everyone in the target population is available for selection each time a participant is picked out. Possible ways of collecting a random sample are (a) Put all names in a box/hat and pick one out at a time until the required number of participants reached. (b) Use random number tables or a random number generator. People are allocated numbers and whatever number occurs that participant is chosen. | point b | 4. ADVANTAGES of simple random sampling are (a) Minimise BIAS as everyone has equal opportunity to be picked. No one is excluded so likely to be representative of target population. (b) It is CLEAR to everyone how the sample was chosen. (c) Can be checked mathematically for bias. | point c | 5. The DISADVANTAGES are that it is difficult to ensure everyone in the target population is available to be included in the sample. May be difficult to get people’s names due to the data protection act. Even if everyone’s name included it would not be known if they were available to take part. Even if a random sample taken might not be possible for all those chosen to take part so could be BIASED. Also can be BIASED when, for example, if the hypothesis is to examine obedience in male and female soldiers, it is possible that the sample would not include any female soldiers which would not be useful. You can get round this by separating the genders into two groups before sampling. | point2 | 6. To make sure that certain groups are represented in the sample use STRATIFIED SAMPLING. Groups arise from the study and it is decided how many participants are needed in each group (to do this properly there is a mathematical formula to use) but this should represent the numbers of that group in the target population. So if there are twice as many boys as girls in the target population there should be twice as many boys in the sample. For example, if your study is about obedience in soldiers and you think age and gender could be a factor, there would be four groups to consider (a) Young male soldiers (b) older male soldiers (c) Young female soldiers (d) older female soldiers. These are the 4 strata for the stratified sampling. | point d | 7. ADVANTAGES OF STRATIFIED SAMPLING are (a) Each group is bound to be represented so conclusions about differences between those groups can be drawn (b) Efficient way of ensuring representatives from each group (more efficient than random as may take a long time to get enough of each group.DISADVANTAGES OF STRATIFIED SAMPLING are (a) The groups set in the study may not be the important groups. (b) Having picked the groups some people will be ruled out of the study. This could mean not representative sample. EG Obedience in soldiers may depend on factors other than age and gender (eg family, school). (b) Difficult to know how many from each group to make results generalisable. Also may be hindered by small numbers of a particular group in the target population. | point 3 | 8. In volunteer/self-selected sampling you ask for volunteers, they select themselves by volunteering. Might answer an advertisement of respond to a letter. When the sample is a VOLUNTEER SAMPLE it is SELF-SELECTED. Milgram (1963) used this method. His participants answered an advertisement. | point e | 9. ADVANTAGES OF VOLUNTEER/SELF-SELECTING SAMPLE are (a) it is more ethical than other methods as participants come to the researcher rather than the researcher seeking them out (b) Volunteers are interested and are therefore, perhaps less likely to give biased information or go against the researcher’s instructions. Less likely to be social desirability or demand characteristics UNLESS they are SOOOOOO KEEN that they do what they think the researcher wants having guessed what that is (demand characteristics). Main advantage is that they are WILLING to be involved. | point f | 10. DISADVANTAGES OF VOLUNTEER/SELF-SELECTING SAMPLE are (a) Can take a Looooooooooonnnnnnnnnnng time to get sufficient numbers of participants because researcher has to wait for volunteers to apply. For example, one advertisement may not raise enough people. (b) Because Pps self-select, they may be SIMILAR in some way. For example, Milgram’s Pps all read the advertisement, so they read the same publication. They have also had the time to take part which could rule out certain occupations. Therefore, a VOLUNTEER SAMPLE, being SELF-SELECTED, is likely to be BIASED and is not likely to be REPRESENTATIVE of the target population. | point 4 | 11. OPPORTUNITY SAMPLING is not really a true method of sampling because it means taking whoever is available. Researchers use whoever they can to take part – used a lot by psychology students as the people to whom they have access are limited. Example, You are doing a research project on memory so you stand in a street on a Monday morning and pick the first 20 people you see. | point g | 12. ADVANTAGES of OPPORTUNITY SAMPLING are (a) Researcher has more control over who is asked and (b) can be quick and efficient.The DISADVANTAGES are (a) Bias – Researchers have more control so may pick people they have easy access to. May be biased to choosing people like themselves, of their own age, who look friendly. May ignore some people consciously or unconsiously. (b) Those who are picked and willing to take part are self-selected which may cause bias and (c) Not everyone has an equal chance of being selected so not Random. | point 5 | 13. Other types of sampling are (A) Systematic sampling - Sample obtained using a system such as selecting every tenth person walking along the street or every name that appears on the top of the right hand page in a telephone directory. It is not truly random as everyone does not have an equal chance of being chosen. However, it is equivalent in its capacity to collect a representative sample. | point h | 14. (B) Quota Sampling Used frequently by market researchers. The researcher aims to collect a sample with certain characteristics (could be age, gender, etc.) and asks people that they think fulfil that characteristic until they get the number of people needed. If the person they ask does not have the required characteristic they are thanked and not used. There may be several categories. | point 6 |
It is rarely possible to include everyone who should be involved in a research project. Time and cost mean that this is usually not an option. If you do include everyone (the population) then this is a CENSUS. For most studies even with smaller population (eg differences in between male and female soldiers, there are still too many to test all of them! Almost always in psychology a study involves a SAMPLE of the population of interest. TARGET POPULATION – all the people the study is about – those to whom the FINDINGS will be applied.The chosen SAMPLE must be REPRESENTATIVE of the POPULATION and, if possible, not BIASED. REPRESENTATIVE – includes members of each type of person in that population, usually in the correct proportions. Example of bias – having all young males and older females in a sample for a study where gender is important. Can be difficult to get a representative sample because there are problems in obtaining participants.&choe=UTF-8
Question 1 (of 14)
As the target population may be very large this is usually reduced to a manageable SAMPLING FRAME. Eg To examine obedience in male and female soldiers, researchers could choose one regiment then choose their sample from this.&choe=UTF-8
Question 2 (of 14)
SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLING gives EVERYONE AN EQUAL CHANCE OF BEING CHOSEN. The main rule is that everyone in the target population is available for selection each time a participant is picked out. Possible ways of collecting a random sample are (a) Put all names in a box/hat and pick one out at a time until the required number of participants reached. (b) Use random number tables or a random number generator. People are allocated numbers and whatever number occurs that participant is chosen.&choe=UTF-8
Question 3 (of 14)
ADVANTAGES of simple random sampling are (a) Minimise BIAS as everyone has equal opportunity to be picked. No one is excluded so likely to be representative of target population. (b) It is CLEAR to everyone how the sample was chosen. (c) Can be checked mathematically for bias.&choe=UTF-8
Question 4 (of 14)
The DISADVANTAGES are that it is difficult to ensure everyone in the target population is available to be included in the sample. May be difficult to get people’s names due to the data protection act. Even if everyone’s name included it would not be known if they were available to take part. Even if a random sample taken might not be possible for all those chosen to take part so could be BIASED. Also can be BIASED when, for example, if the hypothesis is to examine obedience in male and female soldiers, it is possible that the sample would not include any female soldiers which would not be useful. You can get round this by separating the genders into two groups before sampling.&choe=UTF-8
Question 5 (of 14)
To make sure that certain groups are represented in the sample use STRATIFIED SAMPLING. Groups arise from the study and it is decided how many participants are needed in each group (to do this properly there is a mathematical formula to use) but this should represent the numbers of that group in the target population. So if there are twice as many boys as girls in the target population there should be twice as many boys in the sample. For example, if your study is about obedience in soldiers and you think age and gender could be a factor, there would be four groups to consider (a) Young male soldiers (b) older male soldiers (c) Young female soldiers (d) older female soldiers. These are the 4 strata for the stratified sampling.&choe=UTF-8
Question 6 (of 14)
ADVANTAGES OF STRATIFIED SAMPLING are (a) Each group is bound to be represented so conclusions about differences between those groups can be drawn (b) Efficient way of ensuring representatives from each group (more efficient than random as may take a long time to get enough of each group.DISADVANTAGES OF STRATIFIED SAMPLING are (a) The groups set in the study may not be the important groups. (b) Having picked the groups some people will be ruled out of the study. This could mean not representative sample. EG Obedience in soldiers may depend on factors other than age and gender (eg family, school). (b) Difficult to know how many from each group to make results generalisable. Also may be hindered by small numbers of a particular group in the target population.&choe=UTF-8
Question 7 (of 14)
In volunteer/self-selected sampling you ask for volunteers, they select themselves by volunteering. Might answer an advertisement of respond to a letter. When the sample is a VOLUNTEER SAMPLE it is SELF-SELECTED. Milgram (1963) used this method. His participants answered an advertisement.&choe=UTF-8
Question 8 (of 14)
ADVANTAGES OF VOLUNTEER/SELF-SELECTING SAMPLE are (a) it is more ethical than other methods as participants come to the researcher rather than the researcher seeking them out (b) Volunteers are interested and are therefore, perhaps less likely to give biased information or go against the researcher’s instructions. Less likely to be social desirability or demand characteristics UNLESS they are SOOOOOO KEEN that they do what they think the researcher wants having guessed what that is (demand characteristics). Main advantage is that they are WILLING to be involved.&choe=UTF-8
Question 9 (of 14)
DISADVANTAGES OF VOLUNTEER/SELF-SELECTING SAMPLE are (a) Can take a Looooooooooonnnnnnnnnnng time to get sufficient numbers of participants because researcher has to wait for volunteers to apply. For example, one advertisement may not raise enough people. (b) Because Pps self-select, they may be SIMILAR in some way. For example, Milgram’s Pps all read the advertisement, so they read the same publication. They have also had the time to take part which could rule out certain occupations. Therefore, a VOLUNTEER SAMPLE, being SELF-SELECTED, is likely to be BIASED and is not likely to be REPRESENTATIVE of the target population.&choe=UTF-8
Question 10 (of 14)
OPPORTUNITY SAMPLING is not really a true method of sampling because it means taking whoever is available. Researchers use whoever they can to take part – used a lot by psychology students as the people to whom they have access are limited. Example, You are doing a research project on memory so you stand in a street on a Monday morning and pick the first 20 people you see.&choe=UTF-8
Question 11 (of 14)
ADVANTAGES of OPPORTUNITY SAMPLING are (a) Researcher has more control over who is asked and (b) can be quick and efficient.The DISADVANTAGES are (a) Bias – Researchers have more control so may pick people they have easy access to. May be biased to choosing people like themselves, of their own age, who look friendly. May ignore some people consciously or unconsiously. (b) Those who are picked and willing to take part are self-selected which may cause bias and (c) Not everyone has an equal chance of being selected so not Random.&choe=UTF-8
Question 12 (of 14)
Other types of sampling are (A) Systematic sampling - Sample obtained using a system such as selecting every tenth person walking along the street or every name that appears on the top of the right hand page in a telephone directory. It is not truly random as everyone does not have an equal chance of being chosen. However, it is equivalent in its capacity to collect a representative sample.&choe=UTF-8
Question 13 (of 14)
(B) Quota Sampling Used frequently by market researchers. The researcher aims to collect a sample with certain characteristics (could be age, gender, etc.) and asks people that they think fulfil that characteristic until they get the number of people needed. If the person they ask does not have the required characteristic they are thanked and not used. There may be several categories.&choe=UTF-8
Question 14 (of 14)
