1. Experimental Method AO1 Flashcards
What is an aim?
A general expression of what the researcher intends to investigate
What is a hypothesis and what should it be?
A statement of what the researcher believes to be true, should be operationalised
What does operationalised mean?
Clearly defined and measurable
What is a directional hypothesis?
States whether changes are greater of lesser, positive or negative…
What is a non-directional hypothesis?
Doesn’t state the direction, just that there is a difference, correlation or association
What is an experimental method?
A researcher causes the IV to vary and records the effect on the DV, there are different levels of IV
What is an extraneous variable?
They are ‘nuisance’ variables that are not intentionally studied, a researcher may control some of these
What is a confounding variable?
An outside influence that changes the effect of the IV and DV, confounding variables must be controlled!
What are demand characteristics?
Participant discover the aim of the study and alter their behaviour depending to fit the aim
What are investigator effects?
Any effect of the investigators behaviour on the outcome of the research
What is randomisation?
The use of chance when designing investigations to control for the effect bias
What is standardisation?
Using exactly the same formalised procedures for all participants in a research study
What is a control group used for?
They are the purpose of setting a comparison, they act as a ‘baseline’ and help establish caution
What does single blind mean?
A participant doesn’t know the aims of the study so that demand characteristics are reduced
What does double blind mean?
Both participant and researcher don’t know the aims of the study to reduce d many characteristics and investigator effects
