#4 Step 5: Research Strategy + Validities

Question 1

What is descriptive research strategy?

Answer 1

Describes participants in an accurate way. Not concerned about the relationship between variables.

Question 2

What is correlational strategy? What is the danger of correlational strategy?

Answer 2

Designed to examine the relationship between continuous variables, WITHOUT experimental manipulation (allowing it to occur naturally)

Cannot simply assume that correlation leads to causation

1. Confounding variables
2. Reverse causation

Question 3

What is an experimental design strategy? What are 2 important features of experimental design strategy?

Answer 3

Designed to examine the relationship between variables by experimental manipulation (comparing treatment and control conditions).
- consists of IV and DV

1. Placebo Effect (power of expectation)
2. Need for control (making sure that there are minimal confounding variables, through random asg)

KEY: MANIPULATION AND RANDOM ASSIGNMENT

Question 4

What is a quasi-experimental design? How is it different from correlational design?

Answer 4

Designed to examine relationship by comparing 2 or more set of scores, without experimental manipulation.
- Correlational is about variables, but quasi-experiment is more about groups

Question 5

What is research validity?

Answer 5

Research validity applies to the entire research study, whether the research study actually supports the conclusion it claims to support.

• Measured by internal and external validity
• Any doubts about the limits of results and interpretation of results are a threat

Question 6

What is internal validity? How does it arise?

Answer 6

Internal validity is the extent to which the results produce a single, unambiguous relationship between 2 variables.

Any alternative explanation to the conclusions is a threat to internal validity.

Arises from extraneous variables, especially confounding variables (which provides an alternative explanation for the relationship from 2 variables)

Question 7

What is external validity? What are the 3 types of generalizability?

Answer 7

The extent to which the results obtained can hold true outside of the specific study?

1. Generalizability from sample to the general population
2. Generalizability to other research studies
3. Generalizability from research study to a real-world situation

Question 8

What are the threats to external validity?

Answer 8

1. Generalizability across participants or subjects
   - Selection bias
   - Participant characteristics
   - Volunteer bias
2. Generalizability across features of the study
   - Novelty effect
   - Experimenter characteristics
3. Generalizability across the measure
   - validity and reliability of measure (e.g. self-report or an unreliable thermometer)

Question 9

Factors affecting both internal and external validity

Answer 9

1. Participant reactivity: a phenomenon that occurs when individuals alter their performance because they know they are being observed
2. Demand characteristics: potential cues that suggest the
   - purpose/hypothesis of the study
   - cause them to behave a certain way
   - 2 ways to solve: single-blind and deceiving
3. Experimenter bias: occurs when the experimenter’s expectations or personal beliefs regarding the outcome of the study influences the findings
   - double-blind procedure