5. Results analysis and experiment critique

Question 1

Generalisability

Answer 1

• The degree to which you can apply the results of your study to a broader context.
• Research results are considered generalisable when the findings can be applied to most contexts, most people, most of the time.

Question 2

Validity

Answer 2

Validity refers to whether a measure actually measures what it claims to be measuring

Question 3

Reliability

Answer 3

• How consistently a method measures something.
• If the same result can be consistently achieved by using the same methods under the same circumstances, the measurement is considered reliable.

Question 4

Applicability

Answer 4

The extent to which a learning from a study could be implemented in another setting.

Question 5

Ethics

Answer 5

Does the experiment uphold the dignity, rights and welfare of research participants?

Question 6

Milgram Experiment 1960s

Answer 6

• to test how obedient people are to authority figures, participants were told by an authority figure (someone dressed in a lab coat, claiming to be a scientist) to administer electric shocks to other people (who were in fact actors, pretending to receive shocks).
• The researchers found that participants tended to follow instructions to administer electric shocks to people, even when they believed that the electric shocks were causing great pain, and even when they thought the shocks were life threatening.
• The participants administering electric shocks tended to find the experience extremely stressful, but they still followed instructions.

Question 7

Experimental design

Answer 7

creating a set of procedures to systematically test a hypothesis.