AS RESEARCH METHODS- experimental methods- experimental design- controlling ev

Question 1

what do experiments study?

Answer 1

cause and effect relationship

Question 2

what is a cause & effect rels?

Answer 2

changin 1 thing leads to another variable

Question 3

what do experiments have?

Answer 3

iv & dv

Question 4

what is an independent variable?

Answer 4

a variable that is manipulated by the experimenter in order to look at the effect that it has on dv

Question 5

what is a dependant variable?

Answer 5

the variable that is measured by the experimenter

Question 6

what is an iv in rels?

Answer 6

the cause in a cause and effect rels

Question 7

what is a dv in rels?

Answer 7

the effect in a cause and effect rels

Question 8

iv and dv in shorter?

Answer 8

iv is what we change and dv is what we measure

Question 9

what are the types of experimental methods?

Answer 9

lab experiment, field experiment, natural experiment

Question 10

what is a lab experiment usually?

Answer 10

usually artificial situations

Question 11

define lab exp?

Answer 11

conducted in a controlled environment so we change the independent variable to see the effect on dv

Question 12

advantages of lab experiment?

Answer 12

1. high levels of control e.g investigate cause and effect

2. replicable = reliable

Question 13

disadvantages of lab experiment?

Answer 13

1. lack of ecological validity -artificial as people change behaviour for results
2. dc
3. p often try t make sense of exp could change p behaviour

Question 14

define field experiment?

Answer 14

conducted in real life sit but still have control of iv and dv

Question 15

advantages of field experiment?

Answer 15

1. ecological validity higher as in real life sit so more likely real behaviour
2. low demand c -more natural behaviour

Question 16

disadvantages of field experiment?

Answer 16

1. less control -less control so cant control ev so changes in dv may not be due to iv
2. cost more expensive than lab exp

Question 17

define natural exp?

Answer 17

investigation into totally naturally occurring situations

iv occurs naturally e.g gender age social backround

Question 18

advantages of natural exp?

Answer 18

1. improved validity real situations

2. research opportunities allow us to investigate situations that would be unethical to set up in labs

Question 19

disadvantages of natural exp?

Answer 19

1. less control on iv and dv so cant draw casual conclusions

2. not replicable usually are rare sit so we cant test reliability of findings

Question 20

what are experimental designs?

Answer 20

how p’s are allocated to conditions of iv.

Question 21

what are the different types of designs?

Answer 21

independent groups
repeated measures
matched pairs

Question 22

what are independent group designs?

Answer 22

pps randomly allocated to diff groups which represent different conditions

Question 23

advantages of independent groups?

Answer 23

1.less chance of order effects like learning etc
2.can use same stimulus materials
3/].less dc

Question 24

disadvantages of independent groups?

Answer 24

1. less effective for controlling p variables some diff abilities
2. require more p
3. takes more time to find p

Question 25

what are repeated measures?

Answer 25

same pps are used in both conditions conditions have to be counterbalanced

Question 26

advantage of repeated measures?

Answer 26

1. p variables are elimated not diff abilities

2. fewer p need to be found = easier recruiting

Question 27

disadvantages of repeated measures?

Answer 27

1. order effects like fatigue(bored second time) and learning can occur
2. dc due to more contact with researcher
3. cannot use same stimulus material due to learning effects

Question 28

what are matched pairs?

Answer 28

pairs of pp are closely matched and are then randomly allocated to one of the experimental conditions e.g characteristics like age intelligence iq test etc

Question 29

advantages of match pairs?

Answer 29

1. participant variation reduced

2. no order effects

Question 30

disadvantages of matched pairs?

Answer 30

1. costly and time consuming to find matched pairs
2. need more p
3. still gonna be p variation on other non matched factors

Question 31

what are order effects?

Answer 31

completing 1 condition first may affect the p performance in another condition

Question 32

what are ev’s?

Answer 32

variables other than iv that could affect dv and therefore confound the findings . they should be controlled to ensure that any changes in dv due to iv

Question 33

examples of ev’s?

Answer 33

participant variables
situational variables
experimenter effects
dc’s

Question 34

what are participant variables?

Answer 34

aspects of p characteristics or experience other than iv which may influence dv e.g motivation,age,intelligence,gender

Question 35

what are situational variables ?

Answer 35

aspects of research situation other than iv which may influence dc e.g time of day,noise, temp

Question 36

what are experimenter effects ?

Answer 36

effects of experimenters expectations which somehow communicated to p

Question 37

how can a researcher control ev’?

Answer 37

situational variables
p variables
experimenter bias/dc

Question 38

how can a researcher control situational variables?

Answer 38

keep sit same for everyone e.g lab ensure temp noise and pleasantness consistent
in a field try keep as many factors same e.g time of day
procedural controls ; specifically instruct p to avoid doing certain things that might influence dv

Question 39

how can a researcher control participant variables?

Answer 39

use a matcher pairs or repeated measures design
in an indep make sure p are randomly allocated to each con this ensures that p variables randomly allocated equally distributes across conditions

Question 40

how can a researcher control dc or experimenter bias?

Answer 40

single bind technique: p not told the aims of study so cannot alter b
double bind: researcher employs another who does not know aims of study to carry exp therefore cannot communication expectations about study to p