Ch. 2: Research Designs and Ethical Issues

Question 1

Independent variable

Answer 1

the variable that’s being manipulated

Question 2

Dependent variable

Answer 2

the variable that’s being measured

Question 3

Why is age not a true independent variable?

Answer 3

You cannot manipulate it

Question 4

Studies on aging use ______________ designs and compare groups on predetermined characteristics (age)

Answer 4

quasi-experimental

Question 5

Age is how many years/months a person has lived. It is a measurement of:

Answer 5

• change within the individual. (how am I changing as I age). Biological, psychological and or sociocultural (# of friends decreases with age)
• changes that occur as a result of getting older

Question 6

Cohort is the year or period of a person’s birth. It is a measurement of:

Answer 6

• differences that are unique to being born in a certain time period and therefore having the same life experiences or circumstances unique to being born at that time

Question 7

Time of measurement is the year or period in which a person is tested. It is a measurement of:

Answer 7

• salient cultural, historical, or environmental effects at the time of data collection

Question 8

Cross-sectional research design

Answer 8

• comparison of two or more persons or groups at one point in time
• data are gathered from multiple groups/cohorts of people (e.g., 50 year olds, 60 year olds) at one point of time, taking a cross-section of the population
• Age x cohort confound= Yes
• Age x Time of Measurement confound= No

Question 9

Problems of cross-sectional design

Answer 9

• results reflect age differences not changes
• all participants are studied at one time in history
• selective survival of more able participants
• need to decide on age ranges and how to divide sample (who’s young, who’s old, etc.)
• finding comparable measures for older and younger adults (some items might mean different things in older & younger people
• separating age from cohort

Question 10

Longitudinal research design

Answer 10

• a study over a long period of time
• data are collected on the same group of people, on the same measurements, at multiple points in time
• Age x Cohort confound= No
• Age x Time of measurement confound= Yes

Question 11

This is one of the most well known longitudinal aging studies

Answer 11

The Nun Study
Limitations: Generalizability, Cost

Question 12

Selective attrition

Answer 12

• when ceasing to participate in a longitudinal study indicates that these participants are not necessarily representative of the sample they were supposed to represent

Question 13

Terminal decline/drop

Answer 13

• individuals gradually lose cognitive abilities as they draw closer to death

Question 14

Problems of longitudinal design

Answer 14

• separating personal aging from historical effects/time of measurement
• expensive and logistically difficult
• results (final) take many years to complete
• selective attrition/terminal drop
• practice effects
• tests become outdated

Question 15

What are the 4 M’s why participants cease to participate in a longitudinal study

Answer 15

• Motivation
• Mobility
• Morbidity
• Mortality

Question 16

Time-lag research design

Answer 16

• different cohorts are compared at different times
• examines the responses of different participants of similar age at different points in time
• cohort and time of measurement are confounded (and age is held constant)

Question 17

Problems in time-lag design

Answer 17

• age is held constant
• cohort and time of measurement are confounded
• less relevance for tracking age-related trends

Question 18

Sequential research design

Answer 18

• combinations of cross-sectional, longitudinal and time lag designs
• hardly ever used because of money & time
• different cohorts of different ages are entered into the study and this is repeated at different times

Question 19

Time sequential

Answer 19

• adds another age (i.e., two or more samples of ages compared at two or more times of measurement)
• separates out age from time of measurement effects
• Age x Cohort confound= Yes
• Age x Time of measurement confound= No

Question 20

Cohort sequential

Answer 20

• adding another cross sectional measurement (i.e., another set of 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 year olds) to the previous cross sectional design
• allows separation of age and cohort effects
• this design involves comparing the effects of cohort with the effects of age
• Age x Cohort confound= No
• Age x Time of measurement confound= No

Question 21

Cross sequential

Answer 21

• adds another cohort to the longitudinal design -also known as an accelerated longitudinal design
• cross sequential allows separation of cohort and time of measurement effects
• two cohorts followed over time
• Age x Cohort confound= No
• Age x Time of measurement confound= Yes

Question 22

Some of APA’s ethical guidelines for research on human participants (5)

Answer 22

• Informed consent -awareness of study procedures, risks, and benefits
  -consent must be free, informed, and ongoing
• Debriefing -information at study’s completion about its true purpose
• Suggest resources -provide information relevant to participant’s experiences
• Right to withdraw -participant can withdraw without penalty
• Confidentiality of data -participant will not be identifiable in published reports and data will be securely stored

Question 23

Research Ethics Boards (REBs)

Answer 23

• review research proposals
• monitor applications for factors such as: consent, anonymity vs confidentiality, coercion/vulnerability, etc.

Question 24

Confound (Confounding variable)

Answer 24

a third variable that influences both the independent and dependent variables

Question 25

What is a major disadvantage of a cross-sectional design?

Answer 25

The results only tell us about age differences, not age changes. This is because each of the research participants is only tested at one point in time