Ch. 3: RESEARCH METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN

Question 1

Independent Variable

Answer 1

The variable manipuulated by the research team

Question 2

Dependent variable

Answer 2

The variable that is measured

Question 3

Reproducibility in experiments

Answer 3

Good experimental design requires experiments that can be reproduced by other researchers

Question 4

Operational Definition

Answer 4

A specification of precisely what researchers mean by each variable

Question 5

Quantitative

Answer 5

Numerical

Question 6

Qualitative

Answer 6

Descriptive

Question 7

Experimental group vs Control Group

Answer 7

Experimental group: the group of participants that receives treatment

Control Group: The group that doesnt receive treatment, which acts as a point of reference and comparison

Question 8

Extraneous (Confounding) variables

Answer 8

Variables other than the treatment that could potentially explain an experimental result

Question 9

Placebo Effect

Answer 9

The fact that just believing that treatment is being administered can lead to a measurable result

Can lead to erroneous results

Question 10

Double blind study

Answer 10

Neither the person administering treatment nor the participants truly know if they are assigned to the treatment or control groups

Question 11

Sampling bias

Answer 11

If it is not equally likely for all members of a population to be sampled

Question 12

Selection Bias

Answer 12

Purposefully selecting which studies to evaluate in a meta analysis to look for trends in the data

Question 13

Meta analysis

Answer 13

Big picture analysis of many studies

Question 14

Attrition

Answer 14

Participants dropping out of the study

Question 15

Randomized block technique

Answer 15

In this technique, researchers evaluate where participants fall along the variables they wish to equalize across the experimental and control groups

Then they randomly assign individuals from these groups so that the treatment and control groups are similar along the variables of interest

Ex:

List 1: Tall. List 2: Short

Question 16

What 3 things must a reliable instrument do/have in an experiment?

Answer 16

1. They produce stable and consistent results
2. Construct Validity: measure what theyre supposed to
3. Replicability: repeated measurements lead to similar results

Question 17

Construct Validity

Answer 17

Measures what its supposed to

Question 18

Psychometrics

Answer 18

The study of how to measure psychological variables through testing

Question 19

Response bias

Answer 19

The tendency for respondents to not have perfect insight into their state and provide inaccurate responses

Question 20

Between-subjects design

Answer 20

The comparisons in the experiment are made between subjects from one group to another

Question 21

Within subjects design

Answer 21

Comparing the same group of an experiment at different time points

Question 22

Mixed methods research

Answer 22

Any combination of different research techniques such as within- subjects and between subjects, or qualitative and quantitative

Question 23

Type 2 Error

Answer 23

False Negative

Researchers accept the null hypothesis, when in fact it is false

Question 24

Type 1 Error

Answer 24

False Positive

Researchers incorrectly reject the null hypothesis also known as false positive

Question 25

Which is worse: Type 1 error or Type 2 error

Answer 25

Type 1 error is predominant

A much graver problem in hypothesis testing because it is better to reason from a point of skepticism

This is why scientists start with null hypothesis

Question 26

Null hypothesis

Answer 26

When scientists assume that there is no causal relationship between the variables and any effect that they measure

Scientists often start with the null hypothesis to prevent type 1 and type 2 errors

Question 27

Experimental Hypothesis

Answer 27

The idea that changes in the independent variable cause changes in the dependent variable

Question 28

Significant difference

Answer 28

A measured difference between two groups that is large enough that it is probably not due to chance

This definition is vague on purpose so the researchers must determine when the difference is big enough

Question 29

P- value

Answer 29

A number from 0 to 1 that gives the probability that a measured difference occurred due to chance

By convention, if and only if p<0.05 scientists reject the null hypothesis

other p values (0.01 or 0.001 are also used as the threshold for significance in some cases

Question 30

Sample size

Answer 30

The number of participants

Question 31

Power of experiment

Answer 31

The ability to pick up an effect if one is actually present,

this is related to factors such as large sample size and low variation

Question 32

External Validity

Answer 32

The ability to apply the conclusion of the research to the real world

Question 33

Internal Validity

Answer 33

How “well designed” a study is, how valid it is to draw conclusions from the research based on the way it was constructed

Question 34

Demand Characteristics

Answer 34

The tendency of participants to consciously or subconsciously act in ways that match how they are expected to behave

Question 35

Predictive validity

Answer 35

The extent to which a psychometric instrument predicts results along a well known test or in a variable of interest

Question 36

Disclosure

Answer 36

An outline given to participants before the experiment begins that clarifies incentives and expectations while reminding them of their right to terminate the experiment at any time

Question 37

debriefing

Answer 37

Participants are told after the experiment exactly what was done and why the experiment was conducted

In some cases, if the experiment may have triggered psychological vulnerability, participants may be offered access to treatment or counselling as part of debriefing

Question 38

What are the main pros and cons of non-experimental research designs?

Answer 38

Pros: Benefit of observing phenomena in a more naturalistic setting, often improving external validity

Cons: Reduced control of the variables of interest, tends ot reduce the internal validity

Question 39

Correlational Studies

What is it?

Pros and Cons

Answer 39

Explore the relationship between two quantitative variables

Most commonly used type is the Pearson correlation

Advantages:
- Shows numerical relationship between two variables and usually easier to conduct than experiments
- take measurements on population as it exists, no need to directly manipulate variables

Disadvantages:
- causality cannot be inferred
- may not pick up nonlinear relationship

Question 40

Explain how Pearson correlation studies work

Answer 40

A numerical value between -1 and 1 indicates how two variables correlate

Negative value= inverse relationship

Positive value= direct relationship

Value of 0= no linear relationship between two variables (nonlinear is still plausible)

Values further from zero indicate a stronger relationship (eg. 4 is stronger than 1)

Question 41

Ethnographic Studies

What is it

Advantages and disadvantages

Answer 41

Qualitative method. Researchers immerse themselves completely in the lives, culture, or way of life of the people theyre studying

Advantages:
- Depth of analysis

Disadvantages:
- researcher is working alone, no one else to critique methodology
- Presence of researcher can affect the findings: makes replication difficult
- Deep immersion in culture can result in feelings of attachment and can threaten objectivity

Question 42

Twin Studies

Pros and Cons

Answer 42

Studies that incorporate research into different types of twins to gain insight into heritability

Nature vs nurture

Pros:
- insight into nature and nurture

Cons:
- Difficult to find participants who meet criteria
- difficult to analyze the complex variables involved and how they interact

Question 43

Heritability

Answer 43

The extent to which an observed trait is due to genetics versus the environment

Question 44

Longitudinal Studies/ Method

Pros and Cons

Answer 44

Measurements at intervals of a dependent variable over long time frames

Pros:
- ability to detail how an effect or factor can develop over time
- allows researchers to have high accuracy when observing for change

Cons:
- Costly
- difficult to execute
- time and resource intensive
- high attrition rates

Question 45

Cross Sectional study

Answer 45

Data collection or survey of a population or sample at a specific time

related to longitudinal study but slightly different

Question 46

Case Studies

Pros and Cons

Answer 46

In depth and comprehensive exploration of one individual, phenomenon, or disorder

Pros:
- offer thorough exploration of potential causes that lead to a phenomenon

Cons:
- no isolation of variables or control over the conditions
- results may not be generalizable
- does not offer points of reference or comparison
- difficult to determine how different variables interact

Question 47

Phenomenological Studies

Pros and Cons

Answer 47

Researchers studying themselves: The use of introspection to explore the nature of phenomena, often related to perception or subjective experience

Attempt to understand own perceptions and understandings rather than make comparisons or draw conclusions

Not all are self observation but sample size is almost always small

Pros:
- detail
- in depth understanding
- insight into behaviours and occurrences that are difficult to measure

Cons:
- lacks objectivity d/t self analysis
- data subjective, affects validity
- Difficult to generalize data
- small sample size reduces external validity

Question 48

Survey studies

pros and cons

Answer 48

Studies that use questionnaires to explore a research variable

Use to understand how populations feel about topics

Pros:
- easy to administer
- quantitative data that can be compared to large participant pools
- cost effective
- now online, boosts the reach and facility of conducting surveys

Cons:
- Respondents may not feel encouraged to provide accurate honest answers
- can be affected by an unrepresentative sample or poor survey questions
- self reporting creates limitations in objectivity

Question 49

Archival studies

pros and cons

Answer 49

Studies that explore historical records and search for patterns or insight

pros:
- Provide insight into events from the past that are unique from everyday behaviour

Cons:
- Quality of analysis subject to the quality and integrity of historical records
- difficult to conduct follow ups
- data unlikely to be comprehensive, leaves ambiguity and unanswered questions

Question 50

Biographical studies

pros and cons

Answer 50

Studies that investigate all relevant details of the life of an individual or small group

Pros:
- Comprehensive knowledge of all details of individuals life

Cons:
- Limitations in objectivity
- difficult to generalize observations

Question 51

Observational studies

Pros and Cons

Answer 51

A type of research characterized by minimal manipulation in an attempt to investigate phenomena in their naturalistic state

Pros:
- Naturalistic observation of circumstances as they are

Cons:
- difficult to tease out the complex interplay of many variables

Question 52

A team of researchers measures a negative correlation between income and length of labor time in a group of pregnant women. It is expected that as income increases labor time:

a) decreases
b) increases
c) Stays the same
d) The change in labor time cannot be determined

Answer 52

A: neg correlation means the value measured for one variable increases, the other decreases

Question 53

Due to scheduling and logistical limitations, researchers conducting a study could only conduct the study on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 7pm and 9pm. they were therefore limited to individuals who were available at this time to participate in the study. This set up would have created issues in:

a) External validity, due to the selection criteria
b) internal validity, due to a potential Hawthorne effect
c) External validity, due to impression management
d) internal validity, due to impression management

Answer 53

A: The recruitment method is problematic because the experiment will not sample individuals who have different schedules and are not available at that time

a sample that is not representative of the population is a threat to external validity. Selection criteria are the processes used to select participants for an experiment.

Question 54

Researchers want to explore the experience of subjects as they engage in the stroop task, a task in selective attention that measures the ability to distinguish between discordant stimuli. The researchers are not merely interested in response time but want to know qualitative details about the subjects’ internal experiences. Which of the following methodologies should the researchers implement?

a) correlational method
b) observational method
c) survey method
d) phenomenological method

Answer 54

D: The phenomenological method is a technique used to evaluate the experience of some phenomenon and often obtain more introspective details about an event than is possible with other methods. this method is also usually qualitative or descriptive as the question stem suggests

Question 55

Which of the following is a limitation of the ethnographic method?

a) cultural validity is low, since the observer is not a member of the society of interest
b) External validity is low, because the experimental conditions do not match the real world
c) External validity is low, because only one culture is sampled
d) construct validity is low, since the instruments have not been checked for reliability

Answer 55

C: External validity is an issue in ethnographic studies, mainly because the methodology involves deep exploration of a single culture or subculture so it provides limited info on how the results might apply to other cultures

Question 56

A team of researchers finds that there is a complex relationship between IQ and sociability. Measures of sociability were found to be high for individuals within one standard deviation of the mean for intelligence, and gradually decreased for individuals with both very high and very low IQ scores. Which of the following correlations would be measured in this instance?

a) Positive
b) Negative
c) No correlation
d) A correlation cannot be determined

Answer 56

C: The results described in the question are curvilinear in nature. They do not represent a linear relationship and would show up as a bell on a graph. Correlational research does not pick up nonlinear trends

Question 57

In a study of the impact of personality type on the interpretation of a social symbol, which of the following is a possible operational definition of the independent variable?

a) Personality type is the independent variable, so it can be defined as results on a questionnaire designed to measure five-factor model personality traits
b) Personality type is the independent variable, so it can be defined as degree of sympathetic arousal and amygdala activation when seeing a symbol
c) Symbol interpretation is the independent variable, so it can be defined as average ranking, from positive to negative of a series of neutral symbols
d) Symbol interpretation is the independent variable so it can be defined as degree of sympathetic arousal and amygdala activation when seeing a symbol

Answer 57

A: Notice that the first part of the answer choices is divided in half. First determine whether personality type or symbolic interpretation is the independent variable. The study described is designed to measure how personality affects symbolic interpretation. Therefore the independent variable, the variable manipulated by the researcher, is personality type. The five factor model is a common measure of personality. Sympathetic arousal and amygdala activation do not define personality type

Question 58

Attrition, or subjects dropping out of a study before its completion, is a threat to:

a) Internal validity, because it introduces a potential confounding variable
b) internal validity because the group may no longer be representative
c) External validity, because it introduces a potential confounding variable
d) External validity, because the group may no longer be representative

Answer 58

A: Attrition is primarily a threat to internal validity, because there may be some non-trivial reason that subjects are dropping out. This would present a confounding variable, because if the reason for attrition were related to the hypothesis it could provide an alternative explanation for the results.

It is less likely that enough subjects drop out to threaten the external validity of the study. Also, if participants began to drop out, internal validity would be threatened first, such that it would be difficult to draw a conclusion that would then be applied to the external population.

Question 59

Which of the following research methodologies would best explore the development of human memory over time?

a) Case study
b) Longitudinal Study
c) Observational study
d) Archival study