ch 6: research strategies and validity

Question 1

research strategy

Answer 1

general approach to research determined by the kind of question that the research study hopes to answer

Question 2

descriptive research strategy

Answer 2

not concerned with relationships between variables but rather with the description of individual variables.

Question 3

research design

Answer 3

general plan for implementing a research strategy. A research design specifies whether the study will involve groups or individual participants, will make comparisons within a group or between groups, and how many variables will be included in the study.

Question 4

research procedure

Answer 4

an exact, step-by-step description of a specific research study.

Question 5

External validity

Answer 5

refers to the extent to which we can generalize the results of a research study to people, settings, times, measures, and characteristics other than those used in that study.

Question 6

threat to external validity

Answer 6

is any characteristic of a study that limits the ability to generalize the results from a research study.

Question 7

internal validity

Answer 7

produces a single, unambiguous explanation for the relationship between two variables.

Question 8

threat to internal validity

Answer 8

any factor that allows for an alternative explanation.

Question 9

novelty effect

Answer 9

Participating in a research study is a novel, often exciting or anxiety-provoking experience for most individuals. In this novel situation, individuals may perceive and respond differently than they would in the normal, real world

Question 10

multiple treatment interference

Answer 10

hen individuals are tested in a series of treatment conditions, participation in one condition may have an effect on the participants
that carries over into the next treatment and influences their performance or behavior.

Question 11

sensitization or assessment sensitization

Answer 11

the assessment procedure, can alter participants so that they react differently to treatment.

Question 12

pretest sensitization

Answer 12

the pretest (the before-treatment measurement) may in some way sensitize the participants so they become more aware of their own attitudes or behaviors.

Question 13

extraneous variable

Answer 13

any variable in a research study other than the specific variables being studied.

Question 14

confounding variable

Answer 14

an extraneous variable (usually unmonitored) that changes systematically along with the two variables being studied. A confounding variable provides an alternative explanation for the observed relationship between the two variables and, therefore, is a threat to internal validity.

Question 15

participant variables

Answer 15

Personal characteristics that can differ from one individual to another

Question 16

General Threats to the Internal Validity of a Research Study (3)

Answer 16

(1) environmental variables, (2) participant variables, (3) time related variables

Question 17

artifact

Answer 17

an external factor that may influence or distort measurements