Chapter 1: Research Methods

Question 1

What are the different types of research goals? (4)

Answer 1

-describe
-explain
-predict
-influence

Question 2

What is a variable defined as?

Answer 2

-any characteristic that varies

Question 3

What are the two ways researchers study development?

Answer 3

-descriptive methods and experiments

Question 4

What are the three types of descriptive methods?

Answer 4

-case studies, naturalistic observations, surveys

Question 5

What does a positive correlation mean?

Answer 5

-the variables go up or down together

Question 6

What does a negative correlation mean?

Answer 6

-as one variable goes up the other variable goes down

Question 7

What is a quasi-experimental design? (2)

Answer 7

-cross-sectional study
-studies where members of naturally occurring groups are compared, like you can’t randomly assign gender so that would be a quasi experiment

Question 8

What is a cross-sectional design? Use age as an example. What are you studying? (2)

Answer 8

-group of 7, 9 and 12 year olds picked from schools and studied
-age-related differences

Question 9

What is a cohort effect?

Answer 9

-when the effect seen in the results is due to the experience of a cohort in your study (they lived through a famine for example)

Question 10

What is a longitudinal design?

Answer 10

-studying the same people over a period of time

Question 11

What are practice effects?

Answer 11

-improvements due to exposure to something

Question 12

What is a sequential design?

Answer 12

-a combination of a longitudinal and cross-sectional design where you follow more than one group over time

Question 13

What is an ethnography?

Answer 13

-detailed description of a single culture or context based on observation