Chapter 6

Question 1

what is a research strategy?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

what is the Descriptive research strategy?

Answer 2

The only one that focuses on individual variables (out of these 5). Not concerned with the relationship between variables.

Question 3

what is the Correlational research strategy?

Answer 3

measures two variables for each individual to attempt to describe (not explain) a relationship between the two

Question 4

Which research strategies are used for comparing two or more groups of scores to examine the relationship between two variables?

Answer 4

Experimental, Quasi-Experimental, and Nonexperimental

Question 5

What is the Experimental research strategy?

Answer 5

produce a cause-and-effect explanation for the relationship between two variables. An experimental study is conducted.

Question 6

what is the Quasi-Experimental research strategy?

Answer 6

attempts to produce a cause-and-effect explanation but falls short

Question 7

What is the Non-Experimental research strategy?

Answer 7

demonstrates a relationship between variables, but DOES NOT attempt to explain this relationship

Question 8

What is the difference between the Correlational and Non-Experimental research strategies?

Answer 8

Correlational measures two (or more) variables for each individual whereas Non-Experimental measures scores for two different groups of participants

Question 9

What is a research design?

Answer 9

a general plan for implementing a research strategy. It 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 10

What is a research procedure?

Answer 10

It’s an exact step-by-step description of a specific research study.

Question 11

What is External validity?

Answer 11

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

Question 12

What is a threat to external validity?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

What is Internal validity?

Answer 13

A research study has internal validity if it produces a single, unambiguous explanation for the relationship between two variables.

Question 14

What is a threat to internal validity?

Answer 14

any factor that allows for an alternative explanation

Question 15

What is an extraneous variable?

Answer 15

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

Question 16

what is a confounding variable?

Answer 16

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 17

What are individual differences?

Answer 17

the differences from one participant to another such as age, IQ, and personality.

Question 18

What is the experimenter bias?

Answer 18

occurs when the experimenter’s expectations or personal beliefs regarding the outcome of the study influence the findings of a study. Threat to external validity (results obtained in a study may be specific to the experimenter who has these expectations).