chapter 6: choosing a research design

Question 1

type of research design

Answer 1

distinguished by the level of control: manipulation of a variable + holding all variables constant

Question 2

experimental research design

Answer 2

used to determine the causes of behavior that explain why it occurs

capable of demonstrating cause and effect BUT behvavior that occurs under controlled conditions may not be the same as behavior that occurs in a natural environment

Question 3

quasi-experimental research design

Answer 3

used to identify the relationship between preexisting variables

allows researchers to study factors related to the unique characteristics of participants BUT cannot demonstrate cause and effect

Question 4

non-experimental research design

Answer 4

Used to describe variables and predict the relationships between variables

can be used to make observations in settings that the behaviors and events being observed would BUT lacks control needed to demonstrate cause and effects

Question 5

internal validity

Answer 5

Assesses whether the observed changes in the DV can be confidently attributed to the manipulation of the IV rather than other factors

High internal validity = well-designed study that minimizes confounding variables and provides greater confidence in the causal inferences drawn

Question 6

threats to internal validity

Answer 6

Factors that vary systematically with the levels of an independent variable

History effects, maturation, testing effects, regression toward the mean, instrumentation and measurement, attrition or experimental mortality (heterogeneous attrition), environmental factors

Question 7

minimizing threats to internal validity

Answer 7

Random assignment = all participants have an equal chance of being assigned to a group and receiving whatever benefits and costs that are associated with that group

Control groups

Blind experiments

Question 8

external validity

Answer 8

Assesses the degree to which the results obtained in a study accurately represent the behaviors, relationships, and outcomes that would occur in a broader population or different contexts

Generalizability ‘
High external validity = findings are more likely to hold true in diverse situations

Question 9

threats to external validity

Answer 9

Factors held constant across groups in a study

Selection bias

Population validity

Ecological validity

Temporal validity

Outcome validity