Chapter 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

a general approach to research that involves measuring a variable or set of variables as they exist naturally to produce a description of individual variables as they exist within a specific group but does not attempt to describe or explain relationships between variables

Question 3

linear relationships

Answer 3

In a graph showing the changing values of two variables, a pattern in which the data points tend to cluster around a straight line.

Question 4

curvilinear relationship

Answer 4

in a graph showing the changing values of two variables, a pattern in which the data points tend to cluster around a curved line

Question 5

external validity

Answer 5

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 the study. Do the results hold true after the study?

Question 6

threat to external validity

Answer 6

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

Question 7

internal validity

Answer 7

the extent to which a research study 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 for the results of a study

Question 9

volunteer bias

Answer 9

a threat to external validity that occurs because volunteers are not perfectly representative of the general population.

Question 10

novelty affect

Answer 10

a threat to external validity that occurs when individuals participating in a research study (a novel situation) perceive and respond differently than they would in the normal, real world.

Question 11

fatigue

Answer 11

a threat to internal validity that occurs when prior participation in a treatment condition or measurement procedure tires the participants and influences their performance on subsequent measurements; an example of an order effect

Question 12

practice

Answer 12

a threat to internal validity that occurs when prior participation in a treatment condition or measurement procedure provides participants with additional skills that influence their performance on subsequent measurements. An example of an order effect.

Question 13

multiple treatment interferance

Answer 13

a threat to external validity that occurs when participants are exposed to more than one treatment and their responses are affected by an earlier treatment.

Question 14

sensitization

Answer 14

a threat to external validity that occurs when the assessment procedure alters participants so that they react differently to treatment than they would in the real world when the treatment is used without assessment. Also known as assessment sensitization or pretest sensitization.

Question 15

extraneous variables

Answer 15

any variable that exists within a study other than the variables being studied. In an experiment, any variable other than the independent and dependent variables.

Question 16

confounding variable

Answer 16

an extraneous variable (usually unmonitored) that is allowed to change systematically along with the two variables being studied. In the context of an experiment, an extraneous variable that changes systematically along with the independent variable AND has the potential to influence the dependent variable. A confounding variable provides an alternative explanation for the observed relationship and therefore is a threat to internal validity.

Question 17

participant variables

Answer 17

personal characteristics that can differ from one individual to the other, creating individual differences in every study. Individual differences can produce high variability in the scores and can, for studies that use different groups for each treatment condition, if there are consistent differences between the groups, individual differences can become a confound.

Question 18

individual differences

Answer 18

personal characteristics that differ from one participant to another. Individual differences are part of every study. They can produce high variability in the scores and can, for studies that use different groups for each treatment condition, if there are consistent differences between the groups, individual differences can become a confound.

Question 19

time-related variables

Answer 19

environmental or participant variables that change over time. A threat to the internal validity of studies that compare measures of the same individuals taken at different times.