Chapters 8,9,10 Flashcards
what if we want to study a subject variable?
this would be a correlational study, when randomization between groups is not possible but we still want to focus on the effect of a manipulated IV we use: preexperimental designs, quasi-experimental designs
one shot study
one group is tested only once
why would we use a one shot study?
initial explanation of a new phenomenon or intervention, gives researcher a basic understanding of the potential effects before conducting more complex experiments
nonequivalent group design
static group design, no random assignment
why use static group design?
main reason is to evaluate the effect of a treatment
pretest-posttest design
one group of people is tested twice
quasi experiment
adding more observations and/or more comparison groups, lets us make more conclusions with greater confidence
pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group design
using an experimental group with a comparable but not equivalent control group, both groups are tested before and after the introduction of the IV
time-series design
used when there is no appropriate nonequivalent group
multiple time-series design
combination of the time-series design and the pretest-posttest design with nonequivalent groups, multiple observations of the experimental group and nonequivalent group, makes the best out of a less than ideal situation, groups are not equivalent but they are made as comparable as can reasonably be
factorial designs
a design that assess the effect of two or more independent variables (also called factors) on a dependent variable
asking questions
will the type of feedback impact the participants self-confidence regarding their ability to do something
hypotheses
with this in mind, you really have 2 alternative hypotheses
IV and levels
can be multiple independent variables and they can have different levels
main effects
the effect that each factor has on the dependent variable
think of it this way:
it’s almost like conducting two separate studies at once
what about the prediction?
the researcher predicts a significant main effect
why is that okay?
researchers need to make predictions about every possible effect in a study, but it is important to be aware of potential effects
interaction effect
the effect that two or more factors have in combination of the DV, is each level of the IV affected the same way by the other IV or are they affected differently?
marginal means and main effects
the mean score for each level of an IV collapsed across the other IV
some things to consider
demand characteristics, will the participant be able to guess the study
interpreting main effects
most common to examine factorial design using: ANOVA, analysis of variance, statistical procedure that compares means between groups, tells us if main effect and/or interactions are significant
watch out for interactions
with main effects they ignore all other factors, if there is no significant effect you can generalize the main effect to each level of that IV, if there is a significant interaction effect you must be careful with how you interpret the main effects
mixed designs
factorial design that also has within group factors
observational studies
like people watching, main difference: observational studies require forethought and planning, when conducted properly observational studies can provide lots of information that we simply wouldn’t get from casual people watching
why use them?
starting point for research on a new topic, can help to save time and money to make some observations before jumping into a full-fledged experiment
research in natural settings
two types of research in natural settings
field experiments
controlled experiments involving random assignment and manipulation of an IV conducted in a natural setting
observational studies investigations
involving no manipulation of the IV
naturalistic observation studies
unobtrusively observing behaviors in the natural setting, the investigator does nothing to interfere with the participants behavior, participants often do not know they are being observed
habituation
researcher appears in the same setting numerous times until their presence no longer appears to affect the participants behavior
desensitization
when the researcher uses some efforts to reduce the effect of their presence
reactivity
participant might change their behavior if they know their being watched
participant observation studies
the researcher is an active participant in the situation
undisguised participant study
participants are aware that the researcher is observing their behavior
disguised participant study
other participants do not know the researcher is observing their behavior
considerations for participant observation studies
observations by the researcher can be subject to enhanced bias
field experiments
controlled studies that occur in a natural setting, researcher manipulates an IV and measures its effect on the DV
bystander effect field experiments
watching how other people act
pros of field experiments
higher ecological validity, specific aspect of external validity, demand characteristics are less of an issue
ecological validity
the extent to which the conditions, settings, and tasks within an experiment accurately represent the real-world that the research is meant to investigate
cons of field experiments
extraneous variables are harder to control for, ethical issues, lack of informed consent, sometimes have poorer reliability than lab studies due to lack of precise replication in a natural environment
observer influence
reactivity of participants if they know they are being studied
observer bias
a persons conscious or unconscious preferences can affect their perception of a situation
data collection
first decide what variable you are measuring and how to measure it
interobserver reliability
teh degree to which a measurement procedure yields consistent results when used by different observers
narrative records
running records of behavior in a given situation, can be handwritten notes, audio recordings, video recordings, can code and organize the findings of these records
more subjective narrative records
can be good for gathering preliminary data, best suited for generating hypotheses
more objective narrative records
good for obtaining more faithful descriptions of behaviors, best suited for testing hypotheses
static checklists
used to record characteristics that will not change during the course of the observations
action checklist
used to record the presence of absence of behaviors over a period of time
behavior sampling
a researcher observes subsets of a participants behavior at different times and/or in different situations
time sampling
the times at which observations will be made are chosen in effort to obtain a representative sample of behaviors
random time sampling
each interval of time has equal chance to be chosen
systematic time sampling
specific time intervals are chosen purposefully
event sampling
best used when behaviors don’t occur on a continuous basis
situation sampling
observations are made in different settings and curcumstances
