Controls

Question 1

What are experimental controls?

Answer 1

-Used in scientific experiment to prevent factors other than those being studied from affecting the outcome
-They are needed to eliminate alternate explanations of experimental results
There are several ways to control experiments

Question 2

What is randomisation?

Answer 2

-Refers to the deliberate avoidance of bias on the part of the researcher in order to keep the researcher objective as possible

Question 3

How does randomisation work?

Answer 3

Participants are randomly assigned to one condition of the IV e.g. by selecting names at random out of a hat
Random allocation to condition ensures that no bias has intruded over which participants take part in which condition
If the procedure involves a list of words, digits or images presented to participants then the list must be decided randomly to avoid researcher bias
Due to the nature of randomness one condition of the IV may result in a group of all female participants or a word list may have words beginning with the same letter appearing one after the other at the start of the list

Question 4

What is counterbalancing?

Answer 4

-Relevant to repeated measures designs
-Counterbalancing is used to control for order effects (practice, fatigue, boredom)

Question 5

How does counterbalancing work?

Answer 5

The researcher splits the participants in half e.g. 20 in one group, 20 in the other group
One group completes the conditions in this order: condition A followed by condition B
The other group completes the conditions in this order: condition B followed by condition A

Question 6

What is standardisation?

Answer 6

Standardisation is the term used to describe the identical procedure set up in an experiment (or the questions used in self-report measures) across all conditions/participants

Question 7

How does standardisation work?

Answer 7

-Instructions given to the participants
-Briefing prior to the procedure (including the consent form) and debriefing after the procedure has taken place
-Number of participants per condition
-Timings: each condition of the IV should run for the same amount of time unless one of the conditions includes a time-delay)
-Materials: identical materials must be used, the only exception being if the materials need to change for the IV to be implemented (a repeated measures design)

Question 8

Why is standardisation important?

Answer 8

Implementing standardisation allows the research to be replicated and reliable