Experimental design

Question 1

Two primary ways of finding an original research question

Answer 1

1. spot the gap in the literature, then design a study to investigate this gap
2. observe a completely novel phenomenon and design an experiment to investigate it

Question 2

Retrospective study

Answer 2

studies that examine something that has already happened

Question 3

Single session study

Answer 3

studies that happen when you need them to - one session

Question 4

multi-session and longitudinal studies

Answer 4

studies that require multiple sessions

Question 5

Field study

Answer 5

• can take place anywhere
• has ecological validity
• difficult to control

Question 6

Lab study

Answer 6

• takes place in psychology lab
• lacks ecological validity
• much easier to control

Question 7

Naturalistic

Answer 7

observation is an unaffected field setting

Question 8

Survey

Answer 8

questionnaire/poll asking for responses to specific questions

Question 9

Case study

Answer 9

detailed description of a single case

Question 10

Interview

Answer 10

one-to-one personal discussion with questions and answers

Question 11

Experimental study

Answer 11

manipulate an independent variable, observe the effects on a dependent variable

Question 12

Correlational research

Answer 12

Seeks to quantify and examine the relationships between variables.
No particular designation of independent and dependent variables.
No variables manipulated or controlled by researcher.

Question 13

Experimental research

Answer 13

helps us to move from correlation to a cause by active intervention (manipulation)

Question 14

Two main types of experimental design

Answer 14

Between subject’s design and within subjects design

measures and repeated measures

Question 15

Between subject’s design - advantages

Answer 15

• no order effects (because participant undertakes single task)
• easier recruitment
• reduced time and cognitive load for participant

Question 16

Between subject’s design - disadvantages

Answer 16

• no way to estimate between-subjects variance
• separate control group necessary
• must randomly allocate participants

Question 17

Within-subjects - advantages

Answer 17

• participant variance can be estimated and removed from general error
• no need for separate control
• random allocation not required

Question 18

Within-subjects - disadvantages

Answer 18

• more difficult recruitment
• increased time and cognitive load demands
• order effects must be controlled by counterbalancing

Question 19

counterbalancing

Answer 19

• used to prevent order effects

- change the order of the procedure for each group/condition

Question 20

Potential issue with counterbalancing

Answer 20

can get very complicated very quickly