experimental design

Question 1

independent groups design

Answer 1

participants only perform one condition of the independent variable

Question 2

independent strengths

Answer 2

no order effects presented

participants are less likely to guess the aims of the study - demand characteristics eliminated

Question 3

independent limitations

Answer 3

no control over participant variables
- different abilities of participants in the various conditions can cause changes to the DV

may need more participants than other designs

Question 4

independent solution

Answer 4

random allocation - solved lack of control - ensures that each participant has the same chance of being in one condition of IV as another

Question 5

repeated measures

Answer 5

the same participants take place in all conditions of the IV

Question 6

repeated measures strengths

Answer 6

eliminates participant variables

fewer participants needed, so not as time consuming finding and using them

Question 7

repeated measures limitation

Answer 7

order effects presented - boredom, fatigue - second condition - participant does not do as well on task

Question 8

repeated measures solution

Answer 8

counterbalancing - half of participants do conditions in one order and other half in opposite order

Question 9

matched pairs

Answer 9

pairs of participants are first matched on some variable that has been found to affect the dependent variable then one member of each pair does one condition and the other does another

Question 10

matched pairs strength

Answer 10

no order effects

demand characteristics less of a problem

Question 11

matched pairs limitation

Answer 11

time consuming and expensive to match participants

large pool of potential participants is needed which can be hard to get

difficult to know which variables are appropriate for the participants to be matched

Question 12

pilot study

Answer 12

small-scale version of an investigation which is done before the real investigation is undertaken - allow potential problems of the study to be identified and the procedure to be modified to deal with these

• allows money and time to be saved in the long run.

Question 13

single-blind procedure

Answer 13

a researcher method - researcher do not tell the participants they are being given a test treatment or a control treatment - avoids demand characteristics

Question 14

double-blind procedure

Answer 14

neither the participants not the experimenter knows who is receiving particular treatment - prevent bias

Question 15

naturalistic observation

Answer 15

watching and recording behaviour in the setting where it would normally take place

Question 16

naturalistic strengths

Answer 16

high ecological validity

high external validity as done in a natural environment

Question 17

naturalistic limitations

Answer 17

low ecological if participants become aware they are being watch

replications difficult

uncontrolled confounding and extraneous variables are presented

Question 18

controlled observation

Answer 18

watching and recording behaviour in a structured environment

eg lab setting

Question 19

controlled obv strengths

Answer 19

• researcher is able to focus on a particular aspect of behaviour
• more control over extraneous and confounding variables
• easy replication

Question 20

controlled obv limitations

Answer 20

more likely to be observing unnatural behaviour as takes place in an unnatural environment

low mundane realism so low ecological validity

demand characteristics presented

Question 21

overt

Answer 21

participants are watched and their behaviour is recorded with them knowing they are being watched

Question 22

overt strengths

Answer 22

ethnically acceptable as informed consent is given

Question 23

overt limitations

Answer 23

more likely to be recording unnatural behaviour as participants know they are being watched

demand characteristics likely which reduces validity of findings

Question 24

covert

Answer 24

the participants are unaware that their behaviour is being watched and recorded

Question 25

covert strengths

Answer 25

natural behaviour recorded hence high internal validity of results removed problem of participant reactivity whereby participants try to make sense of the situation they are in - less likely to guess the aim

Question 26

covert limitation

Answer 26

ethical issues presented as no informed consent given could also be invading the privacy of participants

Question 27

participant observation

Answer 27

the researcher who is observing is part of the group that is being observed

Question 28

participant strength

Answer 28

can be more insightful which increases the validity of the findings

Question 29

participant limitation

Answer 29

possibility that behaviour may change if the participants were to find out they are being watched researcher may lose objectivity as may start to identify too strongly with the participants

Question 30

non-participant observation

Answer 30

the researcher observes from a distance so is not part of the group being observed from a distance is not part of the group being observed

Question 31

non-participant strength

Answer 31

researcher can be more objective as less likely to identify with participants

Question 32

non-participant limitation

Answer 32

open to observer bias for example of stereotypes the observer is aware of researcher may lose some valuable insight

Question 33

unstructured observation

Answer 33

consists of continuous recording where researcher writes everything they see

Question 34

unstructured obv strength

Answer 34

more richness and depth of detail

Question 35

unstructured obv limitations

Answer 35

produces qualitative data is more difficult to record and analyse greater risk of observer bias

Question 36

structured obv

Answer 36

researcher quantifies what they are observing using predetermined list of behaviours and sampling methods

Question 37

structured obv strengths

Answer 37

easier as is more systematic quantitative data is collected which is easy to analyse and compare with other data less risk of observer bias

Question 38

structured obv limitations

Answer 38

not much depth of detail difficult to achieve high inter observer reliability as filling predetermined lists in is subjective

Question 39

time sampling

Answer 39

recording of behaviour within a timeframe that is pre-established before study - reduces number of observations so less time consuming - small data within frame so unrepresentative

Question 40

event sampling

Answer 40

involves the counting of the number of times a particular behaviour is carried out - good for infrequent behaviours that are likely to be missed if time sampling used - complex behaviour, important details may be overlooked - if very frequent then counting errors