Experimental Method

Question 1

Key term - Aims

Answer 1

A statement of what the researcher intend to find out in a research study.

Question 2

Key term - Confounding Variable

Answer 2

Any variable which varies systemically with the independent variable that might potentially affect the dependent variable and thereby confound the results.

Question 3

Key term - Debrief

Answer 3

To inform the participants of the true nature of the study and to restore them to the same state they were in at the start of the study. Debriefing IS NOT an ethical issue; it is a means of dealing with ethical issues.

Question 4

Key term - Dependent variable

Answer 4

The variable measured by the experimenter.

Question 5

Key term - Ethical issues

Answer 5

Ethical issues concern questions of right and wrong.They arise in research where there are conflicting sets of values between researchers and participants concerning the goals, procedures or outcomes of a research study.

Question 6

Key term - Experimental

Answer 6

A research method where casual conclusions can be draw because an independent variable has been deliberately manipulated to observe the casual effect on the dependent variable.

Question 7

Key term - Hypothesis

Answer 7

A precise and testable statement about the assumed relationship between variables. Operationalisation is a key part of making the statement testable.

Question 8

Key term - Independent variable

Answer 8

Some event that is directly manipulated by an experimenter in order to test its effect on the dependent variable.

Question 9

Key term - Operationalise

Answer 9

Ensuring that variables are in a form that can be easily tested. A concept such as ‘educational attainment’ needs to be specified more clearly if we are going to investigate it.

Question 10

Key term - Standardized procedures

Answer 10

A set of procedures that are the same for all participants in order to be able to repeat the study. This includes standardized instructions - the instructions given to participants to tell them how to preform the task.

Question 11

Key term - Valid consent

Answer 11

Participants must be given comprehensive information concerning the nature and purpose of the research, and their role in it, in order that they can make an informed decision about whether to participate.