Key Concepts and Research issues Flashcards
What are aims?
A general expression of what the researcher intends to investigate.
What is a operationalised hypothesis?
A statement of what the researcher believes to be true .
Operationalised means clearly defined and reasonable.
What is a directional hypothesis?
A directional hypothesis states whether chnages are greater, lesser, positive or negative. ( when researcher suggests a direction )
What is a non-directional hypothesis?
A non-directional hypothesis does not state direction, just that there is a difference, correlation, association. ( used when there is no previous research or it is contradictory )
What is an Independant variable?
The IV is what the experimenter changes.
What is the dependant variable?
The DV is what changes due to the change in IV.
(whats being measured)
What is a Extraneous Variable?
EVs are a nuisance variables which may make it more difficult to detect an effect. A researcher may control some of these.
What is a Confounding Variable?
CVs are variables which effect both the IV and DV, they change systematically with the IV so we cannot be sure if any observed change in the DV is due to the CV or the IV.
What are demand characteristics?
The participant acting in a way they may think the researcher wants them to act, due to any cue from the researcher or situation which may reveal the aim of the study.
What are investigator effects?
This is any effect of the investigators behaviour on the outcome of the research ( the DV ) and also on design decisions.
What is randomisation?
The use of chance when designing investigations to control for the effects of bais.
What is standardisation?
Using exactly the same formalised procedures for all participants in a research study, otherwise differences become EVs.
What is a pilot study?
A small-scale trial run of an investigation to road-test procedures, so that research design can be modified.
What are control groups/conditions used for ?
Control groups(independant group design) or control conditions (repeated measure design) are used to set comparasions.
They are the baseline and help establish causation.
What is meant by single-blind?
This is when a participant does not know the aims of the study so that demand characteristics are reduced.
What is meant by double-blind?
This is when both the participant and researcher dont know the aims of the study to reduce demand characteristics and investigator effects.
