key principles of quantitative research Flashcards
week 6
what is qualitative research
the investigation involving the collection of numerical data
types of quantitative research
- DESRCRIPTIVE ~ using numbers to describe things
- EXPERIMENTAL ~ using numbers to identify the cause of things
when is descriptive research used?
when the research question requires you to describe the status of something
methods of descriptive research
- surveys
- correlational research
- developmental studies
- observational research
- case studies
what is a normative survey
a survey method that involves establishing norms for abilities, performances, beliefs and attitudes
what is a plausible rival hypothesis
a proposal that something other than the independent variable affected measures of the dependent variables
what is maturation
processes within the participants that operate as a result of time passing, as a rival explanation
what is selection bias
people in the control group and the experimental group are not alike in an important way
- results of intervention may reflect the difference in groups rather than the intervention
what is selection-maturation interaction
when the maturation effect influences groups within the study differently
what are the types of random allocation
- simple random
- blocked random
- matched pairs design with random
2 defining characteristics of true experimental designs
- there are at least two groups
- the participants are randomly allocated to their group
what is a true experiment
any design used in experimental research in which groups are randomly formed and that controls most sources of invalidity
what are preexperimental designs
one of three design types that control for few threats to validity and that do not have random allocation
what are quasi-experimental designs
the researcher tries to fit it into a real world setting whilst trying to control as many threats to validity as possible
what is participant expectancy
where subjects behave differently because they believe they are receiving a treatment or because they are taking part in an experiment
what is the placebo effect
the participants in an experiment may believe the treatment is supposed to change them so they respond with a change in performance
what is the hawthorne effect
participant performances can improve simply due to the fact they are participating in a study and being observed by researchers
what is blinding
a strategy of making the participant or researcher unaware of what condition the participant is in
what is a single-blind set-up
where participants do not know whether they are in the control or experimental group
what is a double-blind set-up
where researcher and participant both do not know whether they are in the control or experimental group
what is compensatory rivalry
where the control group is aware of the experimental group and tries to compete with them - they try harder
(also known as Avis effect/John Henry)
What is resentful demoralisation
the reaction of a no-treatment control group or groups receiving the less desirable treatment can be associated with resentment and demoralisation
what is diffusion of treatment
when treatments involve informal programs and when the various experimental (and control) groups can communicate with each other, responders in one treatment may learn information intended for others
what is experimenter expectancy
experimenters’ or testers’ anticipating that certain participants will perform better
