lesson 7 experimental design research methods

Question 1

define experimental design

Answer 1

how participants are assigned to different conditions

Question 2

what are the three types of experimental designs?

Answer 2

independent groups
repeated measures
matched pairs

Question 3

what are independent groups?

Answer 3

different participants are used in each condition
each group of participants are independent from one another
participants are usually randomly allocated to each condition

Question 4

advantages of independent groups

Answer 4

order effects won’t occur as there are different participants in each condition
chance of demand characteristics is reduced as each participant only does one condition so less chance to guess the purpose of the study
same task/ materials can be used in both conditions are participants are always naïve to the task

Question 5

define order effects

Answer 5

when the sequence in which participants take part in conditions influences their performance or behaviour

Question 6

disadvantages of independent groups

Answer 6

more participants are needed
always a chance that the different results are because of participant variables instead of manipulation of the IV

Question 7

what are repeated measures?

Answer 7

each participant is tested in all conditions of the experiment

Question 8

advantages of repeated measures

Answer 8

no participant variables between conditions
half as many participants are needed

Question 9

disadvantages of repeated measures

Answer 9

order effects may affect results
demand characteristics are more likely
takes more times

Question 10

how to avoid order effects in repeated measures?

Answer 10

counterbalancing

Question 11

what is counterbalancing?

Answer 11

half the participants do condition A first and condition B second
other participants do it the other way around
controls the impact of order effects and allows order effects to be evenly distributed across both conditions.

Question 12

what are matched pairs?

Answer 12

different participants are used in all of the conditions
participants in the two groups are matched on characteristics important for the study
identical twins are often used

Question 13

advantages of matched pairs

Answer 13

less risk of order effects
less risk of demand characteristics
participant variables are unlikely as the groups have been closely matched

Question 14

disadvantages of matched pairs

Answer 14

twice as many people are required
matching process is difficult
time-consuming