MET Experimental Design Flashcards
What is independent groups experimental design?
Participants are allocated to different groups where each group represents one experimental condition
What is repeated measures experimental design?
All participants take part in all conditions of the experiment
What is matched pairs experimental design?
Pair of participants are first matched on some variable that may affect the dependent variable - then one member of each pair is assigned to Condition A and the other to Condition B
What is random allocation experimental design?
An attempt to control for participant varibales in an independent groups design which ensures that each participant has the same chance of being in one condition as any other
What are order effects?
In a repeated measure design, a confounding variable arising from the order in which conditions are presented, eg. practice effect or boredom effect
What is counterbalancing?
An attempt to control for the effects of order ina repeated measures design in which half the partipants experience the conditions in one order and the other half in the opposite order
What is randomisation?
The use of chance methods to control for the effects of bias when designing materials and deciding the order of conditions
Strengths, limitations (and solutions) of independent groups experimental design
Strengths - no order effects, reduced demand characteristics
Limitations - individual differences (random allocation to conditions)
Strengths, limitations (and solutions) of repeated measures experimental design
Strengths - fewer participants needed, no confounding individual differences
Limitations - order effects (counterbalancing), time-consuming, demand characteristics (deception)
Strengths, limitations (and solutions) of matched pairs experimental design
Strengths - no order effects, controls for participant variables
Limitations - perfect matching is impossible, expensive and time consuming, (random allocation of matched pairs to conditions)
