Methods of Control

Question 1

How do we do counter balancing?

Answer 1

1. Divide PPs into 2 groups of ____
2. First group will complete condition 1 THEN condition 2
3. Second group will complete condition 2 THEN condition 1
4. This will balance the impact of order effects across both conditions

Question 2

Why do we do counter balancing?

Answer 2

• We use counter balancing in repeated measures design in order to balance the impact of order effects across conditions
• Order effects is when PPs performance is impaired in second condition due to boredom/fatigue

Question 3

How do we do random allocation?

Answer 3

1. Put an even number of pieces of paper with the letter A or B written on it into a hat e.g. A = 50 B = 50
2. Ask each PP to pick a piece of paper out of the hat
3. The letter on the piece of paper PPs have chosen will be the condition they are allocated to e.g. A = Condition 1, B = Condition 2

Question 4

Why do we do random allocation?

Answer 4

To ensure PPs are NOT systemically allocated into one condition so that the researcher doesn’t knowingly or unknowingly allocate PPs of all type into one condition which may lead to a specific outcome from the experiment

Question 5

How do we do standardisation?

Answer 5

Ensure that all PPs are treated the same
- standardising researchers behaviour towards all PPs e.g. have neutral tone when asking questions
- ensure that the time/material given and difficulty of tasks and expectations are the same for all PPs
- keep researcher’s gender the same or give all PPs a same-sex researcher

Question 6

Why do we do standardisation?

Answer 6

• to prevent extraneous variables so that we can be certain of a cause and effect relationship between IV and DV
• to ensure that all PPs in all conditions are treated the same to prevent one condition from having an unfair advantage which may lead them to have better results thus reducing validity

Question 7

How do we do randomisation?

Answer 7

1. Put all stimuli into a hat
2. Researcher picks them out one by one
3. Order in which the stimulus is picked out of the hat will be the same order in which they are presented to PPs

Question 8

Why do we do randomisation?

Answer 8

• To ensure that PPs are not presented with stimulus in an order that has been created to systemically elicit a type of result e.g. researcher puts easy words at start of list and difficult words at end to support their aim. This reduces researcher bias

Question 9

How do we do a double blind trial?

Answer 9

1. Ensure that PPs don’t know which condition they are in
2. Ensure that researcher measuring their behaviour also doesn’t know which condition PPs are in

Question 10

Why do we do a double blind trial?

Answer 10

To minimise investigator effects. These are the ways an investigator may knowingly or unknowingly demonstrate behaviour which may influence PPs and so has an impact on findings e.g. attire, gender, tone of voice, appearance, etc. This is minimised as researcher will not knowingly or unknowingly treat conditions differently (e.g. by being more encouraging to one group) to elicit a particular result to support their aim