Reasearch methods Key terms Flashcards
Independent Variable
A subject in an experiment that doesn’t change no matter what the experiment is
Dependent Variable
A subject in an experiment that does depend on the outcome of the experiment
Quantitive Data
Numerical data often numbers, yes or no which gives us quick hard facts
Qualitative Data
Descriptive data which can give opinions and is more developed
Repeated measures design
Use the same apparatus in every strand of the research including control
Laboratory experiment
An experiment in controlled conditions
Field Experiment
An experiment which is conducted in public
Demand Characteristics
A small gesture that makes people participating realise how they are expected to act in an experiment
Reliability
If an experiment was done again it would produce the same results
Deception
Tricking somebody into believing something that isn’t true
Right to withdraw
If a participant was in a study they have the right to stop the trial at any point.
Informed consent
The participant has permission to carry out a task
Debrief
A discussion or interview at the end of session to talk about what happened
Random sample
Interviewing a person by selecting their name randomly from a list and each group of people have an equal chance of being selected.
Volunteer sample
People give up their time to participate
Systematic Sampling
Picking people based on a certain factor eg every 10th person in a class group
Opportunity sampling
Interviewing the first person you see
Case study
A situation/event which is studied
Subjective
Information on how a person feels or their specific views
Objective
Unbiased or impartial view on something which is not affected by their feelings
Internal reliability
Represents the relationship between the subject variable in a study
Ecological validity
To what degree is the information given be able to be generalised into real life settings
Social desirability bias
Participants may answer a question in a way in which they know the interviewer would prefer
A structured interview
A interview in which only closed questions are asked
Population validity
How much the study can be generalised into different situations
Open questions
The question invite a long and detailed answer which can go in any direction
Validity
Does the information given from the research give a true representation of what actually happened.
