Research: Experimental Method Flashcards
Qualitative research:
It involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data, such as words, images, or observations, to uncover patterns, themes, and insights.
Interviews: Open-ended questions to learn about people’s perspectives in depth.
Focus groups: Talk about a specific topic, and learn about their opinions, viewpoints, and attitudes about a topic.
Observation: Quietly watching people and take notes on people’s behaviours, interactions, and surroundings.
Ethnography: Spending time with people, joining their activities and conversations to understand their values and way of life.
Quantitative research:
Quantify and analyze numerical data to test hypotheses, identify patterns, and establish relationships between variables.
Quantitative Research Methods: Surveys:
Standardized questions to a large sample of participants to collect data on attitudes, behaviors, or demographics.
Surveys often use closed-ended questions with response options on a Likert scale or other rating scales. They use numerical scales to measure responses.
Quantitative Research Methods: Experiments:
Manipulating one or more variables to observe their effects on other variables under controlled conditions.
Helps them figure out cause-and-effect relationships.
Ex: Researchers change something (like giving a medicine) to see what happens (like if the patient gets better).
See if the medicine caused any changes.
Quantitative Research Methods: Longitudinal Study:
Researchers collect data from the same group of people over a long period of time. They do this to see how things change or stay the same over time, using statistical methods to analyze trends.
Ex: Imagine tracking a group of students’ grades over many years. In a longitudinal study.
Correlation:
Two variables share some kind of relationship.
Causation:
One variable causes something to happen in another variable.
One variables CAUSES the other.
Correlation: One-way causality:
Variable X is the cause of variable Y.
« Reverse causality » if Y is the cause of X
Correlation: Two-way causality
Both variables may be the cause of
each other. X could be causing Y, and Y could be causing X.
For example, watching TV might be causing pain, while having pain might be causing one to watch TV.
Correlation: Confound:
A third variable may be responsible for the correlation.
Z that’s causing there to be a correlation between 2 variables.
Confound = Z.
Correlation: Spurious correlation:
A mathematical relationship in
which two events or variables have no causal connection.
Experimental studies:
Used to investigate cause-and-effect relationships between variables. In an experimental study, the researcher manipulates an independent variables to observe their effects on the dependent variable, while controlling for other factors that could influence the results.
Random assignment (make sure there isn’t a confound [a factor that every participation has] that could be “creating” the correlation]), control groups, manipulated of variables.
Experimental Studies: Independent Variables
The variable that the research manipulates/ changes (assumed to effect the dependent variable).
Experimental Studies: Dependent Variable
The variable that the researchers observes to assess the effects of the independent variable.
Assumed to be influenced by changes in the independent variable.
Experimental Studies: Control Group/ Comparison Group:
Group that is treated identically to the experimental group, except they are not exposed to the manipulation of the independent variable.
The control group allows researchers to account for extraneous variables and assess the specific effects of the independent variable.
Experimental Studies: Experimental Group:
The experimental group is the group of participants who are exposed to the manipulation or treatment of the independent variable. This group allows researchers to assess the effects of the independent variable on the dependent variable.
Experimental Studies: Random Assignment:
Random assignment involves randomly assigning participants to either the experimental group or the control group.
Reduces chance of confound, and bias.
Experimental Studies: Controlled Conditions:
This often involves standardizing procedures, using consistent measurement instruments, and controlling environmental factors.
Hypothesis:
The expected relationship between the independent and dependent variables.
Self-selected sample:
People who chose to be affected by the manipulated independent variable. There could be lots of confounds involved.
The Balanced Placebo Design:
Used in studies investigating the effect of drugs or treatments, to split apart the effects of the actual drug on the body and the placebo effect.
Group 1: Receives the drug and is told so.
Group 2: Receives the drug and isn’t told so.
Group 3: Receives the placebo and told that it’s the real drug.
Group 4: Receives the placebo and told its the placebo.
Can see what effects come from the drug and which effects comes from the mind itself (placebo).
Between-subjects (between-groups) study design:
Different people test each conditions (each person is exposed to a condition)
Participants are exposed to their respective conditions, and researchers measure the outcome (attitudes, behaviours, etc) of each group, they then compare outcomes of each group to see the effects of the independent variable (manipulated conditions) on the dependent variable (measured outcome).
Often used for cause-and-effect relationships (the one used for the project).
Within-subjects (repeated-measures) study design:
Participants test all conditions, where conditions are presented in a random order to them.
Each participant is their own control group (because they stay the same = their environment, while being exposed to different levels of the independent variable).
Hypothesis guessing:
Participants guess the study’s purpose/ hypothesis and change their behaviour/ response to align with their perceived study expectations.
