Research Methods

Question 1

Independent variable

Answer 1

The variable the experimenter manipulates

Question 2

Dependent variable

Answer 2

The variable that’s measured after making changes to the IV

Question 3

Extraneous variable

Answer 3

Any variable that you’re not investigating that can potentially affect the outcomes of your research study

Question 4

Confounding variable

Answer 4

Factors other than the independent variable that may cause a result

Question 5

Operational hypothesis

Answer 5

A testable prediction that explains exactly how the variables will be measured and manipulated

Question 6

Directional hypothesis

Answer 6

Indicates a direction in the prediction e.g., ‘students with pets perform better than students without pets’

Question 7

Non-directional hypothesis

Answer 7

Does not indicate a direction in the prediction e.g., ‘owning pets will affect student’s exam scores’

Question 8

Null hypothesis

Answer 8

States that there is no relationship between the 2 variables being studied e.g., ‘plant growth is not affected by light colour’

Question 9

Alternative hypothesis

Answer 9

States that there is a relationship between the two variables being studied

Question 10

Lab experiment

Answer 10

An experiment conducted under highly controlled conditions where accurate measurements are possible

Question 11

Field experiment

Answer 11

A study that is conducted outside the laboratory in a “real world” setting

Question 12

Natural experiment

Answer 12

The study of a naturally occurring situation as it unfolds in the real world

Question 13

Case studies

Answer 13

In-depth investigations of a single person, group, event, or community

Question 14

Experimental method

Answer 14

Manipulating one variable to determine if changes in one variable causes changes in another variable

Question 15

Correlational study

Answer 15

Non-experimental, studies the relationship between 2 variables with the help of statistical analysis

Question 16

Replicability

Answer 16

The ability to check and verify scientific information

Question 17

Validity

Answer 17

The extent to which a test measures what is claims to measure

Question 18

Face validity

Answer 18

Whether the test appears (at face value) to measure what it claims to

Question 19

Internal validity

Answer 19

Whether the effects observed in a study are due to the manipulation of the IV and not some other factor

Question 20

External validity

Answer 20

The extent to which the results of a study can be generalizd to other settings, other people and over time

Question 21

Ecological validity

Answer 21

Whether the results of a study can be generalized to real life settings

Question 22

Reliability

Answer 22

Refers to the consistency of a measure

Question 23

Independent-groups design

Answer 23

Involves randomly allocating the members of the sample to either the control or experimental group

Question 24

Matched-participant design

Answer 24

Involves pairing each participant based on a certain characteristic they share. Once you’ve matched these PPs, you randomly allocate one to the control group and one to the experimental group

Question 25

Repeated-measure design

Answer 25

Involves using only one group of PPs and exposing them to both the control and experimental conditions

Question 26

Random sampling

Answer 26

Everyone has an equal chance of being selected

Question 27

Opportunity sampling

Answer 27

People who are available from the population

Question 28

Self-selecting sampling

Answer 28

Using an ad (for example) and let participant’s volunteer

Question 29

Stratified sampling

Answer 29

Put people into a group and take people from these groups. The number from each group must match proportion of population

Question 30

Counter-balancing

Answer 30

Dividing the group of PPs in half and arranging the order of the conditions so that each condition occurs equally in each position

Question 31

Placebo effect

Answer 31

A phenomenon to which some people experience a benefit after the administration of an inactive “look-alike” substance or treatment

Question 32

Standard deviation

Answer 32

A measure of variation (or variability) that indicates the typical distance between the scores of a distriubtion and the mean

Question 33

Demand characteristics

Answer 33

If the PPs know what the study is, they may alter their behaviour to give the desired outcome

Question 34

Experimenter bias

Answer 34

The experimenter sets up the experiment in a subjective way to confirm their theory

Question 35

Statistical significance

Answer 35

Whether the results were due to the variables, or by chance

Question 36

P > 0.05

Answer 36

Not statistically significant and indicates strong evidence for the null hypothesis, meaning we should retain the null hypothesis and reject the alternative hypothesis

Question 37

P ≤ 0.05

Answer 37

Indicates strong evidence against the null hypothesis as there is a less than a 5% probability the null is correct, therefore we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis

Question 38

Independent-groups design - Criticism

Answer 38

There may be participant differences between the groups, for example one group may (by coincidence) be more intelligent than the other group

Question 39

Matched-participant design - Criticism

Answer 39

Involves a pre-test to match PPs, thus can be time consuming

Question 40

Repeated-measure design - Criticism

Answer 40

Creates the problem of order effects - occur when there is a change in results due to the sequence that 2 tasks are completed