Research Methods Flashcards
What is an experiment?
It is a formal trail to confirm or disconfirm a theory
What are the three experimental variables?
Independent - conditions altered by the conductor
Dependent - shows effect that the independent has
Extraneous - third party variables that the conductor wishes to keep from interfering
What can be done to make experimental and control groups equal?
Random assignment
How are placebo experiments a problem? How can they be avoided?
If the participant thinks something is going to happen, their expectation can influence the outcome. This can be avoided through single blind experiments, where the participant doesn’t know which group that they’re in
How can researcher bias be a problem? How can it be avoided?
Expectations can also influence a researcher’s bias (autistic versus “normal” children). This is called the self fulfilling prophecy. They can be avoided through double blind experiments, where both the participant and researcher don’t know which group that they’re in
What is naturalistic observation? What are some of its problems?
When the researcher studies the subjects in a natural setting, without interference. A problem would be that the fact that the observer is present can influence the subject’s response
What is anthropomorphic error?
It is an error related to naturalistic observation where the researcher attributes animal reactions to human emotion.
What is a correlational study? What is a problem related to it?
It is where one measures the correlation between two things and then plots the correlation between -1 and 1. One problem would be that correlational does not always equal causation
What is a case study? What is one of its problems?
It is an in depth, clinical study of one person. A problem with it would be that since there are no control groups/comparison, it limits conclusions.
What is a survey? What is one of its problems?
It it a series of carefully worded questions asked to a representative problems. Two problems would be that one must be careful who to ask the survey to, and that people may not answer truthfully (social desirability)
