research methods Flashcards
situational variable
an extraneous variable in the environment
order of effects
participants improve or worsen the second time round because they have done it before or became tired
demand characteristics
participant changes the way they behave becuase they can guess what the aims of the study are
investigator effect
a reasearcher unintentionally gives clues to what the experiment is about to their participants, making them change their behaviour
participant variables
a participants mood, ability or personallity (an extraneous variable)
standardised procesure
procedure of the study is the same across all conditions
counterbalancing
half experience condition A then B, while the other half experience condition B then A
randomisation
participants are randomly assigned to condition A or B as their first or second test condition
single-blind technique
when information about the study is withheld from participants
double-blind technique
when the aims of the study are withheld from both participants and researchers
random allocation
when participants are randomly assigned to a condition of the study
null hypothesis
a prediction that the results will fail to show any difference (or relationship) that is consistent or systematic
alternative (experimental) hypothesis
a prediction of the outcome of a study based on what is expected to happen
directional hypothesis
a hypothesis that predicts the direction the results will go in
non-directional hypothesis
predicts that a difference / relationship will be found, but does not specify what the difference / relationship will be
experimental hypothesis
the name given to a hypothesis when used in field and laboratory experiments
target population
the group of people being inviestigated in a study
sample
a selection of the target population that is directly studied in an investigation
generalisability
the extent to which the results of a study represent the whole population, not just the sample used
sampling method
a technique used to gather a representative group of people as a sample from the target population
random sampling technique
a technique used to gather a representative group of people as a sample from the target population
stratified sampling technique
a technique that ensures subgroups of the target population are proportionatley represented in a sample
stratified sampling technique
a technique that ensures subgroups of the target populaiton are proportianatley represented in a sample
sample error
when a sample differs in qualities from the target population it intends to represent
volunteer sampling techinque
a technique that asks for participants by placing an advert for volunteers
biased sample
when the sample recruited is made up of a particular type of person, which may not reflect the target population
opportunity sampling technique
a technique that recruits participants who are readily available at the time
research design
how participants are allocatied to the conditions of the study
experimental design
the name given to research design when used in an experiment
independent measures design
participants are split into groups, with each group tested in only one condition of the study
repeated measures design
the same participants are used in all conditions of the study
matched pairs design
different participants are used in each condition of the study, but are matched on likeness on important characteristics
reliability
the consistency of an outcome or result of an investigation (a measure)
validity
whether the test measures was intended
internal validity
whether the measures in a test genuinley test what they were desniged to test
external validity
whether the findings are generalisable to the target populaiton
qualitative methods
ways of conducting research that find new information rather than testing a prediction: often resulting in gathering qualitative data
researcher bias
when the researcher interprets the outcome of a study according to their own view (subjective)
triangulation
when more that one measure is taken for a behaviour to cross-validate the findings
objective
not open to interpretation, unbiased
quantitative methods
ways of conducting a research that test a prediction and gather quantitative data
ethical issues
researchers follow codes or rules or conduct when carrying out research to protect participants from harm
right to withdraw
ensuring that participants are clearly aware of theri right to leave the study at any point
