Research methods Flashcards
what is an extraenous variable
an extraenous variable is any variable other than the independent variable that affects the dependent variable
waht are the three types of extraenous variables
participant variables
investigator effects
situational variables
what is a participant variables
type of extraenous variables that are personal characteristics of particpants that could influence their behaviours
what are some examples of ptp variables
gender
age
what are investigator effects
any effect of the investigators behaviour on the outcome of dependent variable and also design decision
what is an example of investigator effects
when the expectations of the researcher influences the behaviour of the ptps and therefore the results of the study
what are situational variables
situational variables are anything external to the particiapnts and researcher that could influence the behaviour of the participants ie environment
what are demand characteristics
Demand characteristics isa any cue from the researcher or from the research situation that may be interpretated by participant a revealing the the purpose of the study . this may lead the particpant to change their behaviour withn the research situation
what are cofounding variables
cofounding variables are extraenous variables that varies systematically with the independent variable therefore it is difficult to tell whether if any change in dv is due to iv or the cofounding variable
what is randomisation
randomisation is the use of chance methods to control for the effects of bias when designing materials and deciding the order of experimental conditions
what is standardisation
standardisation is using the same formalised procedures and instructions for all particiapnts in a research study
what is the effect of extrenous variables on validity and reliabilty
uncontrolled ev reduce the reliability and validity of studied
what is a way ev can be controlled
by standardising the procedure and insructions for ptp
what is one way particpant variables be controlled
using matched pairs
what is validity
when a study ,measures what it claims to measure
what is reliabilty
reliability is a measure of consistency of results
what is test-retest reliability
test- retest reliability is a method of assessing the reliability of a quesationnaire or test by asessing the same person on two different occasions and everytime the same results are obtained
what is inter-observer-reliability
inter-observer reliability is the extent to which there is an agreement between two or more observers involved in observations of a behaviour
what is face validity
face validity is when a test appears to measure what it intends to measure
what is concurrent validity
concurrent validity is the extent to which a psychological measure related to an existing valid similar measure
what is internal validity
internal validity refers to whether the effects observed in the experiment are due to the manipulation of the independent variable and not some other factor
what is external validity
factors outside of the investigation such as generisability, other populations of people and other eras
what are the three types of external validity
ecological validity
temporal validity
population validity
what is ecological validity
when the results of a study generalise to how people behave in everyday life
what is temporal validity
when the results o the same studies geenralise over time
what is population validity
when the results of a study generalise to the rest of
wider population
what is a pilot study
a piolot study is a small scale version off an investigation that takes place befpre the real investigation is conducted the aim is to check that materials work and it also allows the researcher to make modifications and chnages if necessary
what are the benefits of pilot study
potential flaws in a study can be identified and modified before study which is cost effective
