Research Methods - Experimental Design

Question 1

What are the 3 experimental designs?

Answer 1

Independent groups
Repeated measures
Matched pairs

Question 2

What is the independent groups experimental design?

Answer 2

When 2 groups of completely different individuals take part of an experiment with one group doing one condition & the other group do the other condition

Question 3

What is an advantage of the independent groups experimental design?

Answer 3

Avoids order effects as participants only take part in 1 condition of the experiment
Reduces demand characteristics as participants take part in only 1 condition of the experiment - less likely to guess aim of the experiment

Question 4

What are the disadvantages of the independent groups experimental design?

Answer 4

More participants are required as different people take part in different conditions of the experiment - more expensive & time consuming
Participant variables can affect the results

Question 5

What is the repeated measures experimental design?

Answer 5

When the same individuals are used & tested in each condition

Question 6

What are the advantages of the repeated measures experimental design?

Answer 6

Fewer participants are used - less costly & time consuming
Same participants used - reduces possibility of participant variables - more valid

Question 7

What are the disadvantages of the repeated measures experimental design?

Answer 7

Order effects can occur - same participants used each time (practice effects can occur so participants may perform better 2nd time/ fatigue can cause worse performance in 2nd condition)
Prone to demand characteristics - participants more likely to guess aim of the experiment

Question 8

What is counterbalancing in the repeated measures design

Answer 8

Used to reduce order effects where half the participants take part in ‘condition A’ and half take part in ‘condition B’ and then they swap over

(ABBA)

Question 9

What is the matched pairs experimental design?

Answer 9

Where pairs of participants are matched from a sample in terms of key variables (e.g. age/IQ), then one member is placed in the experimental group & the other is placed in the control group.

Question 10

What are the advantages of the matched pairs experimental design?

Answer 10

Avoids order effects
Reduces participant variables & demand characteristics
Results more valid

Question 11

What are the disadvantages of the matched pairs experimental design?

Answer 11

It is impossible to exactly match people (unless they’re identical twins)
More participants are required - more expensive & time consuming