Research Methods - Experimental Methods Flashcards
What is an aim?
A general expression of what the researcher intends to investigate.
What is an operationalised hypothesis?
A statement of what the researcher believes to be true that is clearly defined and measurable.
What is a directional hypothesis vs non-directional hypothesis?
Directional/one-tailed - states if changes are greater or lesser, positive or negative etc…used when previous theories or research have suggested the direction.
Non-directional/two-tailed - doesn’t state the direction, just that there is a difference, correlation or association…used when there are no previous theories or research available.
What is in the independent variable (IV)?
The variable that is manipulated by the researcher and effects the DV
What is the dependent variable (DV)?
The variable that is measured by the researcher and is affected by the IV
What are the 5 research issues?
Extraneous and confounding variables.
Demand characteristics.
Investigator effects.
Randomisation.
Standardisation.
What are extraneous variables (EV)?
Nuisance variables that may make it more difficult to detect an effect. Researchers try to control these as best as they can.
What are confounding variables (CV)?
Variables that change systematically with the IV so we cannot be sure if any observed change in the DV is due to the CV or the IV.
What are demand characteristics?
Any cues from the researcher or research situation that may reveal the aim of the study and change the participants behaviour.
What are investigator effects?
Any effect of the investigator’s behaviour on the outcome of the research (the DV) and also on design decisions.
What is randomisation?
The use of chance when designing investigations to control for the effects of bias e.g. when allocating participants to conditions.
What is standardisation?
Using exactly the same formalised procedures for all participants in a research study, otherwise differences become EVs.
What are pilot studies?
Small-scale trial runs of an investigation to ‘road-test’ procedures so that the research design can be modified.
What are control groups/conditions?
Control groups or control conditions are used to set comparison,act as a baseline, and help establish causation.
What does ‘single blind’ or ‘double blind’ mean?
Single blind - participant doesn’t know the aims of the study so that demand characteristics are reduced.
Double blind - participants and researcher don’t know the aims of the study to reduce demand characteristics and investigator effects.
