research methods (experiments)

Question 1

an experiment is an:

Answer 1

investigation which looks for a cause- and effect relationship

Question 2

what does the researcher investigate during an experiment?

Answer 2

how the one way variable (IV) is responsible for the effect in another (DV)

Question 3

extraneous variables are?

Answer 3

any other variable that might affect the DV

Question 4

the control condition is?

Answer 4

the absence of the experimental variable.

Question 5

the levels of the IV being compared

Answer 5

experimental conditions

Question 6

experimental design?

Answer 6

the way that participants are used in different levels of the IV. may be allocated to all or only one of the levels of the IV

Question 7

independent measures design?

Answer 7

a separate group of participants is used for each experimental condition / level. this means that the data for each level of the IV is independent because it isn’t related to any other data (since it comes from different people)

Question 8

IMD strengths?

Answer 8

• Participants only encounter the experimental setting once, which reduces demand characteristics as they are unlikely to notice clues that might tell the aim of the experiment

Question 9

IMD weaknesses?

Answer 9

• Individual differences between groups, which can be reduced by random allocation of participants to different groups

Question 10

repeated measures design?

Answer 10

the same group participates in each level of the IV.

Question 11

RMD strengths?

Answer 11

• Each participant acts as their own baseline. individual differences (participant variables) are unlikely to bias the findings.

Question 12

participant variables?

Answer 12

individual differences between participants (age, gender, personality, ect.) that could possibly bias the findings

Question 13

RMD weaknesses?

Answer 13

• Order effects. doing something over and over may cause a participant to improve (the practice effect), or participants could get bored (the fatigue effect)

Question 14

how can a researcher prevent order effects?

Answer 14

• counterbalancing, by dividing a group into 2 and one half will do A to B, while the other half does B to A.

Question 15

matched pairs design?

Answer 15

participants are matched into pairs who are similar in ways that are relevant to the experiment (age, gender, intelligence, ect.) different groups are then used for each level of the IV, with one participant from each pair being in each level of the IV

Question 16

laboratory experiments?

Answer 16

an experiment that is conducted under highly controlled conditions (not necessarily a lab) where accurate measurements are possible. artificial surroundings as the participants are not in their usual environment for the behavior that they are doing. strict controls

Question 17

evaluating lab experiments (3!)

Answer 17

• controls and standardization, which ensures the procedure for each participant is kept the same. (easy to replicate + raises reliability)
• both controls + standardization help to make the findings of the experiment reliable
• controlling variables also improved validity

Question 18

field experiments?

Answer 18

still an experiment (as it has controls and variables) but is conducted in the participants normal environment

Question 19

evaluating field experiments (2!)

Answer 19

• harder to control variables and standardize procedures
• validity might be improved because the participants are performing a task that seems normal in a familiar environment

Question 20

field vs lab evaluation

Answer 20

lab experiments do not generalize to other settings as well as those from field experiments as the participants are not doing tasks in their normal environment in the way participants in field experiments are. this is a problem of ecological validity, and field experiments are often > in terms of EV than lab exps.(but not always)

Question 21

natural experiments?

Answer 21

not a true experiment because the researcher cannot manipulate the levels of the OV. the differences occur even in the absence of an experiment

Question 22

evaluating natural experiments (1!)

Answer 22

• less opportunity to control & standardize situations.
  (possibility for uncontrolled variables, which lowers the validity of the findings)