research methods key terms Flashcards
what is independent variable?
what you change/manipulate in the study
what is dependent variable?
what you measure
what is the standardised procedure?
set of procedures that are the same for all participants in order to repeat the study. For example: standardised instructions> same instructions given to participants to tell them how to perform the task
what is operationalise?
to ensure that variables are in a form that can be easily tested. For example: using GCSE grade in maths to measure “educational attainment”
what is extraneous variables?
give examples.
Any general unwanted variables other than the IV that may have an effect on the DV and it does not systematically vary/change with IV.
Experimenter are aware of this extra variable and can eventually control it.
Examples: lighting and room temperature.
what is a confounding variable?
A type of extraneous variable.
Any unwanted variable other than the IV that may have an effect on the DV. These variable systematically vary/change with the IV
Example: personalities in a talking study, insomnia in a sleeping study.
what is mundane realism? why is lack of mundane realism not useful?
how a study mirrors the real world. environment of the study is realistic to the environment you would experience in real life.
lack of mundane realism may not be useful in terms of understanding behaviour in the real world.
what is internal validity?
what goes on inside the study.
The degree to which an observed effect was due to the experimental manipulation rather than other factors such as confounding/extraneous variables.
What is external validity?
measure of whether data can be generalised to other situations outside of the research environment they were originally gathered in.
What is ecological validity?
the place/condition the research was taken place in. My not be appropriate to generalise the research setting to everyday life setting.
What is population validity?
The people who are in the study. if the research is only using KS3 students it may not be appropriate to generalise the findings to all people.
what is historical validity?
the historic period the study was conducted in. if a study was conducted in the 1950s it may not be appropriate to generalise the finding to people today because many other factors affect behaviour now.
what is demand characteristics?
when participant second guesses the experimenter’s intentions as well as the aims of the study and as a result changes their behaviour
what is the investigator effect?
unwanted effect from the investigators behaviour that effects the DV/ outcome of the study.
what is directional hypothesis?
states the direction of the predicted difference between two conditions/groups
example of directional hypothesis?
people who don’t do homework while watching TV produce better results than those who do Homework while watching TV
What is non- directional hypothesis?
Predicts only that there is a difference between two conditions or two groups of participants, without stating the direction of the difference.
example of non- directional hypothesis?
people who don’t do homework while watching TV produce different results from those who do homework while watching TV
when is non-directional hypothesis used?
there is no past research or past research is contradictory
what is null hypothesis?
states that the IV will have NO difference on the DV.
what is a example of null hypothesis?
there is no difference between caffeine levels of one cup of tea and one cup of Starbucks. Any difference is due to chance.
what is alternative hypothesis?
states that the IV WILL have a difference in the DV.
what is a pilot study?
a small scale trial run of a study to test any aspects of the design with a view to make improvements
why is a Pilot study done?
it’s done to find out if certain aspects of the design do or don’t work.
Pilot study advantage?
see what needs adjusting without having invested a large amount of time and money in a full scale study.
what are confederates?
individual in a study who isn’t a real participant and has been instructed how to behave by the investigator.
Example of confederate?
Milgram study on obedience used a confederate to play the role of the experiments and another to play the role of the learner.
what is repeated measure design?
Each participant take part in every condition in the test (receives all levels of IV)
what are repeated measure design limitations?
1)order effect- participants may do better on the second test because of a practice effect or may do worse due to boredom effect.
2) demand characteristic- when doing second test, may guess have guess purpose of test from first and therefore change their behaviour.
what are the measures to deal with repeated measure design limitations?
1) researches may use 2 different tests to reduce a practice effect- though the two tests must be equivalent.
2) counterbalancing
3) avoid participants guessing the aim of the study, a cover story could be presented about the purpose of the study
what is counterbalancing?
Ensures that each condition in a repeated measures design is tested first or second in equal amounts. way of dealing with order effect.
Example of counterbalancing?
Divide participants into 2 groups:
Group 1: each participant does A then B
Group 2: each participants does B then A.
what are the strengths of repeated measure design?
strengths: less and same participants used so inexpensive and less time consuming and gets rid of participant variable ( different characteristic of a person)
What is independent group design?
participants are allocated to two/ more separate group that partake in the study under different levels of IV.
what are the limitations of independent group design?
1) researcher cannot control the effect of participants variable (individual difference between participants) e.g: memory
2) more costly design than repeated
3) time consuming to collect
what are the strengths and limitations of independent group design?
strength: Only one test conducted on each participant so no order effect, no practice effect, no demand characteristics.
what are the measures to deal with independent group design limitation?
randomly allocate participant to condition which distribute participants evenly.
what is match pair design?
pairs of participants matched in terms of key variables such as age or IQ.
what are the limitations of match pair design?
1) time consuming
2) not possible to control all participant variables due to hidden variables that are actually relevant to study.
3) costly
what are the strengths of matching pair design?
strengths: reduces participant variables, less demand characteristics and no order/practice effect.
what are the measures to deal with match pair design limitations?
conduct a pilot study to consider key variable that might be important when matching
what is a lab experiment?
experiment conducted in controlled conditions. participants are aware they are being tested.
what is a example of a lab experiment
Milgram’s - study on obedience.
characteristics of lab experiment?
- tries to control Extraneous and confounding variables
- participants are aware that they are taking part in a experiment but may not know true aims of study
- use artificial materials such as consonant syllables that are the study less like everyday life
what is a field experiment?
study conducted in a natural environment
characteristic of field experiment?
- participants not aware that they are taking part in the experiment.
- ensuring not all variables are controlled strictly
- Done in everyday environments
- experimenter still manipulates the IV and measures the DV
what is a example of a field experiment?
conducting a study looking a level of concentration within a classroom
what are the strengths of laboratory experiments?
1) high internal validity
2) Extraneous and confounding variables strictly controlled
3) strong cause and effect relationship so it’s easy to replicate to test reliability
what are the weakness of laboratory experiments?
1) lacks mundane realism
2) low ecological validity
3) demand characteristic may exist as participants are aware they are taking part of the study
what are the strengths of field experiments?
1) high mundane realism- more natural setting so participants are more likely to act like their normal everyday self.
2) no demand characteristics
doesn’t include artificial material
what are the limitation of field experiments?
1) ethical issues involved- participants not away they are taking part in a study
2) may be lower in interval validity than a lab experiment.
3) extraneous and confounding variables are hard to control
4) not as replicable weaker cause and effect.
what is a natural experiment?
A experimenter doesn’t directly manipulate the IV but rather takes advantage of pre-existing IV (naturally existing IV)
what is a example of natural experiment?
Effect of TV- before 1955 people living in small island of St Helena had no TVs.
- The arrival of TV gave researchers a chance to see how western programmes might influence behaviour
- researcher found no difference in either pro or anti-social behaviour after TVs were introduced
- IV is: no TV and later exposer to TV
What is quasi experiment?
IV is something that hasn’t been made to vary. It’s a difference between people that already exist. E.g: IQ level
what is a example of quasi experiment?
Gender difference- tested obedience and finding out women are more obedient than men when asked to preform shock levels.
what are the strength of natural and quasi experiments?
1) high mundane realism
2) used when researches can’t manipulate IV for ethical or practical reasons.
what are the weaknesses of natural and quasi experiments?
1) lack internal validity as it’s difficult to control extraneous and confounding variables
2) not replicable- cannot be tested again for reliability of findings
3) lack of random allocation means there may be uncontrolled confounding variables.
4) unique characteristics of the sample means that the findings cannot be generalized to other groups of people- low population validity
what is the screw you effect?
participant deliberately try to spoil the experiment
how can single blind design deal with demand characteristics?
participant is unaware of the research aims and which condition of the experiment they are receiving this prevents participants from seeking cues about aims and reacting to them.
how can double blind design deal with demand characteristic and investigator effect?
when both the participant and the investigator doesn’t know the aims and hypotheses of experiment. Cues are less likely to be produced.
what is experimental realism?
the researcher making the experimental task engaging so the participant pays full focus to task and not to the fact that they are being observed.
what is participant variable?
individual difference of participant e.g: IQ level.
what is situational variable?
features of research situation that may influence participant behavior (e.g. order effect).
what is opportunity sample?
recruit participants who are most convenient or most available to take part.
strength of opportunity sampling?
- Easiest method because you just use the first suitable participants you can find.
- Less time consuming
- Inexpensive to carry out
Weaknesses of opportunity sampling?
- Not representative of target population as it could be drawn from a specific area.
- Bias by experimenter- they pick the participants.
what is random sample?
produced using a random technique, gives every member of the target group an equal chance of being selected.
strength of random sampling?
- Representative since each member has same probability of being selected
- No investigator bias as participants are randomly selected.
Weakness of random sampling?
- Time consuming- create list of all members of the population and then contact all those randomly selected.
what is stratified sample?
subgroups (strata) within population are identified, participants from each strata are proportion to there occurrence in the population. Selection from strata is done using random allocation
strength of stratified sampling?
- more representative than other methods because of random selection from subgroups.
- No investigator bias
weakness of stratified sampling?
time consuming
what is systematic sampling?
selecting every nth person
weakness of systematic sampling?
- time consuming
- no truly unbiased/random unless number is selected at random
strength of systematic sampling?
unbias as participants selected using objective system
what is volunteer sample?
volunteers make up the sample
strength of volunteer sampling?
- easy and not time consuming
- achieve large sample size
weakness of volunteer sampling?
sample bias as those who volunteer are likely to be highly motivated and therefore be more helpful. ( not reflective of whole population).
what is informed consent?
participant must be told about the true aims of the study. nature and purpose and their role in it, so they can decide if they want to take part.
what is deception?
not telling the true aims of the study
what is cost benefit analysis?
a systematic approach to estimate the negative and positive of any research
what is debriefing?
post research interview design to tell participants the true aims of the study and to restore them to the state they were at the start of the study.
characteristics of lab experiment?
- tries to control Extraneous and confounding variables
- participants are aware that they are taking part in a experiment but may not know true aims of study
- use artificial materials such as consonant syllables that are the study less like everyday life
what are the strengths of laboratory experiments?
high internal validity
2) Extraneous and confounding variables strictly controlled
3) strong cause and effect relationship so it’s easy to replicate to test reliability
what is a example of natural experiment?
Effect of TV- before 1955 people living in small island of St Helena had no TVs.
- The arrival of TV gave researchers a chance to see how western programmes might influence behaviour
- researcher found no difference in either pro or anti-social behaviour after TVs were introduced
- IV is: no TV and later exposer to TV
