Research Methods:variables

Question 1

What is an extraneous variable?

Answer 1

Anything else affecting the DV other than the IV

Question 2

What is a participant (subject) variable?

Answer 2

any differences between participants such as age and IQ

Question 3

What are situational variables?

Answer 3

external/environmental factors that could influence the results such as noise, temperature or other distractions

Question 4

What are investigator effects?

Answer 4

This is when researchers become too involved with the experiment by giving unconscious cues and hence favoring results. This also refers to the way instructions are given, how materials are presented and how participants are selected.

Question 5

What are demand characteristics?

Answer 5

This is wjhen participants may look for clues to help them figure out the researchers’ intention/aim

DV is then no longer natural and valid

Question 6

What is a confounding variable?

Answer 6

This is when an extraneous variable is not controlled and confound the results.

Question 7

What are tghe three ways to control extraneous variables?

Answer 7

Standardisation

Counterbalancing

Randomisation

Question 8

What is standardisation?

Answer 8

keeping things the same across all conditions such as age, IQ or environment

Question 9

What is counterbalancing?

Answer 9

Often used in repeated measure design

It is where participants take part in both conditions where half do condition A then B and the other half to condition B then A.

This rules out things like boredom or practice

Question 10

What is randomization?

Answer 10

The use of chance wherever possible to reduce the researcher’s influence on the results such as picking names form a hat