Research strategies and validity Flashcards
describe individual variables without a relationship between them
descriptive research studies
what type of research gives you a snapshot
descriptive
Describes individual variables (rather than a relationship between
variables)
descriptive research strategy
which research strategy measures two variables for each individual
correlational research
what three research strategies are used to compare two or more sets of scores
- experimental
- quasi-experimental
- nonexperimental
Answers cause-and-effect questions about the relationship between two
variables
experimental
Almost, but not quite, experiments—can never produce an unambiguous
explanation
quasi experimental
Demonstrates a relationship between variables—does not attempt to
explain it
nonexperimental
what type of design examines the association between variables
correlational
what type of design has some researcher manipulation, but does not have random assignment to conditions
quasi-experimental
what is the typical reason a quasi-experimental design is used
participants cannot be separated randomly because the groups are some innate characteristic that cannot be changed (i.e. separated by gender or ethnicity etc)
research strategy that examines individual variables
descriptive
strategy that examines relationships between variables by measuring two or more variables for each participant
correlational
strategies that examine relationships between variables by comparing two or more groups of scores
experimental, quasi experimental, and nonexperimental
what is the purpose of a descriptive design
produce a description of individual variables as they exist
within a specific group
what is the purpose of a correlational design
produce a description of the relationship between two
variables but do not attempt to explain the relationship
what is the purpose of an experimental design
produce a cause-and-effect explanation for the relationship
between two variables
what is the purpose of a quasiexperimental design
Attempt to produce a cause-and-effect explanation but fall
short
what is the purpose of a nonexperimental design
produce a description of the relationship between two
variables but do not attempt to explain the relationship
truth in the study
internal validity
truth in real life
external validity
what threatens validity
Any factor that generates doubts about the accuracy of the results or
raises questions about the interpretation of the results
what are the three categories of threats to external validity
- generalising across participants or subjects
- generalising across features of a study
- generalising across features of the measures
selection bias, overutilisation of college students, and participant characteristics are examples of what kind of threat to external validity
generalising across participants or subjects
novelty effects, multiple treatment interference and experimenter characteristics are examples of why type of threat to external validity
generalising across features of a study
sensitisation and time of measurement are examples of what kind of threat to external validity
generalising across features of the measures
Any variables in a research study other than the specific variables being
studied
extraneous variables
what are the six potential threats to internal validity
- maturation
- history
- regression to the mean
- attrition
- testing
- instrumentation
what are maturation threats
a change in behaviour that emergences spontaneously with time that is natural. biological or psychological
An external event affects most members
of the treatment group at the same time as the treatment
historical threats
A statistical concept in which extremely low or extremely
high performance at Time 1 is likely to be less extreme at
Time 2 (i.e., closer to average)
regression to the mean
what is attrition
a reduction in participant numbers
When the very act of completing a test influences future
responses
testing threats
what are instrumentation threats
when a measuring instrument changes over time. may be from different observers, or adjusted criteria to better match what is being tested
an external factor that may influence or distort measurements
artifact
something that happens in animals is “natural” and humans are being “unnatural.” This is not always true, but people often believe it to be.
naturalistic fallacy
what are novelty effects
stressed participants, people who are new to it react differently from those who have experienced the study or similar before
you get too focused on the manipulation and emphasize it too much, resulting in skewed results
overemphasized manipulation
what is multiple treatment interference
if you do the same study on someone over and over again, they can be fatigued or practiced, both will change the study
consistently measuring the relationship between two variables and showing that the two variables always change with each other
covariance
what is temporal precedence
the variable happens before another one - you know which variable happened first (someone takes dance classes, then you measure their emotional body perception) to measure them
in ____ research, internal validity is unimportant, external validity is immensely important
descriptive
in ____ research, external validity is very important, you’re not manipulating anything, but you still need to ensure you are measuring what you think you’re measuring and have some degree of internal validity
correlational
in _____ research, your internal validity is very important, but your external variability is degraded by the lab setting
experimental
