RM - The experimental method

Question 1

Define aims

Answer 1

A statement of what the researcher(s) intend to find out in a research study.

Question 2

Define debriefing

Answer 2

A post-research interview designed to inform participants of the true nature of the study and to restore them to the state they were in at the start of the study. It may also be used to gain useful feedback about the procedures in the study. Debriefing is not an ethical issue; it is a means of dealing with ethical issues.

Question 3

Define ethical issues

Answer 3

Concern questions of right and wrong. They arise in research where there are conflicting sets of values between researchers and participants.

Question 4

Define experiment

Answer 4

A research method in which causal conclusions can be drawn because an independent variable is deliberately manipulated to observe the effect on the dependent variable.

Question 5

Define extraneous variables

Answer 5

Do not vary systematically with the IV and therefore do not act as an alternative IV but may have an effect on the DV. They are nuisance variables that muddy the waters and make it more difficult to detect a significant effect.

Question 6

Define hypothesis

Answer 6

A precise and testable statement about the assumed relationship between variables. Operalisation is a key part of making the statement testable.

Question 7

Define independent variable (IV)

Answer 7

Some event that is directly manipulated by an experimenter in order to test its effect on another variable - the dependent variable (DV).

Question 8

Define informed consent

Answer 8

Participants must be given comprehensive information concerning the nature and the purpose of the research and their role in it, in order that they can make an informed decision about whether to participate.

Question 9

Define operationalise

Answer 9

Ensuring that variables are in a form that can be easily tested.

Question 10

Define standardised procedures

Answer 10

A set of procedures that are the same for all participants in order to be able to repeat the study. This includes standardised instructions - the instructions given to participants to tell them how to perform the task.

Question 11

What is a simple model of the scientific experiment?

Answer 11

Observe —> State expectations —> Design a study —> See if your expectations were correct.

Question 12

How do you remember which variable affects the other?

Answer 12

Ivy Deevy

The thing that comes first is the IV (Ivy) which leads to a change in the DV (Deevy).