Science Inquiry Skills

Question 1

What different types of qualitative research are there?

Answer 1

Interviews, focus groups and the Delphie Technique

Question 2

What is a sample in research?

Answer 2

A sample is a smaller number of individuals drawn from the population being studied.

Question 3

What is population in context with research?

Answer 3

The entire group of people belonging to the particular category being studied.

Question 4

Examples of extraneous variables

Answer 4

Participant variables, situational variables, confounding variables, demand characteristics, and experimenter effects.

Question 5

What do extraneous variables do?

Answer 5

Interfere with the causal link between the independent and dependent variable, and make it difficult to determine whether the IV affects the DV.

Question 6

What is an extraneous variable?

Answer 6

Any variable other than the independent variable that could cause an unwanted change in the dependent variable.

Question 7

When are observational designs used?

Answer 7

In research topics where it is unethical to deliberately expose individuals to an independent variable.

Question 8

What is the placebo effect?

Answer 8

The placebo effect is a participant variable that refers to improvement in health or wellbeing due to the participants belief that the treatment will be effective.

Question 9

What is random allocation?

Answer 9

Random allocation is the method used to select members of a sample, to receive the treatment in an experiment.

Question 10

What is a variable?

Answer 10

A researchable factor that can increase or decrease in amount or kind.

Question 11

What are the benefits of independent group designs?

Answer 11

Controlled groups create a baseline of the data, to compare the impact of the independent variable on the dependent variable.

Question 12

What is naturalistic observation well-suited for?

Answer 12

Studies where researchers want to see how variables behave in their natural setting or state.

Question 13

What is naturalistic observation?

Answer 13

Naturalistic observation involves observing and recording variables of interest in a natural setting without manipulation or interference.

Question 14

How might a longitudinal study impact results?

Answer 14

Repeating similar tests over a long period of time may affect the results of the test, as the participants “learn it” and get used to being tested.

Question 15

Disadvantages of a naturalistic design

Answer 15

-Does not allow researchers to control or influence the variables in anyway, or change possible external variables.
- Researchers may not gather reliable data from watching the variables, or gather information free from bias.

Question 16

What are experimenter effects?

Answer 16

Personal characteristics of the experimenter and their behaviour during the experiment that may affect the research.

Question 17

What is a repeated measures design?

Answer 17

A repeated measures design uses only one group of participants who are exposed to different experimental conditions.

Question 18

Disadvantages of observational designs

Answer 18

The lack of control in planning, hence the inability to constant variables is a limitation.
This limits causation and the ability to confidently conclude that a change in the Independent Variable caused a change in the Dependent Variable.
This is as a result of the inability to randomly allocate people to groups, as they already exist.

Question 19

Advantages of observational designs

Answer 19

Topics that are too unethical, expensive or impractical are able to be researched.

Question 20

What are longitudinal designs in context with observational designs?

Answer 20

A longitudinal design uses the repeated measures principle as the research is conducted with the same people, over a long time period.