Unit one - research methods Flashcards
What is a laboratory experiment?
Experiments that occur in a controlled setting, such as a research lab or at a university
What is a field experiment?
Experiments that occur in the natural environment of the people whose behaviour is being studied
What is a quasi experiment?
Where the independent variable is naturally occurring rather than being created and controlled by the experimenter
What is a structured observation?
An observation study using a predetermined coding scheme to record the participants’ behaviour
What is an unstructured observation?
An observation where the observer/researcher continuously records and reports on behaviour, noting everything that happens
What is a naturalistic obervation?
An observation that is carried out in the participants’ natural surroundings
What is a controlled observation?
An observation that controls all possible factors that may influence/alter participants’ behaviours
What is a participant observation?
Where the observers are part of/pretending to be a part of the group they are observing
What is a non-participant observation?
Where the observer is not a member of the group being studied
What is an overt observation?
Where participants are aware that they are being observed, and have usually explicitly given consent
What is a covert observation?
Where the ‘participants’ are being observed without their knowledge
What is a questionnaire?
Sets of questions answered by participants which can be completed with pen and paper, face to face, on the phone or internet
What is a structured interview?
Where the same set of questions is asked to each participant in the same order
What is a semi-structured interview?
Where the interviewer has a set of questions but can ask for clarification/elaboration on answers/responses
What is an unstructured interview?
Where the interviewer asks spontaneous, rather than wholly scripted, questions
What is a positive correlation?
Where as one variable increases, the other also increases
What is a negative correlation?
Where as one variable increases, the other decreases
What is a research aim?
A statement stating the intent of the study in general terms
What is a research question?
An answerable inquiry into a specific concern or issue - the initial step in a research project
What is a null hypothesis?
A prediction that there will be no effect (eg. the IV will not have the predicted effect on the DV in an experiment)
What is an alternate hypothesis?
A prediction that there will be an effect
What is a one-tailed hypothesis?
A hypothesis where the specific effect/direction of results is predicted
What is a two-tailed hypothesis?
A hypothesis where it is predicted that there will be an effect but the direction of this is not specified
