Variables: a crash course

Question 1

IV

Answer 1

• the variable that you change/ control, i.e. manipulate

- assumed to have a DIRECT EFFECT on the DV

Question 2

DV

Answer 2

• variable being tested & measured
• outcome/ results of the study
• “dependent” on the IV

Question 3

what is a researcher looking for in an experiment?

Answer 3

a possible effect on the DV that might be caused by manipulating the IV

Question 4

What are operational variables aka?

Answer 4

Operationalising definitions

Question 5

what does operationalisation refer to?

Answer 5

how you will DEFINE & MEASURE a specific variable as it’s used in the study
v. important to CLEARLY DEFINE what you mean by BOTH you IV & DV- otherwise it’d be impossible to COMPARE findings of different studies into the same behaviour

Question 6

pro of operationalisation

Answer 6

provides a clear & objective definition of even complex variables- EASIER for replication & to check for reliability

Question 7

EVs

Answer 7

are all variables, excluding the IV, which could impact the results of an experiment
researcher wants to ENSURE that it’s the manipulation of the IV that has caused the changes in the DV, so ALL the other variables that could affect the DV must be controlled

Question 8

EVs must be controlled because>

Answer 8

they might be important enough to provide alternative explanations for the effects

Question 9

the 4 types of EVs are?

Answer 9

• situational variables
• participant variables
• experimenter/ investigator effects
• DCs

Question 10

what are situational variables?

Answer 10

these are aspects of the ENVIRONMENT that might affect the PP’s behaviour:

• noise
• temp
• lighting conditions, etc

Question 11

how to CONTROL SVs?

Answer 11

standardised procedures must be used to ensure that the conditions are the SAME for all participants, including the use of standardised instructions

Question 12

Participant variables

Answer 12

• refers to the ways in which EACH PP VARIES from the other, and how this could affect the results
• ex: if a PP that performed a memory test was tired/ dyslexic, this could affect their performance & results

Question 13

The ED chosen can have an affect on…

Answer 13

PVs

Question 14

situational variables also include

Answer 14

order effects that can be controlled using COUNTERBALANCING

Question 15

PVs can be controlled using?

Answer 15

random allocation to each condition of the IV

Question 16

what are investigator effects?

Answer 16

• whereby he unconsciously conveys to PPs HOW they should behave: this is called EXPERIMENTER BIAS
• they might do this by giving UNINTENTIONAL CLUES to the PPs about:
  1) what the experiment is ABOUT
  2) how they EXPECT them to behave
• he is often unaware of this and the cues may be v subtle but they’ve an influence nonetheless
• also their personal attributes can have an impact

Question 17

DCs

Answer 17

these are all the CLUES in an experiment which convey to the PP the PURPOSE of the research

PPs will be affected by their:

1) surroundings
2) researcher’s characteristics & behaviour
3) interpretation of what’s occurring

they should try to MINIMISE these factors by keeping the experiment as NATURAL as poss- carefully using standardised procedures

perhaps DIFFERENT EXPERIMENTERS should be used to see if they obtain SIMILAR results