Week 2

Question 1

What is experimental research?

Answer 1

Research that attempts to identify cause-and-effect relationships by manipulating an independent variable whilst observing change in an unmanipulated dependent variable.

Question 2

What is descriptive research?

Answer 2

Research that attempts to describe the characteristics of a phenomenon, but does offer causal description or explanation.

Question 3

What is a quantitative research study?

Answer 3

A study that is based on numerical data.

Question 4

What is numerical data?

Answer 4

Data consisting of numbers.

Question 5

What is a qualitative research study?

Answer 5

A study that uses categorical data.

Question 6

What is a variable?

Answer 6

An element or condition that is liable to variation or change.

Question 7

What is a constant?

Answer 7

An element or condition that does NOT change.

Question 8

What are categorical variables?

Answer 8

Variables that vary in kind or type.

Question 9

What are numerical variables?

Answer 9

Variables that vary in degree or amount.

Question 10

What is an independent variable? (IV)

Answer 10

A variable that is manipulated by researchers whose variation does not depend on other variables.

Question 11

What is a dependent variable? (DV)

Answer 11

An unmanipulated, controlled variable that is measured for change in response to manipulation of an independent variable.

Question 12

What is a cause-and-effect relationship?

Answer 12

A relationship where change in one variable causes change in another variable.

Question 13

What are extraneous variables?

Answer 13

Variables that are NOT the independent variable (IV), which cause change in the dependent variable (DV)

Question 14

What are mediating variables?

Answer 14

Variables that exist between the IV and DV in the casual chain (intervening variables).

Question 15

What are moderating variables?

Answer 15

Variables that influence the relationship between other variables, unlike confounding variables these are measured and taken into consideration.

Question 16

Define “causation”

Answer 16

Although disputed by some philosophers, causation implies that change in one event produces another event, or change in another event.

Question 17

Define “cause”

Answer 17

An event that makes something else exist or change.

Question 18

Define “effect”

Answer 18

The difference between what the outcome would have been and what the outcome was, when there is change in a variable associated with that outcome.

Question 19

What are the required conditions for claiming a causal relationship?

Answer 19

1. The relationship condition
2. The temporal order condition
3. The no alternative explanation condition

Question 20

Explain the relationship condition.

Answer 20

In order to claim a causal relationship, one condition that must is satisfied is the observed association between the variable A and variable B.

Question 21

Explain the temporal order condition.

Answer 21

In order to claim a causal relationship, the second condition that must be satisfied is that changes in variable A must precede changes in variable B.

Question 22

Explain the no alternative explanation condition.

Answer 22

In order to claim a casual relationship, the third condition that must be satisfied is that no other explanations exist for the relationship between variable A and variable B.

Question 23

How is objective observation possible?

Answer 23

All bias must be absent at every step of the experimental process.

Question 24

What are the three steps/rules George H Zimney presented to minimise recording and observation errors? (unobjective observations).

Answer 24

1. Accept that mistakes can occur as a result of bias, we can then identify where those mistakes are likely to occur.
2. To identify the causes of those mistakes we must carefully test every segment of the entire experiment.
3. Once these mistakes have be analysed, precautions can be taken to avoid them.

Question 25

Explain what manipulation is?

Answer 25

Intervention by researchers that is predicted to produce change in the DV.

Question 26

What is a confounding variable?

Answer 26

An uncontrolled and often unidentified extraneous variable that eliminates the researcher's ability to claim a casual relationship between the IV and the DV.

Question 27

What is casual description?

Answer 27

A description of the consequences of manipulating the IV.

Question 28

What is a causal explanation?

Answer 28

Explanation of the mechanisms that mediate a causal relationship.

Question 29

What the advantages and disadvantages of experimental research?

Answer 29

Advantages: Offers causal inference, provides the ability to manipulate and control variables. Disadvantages: Does not test unmanipulated variables, is often susceptible to artificiality and some argue that it is inadequate for studying human behaviour due to being to reductionist.

Question 30

What are field experiments?

Answer 30

An experimental research study that is conducted in a real-life setting, although very useful, the control of extraneous variables can be difficult.

Question 31

What are laboratory experiments?

Answer 31

An experimental research study conducted in a very controlled setting, this can be susceptible to artificiality.

Question 32

What are internet experiments?

Answer 32

An experimental research study that is conducted over the internet, this removes a lot monetary and logistical issues normally present in research but lack of experimental control remains an issue.

Question 33

What is non-experimental quantitative research?

Answer 33

Quantitative research in which the IV is not manipulated.

Question 34

What is Correlational research?

Answer 34

Research that is used to explore the statistical relationship between two or more variables, it does NOT provide causal links.

Question 35

What is the third variable problem?

Answer 35

When a relationship between two variables is caused by a confounding variable.

Question 36

What is path analysis?

Answer 36

A type of research in which a causal model of paths is made up of multiple hypotheses consisting of direct effect and indirect effects, it is then empirically tested and striped of statistically insignificant paths and hypotheses.

Question 37

What is natural manipulation research?

Answer 37

A type of research in which a naturally occurring manipulation of the IV is present.

Question 38

What is a cross-sectional study?

Answer 38

A study in which data from multiple kinds of groups is collected from one period in time.

Question 39

What is a longitudinal study?

Answer 39

A study in which data from one group is collected over many different time periods.

Question 40

What is the cohort sequential design?

Answer 40

A study design that combines cross-sectional and longitudinal study designs.

Question 41

What is qualitative research?

Answer 41

Research that relies on interpreting observations of subjective data or people in natural circumstances.

Question 42

Explain triangulation?

Answer 42

The combinational use of multiple data sources and research methods to reach conclusions.

Question 43

What are the six major methods of data collection?

Answer 43

Tests, questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, observations and existing/secondary data.

Question 44

What are tests?

Answer 44

Standardised data collection instruments. Pros: Strong psychometric measurement, often standardised, high reliability. Cons: Expensive and time consuming, tests can be biased, cannot probe.

Question 45

What are questionaries?

Answer 45

Self-report data collection instruments. Pros: Inexpensive, Time efficient when administering, quite high reliability if well-constructed. Cons: Relies on the self-awareness and honesty of participants, analysis can be time consuming.

Question 46

What are interviews?

Answer 46

A method of collecting data via questioning a participant. Pros: Moderately high reliability if well-constructed, researchers can probe or follow-up. Cons: Time consuming and inexpensive, relies on participant honesty and self-awareness, data analysis can be time consuming, researcher bias is present.

Question 47

What is a focus group?

Answer 47

A method of collecting data via questioning or discussing a topic with a group. Pros: Allows probing, allows observation of participant interactions. Cons: Can be expensive, proportion of involvement from participants, relies on participant honesty and self-awareness, participants may change behaviour in social settings, data analysis is difficult and time consuming.

Question 48

What is observation? (in terms of data collection)

Answer 48

A method where events or behaviour patterns are viewed and recorded. Pros: Provides relatively objective accounts of events or behaviour, good for description, good for realism. Cons: Reasons for events or behaviour may be unclear, researcher bias, expensive and difficult to analyse.

Question 49

What is existing or secondary data?

Answer 49

Data that was unused or used for unrelated experiments, this includes documents, physical data and archived research data. Pros and cons depend on what the data is, although generally speaking it's quite easy to access however you cannot manipulate it.

Question 50

What are the different kinds of observation? (in terms of data collection)

Answer 50

Naturalistic observations. Laboratory observations. Time-interval sampling (observations are recorded in time intervals). Event sampling (observations are recorded every time an event occurs).