Questions and Answers
What are two ways of minimizing extraneous variables?
What is a standardised procedure?
Ensure conditions set up the same way apart from changing the IV
What is social desirability bias?
When people want to look good so they act differently in a study
What are demand characteristics?
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What is a confounding variable?
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What is the difference between directional and non-directional hypothesis?
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What is a null hypothesis?
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What are the types of experiments?
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What is a laboratory experiment?
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What is the evaluation for a laboratory experiment?
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What is a field experiment?
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What is the evaluation for a field experiment?
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What is a natural experiment?
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What is the evaluation for a natural experiment?
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What is a quasi experiment?
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What is the evaluation for a quasi experiment?
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What is experimental design?
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What is repeated measures design?
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What is a strength and weakness of repeated measures design?
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What is independent groups design?
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What is a strength and weakness of independent groups?
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What is matched pairs design?
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What is a strength and weakness of matched pairs design?
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What is a representative sample?
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What are the different types of sampling techniques?
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What is random sampling?
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What is the evaluation of random sampling?
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What is systematic sampling?
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What is the evaluation of systematic sampling?
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What is stratified sampling?
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What is the evaluation of stratified sampling?
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What is opportunity sampling?
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What is the evaluation for opportunity sampling?
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What is volunteer sampling?
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What is the evaluation of volunteer sampling?
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What is qualitative and quantitative data?
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What is the evaluation for qualitative data?
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What is the evaluation for quantitative data?
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What are the three measures of central tendency?
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What is the evaluation for the mean?
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What is the evaluation of median?
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What is the evaluation of mode?
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What are the two measures of dispersion?
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What is the evaluation of primary data?
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What is the evaluation of secondary data?
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What is a pilot study?
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What is a strength of pilot studies?
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Where does a naturalistic observation take place?
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Where does a controlled observation take place?
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In what type of observation does the observer become part of the group studied?
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What happens in a nonparticipant observation?
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What happens in a covert observation?
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What happens in an overt observation?
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What are the two methods of recording in an observation?
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What is time sampling?
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What is event sampling?
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What is a behavioral category?
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What are some methodological issues of observations?
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What is a positive correlation?
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What is the evaluation of correlational research?
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What is a negative correlation?
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What does a positive distribution look like?
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What does a negative distribution look like?
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Where are the mean, median, and mode on a distribution?
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Where are the mean, median, and mode in a normal distribution?
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What are the five ethical issues?
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What can you do at the end of an experiment to avoid most ethical issues?
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What is it called when you get consent from similar participants?
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What are the two types of self-report?
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What are the strengths of interviews?
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What are the weaknesses of interviews?
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What are the strengths of questionnaires?
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What is peer review?
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What are the aims of peer review?
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What are biases in peer review?
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What are the weaknesses of questionnaires?
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What is observer bias?
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What is inter-rater reliability?
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What is a double-blind procedure?
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What is a control group?
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What is a placebo effect?
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Study Notes
Minimizing Extraneous Variables
- Use standardised procedures to ensure consistency across conditions.
- Randomly assign participants to reduce biases.
Standardised Procedures
- Establish uniform conditions for an experiment, varying only the independent variable (IV).
Social Desirability Bias
- Participants may alter their behavior to appear favorable or socially acceptable during studies.
Demand Characteristics
- Participants modify their natural behavior due to awareness of being observed in a study.
Confounding Variable
- Variables that fluctuate alongside the independent variable, potentially skewing results.
Hypotheses
- Directional Hypothesis: Predicts the specific direction of results.
- Non-Directional Hypothesis: Indicates a difference will occur without specifying direction.
- Null Hypothesis: Asserts no significant effect exists within the study.
Types of Experiments
- Laboratory Experiments: Highly controlled environments where IV is manipulated.
- Field Experiments: Conducted in natural settings; IV is still manipulated by researchers.
- Natural Experiments: Observe outcomes in natural environments without IV manipulation.
- Quasi Experiments: Investigate existing variables in controlled settings, like gender.
Evaluation of Experimental Types
- Laboratory Experiments: Strength in control and replicability, weakness in artificiality inducing demand characteristics.
- Field Experiments: Strength in ecological validity, weakness in lack of control over extraneous variables.
- Natural Experiments: Strength in observing genuine behavior; weakness in potential for extraneous variables and lack of random assignment.
- Quasi Experiments: Allows comparison of manipulated conditions, but lacks the ability for random allocation.
Experimental Designs
- Repeated Measures Design: Uses the same participants in all conditions, minimizing participant differences, but susceptible to order effects.
- Independent Groups Design: Each participant is in only one condition, avoiding order effects but leading to potential participant differences.
- Matched Pairs Design: Participants are paired based on similarities and randomly assigned, eliminating order effects but requiring more time and participants.
Sampling Techniques
- Representative Sample: A small group reflecting the traits of the target population.
- Random Sampling: Every individual has equal chances of selection, enhancing representativeness but possibly leading to randomness.
- Systematic Sampling: Participants selected using a fixed interval, potentially avoiding bias but may not capture all demographics.
- Stratified Sampling: Population divided, with participants chosen to represent specific sub-groups, enhancing representation but complexity in reflecting all variables.
- Opportunity Sampling: Selecting readily available individuals, convenient but risk of a biased sample.
- Volunteer Sampling: Individuals choose to participate, potentially attracting a specific demographic.
Data Types
- Qualitative Data: Expressed in words, rich in detail but harder to analyze.
- Quantitative Data: Expressed in numerical format, easier to analyze but may oversimplify reality.
Measures of Central Tendency
- Mean: Average, sensitive to extreme values.
- Median: Middle score, unaffected by extremes.
- Mode: Most frequent, beneficial for categorical data.
Measures of Dispersion
- Range: Difference between highest and lowest scores.
- Standard Deviation: Indication of data spread around the mean.
Data Evaluation
- Primary Data: Matches research claims but requires significant effort.
- Secondary Data: Quick and easy to obtain but may not align with specific research needs.
Pilot Study
- Conducted as a small-scale trial to test research methods, saving time and resources.
Observation Types
- Naturalistic Observation: Occurs in real-world settings.
- Controlled Observation: Takes place in a structured environment, like a lab.
- Participant Observation: Researcher engages with participants in their environment.
- Nonparticipant Observation: Researcher remains separate from the group.
- Covert Observation: Participants are unaware they are being observed.
- Overt Observation: Participants know they are part of a study.
Recording Methods in Observations
- Time Sampling: Observing and recording behaviors within specified time intervals.
- Event Sampling: Counting occurrences of defined behaviors over a study.
Correlation
- Positive Correlation: Both variables increase together.
- Negative Correlation: One variable increases as the other decreases.
- Correlation Research Evaluation: Useful for studying unchangeable variables; however, it does not establish causation.
Distribution Types
- Positive Distribution: Data clustered to the left, indicating easier performance.
- Negative Distribution: Data clustered to the right, indicating difficult performance.
- Normal Distribution: Equal mean, median, and mode at the peak.
Ethical Issues
- Informed consent, deception, right to withdraw, privacy/confidentiality, and protection from harm must be considered.
Self-Report Methods
- Interviews: Allow clarification and depth but can be time-consuming and susceptible to biases.
- Questionnaires: Quick and ethically sound but may yield biased samples.
Peer Review
- Process of validating research by other experts in the field to maintain research quality.
Reliability and Bias
- Observer Bias: Expectations influence the interpretation of behaviors.
- Inter-Rater Reliability: Agreement level between observers evaluating the same behaviors.
- Double-Blind Procedure: Both participants and researchers are unaware of the group assignments to reduce bias.
Control Group
- Serves as a comparison for evaluating treatment effects without receiving the treatment.
Placebo Effect
- Outcomes influenced by participants' expectations rather than the actual treatment.
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Description
This quiz covers essential concepts in experimental design within psychology, including minimizing extraneous variables, standardised procedures, and biases. Test your understanding of hypotheses and different types of experiments. Ideal for students looking to reinforce their grasp of research methods.