L2 - Intro to research methods

Question 1

what is the independent variable?

Answer 1

variable that’s controlled and manipulated by the experimenter

Question 2

what’s the dependent variable?

Answer 2

variable that’s measured by the experimenter

Question 3

what’s a within subjects (repeated measures) design?

Answer 3

The same group of ppts is exposed to all levels of the IV.
The dependent variable is measured for each ppts under every IV level

Question 4

+/- Within / repeated groups

Answer 4

+ reduces individual differences —> each ppt is directly compared to themselves this also reduces confounding variables
- order effects

Question 5

what is a confounding variable

Answer 5

variables that are related to both the IV and the DV and can’t be controlled

Question 6

what’s a between subjects (independent groups) design?

Answer 6

different groups of ppts are exposed to different levels of IV –> each group is exposed to 1 level of the IV
the DV is measured for each group

Question 7

+/- between/ independent groups

Answer 7

+ no order effects and allows for a comparison between groups
- doesn’t control for individual differences as effectively as a within subjects design

Question 8

What is nominal data?

Answer 8

Categorical data that can’t be ranked or ordered e.g., gender

Question 9

What is ordinal data?

Answer 9

Categorical data that can be ranked/ ordered e.g., a likert scale

Question 10

What’s interval data?

Answer 10

Continuous data with equal intervals between values but no true 0 point e.g., temperature in Celsius

Question 11

What’s ratio data?

Answer 11

Continuous data with equal intervals and a true 0 point e.g., weight

Question 12

What are ppt variables

Answer 12

individual characteristics of each ppt that may impact how they respond in the experiment

Question 13

What are the 4 non-experimental research designs?

Answer 13

Observational
Archival
Case study
Survey/ interview

Question 14

What is an observation as a research design?

Answer 14

records behaviour as it naturally occurs
no manipulation of conditions by the experimenter

Question 15

What’s and archival?

Answer 15

uses existing data for analysis
no manipulation of conditions

Question 16

what’s a case study?

Answer 16

examines an existing situation or individual in depth
no manipulation of conditions

Question 17

what’s a survey/ interview?

Answer 17

records responses as received from ppts
no manipulation of conditions

Question 18

What kind of data does non-experimental research provide?

Answer 18

quantitative

Question 19

+ of non-experimental research

Answer 19

Describing behaviour - provides a detailed description of a particular behaviour or phenomenon
Predicting behaviour - by analysing patterns and relationships
Explaining behaviour - explain why certain behaviours can occur by identifying factors that are associated with them

Question 20

what does a t-test do

Answer 20

compares the means of the groups and assesses whether the difference us statistically significant

Question 21

what’s quasi-experimental research

Answer 21

involve manipulation of variables but doesn’t involve random allocation of ppts.
used when random allocation isn’t possible or ethical

Question 22

• quasi experiment

Answer 22

due to lack of random allocation it’s impossible to be sure of the effects on the DV due to the IV
not always ethical

Question 23

+ quasi-experiment

Answer 23

provide valuable insights and evidence

Question 24

What are non-experimental designs + what are they used for?

Answer 24

Don’t involve manipulation of variables or random allocation of ppts + are used to describe relationships between variables

Question 25

What are experimental designs + what are they used for?

Answer 25

involve manipulation of variables and random allocation of ppts to different groups + are used to establish a cause and effect.

Question 26

what’s a null hypothesis?

Answer 26

states there’s no difference between groups or no relationship between variables