Experimental Methods: Experimental Designs

Question 1

● What is an independent groups design?

Answer 1

Participants take part in only one condition

Question 2

● What is a repeated measures design?

Answer 2

Participants take part in all conditions

Question 3

● What is a matched pairs design?

Answer 3

Participants are matched on characteristics and split into different conditions

Question 4

● What is an advantage of independent groups?

Answer 4

No order effects

Question 5

● What is a disadvantage of independent groups?

Answer 5

Individual differences may affect results

Question 6

● What is an advantage of repeated measures?

Answer 6

Reduces individual differences

Question 7

● What is a disadvantage of repeated measures?

Answer 7

Order effects may occur

Question 8

● What is an advantage of matched pairs?

Answer 8

Reduces participant differences

Question 9

● What is a disadvantage of matched pairs?

Answer 9

Time-consuming to match participants

Question 10

● What is counterbalancing?

Answer 10

A method to control order effects

Question 11

● What is random allocation?

Answer 11

Randomly assigning participants to conditions

Question 12

● What type of experimental design uses the fewest participants?

Answer 12

Repeated measures

Question 13

● Which design can cause fatigue or boredom?

Answer 13

Repeated measures

Question 14

● Which design avoids order effects?

Answer 14

Independent groups

Question 15

● Which design matches participants on key characteristics?

Answer 15

Matched pairs

Question 16

● What is an order effect?

Answer 16

When performance is influenced by order of conditions

Question 17

● What is the ABBA method?

Answer 17

A way to counterbalance order effects

Question 18

● Why is random allocation used?

Answer 18

To reduce individual differences in IGD

Question 19

● Which design is vulnerable to individual differences?

Answer 19

Independent groups

Question 20

● Which design uses the same participants in both conditions?

Answer 20

Repeated measures

Question 21

▲ Why is counterbalancing used in repeated measures design?

Answer 21

To control for order effects

Question 22

▲ How does random allocation improve internal validity in IGD?

Answer 22

Ensures participants are equally likely in any condition

Question 23

▲ In matched pairs, why is a pre-test used?

Answer 23

To match participants on relevant characteristics

Question 24

▲ Which design should be used if researchers want to avoid practice effects?

Answer 24

Independent groups

Question 25

▲ Why does matched pairs require a large participant pool?

Answer 25

To find good matches

Question 26

▲ What is a drawback of repeated measures in terms of demand characteristics?

Answer 26

Participants may guess the aim

Question 27

▲ What is the control for individual differences in IGD?

Answer 27

Random allocation

Question 28

▲ How are participants allocated in matched pairs design?

Answer 28

Matched and then randomly allocated

Question 29

▲ Why might repeated measures increase internal validity?

Answer 29

Same participants used—controls individual differences

Question 30

▲ In which design is counterbalancing inappropriate?

Answer 30

Independent groups

Question 31

▲ Why would a researcher choose matched pairs over repeated measures?

Answer 31

To avoid order effects but reduce individual differences

Question 32

▲ What is a control used to manage order effects in RM design?

Answer 32

Counterbalancing

Question 33

▲ What is a control for participant variables in matched pairs?

Answer 33

Pre-testing and matching

Question 34

▲ How do individual differences threaten internal validity in IGD?

Answer 34

They may cause changes in DV unrelated to IV

Question 35

▲ How does random allocation prevent bias in IGD?

Answer 35

Each participant has equal chance of being in each group

Question 36

✪ Why might repeated measures designs lower internal validity?

Answer 36

Order effects and demand characteristics may distort results

Question 37

✪ Why do matched pairs not fully eliminate individual differences?

Answer 37

Participants can't be matched on all variables

Question 38

✪ Why is it harder to generalise from matched pairs data?

Answer 38

Small samples due to time-consuming matching process

Question 39

✪ How does random allocation increase the validity of IGD?

Answer 39

Distributes participant characteristics evenly across conditions

Question 40

✪ Why is matched pairs often not used despite reducing participant variables?

Answer 40

It's time-consuming and needs a large sample pool

Question 41

✪ Why is it inappropriate to use counterbalancing in IGD?

Answer 41

Participants only take part in one condition

Question 42

✪ How does the ABBA method attempt to manage order effects?

Answer 42

It balances practice and fatigue across conditions

Question 43

✪ Why does repeated measures design increase risk of demand characteristics?

Answer 43

Participants are exposed to both conditions and may guess the aim

Question 44

✪ Why is standardisation particularly important in IGD?

Answer 44

Different participants must experience same procedures

Question 45

✪ Why does matched pairs improve internal validity compared to IGD?

Answer 45

Participants are matched on relevant variables