Experiments

Question 1

Lab experiment

Answer 1

an experiment conducted in a controlled environment

Question 2

Field experiment

Answer 2

an experiment conducted in a natural environment with the IV being manipulated by the researcher

Question 3

Quasi experiment

Answer 3

an experiment conducted (in a natural or lab setting) where the researcher has no control over the IV

Question 4

Control condition

Answer 4

a level of the IV where everything is kept the same without anything being manipulated

Question 5

Independent variable

Answer 5

the variable manipulated by the researcher

Question 6

Dependent variable

Answer 6

the variable measured by the researcher

Question 7

Extraneous variable

Answer 7

any variable other than the IV affecting the DV

Question 8

Independent measures design

Answer 8

separate groups of people for each level of the IV
usually a control group and an experimental group

Question 9

Repeated measures design

Answer 9

all participants take part in all the conditions

Question 10

Matched groups/pairs design

Answer 10

participants are tested in terms of variables relevant to the study
participants are then matched and one member of each pair goes in each group

Question 11

Controls

Answer 11

anything in an experiment kept the same across all conditions to prevent it from interfering with the results

Question 12

Order effects

Answer 12

a byproduct of using a repeated measures design
the order of the conditions having an effect on the participants behaviour

Question 13

Counterbalancing

Answer 13

a technique used to deal with order effects in a repeated measures design
divide the participants into two groups and have each group perform a slightly different task, so that any imbalance in the task is canceled out

Question 14

Demand characteristics

Answer 14

cues that might indicate the study aims to participants

Question 15

Researcher effects

Answer 15

when a researcher influences the outcome of any research they are conducting

Question 16

Single blind trial

Answer 16

when the participants don’t know the aims of the experiment

Question 17

Double blind trial

Answer 17

when the participants and the researcher don’t know the aims of the experiment

Question 18

Researcher bias

Answer 18

when the researcher’s expectations influence the experimental design or data collection process

Question 19

Alternative hypothesis

Answer 19

statement of a relationship between variables (there is a difference)

Question 20

Null hypothesis

Answer 20

statement of no relationship between variables (there is no difference)

Question 21

Two tailed alternative hypothesis

Answer 21

an alternative hypothesis with no direction stated

Question 22

One tailed alternative hypothesis

Answer 22

an alternative hypothesis with a direction stated

Question 23

Operationalisation

Answer 23

making variables clearly defined and measurable

Question 24

Target Population

Answer 24

the people you would like to study

Question 25

Sample

Answer 25

subset of target population which aims to be representative of that population

Question 26

Opportunity sampling

Answer 26

selecting people that are available in that moment

Question 27

Self - selected sampling

Answer 27

participants volunteer themselves for the study

Question 28

Random sampling

Answer 28

putting all members of the target population into a lottery method so that every member has an equal chance of being selected

Question 29

Snowball sampling

Answer 29

asking a group of participants to recruit other participants

Question 30

Primary data

Answer 30

data collected first hand by the researcher

Question 31

Secondary data

Answer 31

data collected by someone other than the researcher

Question 32

Qualitative data

Answer 32

data in words

Question 33

Quantitative data

Answer 33

data in numbers

Question 34

Measures of dispersion

Answer 34

Range - lowest score minus highest score Standard deviation - the spread of scores around the mean

Question 35

Variance

Answer 35

a measure of how much values in a data set differ from the mean squared

Question 36

Standard deviation

Answer 36

a measure which shows how much the values in the data differ from the mean unsquared

Question 37

Informed consent

Answer 37

Researchers should obtain consent from the participants

Question 38

Debrief

Answer 38

After the research is over, the aims, procedure and findings should be able explained to the participants

Question 39

Protection from harm

Answer 39

Participants should not be placed in any significant danger

Question 40

Deception

Answer 40

Participants should not be deliberately misled about the aims of the study

Question 41

Confidentiality

Answer 41

Participants and the data obtained from them should be kept anonymous

Question 42

Right to withdraw

Answer 42

Participants have the right to leave at any time in the study and remove their data

Question 43

Measures of central tendency

Answer 43

Mean Median Mode

Question 44

Raw data table

Answer 44

Table showing the data collected in the study before it has been processed by measures

Question 45

Descriptive characteristics

Answer 45

An observational research method