Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

Research Methods > Experiments > Flashcards

Experiments Flashcards

(65 cards)

Start Studying
1
Q

What is a control condition?

A

A condition that doesn’t experience manipulation, in order to create a baseline result to be compared against.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What are the three types of experiments?

A

Laboratory, Field and Quasi

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is a laboratory experiment?

A

Where the IV is manipulated by the researcher, and the experiment is usually carried out in a setting away from the participants normal environment.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is a field experiment?

A

Where the IV is manipulated by the researcher, but is carried out in normal environments.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What are quasi experiments?

A

Where the IV is naturally occurring, e.g cloudy vs sunny conditions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What are the strengths of Lab experiments?

A

-High controls, easy to replicate.
-We can be sure that the IV is the factor affecting the DV

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What are the weaknesses of Lab experiments?

A

-Low ecological validity due to artificial settings
-Artificial setting may not resemble real life, so behaviour may be artificial

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What are the strengths of Field experiments?

A

-higher ecological validity due to more realistic settings
-Behaviour more true to life because of more realistic settings

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What are the weaknesses of Field experiments?

A

-Lack of control, can’t assume that only the IV is influencing the DV. Risk of EV
-May be ethical issues if participants are unaware they’re being studied

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What are the advantages of quasi experiments?

A

–Can study the effects of variables that researchers can’t manipulate
-High levels of ecological validity due to the naturally occurring IV

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What are the disadvantages of quasi experiments?

A

-Very difficult to replicate due to naturally occurring IV
-Lack of control, may be confounding variables influencing the results

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What are the three types of experimental design?

A

Repeated measures, Independent measures, Matched participants

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What is the difference between experiment type and experimental design?

A

Experimental design is moreso to do with how participants are allocated, whereas experiment type is how the variables are allocated

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is a repeated measures design?

A

Where the same people are used in every condition

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is an independent groups design?

A

Where different people are used in each condition

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is a matched participants design?

A

Different people in each condition, but participants are as similar as possible on key characteristics, done by testing and matching them on similar similar scores, and then seperating the two into each group to get balanced conditions.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What are the strengths of repeated measures design?

A

-No participant variables as the same participants are in each condition
-Only need half the number of participants to get the same number of results as other designs

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What are the disadvantages of repeated measures designs?

A

-Order effects can affect the results of the conditions
-To avoid order effects, additional test materials of identical difficulty may be needed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What are the advantages of independent measures design?

A

-No risk of order effects as participants only do the task once
-Possible to use the same task in each condition, controlling for EV’s

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What are the disadvantages of Independent measures designs?

A

-Results can be affected by participant variables, as there are different people in each condition, so there will be individual differences
-Twice as many participants needed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What are the strengths of Matched pairs design?

A
  • No order effects as participants only do the tests once
    -Participant variables are not an issue as they are matched on relevant characteristics
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What are the weaknesses of Matched Pairs design?

A

-More complicated as participants need to be pretested and matched so they can be evenly distributed to each condition
-Twice as many participants needed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What is a participant variable and give an example.

A

Participant variables are characteristics of an individual participant that may influence the results. For example, experience

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What is a situational variable and give an example.

A

Situational variables are features of a research situation which may influence a participants behaviour and therefore the results. For example, order effects, environmental factors and demand characteristics

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
What is a single blind procedure.
When participants do not know the aim of the study
26
What is a double blind procedure
When both the participants and the people carrying out the research don't know the aim of it.
27
Why may a double blind procedure be used?
To avoid researcher effects.This is where researcher behaviour may encourage participants to act certain ways. Eliminates researcher bias
28
What is an alternative hypothesis?
Predicts that the IV is likely to affect the DV
29
What is a null hypothesis?
Predicts that the IV will not have an effect on the DV. Any difference seen is down to chance factors.
30
What is a two tailed hypothesis?
Predicts that the IV will have a significant effect on the DV, but doesn't suggest which direction the effect will take.
31
What is a one tailed hypothesis?
Predicts that the IV will have a significant effect on the DV, but also the direction the effect will go in.
32
What is operationalising a variable?
The process of making variables physically testable or measurable. For example, Healthy and unhealthy people can be operationalised as "eats 5 a day or more" "eats less than 5 a day"
33
What is the target population?
The group of people the researcher is interested in studying
34
What is a sampling method?
The ways in which a researcher gathers people from within the target population to take part in their study
35
What is a sample?
The group of participants gathered for research
36
What is self selecting sampling?
When people volunteer to take part, normally through adverts, posters or leaflets
37
What is opportunity sampling?
When people are gathered by selecting those most readily available at a given time and place selected by the researcher
38
What is random sampling?
Each member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected. For example, take a name out of a hat.
39
What is snowball sampling?
When participants are asked to contact friends and family to participate, so on so forth
40
What are the strengths of self selected sampling?
- participants are usually aware of the purpose of the research, so consent is gathered -participants are likely to show up, especially with incentive
41
What are the weaknesses of self selected sampling?
-Biased based on who volunteers/ where you advertise -Possible time and cost from advertising -May not get may volunteers
42
What are the strengths of opportunity sampling?
-Convenient as you are selecting people there at the time
43
What are the weaknesses of opportunity sampling?
-Biased based on who the researcher selects. -Less ethical as participants may feel pressured/ obligated to take part
44
What are the strengths of random sampling?
-More representative as everyone has an equal chance of being selected
45
What are the weaknesses of random sampling?
-Difficult to get the names of everyone in the target population -May not be willing to take part
46
What are the strengths of snowball sampling?
-Fairly easy to recruit a large sample, as all you need to do is recruit the first few people
47
What are the weaknesses of snowball sampling?
-May be more likely to get friends of participants with similar characteristics -May not gather enough participants
48
What are the benefits of a small sample?
Easy to manage on a practical level
49
What are the benefits of a large sample?
May be able to allow the researcher to claim a consistent effect.
50
What are the four ethical principles?
Respect, competence, responsibility, integrity
51
What are the six ethical considerations
Consent, Right to withdraw, confidentiality, protection from harm, debrief, deception
52
Define consent
Consent should be gathered from participants so they know and agree to what they're participating in. Parents can give consent for really young children.
53
Define Right to withdraw
At any time, participants should have the right to leave the study and withdraw their data.
54
Define confidentiality
Participants have the right to keep their data completely anonymous, and it should not in any way have a reference to them
55
Define protection from harm
No matter what, participants should be protected from mental and physical harm.
56
Define debrief
The participant should leave the study in the same state of mind as they entered. Debriefs should reveal the aim, and remove and deception
57
Define deception
Often it is not possible to gain fully informed consent, as it may lead to researcher bias or demand characteristics, so deception can be kept to a minimum, and the real situation should be revealed as soon as possible.
58
What is primary data?
Data gathered DIRECTLY by the researcher
59
What is secondary data?
Data that already exists, that is used by the researcher to support their research
60
What is quantitative data?
Measurements of things that can be used easily in comparison or that can be graphed. e.gNumbers, raw data, percentages.
61
What is qualitative data?
Qualities of things. Usually in the form of descriptions, words, pictures etc.
62
What is required for a bar chart?
Separated bars, a clear title, labelled X and Y axis. Y axis starts at zero
63
What are the measures of dispersion?
The range, the variance, standard deviation
64
How do you calculate variance?
-Calculate mean score per condition -For each participants, subtract their score from the mean -square the result for each participant -find the sum of the d-D^2 for each condition -Then do that result/ n-1. (n= number of participants per condition)
65
What is the variance?
A measure of dispersion that indicate how spread apart the data is within each condition from their mean scores

Research Methods (5 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions