key science skills

Question 1

Independent variable

Answer 1

variable being manipulated

Question 2

Dependent variable

Answer 2

variable being tested

Question 3

Confounding variables

Answer 3

unwanted variables that HAVE affected the DV. EVs that weren’t controlled.

Question 4

Extraneous variables

Answer 4

unwanted variables that MAY affect the DV.

Question 5

Controlled variables

Answer 5

a variable held constant to ensure that the only influence on the DV is the IV

Question 6

Random sampling

Answer 6

ensures every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected to be part of the sample

Question 7

Advantages of random sampling

Answer 7

representative population

Question 8

disadvantages of random sampling

Answer 8

• time consuming
• need a complete list of the target audience

Question 9

stratified sampling

Answer 9

a sampling technique involving sampling from different subgroups in the same proportions as they occur in the population of interest

Question 10

advantages of stratified sampling

Answer 10

• enables the researcher to sample specific groups for comparison purposes
• high representativeness

Question 11

disadvantages of stratified sampling

Answer 11

• time consuming
• needs a complete list of the population

Question 12

experimental group

Answer 12

the group that undergoes the experimental condition/s

Question 13

control group

Answer 13

the group that doesn’t undergo the experimental condition/s and is used as a baseline

Question 14

within subjects design

Answer 14

each participant is in both the experimental and control groups/all conditions

Question 15

between subjects design

Answer 15

each participant is assigned to only one group or condition and provides only one score

Question 16

mixed design

Answer 16

an experimental design that combines the features of the within subject and between subjects designs

Question 17

advantages of within subject groups

Answer 17

• better at controlling participant variables
• small sample required

Question 18

disadvantages of within subject groups

Answer 18

• doesnt necessarily control all variables
• participant dropout rate

Question 19

advantages of between subject groups

Answer 19

• low participant dropout rate
• can be done on one occasion

Question 20

disadvantages of between subject groups

Answer 20

• large number of participants needed
• less control over participant variables

Question 21

advantages of mixed design

Answer 21

• has strengths of within subjects and between subjects
• fewer participants are needed
• more precise results

Question 22

disadvantages of mixed design

Answer 22

time consuming

Question 23

participant variables

Answer 23

personal characteristics of a research participant that could influence their responses

Question 24

situational variables

Answer 24

external factors associated with the experimental setting that may influence responses

Question 25

demand characteristics

Answer 25

cues in an experiment that may influence or bias a participant’s response

Question 26

experimenter effects

Answer 26

any influence on the results produced by the person carrying out the research

Question 27

placebo effects

Answer 27

when there is a change in a participant’s behaviour due to their belief that they are receiving an experimental treatment and they respond according to this rather than to the effect of the independent variable

Question 28

order effects

Answer 28

when performance on the dependent variable is influenced by the specific order of an experiment rather than the independent variable

Question 29

single blind procedure

Answer 29

a procedure in which participants are unaware of the experimental condition they are in

Question 30

double blind procedure

Answer 30

a procedure where both the participants and the experimenter are unaware of the conditions allocated to participants

Question 31

systematic errors

Answer 31

errors in data that differ from the true value by a consistent amount

Question 32

random errors

Answer 32

errors in data that are unsystematic and occur due to chance

Question 33

personal errors

Answer 33

include mistakes, miscalculations, and observer errors when conducting research

Question 34

repeatability

Answer 34

the degree to which a specific research investigation obtains similar results when it's conducted again under the same conditions every time

Question 35

reproducibility

Answer 35

how close the results are to each other when an investigation is replicated under changed conditions

Question 36

validity

Answer 36

the extent to which psychological investigations truly support their findings

Question 37

internal validity

Answer 37

the extent to which an investigation truly measures or investigates what it claims to do

Question 38

external validity

Answer 38

the extent to which the results of an investigation can be applied to similar individuals in different settings

Question 39

Accuracy

Answer 39

How close it is to the true value of the quantity being measured

Question 40

Precision

Answer 40

How closely a set of measurement values agree with each other