Research issues Flashcards
(13 cards)
What is an extraneous variable?
Any variable, other than the independent variable, that may affect the dependant variable if it is not controlled. EVs are essentially nuisance variables that do not vary systematically with the IV - the only thing that should influence the DV is the IV
Extraneous variables can be subdivided into what two groups?
Participant variables and situational variables
Describe participant variables and give examples
Any individual differences between participants that may affect the DV (age, personality, motivation, intelligence, concentration, gender)
Describe situational variables and give examples
Any features of the experimental situation that may affect the DV (noise, weather, instructions, temperature, time of day)
What are confounding variables?
A kind of EV but the key feature is that a confounding variable varies systematically with the IV. Therefore we can’t tell if any change in the DV is due to the IV or confounding variable
Give an example of a confounding variable using red bull
The Red Bull energy drink experiment
We have 20 participants in total and decide to use the first 10 to arrive in the Red Bull condition (the other 10 drink water)
However, the first 10 have just seen Taylor Swift arrive in the building next to them and they are all very excited
The problem now is that we have added the variable of emotion in our experiment
Those in the Red Bull group are now already excited and this could explain the changed in the DV rather than the energy drink
What are demand characteristics?
A cue from the researcher or from the research situation that may be interpreted by participants as revealing the purpose of an investigation. This may lead to a participant changing their behaviour within the research situation
What is participant reactivity?
A significant extraneous variable in experimental research and is hard to control
In research situations participants may want to work out what’s going on and this may make them ‘second guess’ what the experimenter’s intentions are
Participants may also look for clues to tell them how they should behave in the experimental situation
Because of this, the participants behaviour is not longer natural - an extraneous variable may affect the DV
What are the two ways participants may act in participant reactivity?
The ‘please-U’ effect, where they may act in a way that they think is expected and over perform
The ‘screw-U’ effect, where they may deliberately underperform to sabotage the results of the study
What are investigator effects?
Any effect of the investigator’s behaviour (conscious or unconscious) on the research outcome (the DV). This may include everything from the design of the study to the selection of, and interaction with, participants during the research process
Give an example of an investigator effect
During the Red Bull investigation the experimenter may be inclined to smile more while counting the words of the Red Bull group - this behaviour may unconsciously encourage a greater level of chattiness
Leading questions are another good example of the power of investigator effects
What is randomisation?
The use of chance methods to control for the effects of bias when designing materials and deciding the order of experimental conditions
Examples:
In a memory test the word list should be randomly generated
When participants are involved in a number of different conditions, the conditions should be randomly determined
What is standardisation?
Using exactly the same formalised procedures and instructions for all participants in a research study
To ensure that the research is standardised all participants should be subjected to the same environment, information and experience
Standardised instructions should be read to each participant with a list of exactly what will be done in the study
