research methods: 1

Question 1

definition of aims

Answer 1

general statements that describe the purpose of an investigation/what the researcher intends to study

Question 2

definition of hypothesis

Answer 2

a clear, precise, testable statement that states the relationship between the variables investigated

Question 3

definition of a non-directional hypothesis

Answer 3

states there will be a difference between the 2 conditions (used when theres no past research to indicate which direction it’ll go or past research is contradictory)

Question 4

definition of a directional hypothesis

Answer 4

specifies what direction the effect will be and includes the IV and DV

Question 5

definition of extraneous variables

Answer 5

any variable other than the IV that may have an effect on the DV if not controlled (doesn’t vary systematically with the IV)

Question 6

definition of co-founding variables

Answer 6

any variable other than the IV that may have an unintentional effect on the DV (varies systematically with the IV)

Question 7

definition of participant variables

Answer 7

individual differences between participants e.g. age, gender, personality

Question 8

definition of situational variables

Answer 8

features of an experiment situation that can affect the DV e.g. noise, weather
work around it by randomly allocating ppts across conditions

Question 9

definition of counterbalancing

Answer 9

a technique that tries to control order effects when participants do both conditions of a study e.g. half the ppts do C1 then C2, other half do C2 then C1
(doesn’t eliminate but attempts to balance out)

Question 10

definition of randomisation

Answer 10

when researcher uses chance in order to control effects of bias when designing research

Question 11

definition of standardisation

Answer 11

ensuring all ppts in a study are subjected to the same environment, info, instructions to ensure no changes in procedure

Question 12

definition of demand characteristics

Answer 12

when ppts figure out the aim of the study and change their behaviour to fulfil the researchers (ppt reactivity)

Question 13

definition of investigator effects

Answer 13

when the researcher gives unconscious clues that encourages certain behaviours

Question 14

definition of a single blind design

Answer 14

where ppts aren’t aware of the researchers aims and/or the condition they’re assigned to

Question 15

definition of a double bling design

Answer 15

where both the ppts and the researcher are unaware of the aims so they can’t lead ppts to behave in a particular way

Question 16

definition of a control group

Answer 16

a group to use as a baseline to compare two conditions

Question 17

definition of an experiment

Answer 17

the manipulation of an IV to measure the effect on the DV

Question 18

definition of validity

Answer 18

how legitimate something is

Question 19

definition of internal validity

Answer 19

whether the IV produced a change in the DV

whether the researcher tested what they set out to test

Question 20

definition of mundane realism

Answer 20

how an experiment mirrors the real world

Question 21

definition of ecological validity (external validity)

Answer 21

how true to life the experimental method used is

Question 22

what’s a pilot study?

Answer 22

a small scale “trial run” of the investigation that ultimately saves money by allowing them to check materials/procedures and outline any problems with the study so they can adapt for the real thing