Research methods Flashcards
What is a hypothesis ?
Clear and testable statement that states a relationship between variables being tested.
What is the difference between directional and non directional hypotheses ?
Directional states the direction of difference or relationship that will be found in the study whereas non directional does not.
What is operationalism ?
Clearly defining variables in a way that can be measured.
What is an extraneous variable ?
Anything other than the IV that might effect the DV if not controlled.
What is a confounding variable ?
A type of extraneous variable that interferes directly with the outcome of a study.
Evaluate independent group design.
Confounding differences between pps that decrease validity. So researches may need to use random allocation.
Less economical, twice as many pps needed.
Order effects not present.
Evaluate repeated measures.
Each pp has to do at least 2 tasks for it to be significant.
Counterbalancing used to overcome order effects. Some pps do one task first and the others do a different task first. (fatigue and practice).
Demand characteristics likely.
Evaluate matched pairs design.
PPs never identical.
Time consuming and expensive.
Evaluate lab experiments.
High control over confounding and extraneous variables. High internal validity.
Replication more possible so can check for reliability.
Lack generalisability, artificial tasks used (low external validity).
Demand characteristics ore likely.
