science inquiry - formulating research, participant selection & evaluation of research

Question 1

aim

Answer 1

identifies the purpose of the research in a concise statement of what the research is trying to find out

Question 2

independent variable

Answer 2

condition the experiment manipulates

Question 3

dependent variable

Answer 3

variable that is measured due to a change in the independent variable

Question 4

controlled variables

Answer 4

do not change

Question 5

extraneous variables

Answer 5

any variable other then the independent variable that can cause a change in the dependent variable

Question 6

participant, extraneously

Answer 6

any way a participant varies from another participant (mood, intelligence)

Question 7

environment, extraneously

Answer 7

aspects of the environment that can affect the participant (noise, temperature)

Question 8

researcher, extraneously

Answer 8

characteristics of the researcher and the behaviour towards the participant

Question 9

confounding variable

Answer 9

as a consequence of extraneous variables not being controlled, a confounding variable can make it impossible to determine a casual relationship between the independent and dependent variables

Question 10

hypothesis (general)

Answer 10

testable prediction about the relationship between variables

Question 11

directional hypothesis

Answer 11

predicts the nature and direction of the effect between the variables

Question 12

non-directional hypothesis

Answer 12

predicts that the independent variable will have a directionless effect on the dependent variable

Question 13

inquiry question

Answer 13

central question and multiple sub-questions to connect data

Question 14

experimental research design

Answer 14

used to establish cause & effect relationships by manipulating variables. strengths of establishing a casual relationship, allows control of extraneous variables & prevents confounding variables. however may not be feasible or ethical

Question 15

control group

Answer 15

a group of participants who are not affected by the independent variable in order to produce a measurable baseline

Question 16

non-experimental research design

Answer 16

examines pre-existing relationship between two variables. observes and analyses trends. strengths of cheapness, can view naturally occurring situation that would be unethical/impractical to text. however cannot establish a casual relationship between variables

Question 17

case study research design

Answer 17

an in depth study on the behaviour of an individual, usually with a unique condition. strengths are information provides considerable study and allows for descriptive information. however it cannot be generalised, and difficult to replicate

Question 18

sample

Answer 18

smaller group of participants selected from the characteristics of the larger population

Question 19

population

Answer 19

larger group of research interest from which a sample is drawn

Question 20

convenience sampling

Answer 20

people that are readily available to the researcher, usually psychology students. allows for efficiency and a large sample when lacking funding, however makes it difficult to generalise and may not be representative

Question 21

snowball sampling

Answer 21

current participants are asked to recruit more participants, usually when sample is hard to reach. strengths of increasing response rate and sample size, however it is weakened by being hard to generalise and creates privacy issues

Question 22

random sampling

Answer 22

sample where every member of the population has an equal chance of being chosen

Question 23

stratified sampling

Answer 23

puts the population into “stratas” or groups based on shared characteristics and a random sample is selected from each strata. strengths of representing a wider population and can be generalised. unfortunately is time consuming and difficulty.

Question 24

quantitative data

Answer 24

numbered or categorical data, easily analysed. either objective or subjective data

Question 25

qualitative data

Answer 25

data that describes change, usually expressed in words and is always subjective. rich detailed data that can be difficult to analyse

Question 26

objective data

Answer 26

information that is observable, measurable, verifiable & free from personal bias

Question 27

subjective data

Answer 27

based on personal opinion, interpretation, point of view, or judgement. provides insides into thoughts, but difficult to compare and is often biased or inaccurate

Question 28

reliability

Answer 28

extent of consistent results of an assessment tool, reduces chances of outliers

Question 29

internal reliability

Answer 29

whether a test is consistent within itself

Question 30

external reliability

Answer 30

whether the measure is stable over time or between people

Question 31

test-retest

Answer 31

consistency of results over time, given as the correlation

Question 32

inter-rater

Answer 32

will the assessment tool yield the same result when used by a different experimenter?

Question 33

validity

Answer 33

extent to which an assessment tool measures what it intends to measure

Question 34

internal validity

Answer 34

validity of whether effects are due to the manipulation of the independent variable

Question 35

external validity

Answer 35

extent to which results can be generalised

Question 36

generalisability

Answer 36

extend to which results or findings are applicable to a broader population via controlling variables and being reliable & valid

Question 37

experimenter effect

Answer 37

any influence a researcher would have on results of research from interactions with participants or unintentional errors of observation. experimenter's personal characteristics directly affect the behaviour of the participants. their procedural errors (often based on predictions about results) don't effect results, but do distort findings

Question 38

demand characteristics

Answer 38

cues participants perceive during a study that leads them to believe they have discovered the aim of the study or expectations of the experimenter. leads to participants unintentionally behaving to fit the hypothesis

Question 39

observational research design

Answer 39

involves observing & recording behaviour or phenomena without manipulating any variables, participants are in their most natural settings and researchers observe day to day activities. strength of high external validity as researchers can study behaviours and phenomena in their natural environment, but limited by no cause & effect relationship and more subject to experimenter effect/bias

Question 40

correlational research design

Answer 40

designed to measure the correlation between two existing traits, behaviours or events. strengthened by allowing investigation of naturally occurring variables which may be unethical to test experimentally and gives insides about the strength of the relationship. weakened by no established cause & effect relationship

Question 41

longitudinal research design

Answer 41

researchers study and gather data from the same cohort of participants over a period of time to track developmental changes. strengths are allowing researchers to track changes over time, and controls for cohort differences. limited by sample size possibly diminishing as people drop out, and time consuming as researchers must persevere with the research for an extended period of time

Question 42

cross-sectional research design

Answer 42

researchers study and collect data from different cohorts of participants at the same time, looking at age differences/developmental changes. advantages of being efficient (not having to wait), cost efficient, less likely to lose participants over time, but disadvantaged by research possibly being affected by cohort effect, and unable to directly trace development over time

Question 43

random allocation

Answer 43

assigning participants to different groups via random processes to ensure true randomness. used in experimental research to ensure experimental and control groups are equal before the IV. used in non-experimental research assign participants to different conditions/groups. strengths of preventing any selection bias experimenter may have (experimenter effect) and increases validity from other interfering variables. limited by requiring more time and effort, and differences between groups will still occur

Question 44

standardisation of procedures and instructions

Answer 44

techniques used for making observations and measuring responses should be identical for all participants and all participants should be treated the same way, as appropriate to the experimental condition (experimental or control group) to which they have been assigned to. instructions given to all participants for each condition should be predetermined and identical in terms of what they state and how they are administered. goal is to minimise any differences among participants that might occur within the experiment itself

Question 45

placebo effect

Answer 45

placebos are a fake treatment used as a control condition in experiments, known as the placebo effect. a clinically significant response to an inert substance or nonspecific treatment (placebo) deriving from the recipient's expectations or beliefs regarding the intervention

Question 46

single blind procedures

Answer 46

participants do not know whether they are in the experimental or control group. minimises demand characteristics, but doesn't impact experimenter effect

Question 47

double blind procedures

Answer 47

neither participant nor experimenter knows which group is the control or experimental. decreases demand characteristics and experimenter effect