Psychology Science Skills

what is an aim

how the IV impacts the DV

name all the variables

• independent (IV) - the thing that you are changing

• dependent (DV) - the thing that you are measuring

• controlled - the thing that stays the same

what are extraneous variables

variables that could affect the DV but are not the focus of the study

(when answering you must explain how it impacts the study)

what is a correlation

not controlling anything just looking at what happened (not manipulating or making a scientific experiment)

what is a causation

researcher is running an experiment to see how the change in on variable directly impacts change in another

pros and cons of qualitative data

pros = detailed and gives depth

cons = not great for comparison, takes a while to evaluate and summarize

pros and cons of quantitative data

pros = good for comparison and easy to summarize

cons = is not as in depth and detailed

what is accuracy

how close a measurement is to the true value of what is being measured.

closer to the TV = more accurate

further away from TV = less accurate

what is true value

the perfect value of something being measured

what is precision

how closely the data is with each other

example:

2,4,3,5,4,2 - high precision

10,1,4,8,22,31 - low precision

what is repeatability

the ability to produce the same results under the same conditions (same setting, participants, researcher)

same results = high repeatability

different results = low repeatability

what is reproducibility

the ability to produce the same results when carried our under different conditions

same results = high reproducibility

different results = low reproducibility

2 types of validity

1. internal

2. external

what is internal validity

the extent to which the investigation measures what it claims to

• the less EV’s, bias and inaccuracy the better the internal validity

what is external validity

the extent to which results can be applied so similar individuals in different settings

• if it cant be applied to people out side the conditions then there is low external validity

what are all the ethical considerations (5)

1. beneficence

2. integrity

3. respect

4. justice

5. non-maleficence

what is beneficence

ethical consideration

minimizing harm and maximizing benefits of the study, ensuring the benefits outweigh the harm

what is integrity

an ethical consideration

ensuring honest reporting of all results and data

what is respect

ethical consideration

considering all the needs and aspects of participants such as culture, age, gender, beliefs

what is justice

ethical consideration

no unfair burden on any participants

what is non-maleficence

ethical consideration

minimizing the harm and caring for the welfare of participants

list the ethical guidelines (6)

1. withdrawal rights

2. use of deception

3. confidentiality

4. voluntary participants

5. debriefing

6. informed consent

what is withdrawal rights

ethical guideline

giving participants the ability to discontinue and remove themselves from the experiment at any time

what is use of deception

ethical guideline

deception must be outlined briefly before and participants are able to have questions answered at the end of the experiment

what is confidentiality

ethical guideline

keeping results and participant details private and protected

what is voluntary participation

ethical guideline

there is no pressure and participants have the ability to choose freely to participate

what is debriefing

ethical guideline

the aim results and conclusion of experiment must be debriefed along with any questions. additionally any support or counselling should be offered to participants who have been harmed.

what is informed consent

ethical guidelines

the participant must understand the nature of the experiment such as the procedures, aim and risks, and voluntarily agree and sign.

they also need to be cognitively and mentally able to understand and agree (Alzheimer’s)

If U18 then a parent must do so for them.

what are the 3 experimental designs

1. between subjects

2. within subjects

3. mixed design

what is a between subjects design & example

• break apart into conditions

participants are allocated to only one condition (matched or not matched)

e.g - one does controlled (sugar pill) one does independent (0.5 ml of melatonin pill)

what is a within subject design & example

• wooo here we go again

participants complete both (or all) conditions

e.g - both groups do a controlled week (sugar pill) and a week with 0.5 ml melatonin pill

what’s a mixed designs experiment & example

• a mix of both conditions

participants are in both conditions for part of the experiment and in separate conditions for a related but different part of the experiment

e.g - both do controlled group for a week (sugar pill) then one group does a pill with 0.5 ml of melatonin in the 2nd week and the other does 0.3 ml

pros and cons of between subjects design (2:2)

pros =

• no order effects (participants only do one condition, so no practice or fatigue issues)

• faster and less demanding for participants (only complete one condition)

cons =

• individual differences may affect results (different people in each group = confounding variables)

• requires more participants (one group per condition)

pros and cons of within subjects design (2:3)

pros =

• controls for individual differences (same people in all conditions = more accurate comparison)

• requires fewer participants (because each person does all conditions)

cons =

• order effects (practice, fatigue, or boredom can affect performance)

• risk that participants may guess aim after first condition

• higher drop-out risk (because it takes longer, as same people must do all conditions)

pros and cons of mixed design (1:2)

pros

• balances strengths of both designs, such as fewer participants than between subjects

cons =

• more complex to set up and analyze

• potential for order effects if participants still repeat conditions for some factors, so fatigue/practice/finding aim can occur

what’s a confounding variable

a third variable in a study that influences both the IV and DV, potentially impacting the relationship between them.

Its basically an EV that isn’t accounted for, but it can effect results

define / what is a controlled experiment

is an investigation that looks at the effects of an independent variable on a dependent variable whilst controlling for all other variables

what makes a controlled experiment (how to answer this style question on test)

• experimenters systematically manipulated IV

• to determine its effects on DV

• while controlling all other variables

Note = make specific to experiment (list IV and DV and what they controlled e.g. time allowed to sleep)