Control

What are control groups? (3)

When there is no experimentation, provides a baseline for comparison against results from the experimental group, to see whether there is a significant difference in the condition where the independent variable is introduced

How is control applied through the standardisation of materials and procedure? (3)

materials are kept the same or equivalent for each condition, for example giving researchers a script to follow, this controls for variations in instructions given to participants that may otherwise affect the dependent variable

What are order effects? (5)

when a participant takes part in one condition after another condition, this affects the participants performance in each condition, relevant only to repeated measured design, due to practice causing improvement, or boredom causing diminishing performance

How are order effects controlled? (4)

counterbalancing, where half the participants take part in condition A first then condition B second, the other half of the participants take part in condition B first then condition A second, so when results are collated order effects should cancel out

What are demand characteristics? (2)

The effects of a participant guessing the true aim of the experiment, more likely in repeated measures design

How are demand characteristics controlled? (2)

using independent groups or matched pairs design instead, or by deceiving participants about the true aim of the experiment

What are participant variables? (2)

individual differences between participants, most evident in independent groups design

How are participant variables controlled?

By choosing either repeated measures design or matched pairs design instead, you can also reduce the effects of participant variables by using random allocation

What is randomisation? (4)

any method reducing the number of decisions the researcher is making, substituting the researcher’s choices with chance, to control the effect of researcher bias, for example by random allocation

What is random allocation?

a type of randomisation where participants are allocated to each condition using chance

What is the double blind procedure? (3)

double blind procedure is where both the researcher and participant are unaware of which condition the participant is in, another researcher observing is aware, but no one in direct contact with the participant is aware

What is the aim of the double blind procedure? (2)

the double blind procedure reduces researcher bias, by removing hints that the participant may notice about which condition they are in

What is necessary if the condition is obvious through observation?

more control measures may be needed to maintain the double blind procedure