Booklet 1 RM

Define hypothesis

A precise and testable statement made at the start of the study, clearly stating the relationship between variables

Define aim

A general statement covering the topic/theory that will be investigated that identifies the purpose of research

What is a one-tailed hypothesis also known as?

A directional hypothesis

What is a two-tailed hypothesis also known as?

A non-directional hypothesis

Describe a directional hypothesis

Predicts the direction of the difference in conditions ie. states that one condition will out-perform the other

Describe a non-directional hypothesis

Does not predict the direction of the difference in conditions ie. it simply precious that a difference will be shown

Describe a null hypothesis

The idea that the IV will not affect the DV

Null hypothesis wording

There will be no significant difference across conditions

Describe a lab experiment

Conducted under controlled conditions, researchers deliberately change the IV to see its effect on the DV

Give the strengths of using lab experiments

Can establish cause + effect relationship between IV and DV - high internal validity

Use of standardised procedure - research is replicable

Control over extraneous variables

Give the limitations of using a lab experiment

Lacks ecological validity - due to use of artificial tasks so difficult to generalise findings

Demand characteristics may limit generalisability of findings which lowers the external validity of the study

Describe a field experiment

Carried out in a natural setting, in which the researchers manipulate the IV to see its effect on the DV

Give the strengths of using a field experiment

Degree of artificiality is reduced making participants act more naturally, making them high in external validity

Participants less likely to experience demand characteristics due to relaxed environment which increases validity

Give the weaknesses of using field experiments

Less control so extraneous variables more likely to interfere reducing the reliability

Describe a quasi experiment

Doesn’t manipulate IV, uses naturally occurring phenomena eg. performance of girls compared to boys in a test of emotional intelligence

Give the strengths of using quasi experiment

Results in high external validity due to lack of manipulation of IV

Can be replicated with participants that match the original sample in terms of demographics

Give the limitations of using quasi experiments

Participant variables as participants cannot be randomly allocated to conditions, making it difficult to determine causality - reduces reliability

Lacks internal validity as there could be other factors that could explain the results

What is a pilot study?

A small scale trial that are run to test some of all aspects of the proposed investigation

When and why are pilot studies conducted?

Before the research, to identify any issues which could arise/cause problems further down the line

Give some examples of problems that could be identified by by pilot studies

Ethical issues, feasibility issues, if it is unreliable or invalid

Describe an independent groups design

Participants only experience one condition of the IV

Give the strengths of using an independent groups design

Demand characteristics unlikely to act as confounding variables as people taking part in only one conditions means they are less likely to guess aim of the study

Eliminates order effects as participants will not become tired, bored or overly practiced at the task

Give the limitations of using an independent groups design

Participant variables may affect validity of findings, as if more ppts. with particular characteristics are all randomly allocated to one conditions - presents an unfair playing field as not true measure of IV’s effect on DV

More participants needed may be impractical and lead to smaller sample size

Describe a repeated measures design

Participants experience all conditions of the IV

Which experimental designs generate related data?

Repeated measures and matched pairs

Which experimental design generates unrelated data?

Independent groups

Give the strengths of a repeated measures design

Participant variables not an issue as each ppt’s performance is measured against their own in the other condition

Fewer participants needed so less problematic for research to find sufficient participants willing to take part

Give the limitations of a repeated measures design

Demand characteristics may become a confounding variables as ppts may guess the aim and act accordingly, reducing internal validity

Order effects may arise if not controlled for which lowers the validity, as researchers cannot be sure that the IV has affected the DV or that results were due to other factors

Describe a matched pairs design

Participants are matched based on specific characteristics or variables that are importante for the research they are taking part in

Give the strengths of using a matched pairs design

Almost factors out individual differences as a confounding variable

Reduced demand characteristics as participants only take part in one condition so less likely to guess aim of study

Give the limitations of using a matched pairs design

Matching is difficult and time consuming and it’s often impossible to matched participants across all criteria, even well-matched participants can have different levels of motivation, skill or ability

If one person drops out, researcher has to find someone very similar to replace them which is problematic and could slow down research cycle, and funding for research could be removed if there is a timeline involved

What is an independent variable?

Only variable that should be changed or manipulated throughout an experiment

What is a dependent variable?

Factor which is measured in the study to assess the effect of the IV

What is an extraneous variable?

Any factors that intrude upon and adversely affect the DV that are not the IV

What is a confounding variable?

Unmeasured third variable that influences both the IV and DV, must be correlated with IV and causally related to DV

define operationalisation

turning abstract concepts into measurable observations eg, operationally defining social anxiety in terms of self-rating scores, behavioural avoidance of crowded places or physical anxiety symptoms in social situations

how would you operationalise the IV?

need to set up and define each condition so it is clear that a difference between the conditions is being investigated

how would you operationalise the DV?

need to design a procedure which enables relevant and appropriate data to be recorded per participant with no ambiguity involved

what are demand characteristics?

cues or signals in an experimental setting that hint to the participants about the experimenter’s expectations or aim of the research, that may cause them to subsequently change their behaviour

describe how you could deal with demand characteristics

use a double-blind procedure

describe how you would carry out a single-blind procedure

participants should not know which condition they have been assigned to, so they are not able to respond accordingly

what are investigator effects?

when the researcher’s presence/behaviour interferes with the research process and becomes a source of bias

give some examples of investigator effects

tone of voice, age, gender (they can all influence how participants interact and react to them)

describe how you could deal with investigator effects

use a double-blind procedure

describe how you would carry out a double-blind procedure

both researcher and participants do not know which condition each participant has been assigned to, so that the researcher is not able to exercise any forms of bias during procedure/when analysing results

define randomisation

the process of introducing randomness or variability into a system or experiment in order to eliminate bias

give an example of randomisation

random allocation of participants across different conditions

define standardisation

using the same formalised procedure and instructions for all participants so that an identical procedure is set up

what does standardisation allow research to do?

be replicable (making it reliable)

describe random allocation

assigning participants to conditions at random eg. pulling names out of a hat

define counterbalancing

a technique used to deal with order affects when using a repeated measures design

describe how you would carry out counterbalancing

participant sample is divided in half, with one half completing the 2 conditions in one order, and the other half completing conditions in the reverse order

Define a population

An entire group of people with specified characteristics

Define a representative sample

A subset of the target group with a similar distribution of relevant characteristics, allowing us to generalise from the sample to the target group with some justification

Describe random sampling and how it could be done

method that gives every member of the target group an equal chance of being selected for the sample

eg, by assigning a number to each member, and then selecting from the pool using a random number generator

Give the strengths of random sampling

Since each member has the same probability of being selected, there is a reasonable chance of achieving a representative sample

Give the weaknesses of random sampling

Can be impractical to use a completely random technique eg, target group may be too large to assign numbers to

Small minority groups within target population may distort results

Describe systematic sampling and how it could be done

Researchers select members of the population at regular intervals determined in advance

eg, every 4th person from a list

Give the strength of systematic sampling

Assuming the list order has been randomised, gives an unbiased chance of gaining a representative sample

Give the weakness of systematic sampling

If list assembled wasn’t random, bias may be present eg, if every 4th person in list was male, you would only have males in your sample

Describe stratified sampling and how it could be done

The target group is divided into sections, each showing a key characteristic that should be present in the final sample, then each of those sections is from randomly (sample should contain members from each key characteristic in a proportion representative of the target population)

Give the strengths of stratified sampling

Populatiom should be highly representative of the target population and we can generalise from results obtained

Give the weaknesses of stratified sampling

Would be extremely time-consuming and difficult to do

Care just be taken to ensure each key characteristic present in the population is selected across strata, otherwise this will design a biased sample

Describe opportunity sampling and how it could be done

Participants who are both accessible and willing to take part are targeted

eg, selecting a sample of students from those coming out of the library

Describe the strength of opportunity sampling

Easy and inexpensive

Describe the weakness of opportunity sample

Consequent sample may not be representative as it could be subject to bias eg, students at library may all be more academically inclined than a typical student

Describe volunteer sampling

Participants self-select to become part of a study, because they volunteer when asked or respond to an advert

eg, via an online advert or poster

Give the strengths of volunteer sampling

Can achieve a large sample size through reaching a wide audience, for example with online adverts

Give the weakness of volunteer sampling

Those who respond to the call for volunteers may all display the same characteristics (such as being more trusting or cooperative than those who did not apply) thus increasing the chances of yielding an unrepresentative sample