Comprehensive Guide to Experimental Design and Causality

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts related to experimental design and causality, providing definitions and explanations that are essential for understanding the material.

Internal Validity

The degree of confidence that a study's conclusion about a cause-and-effect relationship is accurate and not influenced by other factors.

External Validity

The extent to which research results can be generalized to other settings and populations.

Random Assignment

The process of randomly allocating participants to different groups to avoid self-selection bias.

Independent Variable

The variable thought to influence or cause variation in another variable; it is manipulated by the researcher.

Dependent Variable

The variable that is thought to depend on or be influenced by the independent variable; it is measured in the study.

Control Group

The group that does not receive the experimental treatment and serves as a baseline for comparison.

Treatment Group

The group that receives the experimental manipulation in an experiment.

Post-Test Design

An experimental design that measures the dependent variable after treatment, without a pre-test.

Repeated-Measurement Design

An experimental design involving multiple measurements before and after treatment to assess immediate and long-term effects.

Field Experiments

Experiments conducted in natural settings where the researcher manipulates one or more independent variables but lacks control over group membership.

Spuriousness

A situation where two variables appear to be related, but a hidden third variable influences both, creating a false relationship.

Peer Review

The process in which experts evaluate a scholarly work for quality, validity, and contribution before it is published.

Selection Bias

Differences between groups in a study that are not due to random assignment, which can distort results.

Maturation

Natural changes in subjects over time that could affect study results.

Demand Characteristics

Situations where participants change their behavior due to assumptions about the study's purpose.

Causation vs. Correlation

Causation indicates that one variable directly affects another, while correlation means two variables are related but do not necessarily affect each other.