Paper 3

• What is a characteristic of a lab experiment?

  Researcher manipulates an independent variable
• Why is random allocation important in lab experiments?

  It increases internal validity
• What is a strength of lab experiments?

  High control over extraneous variables
• What is a limitation of lab experiments?

  Artificial environment may reduce ecological validity
• What is a characteristic of a quasi-experiment?

  Independent variable is naturally occurring
• Why does a lack of random allocation reduce internal validity in quasi-experiments?

  It makes it harder to rule out confounding variables
• What is a strength of quasi-experiments?

  Useful for studying ethically sensitive variables
• What is a limitation of quasi-experiments?

  Causal relationships are harder to establish
• What is a characteristic of a natural experiment?

  Independent variable occurs naturally in the environment
• Why is high ecological validity a strength of natural experiments?

  They study effects of real-life events
• What is a limitation of natural experiments?

  Low internal validity due to confounding variables
• What is a characteristic of a field experiment?

  Experiment takes place in a natural environment
• How does a field experiment balance control and realism?

  Behavior is more natural while allowing causal conclusions
• What is a limitation of field experiments?

  Harder to control extraneous variables
• What is a characteristic of a correlational study?

  No variables are manipulated
• Why is correlational data usually quantitative?

  It allows for statistical analysis
• What is a limitation of correlational studies?

  Cannot determine cause and effect
• What is a characteristic of a case study?

  Uses method triangulation for data collection
• Why are case studies usually longitudinal?

  They study individuals or events over time
• What is a limitation of case studies?

  Limited generalizability due to small samples
• What is a characteristic of naturalistic observation?

  Occurs in the participant’s real environment
• Why can overt observation lead to participant reactivity?

  Participants know they are being observed
• What is a limitation of observational studies?

  Hard to control variables and subjective data
• What is a characteristic of semi-structured interviews?

  Questions are flexible for in-depth exploration
• Why do semi-structured interviews include both open- and close-ended questions?

  To lead to richer data
• What is a limitation of semi-structured interviews?

  Time-consuming to conduct and analyze
• What is a characteristic of opportunity sampling?

  Participants are selected based on availability
• Why is opportunity sampling considered non-random?

  Not everyone has an equal chance of selection
• What is a limitation of opportunity sampling?

  May introduce sampling bias
• What is a characteristic of self-selected sampling?

  Participants choose to take part themselves
• Why might self-selected sampling lead to volunteer bias?

  Volunteers may differ from non-volunteers
• What is a limitation of self-selected sampling?

  May lead to volunteer bias
• What is a characteristic of random sampling?

  Every member has an equal chance of selection
• How does random sampling reduce selection bias?

  It makes the sample more representative
• What is a limitation of random sampling?

  Time-consuming and difficult to implement
• What is a characteristic of stratified sampling?

  Population is divided into relevant subgroups
• Why does stratified sampling increase representativeness?

  Participants are selected in proportion to subgroup size
• What is a limitation of stratified sampling?

  More complex and time-consuming
• What is a characteristic of snowball sampling?

  Participants help recruit further participants
• Why is snowball sampling useful for hard-to-reach populations?

  It builds trust and accesses difficult groups