Reaserch design

• Experimental research:

  • establishing cause-effects relationships by conducting experiments
  • must include dependant and independant variables
  • control and experimental groups
• Non-experimental Research:

  • cannot control, manipulate or alter the predictor variables or subjects.
  • instead relys on interpretation, observation or interactions to come to a conclusion
  • cannot be cause-effect e.i. X causes Y
• observational study:

  • involves indervidual observing another indervidual or group of people in a natural environment, and recording information about the behaviour they witness.
  • relys of observers interpretation therefore subject to observer bias
• Case studies:

  • in-depth investigations of a singe person, group, event or community
  • reaserch may continue for exptended period of time, so processes and developments can be studied as they happen
  • e.g Phineas Gage
• Sample:

  • the collection of participants from the population you will be studying
• Population:

  • the entire group of people belonging to a particular catagory of reaserch interest.
• Convenience sampling:

  • involves selecting participants off reaserches accessability to them, or the participants availability.
  • e.g sampling only one class at a school
• Random sampling:

  • employs carefully planned and systematic method of selecting participants for a study
  • ensures every member of a population has an equal change of being selected for the sample
  • e.g pulling names out of a hat
• stratified sampling:

  • involves breaking population into 'strata', or groups basses on characteristicts they share
  • once divided participants randomly selected from each strata
  • should represent population and be in same ratio as they are in population.
• Snowballing:

  • __________
• Random allocation of participants:

  • a technique that ensures that every member of the sample has an equal chance of being assigned to either of the groups used in the experiment
• extraniouse variables:

  • any variable other than the IV that can cause change in the results
  • unwanted effect of experiments
• Confounding variables:

  • when an EV has a confounding effect on the results.
• Experimenter effect:

  • the difference in how the experimenter treats the participants due to an EV.
• Demand characteristics:

  • they EV that can effect the coutcome of the study
  • they are cue that may nudge participants to consciously or unconsciously change theur responses
  • can be front, rumors about study, study procedure, study setting etc
• ways to minimuse effects of EV and confounding variables:

  • random allocation of participants
  • single-blind procedures
  • standardisation of proceduces and instructions