Research Methods - Chapter 6

Research design

A general plan for implementing a research strategy. A _______ _________ specifies whether the study will involve groups or individual subjects, will make comparisons within a group or between groups, or specifies how many variables will be included in the study.

novelty effect

A threat to external validity that occurs when individuals participating in a research study (a novel situation) perceive and respond differently than they would in the normal, real world.

Sensitization

a threat to external validity, where the process of measurement (assessment procedure) can alter participants so that they react differently to treatment.

A journal article reports that a new teaching strategy is very effective for first-grade students. A teacher wonders if the same strategy would be effective for a class of third-grade students. What is the teacher questioning? a. The external validity of the report b. The internal validity of the report c. The reliability of the report d. The accuracy of the report

a. The external validity of the report

Which of the following questions can be addressed with the descriptive strategy? a. What is the average number of text messages that a typical adolescent sends in a month? b. Is there a relationship between the number of text messages that adolescents send each month and the number of pages of leisure reading done by adolescents? c. Does decreasing the number of text messages sent by adolescents cause an increase in number of pages read for leisure? d. None of these questions can be addressed with this strategy

a. What is the average number of text messages that a typical adolescent sends in a month?

Experimental research studies tend to have very _______ internal validity but often have relatively _______ external validity. a. high; low b. low; high c. high; high d. low; low

a. high; low

Confounding variable

an extraneous variable (usually unmonitored) that changes systematically along with the two variables being studied. A _______ ______ provides an alternative explanation for the observed relationship between the two variables and, therefore, is a threat to internal validity

threat to internal validity

any factor that allows for an alternative explanation - environmental variables - participant variables (individual variables) - time-related variables

Quasi-experimental research strategy

attempt to produce a cause and effect explanation, but fall short - measures before/after scores for one group that receives treatment and for a different group that does not receive the treatment - treatment may cause a reduction in smoking behavior, but the reduced smoking may be caused by something else.

Cues given to participants about how they are expected to behave define which of the following terms? a. Reactivity b. Demand characteristics c. Experimenter bias d. Volunteer bias

b. Demand characteristics

Results from a research study suggest that a stop-smoking program is very successful. However, the participants who volunteered for the study were all highly motivated to quit smoking and the researcher is concerned that the same results may not be obtained for smokers who are not as motivated. What kind of validity is being questioned? a. Internal validity b. External validity c. Experimental validity d. Validity of measurement

b. External validity

How can sensitization threaten external validity of a study? a. The results may be limited to the novel situation of the research study. b. The results may be limited to individuals who have experienced a pretest. c. The results may be limited to individuals who have experienced a series of different treatment conditions. d. The results may be limited to participants taking on different subject roles.

b. The results may be limited to individuals who have experienced a pretest.

The degree to which your research results generalize beyond the specific characteristics of your study refers to a. internal validity. b. external validity. c. general validity. d. reliability

b. external validity.

Nonexperimental research strategy

produce a description of the relationship between two variables but do not attempt to explain the relationship - measures scores for two different groups of participants or for one group at two different times - ex. a relationship between gender and verbal ability, girls tend to have higher verbal skills than boys, but we don't know why.

Correlational research strategy

produce a description of the relationship between two variables but do not attempt to explain the relationship - measures two variables (two scores) for each individual in the group being studied - There is no relationship between facebook time and GPA for college student, but we don't know why

Threats to External Validity *-Category 3: generalizing across features of the measures

•Sensitization •Generality across response measures •Time of measurement

What are three different kinds of generalization, each of which can involve threats to external validity?

-Generalization from a sample to the general population -Generalization from one research study to another -Generalization from a research study to a real-world situation

Research procedure

An exact, step-by-step description of a specific research study. - exactly how the variables will be manipulated, regulated, and measured. - exactly how many individuals will be involved. - exactly how the individual participants or subjects will proceed through the course of the study

Threat to external validity

Any characteristic of a study that limits the ability to generalize the study's results

Threats to External Validity

Any characteristic of the study that limits the generalizability of the results •Three general categories -Category 1: generalizing across participants or subjects -Category 2: generalizing across features of a study -Category 3: generalizing across features of the measures

What do research designs require?

Decisions about three basic aspects of the research study: 1. Group versus individual 2. Same individuals versus different individuals 3. The number of variables to be included •Provide a general framework for conducting studies

Descriptive research strategy

Describes individual variables Obtains a snapshot (a description) of specific characteristics of a specific group of individuals Data is usually in the form of averages or percentages, a list of scores obtained by measuring each individual in the group being studied Ex. On average, students at the local college spend 12.5 hours studying outside of class each week and get 7.2 hours of sleep each night.

Research strategy

General approach to research determined by the kind of question that the research study hopes to answer.

internal validity

It it produces a single, unambiguous explanation for the relationship between two variables.

Experimental research strategy

Produces a cause-and-effect explanation for the relationship between two variables. - creates two treatment conditions by changing the level of one variable, then measuring a second variable for the participants in each condition. - ex. increasing the amount of exercise cause a decrease in cholesterol levels

Exaggerated variables

Researcher should be cautious about generalizing the result of a study with exaggerated variables

Category 1

Strategies that examine individual variables - Descriptive --Numerical data: analyzed by a statistical calculation of the mean score --Nonnumerical data: evaluated by a report of the percentage associated with each category

Category 3

Strategies that examine relationships between variables by comparing two (or more) groups of scores - Experimental - Quasi-experimental - Nonexperimental -- All involve comparing groups of scores. ---Use similar statistical techniques (e.g., t-tests, analysis of variance, and chi-square tests)

Category 2

Strategies that examine relationships between variables by measuring two (or more) variables for each participant - Correlational --Numerical scores: analyzed with a correlation calculation (e.g., the Pearson correlation) --Nonnumerical data: evaluated using chi-square test

multiple treatment interference

a threat to external validity that occurs when a set of findings results only when participants experience multiple treatments in the same experiment (fatigue, practice)

What aspect of a study is threatened if the participants are tested in one treatment condition at one time and then tested in a second treatment condition at a different time? a. Internal validity b. External validity c. Reliability d. Accuracy

a. Internal validity

Artifact

an external factor that may influence or distort measurements -Experimenter bias -Demand characteristics and participant reactivity

extraneous variable

any variable in a research study other than the specific variables being studied

Which of the following is a general plan for implementing a research strategy? a. A research procedure b. A research design c. A research study d. A research protocol

b. A research design

Which of the following describes a variable that exists in a study but is not being directly examined? a. Independent b. Dependent c. Extraneous d. External

c. Extraneous

A study examining the relationship between humor and memory compares memory performance scores for one group presented with humorous sentences and a second group presented with nonhumorous sentences. The participants in one group are primarily 8-year-old students and those in the second group are primarily 10-year-old students. In this study, age is potentially a(n) ________ variable. a. independent b. dependent c. extraneous d. confounding

d. confounding

Threats to External Validity *Category 2: generalizing across features of a study

•Novelty effects •Multiple treatment interference -Fatigue -Practice •Experimenter characteristics

Threats to External Validity *Category 1: generalizing across participants or subjects

•Selection bias •Overutilizing college students •Volunteer bias •Participant characteristics •Cross-species generalizations

External validity

-The extent to which the results of a research study can be generalized

What are the phases of developing a research study?

1. Research strategy 2. Research design 3. Research procedure

A researcher measures mood for a group of participants who have listened to happy music for 20 minutes and for a second group who have listened to sad music for 20 minutes. If different mood scores are obtained for the two groups, the researcher would like to conclude that music influences mood. However, the happy music group was tested in a room painted yellow and the sad music group was in a room painted dark brown and the researcher is concerned that the room color and not the music may influence mood scores. What kind of validity is being questioned? a. Internal validity b. External validity c. Experimental validity d. Validity of measurement

a. Internal validity

A research study attempts to describe the relationship between self-esteem and birth order position by measuring self-esteem for each individual in a group of first-born boys, and then comparing the results with self-esteem scores for a group of later-born boys. Which research strategy is being used? a. Nonexperimental b. Correlational c. Experimental d. Quasi-experimental

a. Nonexperimental