| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Evaluation apprehension | Concern felt by research participants that their performance is being judged. |
| Independent variable (IV) | Variable the experimenter manipulates |
| Dependent variable (DV) | Variable the experimenter measures |
| Extraneous variables | Variables that can affect behaviour of participants in a research study |
| Laboratory experiment | Artificial environment where experimenter can manipulate the IV and accurately measure the DV |
| Field experiment. | Natural environment with independent variable manipulated by researchers. |
| Natural experiment | Naturally occuring changes in independent variable are investigated - it is not manipulated. |
| Inter-rater reliability | the extent to which ratings from two researchers agree with eachother |
| Independent measures design | Testing separate groups of people, each group is tested in a different condition. |
| Repeated measures | Testing the same group of people in different conditions, the same people are used repeatedly. |
| Matched pairs | Testing separate groups of people - each member of one group is same age, sex, or social background as a member of the other group. |
| Counterbalancing | Alternating the order in which participants perform in different conditions of an experiment. For example, group 1 does 'A' then 'B', group 2 does 'B' then 'A' this is to eliminate order effects. |
| Pilot study | a smaller, preliminary study that makes it possible to check out standardised procedures and general design before investing major time and money in the study. |
| Social desirability bias | the tendency to provide answers that show a person acts in a socially acceptable way rather than giving honest answers on questionnaires or in interviews |
| Researcher bias | the researcher reads information into the responses of participants based on their own expectations |
| Researcher effects | Researcher affects the behaviour of the participants, thus affecting the results of the study. For example they might unwittingly communicate their expectations to the participants through small changes in body language or tone of voice. |
| Correlation co-efficeient | the number that expresses the extent to which two variables are related or vary together, and the direction (positive or negative) of this relationship. |
| Co-variables | the variables involved in a corrleational study that may vary together (co-vary) |
| Participant covert | Observation method where the observer is part of the group but observees do not know it |
| Participant overt | Observation method where the observer is part of the group and observees know they are being observed |
| Non-participant covert | Observation method where the observer is not part of the group and observees do not know they are being observed |
| Non-participant overt | Observation method where the observer is not part of the group and observees know they are being observed |
| Likert scale | Asking respondants to use a response scale to record their answer on a questionnaire |
| Verbal protocol | A record of what people think as they perform a task so their mental processes can be analysed |
| Data triangulation | Collecting data over different times, locations and participants |
| Investigator triangulation | Using multiple researchers to collect information for analysis |
| Theory triangulation | Using theories from more than one perspective in the interpretation of data |
| Methodological triangulation | Using more than one method to investigate a single issue |
| Alternative hypothesis | Hypothesis that states that results are not due to chance and that they are significant in terms of supporting the idea being investigated. |
| Mean | A measure of central tendency. All values in a set of data are added together and divided by the number of values (N). |
| Counterbalancing | Alternating the order in which participants perform in different conditions of an experiment. |
| Double-blind design | Neither the participants nor the experimenter know which condition people are in. |
| Event sampling | Keep a tally chart of each time a type of behaviour occurs. |
| Hypothesis | A precise, testable statement or prediction about the expected outcome of an investigation. |
| Median | A measure of central tendency. The middle value is the median. |
| Mode | A measure of central tendency. The most frequent value or score in a set of data. |
| Null hypothesis | Hypothesis that states results are due to chance and are not significant in terms of supporting the idea being investigated. |
| One-tailed hypothesis | A directional hypothesis in which the direction of results is predicted. |
| Opportunity sampling | Uses people from target population who are available at the time. |
| Point sampling | Focus on one individual at a time for set period of time. |
| Qualitative research | Gathers information that is not in numerical form. |
| Quantitative research | Gathers data in numerical form |
| Random sampling | Everyone in the entire target population has an equal chance of being selected. |
| Range | Simple measure of dispersion - shows the total spread of data. |
| Single-blind design | Participants do not know which condition (experimental or control) they are in. |
| Stratified sampling | Divides target population into groups, people in the sample are from each group in same proportions as population. |
| Systematic sampling. | Chooses subjects in a systematic way. |
| Time sampling | Observations may be made at regular time intervals and coded. |
| Correlation | measures strength of relationship between variables. |
| Experiment | Independent variable is manipulated while others controlled, to see effects on a dependent variable. |
| Interview | Face to face interaction used to gain in-depth information and individual views |
| Naturalistic observation | Watching behaviour as it occurs spontaneously, in a natural setting. |
| Questionnaire survey | A snapshot of large number of people's attitudes, opinions or behaviour gained through written answers |
| Ecological or external validity | the extent to which findings of a research study can be applied to real life situations. |
| Investigator effects | the effect of the investigator's expectations on the response of a participant |
| Demand characteristics | features of a research situation that help participants guess what is expected of them and lead them to change their behaviour. |
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