Research Methods (5)
operationalising
to put variables into practice by making them measurable
standardisation
making sure procedures used in research are the same for every participant to ensure the jnternal validity of the study
what is internal validity
Whether the results are caused by the variables being studied, not by something else.
what is external validity
Whether the results can be generalised beyond the study. (ecological and population validities)
ecological validity
Can findings apply to real-life settings for example using a real life task not sometjing you would never do in real life
population validity
Can findings be generalised to other groups of people for example across cultures, genders, ages and races
temporal validity
Whether findings are still true over time.
what is a lab experiment
an experiment conducted in an artificial and controlled environment
what is a natural experiment
experiments conducted in a natural environment where the researcher observes an event that would happen regardless of wether or not its being observed (researcher doesnt manipulate independent variable)
what is a field experiment
an experiment conducted in a natural environment but the researcher still manipulates the independent variable
reliability
the consistency of a measure
validity
the extent to which the study is measuring what its supposed to measure
questionnaires
a pre prepared list of questions that can be open ended (qualitative) or closed (quantitative)
what is a case study
an in-depth investigation of a single individual, group or event
overt observation
participants know theyre being studied
covert observation
participants dont know theyre being studies
participant observation
the researcher becomes a member of the participant group to observe behaviour from an insider perspective
non-participant observation
researcher observes participants without becoming part of the group