Lecture notes Psychology Research Methods

Research Methods- Dr Menna Price : Variables

Variable- Something that alters and whose changes can be measured
Example e.g
● Height
● Weight
● Time

Example experiment- Relationship between temperature and amount of sweat people
produce.

Independent Variable- Thing you change
Dependant Variable- thing you measure
Extraneous Variable- Other stuff that might affect dependent variable

Confound- Specific type of extraneous variable
● Acts on our dependent variable alongside the independent variable
● May/may not have a measured confounding variable
● Not be sure changes in the dependant variable due to independent variable
● Try to limit confounds by controlling experiment

Observational Experiment-
● Natural- recorded in a natural setting
● Controlled- behaviour controlled in a laboratory setting
● Participant- observer has direct contact with participants
● Non participant- Does not have direct contact with participants
● Field- conducted in everyday environment, but situations are artificial

Pros and Cons of Observational Experiments
Pros-
1. Good for exploratory ideas
2. High ecological validity
Cons-
1. Low Reliability
2. Scale
3. Low internal validity
4. Experimenter bias
5. Hathwron effect