Descriptive, Correlational, or Experimental
A research study aims to understand how reading to children at an early age might impact their language acquisition. The researcher does the initial interview & screening, does another interview & screening after 6 months, & then does a screening at one year. The researcher looks at how increasing access to literature increases vocabulary & language.
Correlational Research
Define the purpose of descriptive research without using the word describe.
answers may vary...
What is the purpose of correlational research?
to show relationship
What is the purpose of experimental research?
To determine cause & effect.
Anything that can change within the experiment is called a...
variable
A researcher wants to study the number of community college students that plan to continue their educational endeavors into a bachelor’s degree, or even a master’s degree. The researcher sends a poll to students to obtain basic demographic data & information about their plans for further schooling via multiple choice options.
Descriptive Research
A researcher watches several children playing through a two-sided mirror to see how they interact based on their developmental level. This represents what kind of descriptive research?
Observation
Generally, if a student spends more time studying, their grades will go up. What correlational coefficient could reflect this relationship?
+.75-1.00
What is the variable that the researcher controls?
independent variable
Once you have made observations of a psychological phenomenon, you look at all of your ideas together, & form a _______________ to explain your observations.
Theory
A research study aims to research habit formation. The research participants are mice. The researcher administers different levels of shock to observe how quickly mice learn the difference between a black box & a white box. One group of mice receives no shock, another group of mice received a low shock, another received a moderate shock, & the last received an intense shock.
Experimental Research
After engaging in a therapeutic group, each participant receives a ________________, that has them rate & review their experience.
survey
If two variables have no relationship, what would the correlational coeffecient be?
0
A researcher comes up with a hypothesis that 30 minutes of daily exercise & mindfulness will reduce levels of depression. What would be the dependent variable in this hypothesis?
levels of depression
If results from research can be generalized to an entire population, this means the experiment has what?
Validity
A researcher interviews veterans after they have completed treatment. The researcher asks in-depth questions about the course of treatment, has them rate their therapist, & whether the treatment was effective for them.
Name three ways to gather data for descriptive research
interview, survey, observation, case study
A researcher wants to understand the relationship between school attendance and academic performance. They find that students that have the highest attendance rates also have the highest academic performance. What correlational coefficient might represent this relationship?
+1.00
A researcher believes that consuming melatonin prior to sleep will increase positive sleep patterns.
What is the independent variable?
What is the dependent variable?
What is the control group?
What is the experimental group?
dependent variable - positive sleep patterns
control group - no melatonin
experimental group - melatonin
The best way to reduce the impact of bias in experimental research is to conduct a _____________________________ experiment.