The loss of participants over time which could lead to a biased sample, or a sample which is too small

Behaviour Checklist

A list of the behaviours to be recorded during an observational study.

A systematic method for recording observations in which individual behaviours are given a code for ease of recording.

One group of participants (cohort) may have unique characteristics because of time-specific experiences during their development such as being a child during the Second World War. This can affect both cross-sectional studies (because one group is not comparable with another) or in longitudinal studies (because the group studied is not typical).

An individual in a study who is not a real participant and has been instructed how to behave by the investigator/experimenter. May act as the independent variable.

A kind of observational study in which behaviour is observed indirectly in written or verbal material such as interviews, conversations, books, diaries or TV programmes. Behaviour is categorised (qualitative analysis) and may be counted (quantitative analysis).

In an independent groups experiment, a group of participants who receive no treatment. Their behaviour acts as a baseline against which the effect of the IV may be measured.

A controlled experiment conducted outside a laboratory. The IV is manipulated by the experimenter, therefore causal relationships can be demonstrated. Particpants are not aware of being studied.

   The extent to which there is agreement between two or more observers involved in observations of a behaviour. This is measured by correlating the observations of two or more observers. A general rule is that if (total number of agreements) / (total number of observations) > 0.80, the data have high inter-observer reliability.

  A research method or technique that involves a face-to-face, ‘real-time’ interaction with another individual and results in the collection of data.

    The effect of an interviewer’s expectations, communicated unconsciously, on a respondent’s behaviour.

Anything that the investigator/experimenter does which has an effect on a participant’s performance in a study other than what was intended. This includes direct effects (as a consequence of the investigator/experimenter interacting with the participant) and indirect effects (as a consequence of the investigator designing the study).

 The effect that an investigator/experimenter’s expectations has on the participants and thus on the results of a research study.

  An experiment carried out in a controlled setting.  Experiments tend to have high internal validity and low external validity though this isn’t always true. Participants know they are being studied.

    Observation of the same items over a long period of time. Such studies usually aim to compare the same individuals at different ages, in which case the IV is age. A longitudinal study might also observe a school or other institution over a long period of time.

 A researcher looks at the findings from a number of different studies in order to reach a general conclusion about a particular hypothesis.

Refers  to how a study mirrors the real word. The simulated task environment is realistic to the degree to which experiences encountered in the environment will occur in the real world.

    A research method carried out in a naturalistic setting, in which the investigator does not interfere in any way but merely observes the behaviour(s) in question though this is likely to involve the use of structured observations.

    Predicts simply that there will be a difference between two conditions or two groups of participants, without stating the direction of the difference (experiment), or that two variables are related without telling you the direction of the relationship (correlation).

     In observational studies, there is the danger that observers might ‘see’ what they expect to see. This reduces the validity of the observations.

Questions that invite the respondents to provide their own answers rather than select one of those provided. Tend to produce qualitative data.

 A general term used to acknowledge the fact that participants react to cues in an experimental situation and that this may affect the validity of any conclusions drawn from the investigation.

Characteristics of individual participants (such as age, intelligence, etc.) that might influence the outcome of a study.

 Expresses the ‘quality’ of things – descriptions, words, meanings, pictures, texts and so on. Qualitative data cannot be counted or quantified but it can be turned into quantitative data by placing them in categories.

   Data that represent how much or how long, or how many, etc. there are of something; i.e. a behaviour is measured in numbers or quantities.

   A measure of consistency both within a set of scores or items (internal reliability) and also over time such that it is possible to obtain the same results on subsequent occasions when the measure is used (external reliability). The reliability of an experiment can be determined through replication.

  Participants should have the right to withdraw from participating in a study if they are uncomfortable in any way, and should also have the right to refuse permission for the researcher to use any data they produced.

    A tendency for respondents to answer questions in such a way that presents them in a better light.

     The interview starts out with some general aims and possibly some questions, and lets the interviewee’s answers guide subsequent questions.

     An observer records all relevant behaviour but has no system. This technique may be chosen because the behaviour to be studied is largely unpredictable.

    A sample of participants produced by a sampling technique that relies solely on volunteers to make up the sample.

   Factors in the environment that could affect the dependent variable such as noise, time of day and also the behaviour of an investigator.

    A sample of participants produced by selecting people who are most easily available at the time of the study.

   The group of people that the researcher is interested in. The group of people from whom a sample is drawn. The group of people about whom generalisations can be made.

     A method of obtaining a representative sample by selecting every 5th or 10^tth person. This can be a random sample if the first person is selected using a random method; then you select every 5^th or 10^th person after this.

    A type of research design in which the participant is not aware of the research aims or of which condition of the experiment they are receiving.

    Refers to how a study mirrors the real world. The simulated task environment is realistic to the degree to which experiences encountered in the environment will occur in the real world.

     A  statistic that describes patterns in the data, e.g. mean, median and mode. 

      Participants are matched in terms of key variables such as age and IQ. One member of each pair is placed in the experimental group and the other member in the control group.

    A research method or technique that involves a face-to-face, ‘real-time’ interaction with another individual and results in the collection of data.