Download Study Guide for Exam 3 Psychology 3500 What is the difference

Study Guide for Exam 3
Psychology 3500
What is the difference between and experiment and a quasi-experiment?
What is an independent variable; a factor in an experiment; a “condition” in an experiment a
“treatment”? Levels of a factor? Be abe to identify examples of levels of a factor.
Know two key elements of good experimental design: 1) for comparing groups of participants
on different conditions or factors---random assignment of participants to the groups; 2)
administer all factors or conditions to all participants (within-subjects design)
What is meant by prospective or longitudinal research? Can longitudinal research be found in
both true, experimental, as well as nonexperimental studies?
What is an interrupted time series study and what does it lack, compared to true experiments?
How is a “time series study” alike or different from a between-groups study, versus withingroups?
What is a stratified random sample? You will be asked to provide a good approach to
developing a stratified random sample. For example, how would you obtain “a stratified random
sample of all 4th grade children in a state. You know that the state is into 20 counties and each
county has one school district. However, within each county might be a city and if it is greater
than 80,000 population, it has its own school district that is separate from the county they are
located in. Describe how you would sample.
What types of things are being “controlled” in a true experiment? Be able to list the ways that
true experiments are different from nonexperiments.
What exactly is the internal validity of an experiment?
What are a few major threats to internal validity that experimenters must avoid?
If you were given an example of an experiment, could you identify what the factors of the
experiment were, and the levels of the factors?
What are the attributes of an ideal, experimental control group?
What is a “within-subjects” design, compared to a “between-subjects” design?
What are some alternative labels or names for such designs?
Exactly how is a within-subjects design superior to a between-subjects design?
What are order and sequence effects and what are ways of controlling for such effects?
What is meant by a treatment carry over effect?
What is a sensitization effect (in within-subjects designs)?
Could you identify an example of counterbalancing? Can you explain why it is used?
Can you define block randomization?
What is a classic Latin squares design? If the instructor presented you with an empty Latin
squares chart and provided you with the within subject factors e.g., 4 types of music and (7) days
of the week, could you fill in the Latin squares to represent an appropriate order of presenting the
within-subject factors?
Can you give an example of a true experiment involving multiple conditions, tested withinsubjects?
Be able to provide examples of single group, post-test only designs and highlight their serious
limitations.
On this exam, you will be provided with graphs and charts of data representing the results of
factorial designs. (We spent time in class examining 8 different outcomes from a 2X2 factorial
design with regard to main and interaction effects.) You will be asked to declare whether main
effects for particular facators or interaction effects are present, based on each graph/chart.
If main effects AND interaction effects are present in an experiment, why is a researcher
primarily interested in just the interaction effect?
You should be able to identify interrupted time series designs based on graphical representations
of data. You should be able to interpret the results of such data representations.
An interrupted time series design is analogous to which type of single subject experimental
design?
What is a cross-sequential design? What are the key elements of such a design? What is the
problem of time-lag effects in such a design?
What is a changing criterion design? When can or should it be used, versus other single case
designs?
Exactly why is an ABAB single case experimental design generally superior to an AB design?
What phenomena or variables can be represented in multiple baseline design. Can you interpret
the findings of a graphical representation of such a design?
What is the difference between statistical significance and clinical significance?
Exactly why is a baseline important to a quality, single case experimental designs?
How is a traditional case study alike and different from a single case experimental design, such
as an ABAB design?
What are the key difference(s) between true experiments and quasi-experimental designs?
What is a “subject variable”?
What is the most common type of quasi-experimental design?
What is a nonequivalent control group design?
You should understand what types of pre and post-test similarities and differences allow a quasiexperiment result to be interpretable.
What is a time series design; can it be considered a within-subjects design?
What exactly, is technically meant by researchers when they discuss a “secular trend”?
How do researchers conduct an empirically based literature review by use of meta-analysis e.g.,
comparing a large number of treatment outcome studies?
What is an ‘effect size’?
What is a reasonable approach to finding a common, standardized measure of an outcome, if
you are trying to evaluate a large number of studies on a topic, using a similar design?