Unit 3 and 4 VCE PSYCHOLOGY Exam Revision

beneficence - answer-ethical value promoting research that maximises possible benefits of the research, while minimising risks of harm or discomfort to the participants Biased sample - answer-a research sample in which everyone in the target population does not have an equal chance of being selected Case study - answer-an in-depth investigation of behaviour or event in an individual, a small group or a situation Conclusion - answer-a decision or judgement about the meaning of the results of a research investigation Confidentiality - answer-participants in research must not be identified in terms of test results, study involvement or confidential data Confounding variable - answer-a variable other than the independent variable that has an unwanted effect on the dependent variable, making it impossible to determine which of the variables produces the change in the dependent variable Control condition - answer-the condition in an experiment in which the independent variable is absent or the participants are treated differently to those in the experimental group/condition; it is a standard of comparison for the experimental condition control group - answer-the group of participants in an experiment that is not exposed to the independent variable; it provides a standard against which the performance of the experimental group can be compared in order to determine the effects of the independent variable on the dependent variable Convenience sampling (opportunity sampling) - answer-selecting participants who are readily available without any attempt to make the sample representative of a population Counterbalancing - answer-arranging the order that the conditions of a repeated-measures experiment are experienced by participants so that each condition occurs equally often in each position; commonly used to control order effects Debriefing - answer-informing participants of the true purpose of an experiment once it has ended; correcting mistaken attitudes or beliefs; providing the opportunity to gain information about the study; providing information about services to help with distress resulting from participation Deception - answer-when information about the true purpose of a study is not given to participants before a study begins Dependent variable (DV) - answer-a variable in an experiment that is observed or measured and is expected to change as a result of the manipulation of the independent variable (essentially, the participant's response) Descriptive statistics - answer-statistics used to analyse, organise, summarise and describe important features of data so that they can be more easily interpreted and communicated Double - answer-blind procedure - a procedure in an experiment to ensure that the participants and the researcher directly involved with the participants are unaware of the conditions to which the participants have been allocated Ethics - answer-standards that guide individuals to identify good, desirable or acceptable conduct Experiment - answer-a research method used to test a hypothesis under controlled conditions in order to measure the effects of an independent variable(s) on a dependent variable(s) Experimental condition - answer-the condition in an experiment in which the independent variable is present; may also be used to refer collectively to all the conditions of the experiment Experimental group - answer-the group of participants in an experiment that is exposed to the independent variable Extraneous variable - answer-any variable other than the independent variable that can cause a change in the dependent variable and therefore affect the results of the experiment in an unwanted way Generalisation - answer-a decision or judgement about how widely the findings of a study can be applied Hypothesis - answer-in research, a tentative and testable prediction of the relationship between two or more events or characteristics; see also operational hypothesis Independent variable (IV) - answer-the variable in an experiment that is systematically changed or varied by the experimenter in order to measure its effect on the dependent variable