4.2.3.1.2 Experimental designs, observational design and pilot studies Quiz: AQA Psychology, Unit 2

The 20 questions

1. In a repeated measures design:

   • Different participants are used in each condition, so no one is tested twice over
   • The researcher uses a naturally occurring event as the IV in each of the conditions
   • Participants are matched on key characteristics across conditions, with pairs made first
   • The same participants take part in every condition of the experiment

2. In an independent groups design:

   • Participants are paired on a key characteristic before they are placed in conditions
   • The same participants take part in every condition, so the design controls their differences
   • Behaviour is recorded at fixed time intervals throughout the whole observation period
   • Different participants are used for each condition of the experiment

3. In a matched pairs design:

   • Participants are chosen because they are available at the time the study is run each day
   • Behaviour is recorded continuously over time, with each observation logged as it happens
   • The same participant completes both conditions, with the order randomised for each person
   • Participants are matched on key characteristics, with one from each pair allocated to each condition

4. A pilot study is a small-scale trial that:

   • Is carried out only after the main study is published, to check the results later
   • Uses a large sample to confirm the main findings before they are published widely
   • Replaces the main study if the results are positive, so no further study is needed
   • Tests the procedure and materials before the main study is carried out

5. An order effect is most likely to occur in which design?

   • Repeated measures
   • Matched pairs with separate participants
   • Independent groups
   • Naturalistic observation

6. Event sampling in an observation involves:

   • Recording only the first behaviour in a session, and ignoring everything after it
   • Recording behaviour at fixed time intervals throughout the whole observation session
   • Recording each occurrence of a specified behaviour whenever it happens
   • Asking participants to record their own behaviour in a diary across the study

7. Time sampling in an observation involves:

   • Recording the whole session as a single summary of the events that took place
   • Asking participants to self-report their behaviour after each session has ended
   • Recording every occurrence of a behaviour as it happens in the natural setting
   • Recording behaviour in a set interval, such as every 30 seconds

8. A researcher counts the number of aggressive acts each child makes during a playground session. Which sampling method is used?

   • Time sampling
   • Matched pairs
   • Event sampling
   • Opportunity sampling

9. A researcher records the behaviour of each child every 10 seconds during a lesson. Which sampling method is used?

   • Time sampling
   • Volunteer sampling
   • Random allocation
   • Event sampling

10. Participants complete both conditions of a study, and the researcher worries about carry-over effects. Which solution is most appropriate?

    • Removing the control group from the design to simplify the comparison of results
    • Using a single condition for all participants so that no order effect can arise
    • Conducting a case study instead of an experiment, which avoids the problem completely
    • Counterbalancing the order in which participants complete the conditions

11. A researcher pairs participants on IQ and allocates one of each pair to each condition. Which design is this?

    • Independent groups with random allocation only
    • Repeated measures
    • Matched pairs
    • Naturalistic observation

12. Which problem is associated with using independent groups?

    • Participant variables may differ between groups, which could affect the results
    • Order effects are always strong, which means that the results can never be trusted
    • The design requires a naturalistic setting, so it cannot be run in any laboratory
    • Participants must complete every condition, so each person is tested several times

13. A pilot study reveals that participants find the instructions unclear. What is the most appropriate action?

    • Increase the sample size in the main study without changes
    • Remove the dependent variable from the study
    • Revise the instructions before the main study is carried out
    • Ignore the problem because pilots do not affect the main study

14. Which design avoids order effects but requires more participants for the same amount of data?

    • Matched pairs design
    • Time sampling method
    • Independent groups
    • Repeated measures design

15. Why does matched pairs design not eliminate all participant variables?

    • Matching removes every individual difference automatically, so no further control of participants is needed at all
    • Matched pairs always involve the same participants twice, so the design is really repeated measures
    • Participants can only be matched on the characteristics the researcher chooses, so other differences remain
    • Matching makes random allocation unnecessary, because the pairs already balance every characteristic in the study

16. Evaluate repeated measures design. Which conclusion is most accurate?

    • It is always more ethical than any other design, because no participant is ever exposed to risk
    • It needs fewer participants and controls participant variables, but order effects must be managed
    • It cannot be used with questionnaires, since the same people would become bored and unreliable
    • It needs more participants and avoids all order effects, because each person is tested only once

17. Which design uses the fewest participants to produce the same amount of data across conditions?

    • Case study
    • Independent groups
    • Matched pairs with four groups
    • Repeated measures

18. Behavioural categories in an observation must be:

    • Vague enough to cover many different behaviours, so that observers can include more events
    • Overlapping, so that behaviour is recorded more than once in the observation categories used
    • Clearly operationalised and mutually exclusive, so each behaviour fits one category only
    • Recorded by the participants rather than the observer, who checks them after the session

19. Why does a pilot study improve the reliability of the main study?

    • It identifies unclear procedures or measures that could produce inconsistent data
    • It removes the need for a control group, since the pilot has already tested the design
    • It makes the findings fully generalisable to every population, since they were piloted
    • It guarantees that the main study will have a larger sample than the pilot used

20. A researcher is studying a rare behaviour that occurs only a few times each session. Which sampling method is most suitable?

    • Time sampling at 30-second intervals
    • Volunteer sampling of participants
    • Event sampling
    • Random allocation to conditions

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