Research Designs
Random assignment
Confounds: factors that undermine the ability to draw causal inferences from an experiment.
- Placebo effect (When receiving special treatment or something new affects human behavior.)
- Participant demand. This occurs when participants try to behave in a way they think the experimenter wants them to behave.
- Experimenter expectations can influence the outcome of a study
In a double-blind procedure, neither the participant nor the experimenter knows which condition the participant is in.
Correlational designs
allow us to study topics we can’t experimentally manipulate
Qualitative designs
- Participants' observation
- Case study (limited number of possible participants)
- Narrative analysis (the study of stories and personal accounts of people, groups, or cultures)
Quasi-Experimental designs
rely on existing group memberships (independent variables)
Longitudinal studies
track the same people over time.