PSYC 217 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Process Variable, Naturalistic Observation, Random Assignment
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Determine when the experimental or nonexperimental approach is ideal for studying a given research question. Discuss the limitations and advantages inherent in both experimental and nonexperimental research methods. Situational: factors of the environment that can unintentionally affect the results of a study, for example temperature, noise, odours, lighting . Participant: different traits or anything that influence an individual"s interpretation of the study, for example, background, age, socioeconomic status, how much sleep the night before, etc. Mediating: explains relationship between independent and dependent variable, for example, take the relation between socioeconomic status and frequency of breast exams. These two would relate through education, as those with higher socioeconomic status tend to receive more education, therefore, know more about breast cancer, and their frequency of breast exams goes up. Independent: the variable that is changed and manipulated in a scientific experiment to change the result of the dv (can also be called a predictor variable)
