PSYB21H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Longitudinal Study, Random Assignment
Document Summary
Research designs: research design: the plan or structure of an investigation which is determined by the investigator"s research question, the first step in any study is to pick a question. The researcher then reads existing research on their topic to create a hypothesis (a statement derived from theory that has not yet been tested): the researcher is examining associations between two or more variables referred to as: Independent variable: the behavior or characteristic believed to influence a particular outcome or result. Dependent variable: the measurable outcome or result in a research study: the most used research designs are: single-subject cases, correlational studies, longitudinal studies, cross- sectional studies, cross-sequential studies, and experimental interventions. They differ with complexity, efficiency, and the kinds of questions they can answer: case study: an in-depth investigation of one person or small group of individuals. They provide useful information about an aspect of development (such as language, or cognition).