Day 1 Review: Research Methods 1. Review the following types of research methods. Table 6.1 Overview of Research Methods Research Method Experiment Quasi- experiment Naturalistic observation Surveys and Tests Case studies Description Manipulation of an (IV) independent variable under controlled conditions and measurement of its effects on a dependent variable (DV) Measurement of DV when random assignment to groups is not possible Careful observations of humans or other animals in real-life situations Obtain large samples of abilities, beliefs, or behaviors at a specific time and place Intensive investigation of the behavior and mental processes associated with a specific person or situation Source: Google images Key Strength Can establish cause and effect relationships between the IV and the DV Can provide strong evidence suggesting cause and effect relationships Provides descriptive data about behavior with wide applicability Ease of administration, scoring, and statistical analysis Provide detailed descriptive data and analyses of new, complex, or rare phenomena Major Weakness Ability to generalize to real world behavior can be limited Lack of random assignment can weaken conclusions Loss of experimental control Distorted results because of sampling error, poorly phrased questions, and response biases May not be representative of phenomena 2. What is meant by saying something is a positive correlation? Negative correlation? No correlation? Draw a scatter plot featuring a positive, a negative, and no correlation. What does a -1 and/or +1 correlation coefficient mean? 3. When talking about survey or questionnaire research, what do the terms population, sample, representative sample, random sample, and stratified sample mean?