INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
Anything that is systematically manipulated or an antecedent to other variables.
DEPENDENT VARIABLE
What an experiment is designed to assess.
EXTRANEOUS VARIABLE
Any other variable that can contaminate results.
INTERNAL VALIDITY
The extent to which causal inferences can be drawn about variables.
EXTERNAL VALIDITY
The extent to which results are generalizable to other people, settings, and time.
CAUSAL INFERENCES
Inferences that are made when data indicate that a causal relationship between two variables is likely.
STAGE MODEL OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS
A process that involves formulating a hypothesis, designing a study, collecting then analyzing the data, reporting the findings, and then beginning the process again.
EXPERIMENTAL METHODS
A type of research method in which research procedures are distinguished by random assignment of participants to conditions and the manipulation of independent variables.
OBSERVATIONAL METHODS
A type of research method where researchers do not to manipulate the independent variable(s) or randomly assigned participants.
RANDOM ASSIGNMENT
Occurs when each participant has an equally likely chance of being assigned to each condition.
MANIPULATION
Occurs when there is systematic control of one or more independent variables.
LAB EXPERIMENTS
Experiments that are conducted within a laboratory setting.
FIELD EXPERIMENTS
Experiments that entail random assignment and manipulation of independent variables in a naturally occurring, real-world setting.
QUASI-EXPERIMENTS
Field experiments without random assignment.
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OBSERVATIONAL METHODS
Also called "correlational designs" and "descriptive research". A method that does not involve random assignment or manipulation of independent variables but can draw conclusions about relationships (NOT causuality).