Research methodology

Need to know

What you need to know

• The core purpose is to test a hypothesis about cause and effect between an IV and a DV.
• Control over extraneous variables is crucial to ensure changes in the DV are caused by the IV alone.
• Laboratory experiments prioritise control, field experiments prioritise realism, and natural experiments investigate pre-existing IVs.
• Internal validity refers to the confidence that the IV caused the DV change; ecological validity refers to how well findings generalise to real life.

Explanation

Research methodology

1. The core purpose is to test a hypothesis about cause and effect between an IV and a DV.
2. Control over extraneous variables is crucial to ensure changes in the DV are caused by the IV alone.
3. Laboratory experiments prioritise control, field experiments prioritise realism, and natural experiments investigate pre-existing IVs.
4. Internal validity refers to the confidence that the IV caused the DV change; ecological validity refers to how well findings generalise to real life.