Powerpoint #2- Exam #3 Research Methods

Front 1

What is a small n design?

Back 1

Studies that only involve a single person or a small group of people

Front 2

How does a small n design differ from a traditional design?

Back 2

These studies usually collect more data from less people rather than less data from more people.

Front 3

What is the history of doing psychological research with small n designs?

Back 3

Initially when psychology emerged, researchers only used small n designs. It wasn't until the late 1930s that large n designs emerged.

Front 4

Why might a small n design be preferable to a traditional experimental design?

Back 4

Sometimes it isn't feasable to collect data across a large population.

Sometimes the mean in traditional designs doesn't reflect the scores that are used to create it.

Hint 4

Example: when you're studying a population that's really small (rare disorder) or when the data collection is labor intensive

Front 5

What are the different kinds of withdrawal designs?

Back 5

A-B-A designs and A-B-A-B designs

Front 6

Give an example of an A-B-A design

Back 6

A- used old method of teaching for a few semester
B- apply the new technique
A-Revert back to old teaching method for a few semesters

Front 7

What are the differnt kinds of multiple-baseline designs?

Back 7

*2+people on the same behaviors
*2+behaviors for the same person
*2+settings for the same behavior/person

Front 8

Give an example of a multiple-baseline design that includes 2+people on the same behavior

Back 8

Is my new therapy effective? Capture baseline of person 1 for 2 months, person 2 for 3 months, apply new therapy to person 1 for 2 months, person 2 for 3 months

Front 9

Give an example of a multiple baseline design that includes 2+behaviors for the same person

Back 9

Capture baseline for behavior 1 and 2, apply treatment which is only related to behavior 1, continue to monitor behavior 1 and 2

Front 10

How can small n designs determine cause-and-effect with minimal confounding?

Back 10

-The experimenter can show that the behavior change was controlled by their actions
-In an A-B-A design, a patient's symtoms improve when the treatment is applied, and worsen again when the treatement is removed
- In a multiple baseline design, the treatment only affected the targeted behavior and not other related behaviors

Front 11

What are criticisms of small n designs?

Back 11

-External validity- replication is inherit in most small n studies
-Inferential statistics- conclusions are drawn only when the effect is obvious enough to be seen by anyone