What does critical thinking in research involve?
Questioning assumptions, evaluating evidence, recognising biases, and drawing appropriate conclusions.
What questions should researchers ask when thinking critically?
What hypotheses are being tested, how data will be collected, how variables are measured, and what conclusions can be drawn.
What is the difference between causal and predictive hypotheses?
Causal hypotheses involve manipulating X to see if Y changes; predictive hypotheses describe relationships without manipulating variances
What makes an experiment quasi
The researcher lacks full control over who, what, when, where and how. random assignment is not possible or ethical.
Why can’t quasi‑experiments establish full causality?
Groups are not randomly assigned so differences may be due to pre existing factors rather than the IV
What is a non‑equivalent control group design?
A quasi experiment design with an experimental and control group, but ppt are not randomly assigned
Why are non‑equivalent control groups problematic?
We cannot be sure groups were equivalent before treatment.
What is an interrupted time‑series design?
A design where repeated measurements are taken before and after an intervention to detect changes over time.
What is an A‑B design?
A single‑participant interrupted time‑series design with baseline (A) and treatment (B).
What is an A‑B‑A design?
Baseline → treatment → withdrawal; used to test whether behaviour changes systematically with treatment.
What is a limitation of A‑B‑A designs?
Some treatments are not reversible, making withdrawal unethical or invalid.
What is a cross‑sectional study?
A developmental design studying different age groups at one time; may be confounded by cohort effects.
What is a cohort effect?
Differences caused by being born in different time periods rather than age.
What is a longitudinal study?
A developmental design studying the same individuals over time; may be confounded by secular trends.
What is a secular trend?
A change occurring in the general population over time that may influence results
What is a cross‑sequential design?
A design testing multiple cohorts at multiple times to separate developmental, cohort, and secular effects.
What are time‑lag effects?
Differences found when comparing people of the same age at different times.
Example: What design is used when tracking hospital admissions before and after a smoking ban?
Interrupted time series design
Example: What secular trend could affect a longitudinal reading study from 2000–2030?
An increase in digital reading changing reading habits
What is reproducibility?
The ability to reproduce the method, data preparation, and statistical output using the same dataset.
What is replicability?
The ability to find the same effects using a new dataset.
What is a conceptual replication
Testing the same idea or theory using different methods or measures
Why is direct replication important?
It confirms findings across independent labs and strengthens confidence in results.
Why might bilingualism studies show inconsistent results?
Differences in education, proficiency, age of acquisition, tasks used, or definitions of cognitive decline.
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Research Design35
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Paired Samples T Test30
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Independent T Test27
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Mann Whitney & Non Parametric Tests24
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Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test15
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Repeated Measures ANOVA30
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Critical Thinking29
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Kruskal Wallis30
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Friedmans ANOVA26
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Observational methods42
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Qualitative Research40
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Qualitative data in practise (thematic analysis)3
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Choosing the correct statistical test13
