Experimental design
The way in which participants are allocated to different conditions
Independent groups design
different groups of participants are used for each condition of the independent variable
Repeated measures design
An experimental design where the same group of participants is used in all conditions of the independent variable.
Matched designed
An experimental design where participants are paired up based on similar characteristics, and then one member of each pair is assigned to a different condition of the independent variable.
Matched pair advantages
Order effects will not be observed as participants only take part in one condition
Tailored participant matching process reduces the risk of participant variables
matched pair design disadvantages
Different participants need to be reduced for each condition which is difficult and expensive
Matching is a more complex process and it will always be very difficult to matched to match participant
independent advantages
Order Effects cannot be observed as no participants will used in more than one condition
Repeated measure advantages
The result will not be subjected to participant variables putting more confidence in dependant variable changes being solely due to manipulated changes in the independent variable
repeated variables disadvantages
The risk of observing order effects (but this risks be reduced by counterbalancing)
If a participant drops out data will be lost from all conditions of the experiment rather than one
