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Psych 1000 > (2) Reading and Evaluating Scientific Research > Flashcards

(2) Reading and Evaluating Scientific Research Flashcards

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1
Q

Objective Measurements

A

The measure of an entity or behaviour allowed a margin of error, consistent across instruments and observers

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2
Q

Variable

A

The object, concept, or event being controlled, manipulated, or measured by a scientist

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3
Q

Operational Definitions

A

Are statements that describe the procedures (or operations) and specific measures used to record observations

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4
Q

Validity

A

The degree to which an instrument or procedure measures what it claims to measure

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5
Q

Reliability

A

Consistent and stable answers across multiple observations and points in time

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6
Q

Generalizability

A

the degree to which one set of results can be applied to other situations, individuals, or events

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7
Q

Population

A

The group that researchers want to generalize about

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8
Q

Sample:

A

A select group of population members

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9
Q

Random Sample

A

A sampling technique in which every individual of a population has an equal chance of being included

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10
Q

Convenience Samples

A

Samples of individuals who are the most readily available

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11
Q

Ecological Validity

A

the results of a laboratory study can be applied to or repeated in the natural environment

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12
Q

Hawthorne Effect

A

Behaviour change that occurs as a result of being observed

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13
Q

Social Desirability

A

Research participants respond in ways that increase chances that they will be viewed favourably by the experimenter and/or other participants

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14
Q

Placebo Effect

A

A measurable and experienced improvement in health or behaviour that cannot be attributable to a medication or treatment

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15
Q

Demand Characteristics:

A

Inadvertent cues given off by the experimenter or the experimental context that provide information about how participants are expected to behave

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16
Q

Single-blind Study

A

Participants do not know the true purpose of the study, or else do not know which type of treatment they are receiving (ex placebo or a drug)

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17
Q

Double-blind study

A

A study in which neither the participant nor the experimenter knows the exact treatment for any individual

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18
Q

Peer review

A

A process in which papers submitted for publication in scholarly journals are read and critiqued by experts in the specific field of study

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19
Q

Replication

A

The process of repeating a study and finding a similar outcome each time

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20
Q

Anecdotal Evidence

A

An individual’s story or testimony about an observation or event that is used to make a claim as evidence

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21
Q

Appeal to authority

A

The belief in an “experts” claim even when no supporting data or scientific evidence is present

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22
Q

Appeal to common sense

A

A claim that appears to be sound but lacks supporting scientific evidence

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23
Q

Research Design

A

A set of methods that allows a hypothesis to be tested

24
Q

Qualitative Research

A

examining an issue or behaviour without performing numerical measurements of the variables

25
Q

Case Studies

A

An in-depth report about the details of a specific case

26
Q

Naturalistic Observations

A

They unobtrusively observe and record behaviour and it occurs in the subjects natural environment

27
Q

Self-reporting

A

A method of responses provided directly by the people who are being studied, typically through face-to-face interviews, phone surveys, paper-and-pencil tests, and web-based questionnaires

28
Q

Correlational Research

A

measuring the degree of association between two or more variables

29
Q

Third Variable Problem

A

the possibility that a third, unmeasured variable is responsible for a well established correlation between two variables

30
Q

Illusory Correlations

A

relationships that exist only in the mind, rather than in reality

31
Q

Random Assignment:

A

A technique for dividing samples into two or more groups in which participants are equally likely to be placed in any condition of the experiment

32
Q

Confounding Variable

A

A variable outside of the researchers control that might affect or provide an alternative explanation for the results

33
Q

Independent Variable

A

the variable that the experimenter manipulates to distinguish between two or more groups

34
Q

Dependent Variable

A

the observation or measurement that is recorded during the experiment and subsequently compared across all groups

35
Q

Between-subjects design

A

an experimental design in which we compare the performance of participants who are in different groups

36
Q

Experimental group

A

the group in the experiment that receives a treatment or the stimuli targeting a specific behaviour

37
Q

Control group

A

the group that does not receive the treatment or stimuli targeting a specific behaviour; this group therefore serves as a baseline to which the experimental group is compared

38
Q

Within-subjects designs

A

An experimental design in which the same participants respond to all types of stimuli or experience all experimental conditions

39
Q

Quasi-experimental research

A

a research technique in which the two or more groups that are compared are selected based on predetermined characteristics

40
Q

Research Ethics Board (REB)

A

a committee of researchers and officials at an institution charged with the protection of human research participants

41
Q

Informed Consent

A

a potential volunteer must be informed (know the purpose, tasks, and risk involved in the study) and give consent (agree to participate based on the information provided) without pressure

42
Q

Deception

A

misleading or only partially informing participants of the true topic or hypothesis under investigation

43
Q

Debriefing

A

meaning that the researchers should explain the true nature of the study, and especially the nature of and reason for any deception

44
Q

Descriptive statistics

A

a set of techniques used to organize, summarize, and interpret data

45
Q

Frequency

A

the number of observations that fall within a certain category or range of scores

46
Q

Normal Distribution

A

a symmetrical distribution with values clustered around a central, mean value (bell curve)

47
Q

Skewed Distribution

A

an asymmetrical distribution with a large cluster of scores on one side and a long “tail” on the other

48
Q

Central Tendency

A

a measure of the central point of a distribution

49
Q

Mean

A

the arithmetic average of a set of numbers

50
Q

Median

A

the 50th percentile – the point on the horizontal axis at which 50% of all observations are lower, and 50% of all observations are higher

51
Q

Mode

A

which is the category with the highest frequency

52
Q

Variability

A

the degree to which scores are dispersed in a distribution

53
Q

Standard Deviation

A

a measure of variability around the mean

54
Q

Hypothesis test

A

a statistical method of evaluation whether differences among groups are meaningful (concept known as a statistically significant difference)

55
Q

Statistical significance

A

the means of the groups are father apart that you would expect them to be by random chance alone

56
Q

Null Hypothesis

A

assumes that any difference between groups (or conditions) are due to chance

57
Q

Experimental Hypothesis

A

assumes that any differences are due to a variable controlled by the experimenter

Psych 1000 (16 decks)

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