Asking and answering research questions Flashcards
scientific theory
a statement that satisfies three requirements: it is about constructs, it describes causal relationships; and is is general in scope, although the range of generalism differs for different theories
constructs
abstract and general concepts that are used in theories and that are not directly observable.
Interventions
practical steps taken to change people’s bahavior or to solve social problems
construct validity
the extend to which the independent and dependent variables used in research correspondent to the theoretical constructs under investigation.
Independent variable
a concrete manipulation or measurement of a construct that is thought to cause other constructs
Dependent variable
a concrete measurement of a construct that is thought to be an effect of other constructs.
Social desirability response bias
people’s tendency to act in ways that they believe others find acceptable and approve of
self-report measures
those based on asking the individual about his or her thoughts, feelings, or behaviors.
observational measures
those based on directly watching and recording people’s behavior. including online behavior
archival measures
those based on examining traces of past behavior
performance measures
those that ask participants to perform some tasks as well as they can
physiological measures
those based on measurement of some physiological process such as heart rate or muscle movements
EEG (electro-encephalographic)
measures use electrical signals on the scalp to very accurately detect the times at which specific neural events occur.
fMRI Functional magnetical resonance imaging
indirectly measures the activation levels of specific brain regions
Internal validity
the extend to which it can be concluded that changes in the independent variable actually causes changes in the dependent variable in a research study
Research design
a plan that specifies how reseacrh participants will be selected ans treated
Nonexperimental research design
a research design in which both the independent and dependent variables are measured
Experimental research design
a research design in which researchers randomly assign participants to different groups ans manipulate one or more independent variables
random assignment
the procedure of assigning participants to different experimental groups so that every participant has exactly the same chance as every other participant of being in any given group
manipulate
intentionally varying some factor as the independent variable in an experimental research design
confederate
a reseacrh assistent playing a specific role in the study, such as pretending to be just another participant.
external validity
the extend to which research results can be generated to other appropriate people, times and settings.
individialistic cultures
those in which people are particulary likely to think of themselves as seperate from other people and to define themselves in terms of their uniqueness
collectivist cultures
those in which people tend to think of tehmselves as linked to others, and to define themselves in terms of their relationships to others.
