Ch. 2 - Research Methodology Flashcards
Research
The careful collection, analysis and interpretation of measured data
Empiricism
Gaining accurate knowledge about behavior and mental processes only by observing the world and measuring aspects of it
Scientific Method
A systematic and dynamic procedure of observing and measuring phenomena, used to achieve four goals:
1) description
2) prediction
3) control
4) explanation
Theory
An explanation based on observations
Hypothesis
A testable prediction based on theory
Occam’s Razor/Law of Parsimony
The idea that the simpler of two competing ideas is preferred
Seven Steps of The Scientific Method
- Pose a specific, testable research question
- Conduct a literature review
- Form a hypothesis
- Design a study
- Conduct the study to gather data
- Analyze the data
- Report findings via a reputable source
Replication
Repetition of a research study to confirm or contract the results
False Positive
Occurs when there is no real effect but a study produces a statistically significant result by chance
HARKing
Hypothesizing after results are known; questionable research practice
p-hacking
Testing the same hypothesis using statistical tests in different variations until one produces a statistically significant result
Preregistration
Documenting a study’s hypotheses, methods and analysis plan ahead of time and publishing it on a time-stamped website
Case Study
The intensive observation, recording and description of an atypical person or organization.
Participant Observation
A type of study in which the researcher is involved in the situation
Naturalistic Observation
A type of study in which the observer is passive, remains separated from the situation and makes no effort to alter behavior
Self-Report Methods
Methods of data collection in which people are asked to provide information about themselves
Meta-Analysis
Multiple studies analyzed, placing emphasis on different factors and producing stronger evidence
Correlational Studies
Examine how variables are naturally related in the real world, without any attempt by the researcher to alter them or conclude that one variable causes the other
Directionality Problem
The researchers find a relationship between two variables, but they are unable to determine which variable caused a change in the other (specific to correlational studies)
Third Variable Problem
When the researcher is unable to manipulate variables and, as a result, cannot be confident that another, unmeasured variable is not the cause of difference in the variable of interest
Independent Variable
The variable that is manipulated
Dependent Variable
The variable that is measured
Within-Subject Design
When the group receives both control and experimental treatments in succession
Confounding Variable
Anything that affects a dependent variable and may unintentionally vary the results outside of the experimental conditions of the study
Random Assignment
Placing research participants into the conditions of an experiment in such a way that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any level of the IV
Random Sampling
Taking a subset of a population where every member of the population has an equal chance of being chosen to participate
Belmont Report (1979)
Described three fundamental ethical principles that research should uphold:
1) respect for persons
2) respect for justice
3) respect for beneficence
Institutional Review Board
Responsible for monitoring research and enforcing ethical guidelines; composed of administrators, legal; advisors, trained scholars, etc.
Experimentation Averse
When someone prefers to receive an untested treatment rather than participating in a study that tests the effectiveness of one or the other treatment conditions.
Construct Validity
The extent to which variables measure what they are supposed to measure
External Validity
The degree to which the findings of a study can be generalized to other people, settings, or situations
Internal Validity
The degree to which the effects observed in an experiment are due to the independent variable and not to confounds
Reliability
The stability and consistency of a measure over time
Accuracy
The degree to which the measure is free from error
Unsystematic Error
Error that is due to chance alone
Systematic Error
Error in which the data deviates by a fixed amount
Central Tendency
A measure that represents the typical response or the behavior of the group as a whole
Mean
The arithmetic average of a set of numbers
Mode
The most frequent score in a set of numbers
Median
The value in a set of numbers that falls exactly halfway between the lowest and highest values
Variability
How widely dispersed the values are from each other and from the mean
Standard Variation
Average deviation from the mean
Inferential Statistics
A set of procedures that enable researchers to decide whether differences between two or more groups are probably just chance variations or whether they reflect true differences in the populations being compared
Statistical Significance
Results would be unlikely to occur if there were no differences between groups of participants, occurring in less than 5% of the time
Bayesian Statistics
A class of statistics that combines existing beliefs (priors) with new data to update the estimated likelihood that a belief is true (posterior)
Bayes’ Theorum
A formula that enables researchers to know how much a set of data should change their beliefs about whether a hypothesis is true
