Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

RDA 1 > ch 3: Defining and measuring variables > Flashcards

ch 3: Defining and measuring variables Flashcards

1
Q

variable

A

characteristic or condition that changes or has different values for different individuals

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

constructs or hypothetical constructs

A

hypothetical attributes or mechanisms that help explain and predict behaviour in a theory (eg. motivation)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

theory

A

set of statements about the mechanisms underlying a particular behaviour; generates predictions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

operational definition

A

procedure for indirectly measuring and defining a variable that cannot be observed or measured directly; specifies a measurement procedure (a set of operations) for measuring an external, observable behaviour and uses the resulting measurements as a definition and a measurement of the hypothetical construct; measures and defines construct

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

operationalizing a construct

A

process of creating an operation definition for a construct (clustering behaviours associated with concept as a measurement of it and defining it)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

example of a construct; operational def

A

intelligence; IQ test

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

limitations of operational definitions (

A

(1) not a one-to-one relationship between the variable that is being measured and the actual measurements produced by operation defs, (2) can leave out important components of a construct (tip: include multiple procedures for measuring same variable) and (3) may contain extra components that are not part of the construct being measured

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

criteria for evaluation the quality of any measurement procedure (2)

A

(1) validity and (2) reliability

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

validity

A

whether a measurement procedure is actually measuring what it claims to be measuring

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

types of validity (6)

A

(1) face, (2) concurrent, (3) predictive, (4) construct, (5) convergent, and (6) divergent

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

face validity

A

least scientific; based on superficial appearance or face value of a measurement procedure

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

concurrent validity

A

comparing to established procedure

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

predictive validity

A

accurately predict behaviour

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

construct validity

A

a variable behaves in exactly the same way as the variable itself (comparing to past research)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

convergent validity

A

different methods for measuring the same construct have related scored

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

divergent validity

A

measuring two different constructs and having scores NOT relate

17
Q

reliability

A

stability or consistency of a measurement

18
Q

measured score = _____ + _____

A

true score; error

19
Q

sources of error (3)

A

(1) observer, (2) environmental, and (3) participant

20
Q

types of reliability (4)

A

(1) test-retest, (2) parallel-forms, (3) inter-rater, and (4) split-half

21
Q

split-half reliability

A

slitting the items on a questionnaire or test in half, computing a separate score for each half and then calculating the degree of consistency between the two scores for a group of participants

22
Q

accuracy

A

degree to with the measurement conforms to the established standard

23
Q

scale of measurment

A

set of categories that measurements are classifying individuals into

24
Q

types of measurement scales (4)

A

(1) nominal, (2) ordinal, (3) ratio, and (4) interval

25
Q

nominal scale

A

quality not quantity (eg. hair color)

26
Q

ordinal scale

A

ordered series without equal intervals; rank; can tell direction of difference but not magnitude (eg. t-shirt size)

27
Q

interval scale

A

sequential with each interval being the same, no absolute zero (eg. celcius)

28
Q

ratio scale

A

sequential with each interval being the same, WITH absolute zero (eg. weight)

29
Q

modalities of measurement (3)

A

(1) self-report, (2) physiological and (3) behavioural

30
Q

advantage of self-report

A

most direct way to assess a construct

31
Q

advantage of physiological measures

A

objective

32
Q

disadvantage of physiological measures

A

is it measuring the construct? expensive!

33
Q

ceiling effect

A

when the range is restricted at the high end

34
Q

floor effect

A

clustering at the low end of the scale; restricted range

35
Q

range effect

A

ceiling and floor effects

36
Q

artifact

A

nonnatural feature accidentally introduced into something being observed (ie. external factor); can threaten validity and maybe reliability

37
Q

common artifacts (2)

A

(1) experimenter bias and (2) participant reactivity

38
Q

reactivity

A

participants modifying behaviour in response to being a participant in a study or knowledge that they are being measured

39
Q

subject role (behaviours) (4)

A

(1) good subject role, (2) negativistic subject role, (3) apprehensive subject role, and (4) faithful subject

RDA 1 (6 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions