chap 1- scientific research methods Flashcards
What is a variable
any factor, subject to change, that can be measured
What are research methods
the systematic procedures we use planning research, gathering and interpreting data and reporting research findings
what is the independent variable
the variable that’s manipulated by experimenter, said to cause the results
what is the dependent variable
variable being observed/measured in the experimental situation to see affect of IV
What is the operational variable
states how the variables will be observed, manipulated and measured
what is a hypothesis
broad general prediction about whether the IV will affect the DV
what is true value
the value that would be found if the quantity could be measured perfectly
what is accuracy
the closeness of a measurement to the true value
what is precision
how close a set of measurements are to each other
what is repeatability
when a test is carried out under the same conditions and the results matched
what is reproducibility
when a test produces similar results under changed or different conditions
internal validity
when the test carried out measures what it intends to measure
external validity
when the results of a study can be applied to similar individuals in a different setting.
What is an extraneous variable
unwanted variable other than the IV which may influence DV.
What is a confounding variable
variable other than the IV that has an unwanted affect on the DV. make it impossible to determine which of the variables has produced a change in the DV
What are individual participant differences
people in different groups of the experiment are different from one another on important characteristics meaning the groups aren’t equal
What is the boredom effect
doing a task a 2nd time and performing worse than the 1st time cause you’ve done it before
What is the practice effect
doing a task a 2nd time and performing better than the 1st time cause you’ve done it before
what is the experimenter effect
the expectations of the experimenter influence the participants results
What is the placebo effect
change in results cause treatment has been given.
how is the placebo affect controlled
single blind procedure
how is the experimenter effect controlled
double blind procedure
What is a single blind procedure
participants do not know if they are in the control or experimental group
What is a double blind procedure
neither participants nor the researcher know who is in the control or experimental group.
what is the population
group that researcher wants to find out about
what is the sample
the participants that supply the data that represents the population
What is a random sample
every member of population has equal chance of selection
strengths/weaknesses of random sample
strength- representative sample
weaknesses- difficult to achieve
What is stratified random sampling
dividing population into categories and selecting in proportions equivalent to population
strengths and weaknesses of stratified random sampling
strength- eliminates effect of the variable on which the sample is stratified
weaknesses- time consuming and expensive
What is convenience sampling
picking whoever is available at the time
Strengths and weaknesses of convenience sampling
strength- quick, easy, cheap
weaknesses- bias in sample
What is random allocation
procedure for assigning participants to either the experimental or control group in an experiment, ensuring that all participants have an equal chance of being allocated to either group.
what is qualitative data
descriptive data expressed in words/images
what is quantitative data
measurable data expressed in scores/numbers
what is correlation study
non-experimental study to investigate relationships between variables. variables aren’t controlled or manipulated, they are observed/measured.
what is positive correlation
as one variable increases, so does the other
what is negative correlation
as one variable increases, the other decreases
what is a case study
study of all aspects of a single participant, group or event, usually undertaken to gain insight into a particular psychological phenomenon.
what is fieldwork
watching and recording the behaviour of people/animals within a specific environment & drawing conclusions based on the recorded observations.
What is the observer effect
changes in participants behavior caused by their awareness of the presence of the observer.
What is observer bias
change of results when observer sees wat they expect to see, or records only selected details of an observed behaviour.
advantages of observer bias
sees natural behavior, effects on environment, observable, allows research that could be unethical.
disadvantages of observer bias
no informed consent, difficult to determine causality, prone to experimenter bias
what are self reports
individuals are asked to express their attitudes or report their own behaviors by answering questions
advantages of self reports
efficient in collecting large amounts of data, anonymity could enable sensitive questions to be asked, often easy to collate/summarize data
disadvantages of self reports
people could answer dishonesty, lack of control makes it hard to compare participants
what is classification and identification
processes used to organize phenomena into categories and identify examples o that categorization
what is modelling and simulation
creating a representation of an event, process or system of concepts
what is product, process or system development
design or evaluation of a process, system or artifact to meet a human need.
what are literature reviews
a report produced by reading scientific research on a particular area and summarizing it
What is variability
a single number describing the degree to which scores in a distribution are spread out or clustered together
what is range
difference between highest and lowest scores
what is standard deviation
average distance of a set of scores from the mean
what are inferential statistics
enable the researcher to make inferences or draw conclusions from data. tell us whether our results are meaningful
what are conclusions
statements about what the results mean
what are generalizations
statements that describe the extent to which the results based on the sample relate to the wider population
what is research merit
clear benefits from the research
what are ethical principles and professional conduct
standards that must be applied to research
what is integrity
honest reporting of results, whether favorable or not
what is respect for persons
regarding welfare, rights, beliefs, perceptions, customs and cultural heritage of all individuals involved in the research
What is beneficence
maximize the benefits, minimize risks
what is justice
fair distribution of benefits and burdens within the population of research interest or for any participant in the research
what is confidentiality
anonymous data. participants may demand that data be destroyed after debriefing
what is voluntary participation
the right to refuse to participate in a study voluntarily without pressure
what are withdrawal rights
participants can withdraw from a study at any time regardless of the effect on the results. also can withdraw results after study
what is informed consent
participants should be given info about the study and their rights before agreeing to become involved. parents must consent for children
what is deception in research
participants shouldn’t be deliberately misled without strong justification, and if done they must be debriefed after
what is debriefing
participants are provided with all the info about the study. any deception about intent of study must be corrected. any negative effects must be reversed
what is access to results
the right to a copy of any document published by the researcher. must be made clear to participants during informed consent procedure
