Chapter 1: Research Methods Flashcards
Hindsight Bias
Things seem obvious after they happened.
Overconfidence
Thinking something has to be true: ignoring contradictory evidence or passing them off as “basically what I said.”
Critical thinking
Examination of ideas, discernation of hidden values, evaluation of evidence, and assessment of conclusions.
Scientific Method
Multi-step processes used to test and examine observations and ideas.
Theory
Explanation through and integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts behaviors and events.
Hypotheses
A testable prediction, usually found in a theory.
Operational Definitions
Accurate description of an experiment that allows others to replicate said experiment.
Replicate
Repeat.
Case study
Technique where one person is studied extensively in the hope of finding universal principles.
Survey
A technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people, usually by questioning a represented, random sample of a population.
False consensus effect
The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share their beliefs and ideas.
Population
All the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study.
Random Sample
A sample that fairly represents a population because all members have an equal chance of inclusion.
Naturalistic observations
Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations, without manipulating or changing the study.
Correlational research
A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well each factor predicts the other.
Scatterplots
Graphed cluster of plots representing correlation.
Illusory correlation
The perception of a relationship where none exist.
Experiment
Method where the researcher manipulates one or more independent variables.
Double-Blind procedure
Experiment with placebos where neither the participants nor the researcher knows the difference.
Placebo effect
Thinking something will work will possibly make it work.
Experimental Condition
Condition that is manipulated to test a hypothesis.
Control Condition
Condition that does not change; used as a “normal comparison.”
Random Assignment
Randomly selecting people without bias for an experiment.
Independent Variable
Experimental factor that has been manipulated.
Dependent Variable
The outcome factor, changes based on the manipulation of independent variable.
Mode
Most commonly occurring number in data.
Mean
Average of all numbers in data.
Median
The most central number in a set of numerical data.
Range
The difference between the largest number and smallest number in a set of numerical data.
Standard deviation
The amount scores differ from an average.
Statistical Significance
The amount a result matters when applying it to actual problems and studies.
