Chapter 2

Question 1

Case Study

Answer 1

Descriptive research method that involves the examination of an atypical person or organization

Question 2

Central tendency

Answer 2

Measure that represents the typical response or behavior of a group as a whole

Question 3

Confound

Answer 3

Anything that affects a dependent variable and that varies between experiment conditions

Question 4

Construct validity

Answer 4

The extent to which variables measure what they’re supposed to.

Question 5

Mean

Answer 5

Average of a set of numbers

Question 6

Median

Answer 6

Exact halfway between lowest and highest numbers

Question 7

Mode

Answer 7

Most frequent value in a set of numbers

Question 8

Accuracy

Answer 8

Degree to which an experimental measure is free from error

Question 9

Bayesian statistics

Answer 9

A class of statistics that combines existing beliefs with new data to update the estimated likelihood that a belief is true

Question 10

Control group

Answer 10

Participants in an experiment who receive no intervention

Question 11

Correlation coefficient

Answer 11

Descriptive statistic that indicates the strength and direction of the correlation between variables

Question 12

Correlational studies

Answer 12

A research method that describes and predicts how variables are naturally related in the real world. No attempt by the researcher to alter or assign causation between them.

Question 13

Dependent variable

Answer 13

Variable that is measured in a research study

Question 14

Descriptive research

Answer 14

Research methods that involve observing behavior to describe that behavior objectively and systematically.

Question 15

Descriptive statistics

Answer 15

Statistics that summarize the data collected in a study.

Question 16

Directionality problem

Answer 16

A problem encountered in correlational studies where researchers find a relationship between two variables, but cannot determine which variable causes change in the other.

Question 17

Experiment

Answer 17

Research method that tests causal hypotheses by manipulating and measuring variables

Question 18

Experimental group

Answer 18

Participants who receive the treatment

Question 19

Experiment aversion

Answer 19

Tendency for people to prefer an untested treatment than to participate in a randomized study to evaluate the effectiveness of said treatment.

Question 20

External validity

Answer 20

Degree to which the findings of a study can be generalized to other people, settings, and situations

Question 21

False positive

Answer 21

Result that occurs when there is no real effect but a study produces a statistically significant result by chance

Question 22

HARKing

Answer 22

“Hypothesizing after the results are known” instead of generating a theory before running the study.

Question 23

Hypothesis

Answer 23

A specific, testable prediction, based on a theory.

Question 24

Independent variable

Answer 24

Variable that is manipulated in a research study

Question 25

Inferential statistics

Answer 25

Relies on variability. A set of procedures that enable researchers to decide whether differences between two or more groups are chance variations or reflect true differences.

Question 26

Institutional Review Boards

Answer 26

Groups of people responsible for reviewing proposed research

Question 27

Internal validity

Answer 27

Degree to which the effects observed in an experiment are due to the independent variable and not confounds

Question 28

Meta-analysis

Answer 28

A study of studies

Question 29

Naturalistic observation

Answer 29

A type of descriptive study in which the researcher is a passive observer.

Question 30

Operational definition

Answer 30

Definition that describes and measures a variable objectively

Question 31

Participant observation

Answer 31

Type of descriptive study where the researcher is involved in the situation

Question 32

Population

Answer 32

Everyone in the group the experimenter is interested in

Question 33

Preregistration

Answer 33

Documenting and publishing a study’s hypothesis, methods, and analysis plan ahead of time.

Question 34

Questionable research practices

Answer 34

Practices that unintentionally make the research less replicable

Question 35

Reliability

Answer 35

Degree to which a measure is stable and consistent over time

Question 36

Self-report methods

Answer 36

Method of data collection where people provide information about themselves

Question 37

Standard deviation

Answer 37

How far each value is on average from the mean

Question 38

Theory

Answer 38

Set of interconnected ideas or concepts. Explanation for observation

Question 39

Third variable problem

Answer 39

Problem that occurs when the researcher cannot directly manipulate variables. The researcher cannot be confident that another unmeasured variable is not the actual cause of difference

Question 40

Variability

Answer 40

How widely dispersed values are from each other and from the mean in a set of numbers.

Question 41

P-hacking

Answer 41

Testing the same hypothesis using statistical tests in different variations until a statistically significant result is produced