chapter 2 Flashcards
archival research
method of research using past records or data sets to answer various research questions, or to search for interesting patterns or relationships
attrition
reduction in number of research participants as some drop out of the study over time
cause-and-effect relationship
changes in one variable cause the changes in the other variable; can be determined only through an experimental research design
clinical or case study
observational research study focusing on one or a few people
confirmation bias
tendency to ignore evidence that disproves ideas or beliefs
confounding variable
unanticipated outside factor that affects both variables of interest, often giving the false impression that changes in one variable causes changes in the other variable, when, in actuality, the outside factor causes changes in both variables
control group
serves as a basis for comparison and controls for chance factors that might influence the results of the study—by holding such factors constant across groups so that the experimental manipulation is the only difference between groups
correlation
relationship between two or more variables; when two variables are correlated, one variable changes as the other does
correlation coefficient
number from -1 to +1, indicating the strength and direction of the relationship between variables, and usually represented by r
cross-sectional research
compares multiple segments of a population at a single time
debriefing
when an experiment involved deception, participants are told complete and truthful information about the experiment at its conclusion
deception
purposely misleading experiment participants in order to maintain the integrity of the experiment
deductive reasoning
results are predicted based on a general premise
dependent variable
variable that the researcher measures to see how much effect the independent variable had
double-blind study
experiment in which both the researchers and the participants are blind to group assignments
empirical
grounded in objective, tangible evidence that can be observed time and time again, regardless of who is observing
experimental group
group designed to answer the research question; experimental manipulation is the only difference between the experimental and control groups, so any differences between the two are due to experimental manipulation rather than chance
experimenter bias
researcher expectations skew the results of the study
fact
objective and verifiable observation, established using evidence collected through empirical research
falsifiable
falsifiable
able to be disproven by experimental results