Chapter 2 Flashcards
Science
Approach that involves the understanding, prediction, and control of some phenomenon of interest
Hypothesis
Prediction about relationship(s) among variables of interest
Disinteredness
Characteristic of scientists, who should be objective and uninfluenced by biases or prejudices when conducting research
Expert witness
Witness in a lawsuit who is permitted to voice opinions about organizational practices
Research design
Provides overall structure for the research study and allows investigations to conduct scientific research on a phenomenon of interest
Experimental design
Participants are randomly assigned to different conditions
Quasi-experimental design
Participants are assigned to different conditions, but random assignment to conditions is not possible
Nonexperimental design
Does not include any “treatment” or assignment to different conditions
Observational design
Researcher observes employee behavior and systematically records what is observed
Survey design
Research strategy in which participants are asked to complete a survey or questionnaire
Quantitative methods
Rely on tests, rating scales, questionnaires, and physiological measures and yield numerical results
Qualitative methods
Rely on observations, interviews, case studies, and analysis of diaries or written documents and produce flow diagrams and narrative descriptions of events or processes
Introspection
Early scientific method where the participant was also the experimenter, recording their experiences by completing experimental tasks
Triangulation
Approach in which researchers seek converging information from difference sources
Generalize
Applying the results from one study or sample to other participants or situations
Experimental control
When possible confounding influences that might make results less reliable or harder to interpret are eliminated
Statistical control
Using statistical techniques to control for the influence of certain variables
-allows researchers to concentrate exclusively on the primary relationships of interest
Descriptive statistics
Stats that summarize, organize, and describe a sample of data
Measure of central tendency
Stats that indicate where the center of distribution is located (mean, median, and mode)
Variability
The extent to which scores in a distribution vary
Skew
The extent to which scores in a distribution are lopsided or tent to fall on the left or right side of the distribution
Mean
Arithmetic average of the scores in a distribution
-sum all scores and divide by sample size
Mode
Most common or frequently occurring score in a distribution
Median
Middle score in a distribution
Inferential statistics
Stats used to aid the researcher in testing hypotheses and making inferences from sample data to a larger sample or population
Statistical significance
Indicates the probability of the observed statistic is less than the stated significance level adopted by the researcher (p
Statistical power
Likelihood of finding a statistically significant difference when a true difference exists
Measurement
Assigning numbers to characteristics of individuals or objects according to rules
Correlation coefficient
Statistic assessing the bivariate, linear association between two variables
Scatterplot
Graph used to plot the scatter of scores on two variables; used to display the correlational relationship btwn two variables
Regression line
Straight line that best fits the scatterplot and describes the relationship btwn the variables in the graph (the slope of the line)
Linear
Relationship btwn two variables that can be depicted by a straight line
Nonlinear
Relationship btwn two variables that cannot be depicted by a straight line
Multiple correlation coefficient
Statistic that represents the overall linear association btwn several variables (cognitive ability, personality, and experience) on the one hand and a single variable (job performance) on the other hand
Meta-analysis
Statistical method for combining and analyzing the results from many studies to draw a general conclusion about relationships among variables
Statistical artifacts
Characteristics (small sample size, unreliable measures) of a study that distort the observed research
Micro-research
Study of individual behavior
Macro-research
Study of collective behavior
Meso-research
Study of the interaction of individual and collective behavior
Reliability
Consistency or stability of a measure
Validity
Accuracy of inferences made based on test or performance data; also addresses whether a measure accurately and completely represents what was intended to be measured
Test-retest reliability
Type of reliability calculated by correlating measurements taken at time 1 with measurements taken at time 2
Equivalent forms reliability
Type of reliability calculated by correlating measurements from a sample of individuals who complete two different forms of the same test
Internal consistency
Form of reliability that assesses how consistently the items of a test measure a single construct
Generalizability theory
Sophisticated approach to the question of reliability that simultaneously considers all types of error in reliability estimates
Predictor
Test chosen or developed to assess attributes identified as important for successful job performance
Criterion
Describes important aspects or demands of the job; the variable that we predict when evaluating the validity of a predictor
Criterion-related validity
Validity approach that is demonstrated by correlating a test score with a performance measure; improves researchers confidence in the inference that people with higher test scores have higher performance
Validity coefficient
Correlation coefficient between a test score (predictor) and a performance measure (criterion)
Predictive validity design
Criterion-related validity design in which there is a time lag btwn collection of the test data and the criterion data
Concurrent validity design
Criterion-related validity design in which there is no time lag btwn gathering the test scores and the performance data
Content-related validation design
Design that demonstrates that the content of the selection procedure represents an adequate sample of important work behaviors and activities and/or worker KSAO’s defined by the job analysis
Construct validity
Validity approach in which investigators gather evidence to support decisions or inferences about psychological constructs
Construct
Psychological concept or characteristic that a predictor is intended to measure
-Ex: intelligence, personality, leadership
