Chapter 2 Flashcards
Construct Validity
the degree to which the independent and dependent variables accurately reflect or measure the constructs of interest. If a study has high construct validity, all the constructs in the hypothesis that motivated the research have been successfully measured or captured by the specific variables on which the researcher has gathered data.
Constructs of Disinterest
things we would rather not measure. Variables measure not only the constructs of interest, but also constructs of disinterest.
Correlation
a simple empirical association between two variables
Correlational Fallacy
Inappropriately inferring causality from a simple association between 2 variables. Simple, yet utterly important concept.
Deductive research
attempting to move from the development of hypotheses to observation
Demonstration
If researchers have a hypothesis about the associations among constructs of interest, they are quite likely to gather data in an attempt to “demonstrate” or support it. Research designed to demonstrate a hypothesis is “deductive” rather than “inductive”. Whereas in discovery, the research is used to generate a hypothesis; here the hypothesis generates the research.
Dependent Variable
the variable used to assess the affected construct (ex: educational achievement).
Discovery
We are attempting to discover what might be plausible causes of constructs. Thus, research as discovery is used primarily to develop or generate hypotheses. When conducting research for this purpose, the researcher is operating in what is called an inductive manner, attempting to move from observation to the development of hypotheses.
External Validity
the extent to which one can generalize the results of the research to the populations and settings of interest in the hypothesis.
Falsifiable
a falsifiable hypothesis is one in which a researcher can set up an empirical test in such a manner that if the findings turn out in a given way, the researcher would agree that the hypothesis had been disproven. (Ex: A hypothesis that allows for every possible outcome actually explains nothing. On the other hard, a hypothesis that predicts a narrow set of findings is both eminently falsifiable and – if supported – potentially very useful.
Hypothesis
comprised of statements about associations among constructs and associations between constructs and observable indicators.
Independent Variable
the variable used to measure the causal construct (ex: crowdedness of classrooms).
Inductive research
attempting to move from observation to the development of hypotheses, rather than the other way around
Internal Validity
concerns the extent to which conclusions can be drawn about the causal effects of one variable on another. In research with high internal validity, we are relatively more about to argue that associations are causal ones, whereas in studies with low internal validity, causality cannot be inferred as confidently.
Measurement Research
usually conducted by examining whether 2 or more ways of measuring the same constructs give the same results.
Quasi-Experimental Research
experiments in which research participants are not, and perhaps could not be, randomly assigned to levels of all independent variables implicated in the hypothesis. (Ex: Kind of like a randomized experiment, but just that not all variables are random).
Random sample
use a variable whose values are randomly determined
Randomized Experiments
research studies carried out in this manner, with random assignment to the independent variable.
Reciprocal causation
when two hypotheses are true and the two hypotheses cause each other in a complicated pattern
Refutation
Researchers can refute competing hypotheses.
Replication
Replication means that other researchers in other settings with different samples attempt to reproduce the research. If the results of the replication are consistent with the original research, we have increased confidence in the hypothesis that the original study supported.
Selection by Maturation Threat
The difficulty in reaching causal conclusions because the individuals in the 2 kinds of classrooms might be growing or maturing at different rates even though they were the same initially.
Selection Threat
“selective placement is known, therefore, as the selection threat to internal validity”.
Theory
set of interrelated hypotheses that is used to explain a phenomenon and make predictions about associations among constructs relevant to the phenomenon
Variable
any attribute that changes values across people or things being studied. (Ex: hair color, IQ test scores, height, introversion, gender, and blood pressure are all variables).
