Chapter 2 Methodology Flashcards
Hindsight bias
The tendency for people to exaggerate how much they could have predicted the outcomes after knowing that it occurred
Theory
An organized set of principles that can be used to explain observed phenomena
Hypothesis
A testable statement of idea about the relationship between two or more variables
Operational Definition
The precise specification of how variables are measured or manipulated.
Observational Method
The technique whereby a researcher observes people and systemically records measurement of their behaviour.
Ethnography
The method by which researcher attempt to understand a group or culture by observing it from the inside without imposing any preconceived notions they might have.
Archival analysis
The use of documents, archives, of a culture, newspapers, diaries etc
Correlation also method
The technique whereby researchers systematically measure two or more variables and assess the relation between them CC
Correlation coefficient
A statistic that assesses how well you can predict one variable based on another
Surveys
Research in which a representative sample of people are asked questions about their attitudes or behaviours
Random selection
A way of ensuring that a sample of people is representative of a population by giving everyone in the population an equal chance of being selected for the sample
Experimental method
The method in which the researcher randomly assigns participants to different conditions and ensures that these conditions are identical except for the independent variable
Independent variable
The variable a researcher changes or variables to see if it has an effect on some other variable
Dependent variable
The variable a researcher measures to see no if it is influenced by the independent variable
Random assignment to conditions
Through random assignment, researchers can be relatively certain that differences in the participants personalities or backgrounds are distributed evenly across conditions
Probability level (p-value)
A number that tells researchers the results appeared by chance and not because of the independent variable, less than 5 percent chance of happening by accident.
Internal validity
Ensuring nothing other than the independent variable is affecting the dependent variable.
External validity
The extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations and other people.
Psychological realism
The extent to which the psychological processes triggered in an experimental are similar to psychological processes that be occur in everyday life
Cover story
A description given to participants that is different from its true purpose.
Field experiment
Experiments conducted in natural settings, rather than in the laboratory.
Basic dilema of the social psychologist
The trade-off between internal and external validity in conducting research
Replication
Repeating a study, generally with different subjects populations, in different settings, or by using different methods.
Meta-Analysis
A statistical technique that averages the result of two or more studies to see if the effect of an independent variable is reliable.
