Chapter 2 - METHODS Flashcards
What are goals of science?
- Description (accurate portrayal/depiction of phenomenon)
- Explanation (gathering knowledge about “why” phenomenon exists it its causes)
- Prediction (anticipate an event prior to its occurrence)
- Control (manipulation of conditions to affect behavior)
What is science?
A process or method for generating a body of knowledge
(Represents a logic of inquiry - way of doing things to increase understanding of concepts, processes, & relationships)
Interrelated constructs(concepts), definitions, & propositions that present a systematic view of a phenomenon by specifying a relations among variables, with the purpose of explaining & predicting the phenomenon
What is “Theory”?
Statements about the supposed relationships between or among variables
What is hypothesis?
What are 5 things that make a good theory?
- Parsimonious: explains a lot, yet simple
- Precision: specific & accurate in its wording
- Testability: verifiable by experimentation/study
- useful: practical, helpful in describing/explaining/predicting important phenomena
- Generativity: stimulates additional research
What is induction?
Data —> Theory
What is deduction?
Theory —> Data
What is an independent variable & what are some other names we use for it?
Anything that is systematically manipulated
&
Predictor, precursor, & antecedent
What is a dependent variable & what are some other names we use for it?
What we’re measuring/assessing
&
Criteria, outcome, or consequence
What is an extraneous variable?
Any other variable that can contaminate results
What is validity?
Are we measuring what we’re supposed to be measuring?
What is the research process order?
Design the study Analyze data Collect data Formulate hypothesis Report findings
What is internal validity?
Extent to which causal inferences can be drawn about variables
(Relating our alternative explanations)
What is external validity?
Extent to which results generalize to other people, settings, time (student participants & “real world” applicability
Types of Research Designs: Overview
- Experimental Methods
- Lab Experiment
- Field & quasi-experiments
- observational methods
What are field experiments?
Random assignment & manipulation of IV in a naturally occurring, real-world setting
What are quasi-experiments?
Field experiment without random assignment and not always practical to randomly assign participants; use of intact groups
What is manipulation in experimental methods?
Systematic control of one or more independent variables
What is Random Assignment in experimental methods?
Each participant has an equally likely chance of being assigned to each condition
What are observational methods in research designs?
Also called, correlations designs, descriptive research
- do not involve random assignment or manipulation of IVs
- make use of available resources
- can draw conclusions about relationships but NOT casualty
- common in field settings
Examinations of a single individual, group, company, or society
—> interviews, historical analysis, research into the writings of policies of an individual/organization
—> main purpose: is to describe &/or explain
Case studies
What type of research relies on “secondary” data sets?
Archival research
What type of data is collected at one point in time from a single group of respondents?
Cross-sectional data
What type of data is collected over multiple time periods so that changes in attitudes & behaviors can be examined
Longitudinal data