Chapter 2: Overview of the Scientific Method Flashcards
Vocabulary
all the published research in that field
Research literature
periodicals that publish original research articles
Professional journals
research reports that describe one or more new empirical studies conducted by the authors
Empirical research reports
Articles that summarize previously published research on a topic and usually present new ways to organize or explain the results
Review articles
review article that is devoted primarily to presenting a new theory
Theoretical articles
review article that provides a statistical summary of all of the previous results
Meta-analysis
process in which the reviewers of a research article do not know the identity of the researcher(s) and vice versa
Double-blind peer review
books written by researchers and practitioners mainly for use by other researchers and practitioners
scholarly books
a coherent written presentation of a topic much like an extended review article written by a single author or a small group of authors (Ex. W.G’s monograph on bug decay thing)
Monograph
books that are collections of chapters written by different authors on different aspects of the same topic, and overseen by one or more editors
Edited volumes
a comprehensive electronic database covering thousands of professional journals and scholarly books going back more than 100 years—that for most purposes its content is synonymous with the research literature in psychology
PsycINFO
how interesting the question is to people generally or the scientific community.
Three things need to be considered: Is the answer in doubt? Does it fill a gap in the research literature? Does it have important practical implications?
Interestingness
how likely it is that the research question going to be successfully answered.
(depending on the amount of time, money, equipment/materials, technical knowledge and skill, and access to research participants there will be)
Feasibility
coherent explanation or interpretation of one or more phenomena
(ex. think theory on social facilitation and social inhibition (if we’re watched while knowing what we’re doing, we perform better. If we don’t know what we’re doing, we perform way worse))
Theory
a specific prediction about a new phenomenon that should be observed if a particular theory is accurate [if/then]
Hypothesis
a cyclical process of theory development.
Starting with an observed phenomenon, then developing or using a theory to make a specific prediction of what should happen if that theory is correct, testing that prediction, refining the theory in light of the findings, and using that refined theory to develop new hypotheses, and so on
Hypothetico-deductive method
the ability to test the hypothesis using the methods of science and the possibility to gather evidence that will disconfirm the hypothesis if it is indeed false
testable and falsifiable
quantity or quality that varies across people or situations
Variable
quantity, such as height, that is typically measured by assigning a number to each individual
Quantitative variable
a variable that represents a characteristic of an individual, such as a chosen major, and is typically measured by assigning each individual’s response to one of several categories (e.g., Psychology, English, Nursing, Engineering, etc.)
Categorical variable
definition of the variable in terms of precisely how it is to be measured
Operational definition
a large group of people about whom researchers in psychology are usually interested in concluding, and from whom the sample is drawn
Population
a smaller portion of the population the researcher would like to study
Sample
a common method of non-probability sampling in which the sample consists of individuals who happen to be easily available and willing to participate (such as introductory psychology students)
Convenience sampling
the variable the experimenter manipulates
Independent variable
the variable the experimenter measures (it is the presumed effect)
Dependent variable
any variable other than the dependent and independent variable
Extraneous variable
a specific type of extraneous variable that systematically varies along with the variables under investigation and therefore provides an alternative explanation for the results
Confounds
a study that is conducted in the laboratory environment
Laboratory study
a study that is conducted in a “real world” environment outside the laboratory
Field study
refers to the degree to which we can confidently infer a causal relationship between variables
Internal validity
refers to the degree to which we can generalize the findings to other circumstances or settings, like the real-world environment
External validity
a type of field study where an independent variable is manipulated in a natural setting and extraneous variables are controlled as much as possible
Field experiments
