Chapter 2 - research methods Flashcards
what is science’s basic assumption?
events are governed by some lawful order that can be observed, measured and tested
used to predict thing if you manipulate them
what is the scientific method?
designed to help the scientific process remain as accurate and precise as possible
psychology uses the scientific method
what is step one of conducting research?
make observations, review the literature
what is step 2 in conducting research?
develop a testable hypothesis
what is a hypothesis?
a tentative statement about the relationship between 2 or more variables
best if variables are operationally defined
what is step three when conducting research?
choose participants, select the research method, collect data
what is the best way to choose participants?
random sampling from the population
what is a population?
the entire group that is of interest to researchers
what is a sample?
the portion of the population that is used in the study
what is sampling bias?
choosing a sample that does not represent your population
what is random sampling?
making sure that every individual in the population has an equal chance of being included in your samples
what are the three methods of data collection?
case studies
naturalistic observations
surveys and questionnaires
what is a case study?
an in-depth investigation of a single participant using different data collection techniques
what are the advantages of case studies?
useful method to study rare behaviours
very detailed
can be sourced of support for the cause of behaviour
what are disadvantages of case studies?
results may not generalize to other people
potential for researcher bias
cannot determine cause and effect
what is naturalistic observations?
observing and recording the participant’s natural behaviour without influencing the participant
what are the advantages of naturalistic observations?
behaviours are studied under natural conditions
good to use in conjunction with lab experiments
what are the disadvantages of naturalistic observations?
time consuming
difficult not to influence behaviour
hawthorn effect
can’t determine cause and effect
what are survey and questionnaires?
participants are asked a series of questions about certain parts of their behaviour
what are the advantages of survey and questionnaires?
quick and cheap data collection
good to study behaviours that cannot be directly observed
what are the disadvantages of survey and questionnaires?
careful of wording effect
results depend on what the participants themselves say
potential for participant bias
can’t determine cause and effect
what are the two main types of research methods to test hypothesis with?
experimental research
correlational research
what is experimental research?
researcher manipulates a variable
there are different groups of participants, and each group are different groups of participants, and each group is exposed to something different
allows cause and effect conclusions
what are variables?
any measurable conditions that are controlled or observed in a study
what is an independent variable?
the variable that you manipulate
what is a dependent variable?
the variable that you measure (not manipulated)
what are the two types of groups in experimental research?
experimental group
control group
what is the experimental group?
the group of participants that receives the manipulation (independent variable)
what is the control group?
the group of participants that does not receive the manipulation
used to compare how the manipulation affects behaviour
how do you separate the participants into the two groups?
random assignment
what is random assignment?
when each person who is going to participate in your study has an equal chance of going into either of your two groups
what are the advantages of experimental research?
good control
can identify cause and effect
what are the disadvantages of experimental research?
ethical concerns
may have practical limitations
artificial conditions
what is correlational research?
just measures two or more variables
uses statistics to see if the variables are related
nothing is manipulated
does not allow cause-effect conclusions
what are the advantages of correlational research?
useful for studying topics that can’t be studied using experimental methods due to ethical/practical reasons
can be study behaviuors under more natural conditions
what are the disadvantages of correlational research?
does not allow causal conclusions
how do you collect data empirically without bias?
double-blind procedure
what is the double blind procedure
neither the participant nor the researcher knows who is in which group
what is step 4 in conducting research?
analyze the data, accept or reject the hypothesis
what happens if the hypothesis is supported?
confidence in theory increases
consider alternative explanations
inspect data and research methods for possible errors
what happens if the hypothesis is not supported?
confidence in theory decrease
revise, refine, or discard theory
what is a theory?
a set of interrelated ideas used to explain a set of observation
what is step 5 of conducting research?
seek scientific review, publish, and replicate
what happens in step 5 of conducting research?
allow work to be reviewed, criticized and scrutinized by other experts in the field
ensures that the research you read in the peer-reviewed journals is top notch
what is step 6 of conducting research?
build a theory
incorporate your results into existing theories or develop a new theory
process starts over again at step 1
what is inferential statistics?
indicate of the difference between groups is meaningful
what is the calculated statistics is called?
correlation coefficient (r)
what is the correlation coefficient?
a numerical resentation of the relation between variables
what is a positive correlation?
when one variable increases the other increases
what is a negative correlation?
when one variable increases and the other decreases
what is zero correlation?
when the variation in one variation has nothing to do with variations in the other variable
what does correlation not equal?
doesn’t equal causation
what is inferential statistics used for?
to make inferences about the data set
concludes differences between groups are genuine (significant)
what is descriptive statistics?
statistics that are used to organize raw data into meaningful descriptions
what does descriptive statistics measure?
measures central tendency
measures of variability
what is central tendency?
a numerical value that represents the center of the distribution
what is measures of variability?
a numerical value that represents how different scores within a group are from each other
what happens when you have a very low probability?
your findings are due to chance
due to chance if above 5%
what test is used for testing two variables?
t-test
what test do you use when comparing multiple groups?
f-test
