Chapter 2 - Research Methods Flashcards

1
Q

Quantitative research methods

A

Data that is measured
Numbers
ex. height, weight, volume, etc.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Qualitative research methods

A

Data that is observed (beauty, smell, texture, etc)

Deals with descriptions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is a Case Study?

A
  • In-depth background from single person

- Exceptional cases (serial killers, special abilities, etc)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Example of case study?

A

Phineas Gage - went from normal to impulsive and rude when an iron bar damaged his left frontal lobe

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Case studies: advantages/disadvantages

A

Advatages:

  • Existence proofs
  • Ability to study rare phenomena impossible to recreate in lab
  • Insights for later study

Disadvantages:

  • Doesn’t answer why something occurred
  • Difficult to generalize to other people (anecdotal)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is Naturalistic or Direct Observation

A

-Observing in natural setting

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Naturalistic Observation Advantages/Disadvantages

A

Advantages:
-High external validity

Disadvantages:

  • Low internal validity
  • Reactivity (when subject knows they’re being observed)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Naturalistic Observation: 3 Types

A
  • Participant observation: observer is one of the crowd, with subjects’ knowledge
  • Unobtrusive observation: without subjects’ knowledge
  • Laboratory observation: controlled but not natural; reactivity potential so potentially lower external validity, higher internal validity so can infer cause/effect
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What are Questionnaires and Surveys?

A
  • Another type of self-report

- Phrasing must be accurate (no leading questions, etc)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Questionnaires and Surveys: advantages and disadvantages

A

Advantages:

  • Inexpensive and fast collection of large amount of data
  • Anonymity

Disadvantages:

  • Sample bias- hard to obtain truly random sample
  • Response sets: positive impression management and malingering
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What are malingering and positive impression management?

A
  • ”Response sets”, or tendencies to distort answers to surveys/questionnaires
  • Malingering: making oneself seem psychologically disturbed, with a clear goal
  • Positive impression management: making ourselves look better than we are
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What are Standardized Tests?

A
  • IQ, personality, memory/cognitive functioning

- Type of self-report method

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What is Reliability (ie, test reliability)?

A
  • Consistency; same results every time, everywhere

- Must be demonstrated first (before validity)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Test-Retest Reliability

A

-Questionnaire yields similar scores over time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Inter-rater Reliability

A

-Extent to which different people (psychologists, observers?) make similar behavioural observations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is Validity (ie, test validity)?

A
  • Measures what it claims to measure
  • External/internal, ecological, etc
  • Must be demonstrated second, after reliability
17
Q

Between-subject vs Within-subject design?

A
  • Between-subject design: participants assigned to either test (independent variable) group, or control (placebo) group
  • Within-subject design: participants act as their own control group; measurement taken before and after independent variable
18
Q

What is population? (in experimental design)

A
  • Designated by uppercase “N”
  • Total group you want to study
  • ex, homeless teenagers, retirees, etc
19
Q

What is a population sample? (in experimental design)

A
  • Participants of study/experiment
  • Denoted as lowercase “n”.
  • Randomly selected, representative subset of N/total population
20
Q

What are the two characteristics of an experiment?

A
  • Random selection and assignment of participants to an;

- Independent variable manipulated by researcher

21
Q

What is an independent variable?

A

A variable that an experimenter manipulates

22
Q

What is a dependent variable?

A

The variable that the experimenter measures to see whether manipulation has an effect.

ex, school grades, health, conviction rates, etc

AKA “outcome variable”

23
Q

Internal validity vs external validity

A

Internal validity: extent to which we can infer cause and effect

  • Low in naturalistic, case studies, correlational design
  • High in experimental design

External validity: extent to which we can generalize findings to the real-world

  • Can be low in experimental design
  • High in naturalistic design
24
Q

Advantages of experiment

A
  • Manipulate variables
  • Show cause and effect
  • Conclude that any difference in DV was caused by IV
25
Disadvantages/pitfalls of experiment
- Placebo - Nocebo - Hawthorne effect (reactivity) - Rosenthall effect (experimenter expectancy=biased outcome)
26
When would one use a correlational instead of an experiment?
- unethical (pepsi in pregnant women) | - impossible
27
What is positive correlation?
When both variables move in the same direction (UP or DOWN)
28
What is negative correlation?
When variables move in opposite directions
29
What is the range of r values?
-1.0 to +1.0
30
What are the strengths of some correlations?
``` (in absolute values + or -) 1 perfect 0.8 strong 0.5 moderate 0.3 weak 0 none ```
31
Can you infer cause and effect from correlational studies (IV or DV influence each other)?
No. But it's possible if the correlation is strong enough.
32
What are some guidelines for research ethics?
1. Informed consent (explanation of purpose, duration, risks, etc) 2. Right to withdraw (without conditions) 3. Debriefing 4. Anonymous and confidential 5. Suggest resources
33
Define "mean"
- Type of central tendency: - Average (sum, divided by n) - Influenced by outliers
34
Define "median"
- Type of central tendency: | - Middle score in an ordered data set; 50th percentile
35
Define "mode"
- Type of central tendency: | - Most frequent score in the data set
36
Low variability vs high variability?
Low var. = values clustered around middle | High var. = values spread out toward extremes
37
What are range and standard deviation?
- Ways of calculating variability - Range: difference between lowest and highest value - Standard deviation: Average distance from mean
38
What is statistical significance?
- Typically a calculation based on on number of values (n) and standard deviation (SD) - ex, "95% confidence" "p < 0.05"