Chapter 2 - Research Methods in Human Sexuality Flashcards
Inference
Conclusion or opinion
Hypothesis
A precise prediction about behavior that is tested through research.
Anthropomorphism
The attributing of human characteristics to an animal.
Variables
Quantities or qualities that vary or may vary.
Demographic
Concerning the viral statistics (race, gender, age, religion, etc.) of human populations.
Population
A complete group of organisms or events.
Sample
Part of a population.
Generalize
To go from the particular to the general.
Random Sample
A sample in which every member of a population has an equal chance of participating.
Stratified Random Sample
A random sample in which known subgroups in a population are represented in proportion to their numbers in the population.
Case Study
A carefully drawn, in-depth biography of an individual or a small group of individuals that may be obtained through interviews, questionnaires, and historical records.
Survey
A detailed study of a sample obtained by means such as interviews and questionnaires.
Volunteer Basis
A slanting of research that is caused by the characteristics of individuals who volunteer to participate, such as willingness to discuss intimate behavior.
Confidentiality
Ethics requires that sex researchers do not reveal the identities and behaviors of participants in research. Sometimes records are coded so that someone breaking into them would not be able to decipher the identity of participants. Records are also usually destroyed after all useful information has been gathered.
Reliability
The consistency of accuracy of a measure.
Validity
With respect to interviews, questionnaires, and tests, the degree to which an item measures what is supposed to measure.
Incidence
A measure of the occurrence or the degree of occurrence of an event.
Frequency
The number of times an action is repeated within a given period.
Social Desirability
A response bias to a questionnaire or interview in which the person provides a socially acceptable response.
Naturalistic Observation
A method i which organisms are observed in their natural environments.
Ethnographic Observations
A method of research that deals descriptively with specific cultures, especially preliterate societies.
Participant Observation
A method in which observers interact with the people the study as they collect data.
Laboratory Observation
A method in which subjects are studied in a laboratory setting.
Penile Strain Gauge
A device for measuring sexual arousal in men in terms of changes in the circumference of the penis.
Vaginal Plethysmograph
A tampon-like probe that is inserted in the vagina and suggests the level of vasocongestion by measuring the light reflected from the vaginal walls.
Vasocongestion
Congestion from the flow of blood.
Myotonia
Muscle tension.
Correlation
A statistical measure of the relationship between to variables.
Correlation Coefficient
A statistic that expresses the strength and direction (positive or negative) of the relationship between two variables.
Experiment
A scientific method that seeks to confirm cause-and-effect relationships by manipulating independent variables and observing their effects on dependent variables.
Treatment
In experiments, an intervention that is administered to participants (e.g., a test, a drug, or sex-education program) so that it’s effects may be observed.
Independent Variable
A condition in a scientific study that is manipulated so that its effects may be observed.
Dependent Variable
The measured result of an experiment, which is believed to be a function of the independent variable.
Experimental Group
A group of study participants who receive a treatment.
Control Group
A group of study participants who do not receive the experimental treatment. However, other conditions are held comparable to those of individuals in the experimental group.
Selection Factor
A bias that may operate in research when people are allowed to determine whether of not they will receive a treatment.
In a(n) _____ sample, every member of the target population has an equal chance in participating.
random
The ______ reports interviewed 5,300 males and 5,940 females between 1938 and 1949.
Kinsey
Government studies of the sexual experience of single teenagers in the United States have found that the self-reported incidence of sexual intercourse
decreased from 1988 through 2010.
Experimenters randomly assign subjects to experimental or _____ groups.
control
A scientific sample must be
representative
Participants did not provide informed consent in the ______ Syphilis Study.
Tuskegee
People who agree to participate in psychological research may not represent the general population because of
volunteer bias.
Most researchers agree that the best means of learning about cause and effect is
the experiment.
Katherine Frank engaged in
participant-observation.
______ conducted a case study of Leonardo da Vinci.
Sigmund Freud
