Chapter 2 Vocab - research methods Flashcards
Applied Research
type of research that attempts to find practical solutions
Basic research
theoretical research mean to increase our scientific knowledge base
Bimodal distribution
when data has 2 modes or clusters
Case study
an in-depth investigation of an individual subject
Confidentiality
information between a patient and a therapist or doctor, cannot be shared, ethical guidelines
Confounding variables
unexpected factors that affect your study
Controls
a person’s ability/perception of their ability to affect themselves and their environment
Control group
no special treatment or manipulation of the tested independent variable, similar subjects to experimental group
Correlation coefficient
a numerical index of the degree of relationship between 2 variables
Correlation
exists when 2 variables are related to each other
Critical thinking
reasoning that does not blindly accept arguments
Debriefing
telling participants all the details of the experiment and offering support
dependent variable
the variable that is thought to be affected by manipulation of the independent variable
descriptive statistics
analyze data to help describe, show, or summarize in a meaningful way
Double-blind study
participants and researcher don’t know who gets placebo and who gets real drug
Experiment
a research method in which the investigator manipulates a variable under control conditions and observes any changes
Experimental group
special treatment, manipulation of independent variable to see effects
Experimental effect
tendency of an experimenter to influence the participants or interpret the data
Experimenter bias
when the researcher interferes with true results of the a study
hindsight bias
the tendency to mold one’s interpretation of the past to fit how events actually happened “i knew it all along”
frequency distribution
chart
Hawthorne effect
if people know they are being observed or studied, they don’t act naturally
Histogram
bars touch, displays numbers
Hypothesis
a tentative statement about the relationship between 2 or more variables
independent variable
a condition/event that an experimenter varies in order to see its impact on another variable
inferential statistics
used to interpret data and draw conclusions, allows researchers to see if their data supports their hypothesis
Informed consent
researchers working with humans need to obtain their consent to participate in an experiment
Line of best fit
a straight line that best fits data points on a graph
Mean
the average
Measure of central tendency
a category of averages, numbers tend to bunch near the middle
Measures of variability
summary statistic that represents the amount of dispersion in a dataset
Median
the middle data point
Mode
the data value that occurs the most in the set
naturalistic observation
when a researcher engages in careful observation of behavior without interfering directly with the subjects
Negative skew
scores piles up at the high end of the scale (skew left)
Normal curve
bell shaped distribution, frequency occurrence of many natural phenomena
Observer bias
researcher’s expectation about their research study
Observer effect
the recognition that researchers are interacting with the system and changing the phenomena being studied
Operational definition
describes the actions/operations that will be used to measure or control a variable
Outliers
values in the data that are very far from the others
P-value
probability value, how likely your data would’ve occurred differently
Participant bias
tendency of participants in an experiment to subconsciously/consciously act in a way they think the researcher wants them to act
Participant observation
the persons/animals whose behavior is systematically observed in a study
Placebo effect
mind’s ability to affect bodily processes
Polygon
a graph depicting a statistical distribution, made up of lines connecting peaks of adjacent intervals
Population
a whole group, too large to study, denoted with a N
Positive skew
scores pile up at the low end of the scale, skewed right
Random assignment
occurs when all subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to any group or condition in a study
Range
the difference between the highest and lowest score in a dataset
Reliability
the measurement consistency of a test, yield similar scores from repetition
Replicate
repeating an experiment to see whether the same results are obtained
Representative sample
a group that closely matches the characteristics of its population as a whole
Sampling
the process of selecting for a study a limited number of units from a larger set
Sampling error
differences between results from an experiment to actual results from the population
Scatter plot
a picture of where data falls across 2 variables, graphic representation of a correlation
Scientific method
standardized way of making observations, gathering data, forming theories
Significant difference
between 2 groups and is the probability of obtaining the difference by chance, small
Single-blind study
research technique where subjects don’t know if they are part of the experimental group or control group
Skew distribution
not symmetrical
Standard deviation
average difference between each score and the mean
Statistical significance
using statistics to analyze their data and to decide whether their hypothesis is supported or not
Survey
questionnaire
T-test
compares the means of two sets of data
Theory
a system of interrelated ideas used to explain a set of observations
Validity
the ability of a test to measure what it was designed to measure or test
Variability
low → all scores are close together, high → scores are spread out
