Chapter 3- How psychologists do research Flashcards
Basic research
answers fundamental questions about behaviour
Applied research
looks into issues that have implications for everyday life and provides solutions to everyday problems
Scientific method
assumptions, rules, and procedures scientists use to conduct research
used to create:
- Laws
- Theories
- Hypothesis
Laws
principles that are general and apply to all situations
Theories
set of principles that explains and predicts many observed relationships
Characteristics of theory (3)
- General - applied to many different outcomes
- Parsimonious - simplest possible explanation
- Falsifiable - prediction can be made and measured to be correct or incorrect
Research methods (5)
- Ask questions
- Explore existing research ideas
- Develop a theory + construct a testable hypothesis - rough draft
- Test hypothesis using systematic methods
- Evaluate and share findings
Validity
how good research is
Internal validity
to what extent can we trust the conclusions about the independent and dependent variables?
Construct validity
how well do the variables used assess the variables they were designed to measure?
external validity
the extent to which the results too general
meta-analysis
technique that uses the results of existing studies to draw conclusions about those studies
placebo
inactive substance or fake treatment used as a control in an experiment
deception
participants are not completely and fully informed about the study before participating
correlation
a measure of how strongly two variables are related to one another
relationship among 2 or more variables
correlation does not equal causation
objective
unbiased
moral principles
weighting risks against benefits, acting responsibly and with integrity, seeking justice, and respecting people’s rights and dignity
debriefing
explain the research in everyday language after the study is done
standard deviation
how much, on average, individual scores differ from the mean
coefficient of correlation
the strength (size) and direction of the relationship between two variables
negative correlation (-1 - 0) positive correlation (0-1) zero correlation (0) means no relation between variables -1 and 1 are the strongest
correlational research
a descriptive study that
discovers relationships between variables and can predict future events from them
experimental research
manipulation of experiences between equivalent groups and measurement of the influence of the manipulation
operationalization
a precise definition of a term that specifies the operations for observing and measuring the area of interest
empirical
based on systemic collection and analysis of data
standardization
consistency and objectivity of how tests are administered and scored
hypothesis
an assumption/idea that is proposed for the sake of argument so that it can be tested to see if it might be true
descriptive research
yield descriptions of current thoughts, feelings, and behaviours but can’t provide us with casual explanations
- case study, observational study
observational studies
researcher observes
positive correlation
positive correlation (0-1); increase in 1 variables associated with increase in another and vice versa
1 is the strongest
descriptive research
gives descriptions of current thoughts, feelings, and behaviours but can’t provide us with casual explanations
- case study, observational study
zero correlation
(0) means no relation between variables
