Chapter 5 textbook notes

Question 1

construct validity

Answer 1

how well a studys variables are measured or manipulated

Question 2

what are the 3 kinds of measures for operationalization?

Answer 2

self-report, observational, and physiological

Question 3

What equipment can be used for physiological measures?

Answer 3

EMG (facial emg records muscles in the face), fMRI or MRI

Question 4

How can saliva help us operationalize stress?

Answer 4

measure the amount of the hormone cortisol released in saliva

Question 5

what do most people believe is the best measure for operationalization?

Answer 5

physiological measures but even these need to be validated using other measures

Question 6

How many levels must a variable have?

Answer 6

at least 2

Question 7

What are operational variables classified as?

Answer 7

categorical (nominal) or quantitative (height, weight, etc)

Question 8

ordinal scale

Answer 8

ranked order; intervals between may be unequal. ex ranking 10 books in a bookstore.

Question 9

interval scale

Answer 9

Quantitative: intervals are equal distances; there is no true 0. ex: A score of 0 on an IQ test does not mean the person has 0 intelligence. Body temperature in Celsius is another example; a temperature of 0 degrees does not mean no temperature.

Question 10

Ratio Scale

Answer 10

Quantitative equal intervals, and the value of 0 truly means 0. For example, on an exam, a score of 0 means a 0.

Question 11

what is the difference betweeen reliability and validity?

Answer 11

reliability refers to how consistent the results fo a measure are and validity refers to whether the operationalization is measuring what it is supposed to measure

Question 12

test-retest reliability

Answer 12

a participant will get the same score each time they are measured with it

Question 13

inter-rater reliability

Answer 13

consistent scores are obtained no matter who measures the variable

Question 14

internal reliability

Answer 14

a participant gives a consistent pattern of answers, no matter how the researchers phrase the question

Question 15

what are 2 statistical devices researchers can use for data analysis?

Answer 15

scatterplots and correlation coefficient

Question 16

correlation coefficient

Answer 16

how close the dots or points on a scatterplot are to a line drawn through them

Question 17

average inter-item correlation

Answer 17

average of all these correlations

Question 18

Cronbach’s alpha

Answer 18

combines the AIC and the number of items in the scale

Question 19

what does it mean if the AIC or cronbachs alpha is acceptable?

Answer 19

this means there is good internal reliability and they can sum all the items together.

Question 20

what does it mean if the AIC and cronbachs alpha are unacceptable?

Answer 20

the researchers look carefully at the items, perhaps revisiting or omitting some

Question 21

face validity

Answer 21

the extent to which a measure is subjectively considered a plausible operationalization of the conceptual variable

Question 22

content validity

Answer 22

the extent to which a measure captures all parts of a defined construct

Question 23

criterion validity

Answer 23

an empirical form of measurement validity that establishes the extent to which a measure is associated with a behavioral outcome, which it should be associated with

Question 24

known groups paradigm

Answer 24

A method for establishing criterion validity, which a researcher tests 2 or more groups who are known to differ on the variable of interest to ensure they score differently on a measure of that variable

Question 25

convergent validity

Answer 25

the extent to which a self-report measure correlates with other measures of a theoretically similar construct

Question 26

discriminant validity

Answer 26

the extent to which a self-report measure does not correlate strongly with measures of theoretically dissimilar constructs

Question 27

Are validity and reliability the same?

Answer 27

no