Chapter Two - Research Methodology Flashcards
The Scientific Method
objective approach to draw conclusions from observations
Theory
I
Hypothesis
I
Research
I OR I
support refute/fail to
your support your
theory theory
Theory
interconnected ideas or concepts used to explain prior observations an to make predictions (broad)
Hypothesis
a testable prediction about the outcome that would best support the theory
Research
the systematic and careful collection of data (goal to avoid bias)
What defines a good theory?
- Generates a testable hypothesis
- Is falsifiable
- Is parsimonious
descriptive studies
research method that involves observing and noting the behavior of people or other animals to provide a systematic and objective analysis of the behavior
naturalistic observation
*descriptive study
researcher is a passive observer, making no attempt to change or alter ongoing behavior
participant observation
*descriptive study
researcher is actively involved in the situation
case study
*descriptive study
intensive examination of unusual people or organizations (unique/random occurrences)
Ethical Problems with Observational Studies
- deception
- lack of informed consent
- privacy concerns
- researcher loses objectivity (participant observation)
longitudinal studies
*developmental design
research method that studies the same participants multiple times over a period of time
cross-sectional studies
*developmental design
a research method that compares participants in different groups (ex. young and old) at the same time
observer bias
systematic errors in observation that occur because of an observer’s expectations
experimenter expectancy effect
actual change in the behavior of the people or nonhuman animals being observed that is due to the expectations of the observer
–>experimenter should be “double-blinded”
correlational studies
a research method that examines how variables are naturally related in the real world, without any attempt by the researcher to alter them or assign causation between them
directionality problem
a problem encountered in correlational studies; the researchers find a relationship between two variables, but they cannot determine which variable may have caused changes in the other variable
third variable problem
a problem that occurs when the researcher cannot directly manipulate variables, as a result, the researcher cannot be confident that another unmeasured variable is not the actual cause of differences in the variables of interest
confound
anything that affects a dependent variable and may unintentionally vary between the experimental conditions of the study
external validity
the degree to which the findings of an experiment can be generalized outside the laboratory
selection bias
in an experiment, unintended differences between the participants in different groups
reactivity
when the knowledge that one is being observed alters the behavior being observed
self-report methods
methods of data collection in which people are asked to provide information about themselves, such as in a questionnaire or survey
response performance
a research method in which researchers quantify perceptual or cognitive processes in response to a specific stimulus
coincidence
surprising co-occurence of events that we perceive as meaningfully related (ex. sports: playing a certain song -> better performance)
selective recall
tendency to remember only facts or events that are unusual, personally enhancing, or that fit a narrative
confirmation bias
tendency to attend to and accept facts that fit our pre-existing beliefs and to discount facts that are contradicting
affect bias
tendency to make judgements based upon emotions with little input from deliberate reasoning (ex. judges making harsher decisions after an irritating morning)
availability bias
tendency to make judgements on the basis of which examples come most easily to find
Gambler’s Fallacy
tendency to believe that the odds for occurrence of random events in the future depends on what already happened in the past (ex. 6 tails in a row –> must be a heads next)
What are the goals of scientific research?
- describe
- explain
- predict
- control/apply
Types of self-report bias
- socially desirable responding/faking good: person responds in way that is most socially acceptable
- better-than-average effect: people tend to describe themselves in a positive way that are not necessarily true
- selective recall: people don’t remember accurately
Developmental designs
examine changes in behavior, mental processing, etc over a lifespan
positive vs. negative correlation
pos: both variables change in same direction
neg: as one variable increases, the other decreases
strength of correlation
how often do the variables come together
correlation coefficient
tells how strong the correlation is
experimental design
control situation factors, provide a comparison
Hawthorn Effect
non-specific response to any change (ex. increase in productivity due to ANY change in environment)
Quasi-Experimental Design
when it is impossible/unethical to manipulate variables (ex. age, gender, cocaine use)
*no random assignment
inferential statistics
a set of procedures used to make judgements about whether differences actually exist between sets of numbers
meta-analysis
a “study of studies” that combines the findings of multiple studies to arrive at a conclusion
descriptive statistics
statistics that summarize the data collected in a study
internal validity
the extend to which the data collected in a study address the research hypothesis in the way intended
external validity
is the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations and to other people
ethical issues with research
privacy: invasion of personal things
access to data: must be concerned with who will be able to see the data collected (confidentiality)
informed consent: making a knowledgable decision to participate in an experiment
