defenitions Flashcards
aims
is a statement of what the researcher intends to find out in a research study
hypothesis
a precise testable statement about the assumed relationship between variables
independent variable
the variable which is directly manipulated by the experimentor to tests its effective on the DV
dependent variable
the variable measured by the researcher
debrief
inform the participants (P’s) of the the nature of the study and restore them to the same state as they were at the start of the study (physical and psychological)
ethical issues
where there is a conflict of values between the researcher and the participants concerning the goal, procedure or outcome of a study
operationalise
make the variables measurable (numerical) temperature vs exam score
standardised procedure
a set of procedures and instruction that are the same for all participants to make the study repeatable
quasi experiment
the iv is not deliberately manipulated (naturally occurring
experiment
a research method where causal conclusions can be drawn because the iv has been manipulated to observe the causal effect on the dv
valid consent
participants have been given comprehensive information about the study so they can chose whether to participate
mundane realism
the degree to which the study mirrors the real world
extraneous variables
does not vary systematically with the iv (another variable which may influence the iv eg screaming baby exam room)
cofounding variable
a variable that is not the iv but will vary systematically with the iv (death of pet on exam day)
confederate
someone who knows the true aims of the study and is not a real participant but has been instructed how to behave by the researcher (milgram)
pilot study
a small scale study to look for design improvements
directional hypothesis
states the direction of the iv and dv eg the higher temp in room the worse the exam score
non directional hypothesis
predicts a difference but the direction is not stated (as the temp is increased the scores will change)
null hypothesis
there is no relationship between the variables (as the temp increase there will be no effect on the scores)
alternative hypothesis
external validity
the degree to which research findings can be generalised to another setting (ecological validity)
population validity
the degree to which the research findings can be generalised to another group of people
historical validity
to degree to which the research findings can be generalised over time
independent group design
participants are allocated to two or more groups which represent different levels of the IV (allocation must be done randomly)
matched pairs design
participants are matched in term of age and iq where one member of each pair is allocated to a different IV
repeated measures design
each participant takes part in every condition or level of the IV
lab
an environment where the extraneous variables can be controlled by the researcher
field
the participants are observed in their natural environment
single blind design
the participant is not aware of the true aims of the study
double blind design
both the participant and the researcher are blind to the true aims of the study
researcher bias
when the researcher deliberately influences the participants by using leading question
opportunity sampling
a sample of participants that are available at the time of the study
quota sample
a fixed number of participants from each strata
random sample
a sample of participants selected using a number generator or names in a hat
snowball sample
relies on initial participants finding further participants
systematic sample
selecting everyone nth person (selecting every 10th person)
stratified sampling
a sample of participants identified from subgroups according to their frequency in the whole population
self selected sample
a sample of participants who have volunteered willingly
confidentiality
protecting personal information that may be held on a database about another person
deception
where a participant is not told the true aims of the study so cannot give valid consent
risk of physical or psychological harm
during research participants may experience negative physical or psychological effects and must be debriefed at the end of the study
presumptive consent
asking a group of people who are similar to the participants whether they would agree to take part in the study, it is presumed that the real participants would have agreed
social desirability bias
participants answer questions in a socially desirable way (show themselves in a better light)
time sampling
an observational technique where the observer records specific behaviour in a given time interval
participant observation
observations made by someone who is participating in the same activity which makes them less objective
non participant observation
the observer is separate from the people being observed
covert observation
when a participant is unaware that they are being observed (one way mirror)
observer bias
observers expectations affect what they see or hear and reduces the validity of observation
closed question
questions that have a predetermined answer from the respondent (good for producing quantitative data)
open question
the respondents are invited to produce their own information (produces qualitative data)
questionaire
data collected through the use of written question
semi structured interview
an interview that begins with general questions but gives the respondent more freedom the answer in depth
structure interview
an interview where the question have been decided in advance
case study
a research investigation that involves a detailed study of a single individual or event (not generalisable but it is valid)
content analysis
an observational study where behaviour is observed indirectly in written or verbal material such as a book a diary or a tv program
measures of central tendency
they inform the researcher about the middle values of a set of data (include mean, median and mode)
measures of dispersion
a set of data which is described in terms of how it is dispersed (range, standard deviation and the variants)
mean
this is calculated by adding all the data and dividing by number of data items. it can only be used with ratio and interval data
median
all the data items must be arranged in order and the central value is found. if there are two values in the middle add them up and divide by two. can only be used with interval, ratio and ordinal data
mode
most common data item. with nominal data it is the category with the highest frequency. it is possible to have two or more modes (bimodal or trimodal)
range
difference between highest and lowest value
standard deviation
this is a method of expressing the dispersion of a set of data using a formula
levels of measurement
the four different types of data. nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio
nominal
data expressed in categories by grouping people (football teams)
ordinal
data that is ordered or ranked according to a scale (1st 2nd 3rd 4th)
interval
where an artificial scale is used with equal intervals. strongly disagree, moderately disagree, no opinion, agree, strongly agree
ratio
there is a true 0 value. usually used to measure physical quantities such as temperature
bar chart
a graph used to represent the frequency of data where the categories are on the x axis and there is no true zero
histogram
the blocks on a histogram are different widths and represent the frequency which is found by calculating the area of the rectangles. used for continuous data where there is a true zero and are no spaces between the bars
normal distribution
a symmetrical bell shaped curve where the central line represents the mean and the standard deviation is measured in increments either side of the mean
positive skew
the majority of the scores lie to the left where the mode is the highest peak the median is the second highest and mean is the lowest
negative skew
most of the scores are to the right. the mean is less than the median which is less than the mode
quantitative data
numerical data. usually created from closed questions
qualitative data
descriptive data. created from open questions
