Exam 1 Flashcards
Causation
Relationship between cause and effect, in that one variable is shown to have caused the observed change in another variable
Confidentiality
A participant’s responses are kept private although the researcher may be able to link the participant with his/her responses
Testable hypothesis
An educated prediction that can be disproven
Descriptive research
Research design in which the primary goal is to describe the variables, but not examine relationships among variables
Reliability
Consistency of findings or measures
Validity
Accuracy of findings of measures
Reliably of a study
How consistent the results are across similar studies
Replication
Conducting the same study with new participants (literal replication) or conducting a study examining the same patterns or relationships but with different methods (conceptual replication)
Confound
A variable that is not the focus of the research study, but affects the variables of interest in the study
Anonymity
No one other than the participant can link the participant to his/her responses
Measurement reliability
Consistency of a measure
Measurement validity
Measurement is accurate in that it measures what it purports to measure
Construct
A concept that cannot be directly observed or measured
Operational definition
The explicit explanation of a variable in terms of how it is measured or manipulated
Qualitative measurement
Non numerical
Quantitative measurement
Numerical
True zero
Zero is a fixed point
Nominal scale
Numbers represent categories and have no numerical value
Types of cars
Ordinal scale
Numbers that have order so that each number is greater/ less than other numbers–rankings
Interval scale
Measurement that has both order and equal intervals between values on the scale
Temperature
Ratio scale
Values measure quantity and have order, equal intervals, and a true zero
Likert type scale
Commonly used interval scale response in which items are rated in a range of numbers that are assumed to have equal intervals
Assessment on a questionnaire
Open ended response
Item on a scale that requires the respondents to generate their own answers
Cronbach’s Alpha
Test used to assess the internal consistency of a scale by computing the inter correlations among responses to scale items; values of .70 or higher are interpreted as acceptable internal consistency
Split half reliability
Correlations between the responses to half the items on a scale to the other half; values of .70 or higher are considered to denote acceptable reliability
Test retest reliability
Measure of the stability of scores on a scale over time
Inter rater reliability
Measure of agreement between different raters’ scores
Informed consent
An ethical standard by which potential participants are informed of the topic, procedures, risks, and benefits of participation prior to consenting to participate
Debriefing
Clearing up any misconceptions that the participant might have and addressing any negative effects of the study
Deception
Can be harmful but may be necessary for particular studies
Scientific approach
- Identify topic
- Find, read, and evaluate past research
- Further refine topic and develop a hypothesis
- Choose a research design
- Plan and carry out study
- Analyze data
- Communicate results
Correlational research
Design in which the relationship amount two or more variables is examined but causality cannot be determined
Experimental research
Research design that attempts to determine a causal relationship by manipulating one variable, randomly assigning participants to different levels of that manipulated variable, and measuring the effect of that manipulation on another variable
Quasi-experimental
Basically an experiment but there is no random assignment and thus cannot demonstrate causation
Independent variable
Variable that is manipulated
Dependent variable
Variable measured and is expected to change
Primary research source
Authors report results of an original research study that they conducted
Secondary research source
Authors review research but do not report results of an original study
Scholarly sources
Designed to advance knowledge in a field, written by someone with expertise in that field with knowledge of the field, that cited and builds upon other scholarly sources
Popular sources
Designed to entertain or educate and was written for those who don’t have any knowledge in the topic area
Peer review
Process in which scholarly works are reviewed by other experts in the field
Literature review
Review of past research without a report of original research
Meta-analysis
A type of review in which the statistical results of past research are synthesized but no original data were collected or analyzed
Main sections of a journal article
Abstract Introduction Methods Results Discussion
Power
The ability to find stat sig when in fact a pattern exists. Sample size and strength of the relationship between two or more variables are two factors that impact a study’s power
Internal validity
The extent to which you can demonstrate a casual relationship between your IV and DV
External validity
The extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other samples, settings, or procedures
Institutional review board
Put in place to ensure ethical standards are kept and needed when not in class study
Research ethics
Uses IRB approval to ensure that all research remains ethical
Tunksky syphillis study
Nuremberg trials
APA Formatting
Authors (year). Title of study. Title of journal in italics, volume, pages-not italicized. Doi:
Critical thinking
Higher level thinking using analysis and reasoning
