Exam 1 Flashcards
Introduction, Acquiring Knowledge, the Scientific Method, Research Ideas, Defining and Measuring Variables, APA Format, and Ethics (38 cards)
Tenacity
- Long-held beliefs
- Repetition makes ideas more believable
- Cliches, superstitions, politics
Intuition
Gut feeling; hunches; instinct
Authority/Faith
- Expert/Respected Source
- Sacred texts/individuals, internet
Anecdotal Evidence
Accept unquestioningly what your own personal judgment or a single story about a person’s experience tells you about the world
-Not based on research, can lead to disappointment
Empirical Method.Empiricism
Observations via senses
The Scientific Method
1) Make informal observations
2) Identify variables; form hypothesis
3) Use deductive reasoning to form a specific, testable prediction
4) Make systematic (structured) observations
5) Draw conclusions; support or reject hypothesis based on data
Science
- Solvable/testable hypotheses
- Systematic (empirical) observations; objective
- Falsifiable/Refutable
- Publicly verified
Pseudoscience
- Relies on subjective evidence
- Irrefutable/Refutable results explained away or ignored
- Not grounded in past science. Develop new theories and “jargon”
Population
The set of all the individuals of interest in a particular study.
Sample
A set of individuals selected from a population, usually intended to represent the population in a research study.
Variable
A characteristic or condition that changes or has different values for different individuals.
Statistics
Refers to a set of mathematical procedures for organizing, summarizing, and interpreting information.
Descriptive
Summarize and describe (number, range, frequency, average).
Inferential
Draw conclusions and generalize.
Data
measurementS or observationS
Datum
a SINGLE measurement or observation and is commonly called a score or a raw score.
Sampling Error
Is the discrepancy, or the amount of error, that exists between a sample statistic and the corresponding population parameter.
Quantitative
Referring to quantity
Qualitative
Referring to quality
Population Parameter
Is a value, usually numerical, that describes a population. A parameter is usually derived from measurements of the individuals in the sample.
Sample Statistic
Is a value, usually numerical, that describes a sample. A sample statistic is usually derived from measurements of the individuals in the sample.
Continuous
Can be broken down into smaller units; weight, height, etc.
Discrete
Remember “concrete”; number of dogs in household
Nominal
Basically refers to discrete data such as the name of your school, type of car you drive, or the name of a book. Easy to remember because “nominal sounds like name.”