Key Terms Flashcards
What is the aim?
The purpose of the investigation.
What is the null hypothesis?
States that there is no relationship between the two variables being studied.
What is the directional hypothesis?
Predicts the nature of the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable.
What is the non-directional hypothesis?
A two tailed hypothesis that doesn’t predict the direction of the difference or relationship.
What is the independent groups design?
An experimental design whereby two groups are exposed to different conditions.
What is matched pairs design?
An experimental design where pairs of participants are matched in terms of key variables, such as age and IQ.
What is repeated measured design?
An experimental design where the same participants take part in each condition of the experiment.
What is counterbalancing?
Used to limit order effects - half of the participant take part in the conditions in one order while the other half take part in them in the opposite order.
What is random sampling?
A technique in which each person is equally likely be selected.
What is opportunity?
When a researcher selects anyone who is available and willing to take part in the study.
What is sampling?
A technique used to select a sample from a larger group to study and draw info about the entire group.
What is volunteer sampling?
A sampling technique where participants self-select to become part of a study.
What is systematic sampling?
A sampling technique that used predetermined system to select the participants from a target. For example, every 4th person from a list.
What are behaviour categories?
Categories of behaviour that are clearly defined, specific actions that can be observed and recorded as examples of the target behaviour.
What is qualitative data?
Non-numerical data.
How is qualitative data collected?
- Interviews.
- Open questions.
What is quantitative data?
Numerical data that can be statistically analysed.
How is quantitative data collected?
- Surveys.
- Questionnaires.
What are open questions?
Questions that do not have fixed responses so they allow the responder to answer however they want.
What are closed questions in psychology?
Questions that restrict the participant to a predetermined set of responses.
What is a likert scale?
A scale rating used to measure opinions, attitudes, or behaviours.
What is operationalisation?
Turning abstract conceptual ideas into measurable observations.
For example, the concept of social anxiety isn’t directly observable but it can be operationally defined in terms of self-rating scores, behavioural avoidance of crowded places or physical anxiety symptoms.
What is an independent variable?
The independent variable is a factor that researchers manipulate or vary in an experiment.
What is the dependent variable?
The variable that researchers measure to assess the impact of the independent variable. It is the outcome or response that is expected to change as a result of manipulating the independent variable.
What is an extraneous variable?
Any variables in a research study other than the independent and dependent variables. These variables can potentially influence the results and need to be controlled or considered to ensure the internal validity of the study.
What is a pilot study?
A small-scale study conducted before the main research to test feasibility.
What is reliability in an experiment?
The consistency or stability of a measurement or research study.
Whats internal validity?
The extent to which an experiment accurately measures the relationship between variables.
Whats external validity?
The extent to which study results can be generalised to other populations or settings.
Whats ecological validity?
The extent to which findings from a study can be generalised to real-world situations.
What is population validity?
The degree to which study results apply to and can be generalised to the entire population.
What is temporal validity?
The extent to which study results remain relevant over time.
What are demand characteristics?
Cues in a study that may lead participants to infer the researchers expectations.
What are investigator effects?
Unintended influences by the researcher on participants or the study outcome.
What is a positive correlation?
A relationship where increases in one variable corresponds with increases in another.
What is negative correlation?
A relationship where increases in one variable correspond with decreases in another.
What is correlation?
A statistical measure indicating the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables.
What is a co-efficient?
A numerical value in a correlation indicating the strength and direction of the relationship.
What is primary data?
Original data collected directly for the specific research study.
What is secondary data?
Existing data collected by someone else for a different purpose, used in a new study.
