Lecture 2

Question 1

Conceptualization

Answer 1

Identify the concepts you want to study. (e.g., empathy, prosocial behavior, violence)

Question 2

Operationalization

Answer 2

Specify how you define or measure the concepts in your research question. (e.g., How do you measure empathy?)

Question 3

Dependent variable

Answer 3

A variable that is hypothesized to vary depending on the influence of another variable (i.e., what you measure/observe)

Question 4

Independent variable

Answer 4

A variable that is hypothesized to cause or lead to changes in another variable (i.e., what you define, control or manipulate, so that you can measure the effect on the dependent variable).

Question 5

non-manipulable

Answer 5

Note that many variables in social research are (e.g., gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status).

Question 6

Nominal level

Answer 6

no mathematical interpretation; categories vary in quality. e.g. omnivore, vegetarian, vegan, or fruitarian

Question 7

Ordinal level

Answer 7

categories have a logical order. e.g. fail, pass, or distinction

Question 8

discrete measures

Answer 8

Measures at the nominal and ordinal level are also called

Question 9

Interval level

Answer 9

equal intervals represent equal differences. e.g. temperature, year

Question 10

Ratio level

Answer 10

contains absolute zero e.g. reaction time, distance

Question 11

continuous measures

Answer 11

Measures at the interval and ratio level are also called

Question 12

validity

Answer 12

indicates whether conclusions are well-founded.

Question 13

Internal validity

Answer 13

Are the causal relations between variables real?

Question 14

Causality

Answer 14

A concern with establishing a “cause and effect” connection between variables, rather than the mere relationship between them

Question 15

Confounding variables

Answer 15

variables beyond the operationalized dependent or independent variables that could influence the findings.

Question 16

Experimenter bias

Answer 16

the behavior or actions of the experimenter may influence the responses of the participants or the data collection in general

Question 17

Single blind experiment

Answer 17

Information that could bias the results is withheld from the participants.

Question 18

Double-blind experiment

Answer 18

Information that could bias the results is withheld from both the participants and the experimenter.

Question 19

External validity

Answer 19

Can results be generalized to other settings or other populations

Question 20

Reactivity

Answer 20

Participants adjust their behavior/responses because they know that they are being observed

Question 21

Demand characteristics

Answer 21

Participants adjust their behavior/responses according to what they believe the researcher expects or hypothesizes.

Question 22

Ecological validity

Answer 22

Are findings applicable to everyday life? Does the research setting resemble a “real-world” situation

Question 23

Reliability

Answer 23

Are measures consistent? (i.e., do they give the same results over time when the phenomeon has not changed?)

Question 24

Measurement validity

Answer 24

Type of validity associated with whether an indicator really measures a concept

Question 25

Face validity

Answer 25

does the measure reflect the concept in question “at face value

Question 26

Content validity

Answer 26

Does the measure cover the full range of the concept’s meaning? (e.g., does the measure cover different aspects of scientific curiosity?).

Question 27

Criterion validity

Answer 27

Compare scores on the newly developed measure with scores on another more direct or already validated outcome measure of the same phenomenon

Question 28

Concurrent validity

Answer 28

Compare the scores on the measure with another outcome measured at the same time (e.g., is the measure positively related to the extent to which people choose to read short stories about scientific discoveries?

Question 29

Predictive validity

Answer 29

Can the measure predict a future outcome? (e.g., can the measure predict who often reads popular science books/magazines or visits popular science websites?)

Question 30

Construct validity

Answer 30

showing that a measure corresponds with established measures of theoretically related concepts. (e.g., is the scientific curiosity scale positively related to a validated general curiosity questionnaire?)

Question 31

Discriminant validity

Answer 31

showing that a measure is not related (or negatively related) to measures of concepts that should theoretically not be related

Question 32

Triangulation

Answer 32

the use of two or more methods to study the same research question, or the use of two ore more measures to indicate the same variable.

Question 33

Convergence

Answer 33

between measures increases confidence in the validity of the measures

Question 34

Divergence

Answer 34

between measures could indicate measurement error or that the measures genuinely tap different concepts

Question 35

Cross-sectional design

Answer 35

• A study, measuring more than one case at a single point in time to test variation (often a survey/ questionnaire)
• Quantitative data
• Examine relationships between variables (i.e., correlation)
• no conclusions about causality (= weak internal validity)!

Question 36

Longitudinal design

Answer 36

• Research in which data is collected at two or more points in time
• Very intensive and expensive in terms of time and resources
• Potential issues with attrition and subject fatigue

Question 37

Panel study

Answer 37

cross-sectional sample that is followed over time

Question 38

Cohort study

Answer 38

sample consists of a group that experiences some event (such as being born) in a selected time period

Question 39

Case study design

Answer 39

• Detailed and extensive analysis of one case.

- Often qualitative, but can also be quantitative

Question 40

Comparative design

Answer 40

• Comparing two or more cases, or two or more samples.

- Often quantitative in survey form, but can also be qualitative