Lesson0.1: Research Methods

Question 1

What is a theory?

Answer 1

A theory is a well-sustained explanation for a natural phenomenon that is broader than a single hypothesis

Question 2

What do experiments do to theories?

Answer 2

Expand, support, or refute them

Question 3

What is a requirement of a hypothesis?

Answer 3

It must be falsifiable

Question 4

What is operationalization?

Answer 4

The process of determining how things will be measured and what those data will represent

Question 5

What are independent variables also known as?

Answer 5

A factor, explanatory variable, predictor

Question 6

What are levels?

Answer 6

Potential values of a factor/independent variable. Each factor has two or more levels.

Question 7

What are combinations of factor levels called?

Answer 7

Treatments

Question 8

What are experimental units?

Answer 8

The things being experimented on.
Animals: subjects
People: participants

Question 9

What are confounding variables?

Answer 9

Unmeasured variables that may also affect the dependent variable

Question 10

When should risks to participants be taken?

Answer 10

Only if it is necessary and outweighed by the expected benefits of the study

Question 11

What should researchers do in a study where deception is necessary?

Answer 11

They should tell participants as much as possible about the expriment beforehand, should reveal its true purpose afterwards, and should give participants the opportunity to ask questions

Question 12

What is a vulnerable population and what are some examples?

Answer 12

A population that is not able to protect its members’ self-interests in the course of being test subjects.
Examples include people who…
-lack the cognitive capacity to understand the risks involved
-lack the linguistic abilities to understand what they’re consenting to
-are in such poverty that monetary incentives would disproportionately convince them to undergo particularly risky work

Question 13

What kind of work is ideal with vulnerable populations?

Answer 13

Work for vulnerable populations. For example, developing a pharmaceutical that may more quickly cure jaundice in newborns.

Question 14

What are categorical variables and what are the two types?

Answer 14

Variables that are categories (favourite colour, university major, preferred mode of transportation)
2 types:
1) Nominal
2) Ordinal

Question 15

What is a quantitative variable and what are the two types?

Answer 15

Variables that are numbers and behave like numbers (height, weight, salary)
2 types:
1) Interval
2) Ratio

Question 16

What is a nominal variable?

Answer 16

A type of categorical variable that names something but has no meaningful order. For example, eye colour

Question 17

What is an ordinal variable?

Answer 17

A categorical variable that classifies data into ordered categories but does not convey the degree or magnitude of difference between the categories. For example, pain scales; the difference between moderate and severe pain is not conveyed

Question 18

What is an interval variable?

Answer 18

A quantitative variable that measures the intervals between values on a scale. It has an arbitrary zero point, so the ratios between values are not
meaningful. Valid operations include addition and subtraction. For example, temperature

Question 19

What is a ratio variable?

Answer 19

A type of quantitative variable that has a meaningful zero and equal distance between points. Valid operations include addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, powers, logs, and everything else. For example, kinetic energy

Question 20

What are negative controls in experimental studies?

Answer 20

Procedures not expected to produce results (a placebo)

Question 21

What are positive controls in experimental studies?

Answer 21

Procedures with well-understood, usually positive effects (e.g., a previously established vaccine)

Question 22

What are the 3 stages of experimental design?

Answer 22

1) Recruit
2) Sort
3) Repeat

Question 23

What is a population vs a sample?

Answer 23

A population is the group that we wish to know about. A sample is the group of participants from the population

Question 24

What are the 4 types of recruitment methods?

Answer 24

1) Simple random sampling
2) Cluster random sampling
3) Stratified sampling
4) Snowball sampling

Question 25

What is simple random sampling?

Answer 25

Selecting participants purely randomly

Question 26

What is cluster random sampling?

Answer 26

Selecting clusters (e.g., townships) of participants randomly
-This is a convenient method

Question 27

What is stratified sampling?

Answer 27

Sorting a population into subpopulations (demographics), then randomly sample proportionately from those subpopulations

Question 28

What is snowball sampling?

Answer 28

Used when the sample is hard to recruit. Initial participants are found, then they refer researchers to other participants

Question 29

What is a block design?

Answer 29

Where participants are grouped first (e.g., by gender), then randomized making sure equal numbers of each group go into each of the experimental groups

Question 30

What is a matched pair design?

Answer 30

Each participant has a partner that matches them in a target variable(s) that the experimenters think might be meaningful (e.g., age, geneder, smoking status). Then, those partners are separated into different groups

Question 31

What is blinding and describe the 3 types

Answer 31

Blinding refers to who knows whether a participant is in the experimental or control group.

1) Unblinded: everyone knows which participants are in which group
2) Single-blind: the participant doesn’t know which group they’re in, but the researcher does
3) Double-blind: neither the participant nor the researcher knows which group the participant is in; only a third party (a research coordinator) knows this

Question 32

What are observational studies?

Answer 32

Studies observing variables without manipulating them

Question 33

What are correlational studies?

Answer 33

Studies that seek to correlate two or more variables. For example, observational studies

Question 34

What are cross-sectional studies?

Answer 34

Studies that study a sample(s) at one point in time

Question 35

What are longitudinal studies?

Answer 35

Studies that study one sample over a length of time

Question 36

What are quasi-experimental studies?

Answer 36

Studies where there are indepedent and dependent variables, but no random assignment

Question 37

What are case-control studies?

Answer 37

Studies employed when studying something rare. Studies two groups: one that has a certain ouctome (e.g., skin cancer) and one that doesn’t. Then, the values of another variable (e.g., sun exposure) are compared between groups

Question 38

What are case studies?

Answer 38

Studies that dig deeply into a few cases. These are often used in the development of models, which are often tested with other methods

Question 39

What is a mixed methods study?

Answer 39

An approach that combines multiple methods in a way that paints a more complete picture than any of the individual methods

Question 40

Populations have _________, samples have _________

Answer 40

Paramters, statistics