Methods of Data Collection Flashcards
What is the purpose of a correlational study?
to estimate the numerical prediction between two measured variables
How is a correlational study conducted?
choose any 2 variables, measure them with an instrument in as large a sample size as possible, graph it, estimate the direction and strength of the correlation
What is the directionality problem?
for any correlation, A might have caused B, or B might have caused A
What is the third variable problem?
for any correlation, a third, unmeasured variable may be the true cause of the measured ones
What are spurious correlations?
strongly correlated variables that we know are not causally related (pool incidents vs nicholas cage movies)
what does a negative correlation mean?
as the value of one variable increases, the other decreases
What are the problems with pure observation?
isn’t always possible, isn’t always true, can change over time, people disagree, often inconsistent and incomplete
what is the scientific method?
a collection of practices, procedures/methods, and rules for how we observe, share, and think about the world
What are theories?
potential explanations for why or how something works
what are hypotheses?
predictions about what should happen in a specific situation
what are studies/experiments?
tests of a hypothesis by creating or finding situations in which the hypothesis should hold true
what are empirical methods?
a set of rules and techniques for observation
what are the three difficulties that come with studying humans?
complexity, variability, reactivity
what is scientific skepticism
not getting attached to any one theory or hypothesis
what is peer review?
sending your conclusions for review from other scientists
what is replication?
multiple studies done the same way should produce similar data
how do we combat the impossibility and unreliability of observation?
openness (all data publicly available)
double-blind experiments
falsifiable hypotheses
what are confirmatory studies?
those that start with a falsifiable hypothesis and then find data that either confirms or disconfirms it
what are exploratory studies?
studies that start by collecting data without a strong hypothesis, and then look for patterns to come up with a theory
what is an operational definition?
a description of a psychological property in measurable, observable terms
what is a feature of a strong operational definition?
construct validity
what does it mean for a detector to have power?
a detector’s ability to detect the presence of differences or changes in the magnitude of a property
what does it mean for a detector to have reliability?
a detector’s ability to detect the ABSENCE of differences or changes in the magnitude of a property
what is an instrument?
anything that measures the operational definition