Midterm (Ch 1, 2, 3, 5) Flashcards
Holding onto facts/beliefs just because they have been known for a long time
Method of Tenacity
Info is accepted as being true because it feels right
Method of Intuition
Relying on an expert’s expertise to answer questions
Method of Authority
Method faith
Blindly following an authority without verifying information
Rational Method
Seeking answers with logical reasonning
What is logical reasoning
Argument -> Premises -> Conclusions
Empirical method
Answer questions with direct observations/experiences (using 5 senses or else)
Problems with authority method of acquiring knowledge
authorities can be biased, answers could be opinions of the authority and not facts, assuming that one’s expertise can be applied to other domains
Problems with rational method of acquiring knowledge
conclusions cannot be true unless premises are true, people suck at making valid reasoning
What are variables
Conditions that have different values for different individuals
What is deduction, when is it used
Going from a general statement to specific conclusions, is used to find a testable prediction after our hypothesis
What does it means that the scientific method is empirical
answers are obtained by making observations through structured testing
What does it means that the scientific method is public
Makes its findings available to others to consult and replicate
What does it means that the scientific method is objective
It prevents researchers’ bias from affecting the results (for example by doing blind experiments)
What is pseudoscience
Relies on subjective evidence, its arguments cannot be refuted, ignores failure of its theories, was never tested/rarely updated
Quantitative Research
Measurable (nbrs, values)
Qualitative Research
Produces narrative reports (notes from observations)
What are the 10 steps of the research process
- Find a research idea (select topic + review literature)
- Form a hypothesis (select the answer most likely to happen)
- Determine how to define/measure variables
- Identify the subjects, their selection process, and their ethical treatment
- Select the research strategy (what is the question asked, are there any ethical constraints)
- Select the research design (methods/procedures to conduct experiment)
- Conduct the study (collect data)
- Evaluate the data (stats analysis)
- Report the results
- Refine/reformulate the research idea (test boundaries of results, refine the original research question)
What is the fundamental assumption of research?
That the world is governed by orderly (natural) laws, and that the scientific method allows us to uncover these laws
What are the 4 goals of research?
Observe, Describe, Explain, Predict
What is the basic approach of research
To understand a particular phenomena (ex: how drinking alcohol affects coordination)
GENERAL SITUATION
What is the applied approach of research
To solve a particular problem (ex: solve alcoolism)
PRECISE PROBLEM
What is inductive reasoning and when is it used
Making generalizations based on a few observations, used to find a research idea
What are the 3 conditions that a theory has to fulfill
Parsimony, precision, testability
What is parsimony
Explaining many results with a few concepts
What is an independent variable
The “cause” manipulated by the experimenter
What is a dependent variable
The “result” or effect from the manipulation of the independent variable
What are common sources of research topics (5)
Personal interests Practical problems/solutions Casual observations Reports of others' observations Behavioural theories
What is the goal of doing a lit search
Take the existing research further, making sure what we do is new, and useful
What is a primary source
1st hand report: authors describing their own observations
What is a secondary source
2nd hand reports: the authors are discussing someone else’s observations
What are the characteristics of a good hypothesis
Logical
Testable
Refutable
Positive (abt the existence of smth)
What are constructs
Hypothetical elements that explain behaviours we assume exists (ex :self-esteem)
Constructs can be influenced by external stimuli and influence external behaviours (thats how we observe them)
What is an operational definition
Its used to measure a construct indirectly by its causes and effects (turns abstract into concrete)
OP. DEF IS NOT A CONSTRUCT
True or false: Constructs can be tested direclty
False
What are 2 problems that can occur with operational definitions
1- They might leave out important components of a construct
2- They often include extra components which are not part of the construct
What is validity
When a measurment is actually measuring what it claims to measure
What is face validity (method to measure validity)
Subjective assessement on validity (does it make sense?)
What is concurrent validity (mehtod to measure validity)
Comparing the results of 2 measuring techniques
What is predictive validity (mehtod to measure validity)
When measurements of a construct accurately predict a behaviour according to a theory
What is construct validity? (mehtod to measure validity)
Being able to show that the measures of a v behave in the same direction as the actual v
What is convergent validity? (mehtod to measure validity)
Creating 2 methods of measurement for 1 construct and show that they are correlated
What is divergent validity? (mehtod to measure validity)
Measuring 2 different constructs with the same method and showing that there is no correlation between the measures
What is reliability?
A method of measuring that produces identical results when used repeatedly is reliable
What does this equation means
Measured Score = True Score + Error
There is always some degree of error when making a measurement
What are the 3 sources of error when measuring
Observer error, environmental change, participants’ change
What is observer error
human measuring/computing makes an error
What is an environmental change (source of error)
Change in time, temperature, climate, etc when making measurements
What is a participants’ change (source of error)
change in their focus, mood, etc when making measurements
What is test-retest (measures of reliability)
scores tested twice close in time and compared
What is parallel-forms (measures of reliability)
Test-retest with different measuring methods
What is inner-rater reliability (measures of reliability)
Difference between the observations of 2 researchers
What is split-half reliability (measures of reliability)
dividing the questions in 2 and comapring the 2 half results
True or false: reliability is a prerequisite for validity
true
True or false: something not valid cannot be reliable
false
What is a self-report measure
a way of letting participants asses themselves with a questionnaires, scales from 1 to 10, etc (a way to measure a construct)
What are physiological measures of constructs
Physiological manifestations of a construct (heart rate,, temperature, etc)
What are behavioural measures of constructs
Tasks, natural or structured, to define/measure constructs
What is a ceiling effect
When measures of a construct are restricted at a higher measure (ex test is too easy)
What is a floor effect
When measures of a construct are restricted at a lower measure (ex test is super hard)
What are artifacts
Nonnatural features accidentally introduced into something being observed
What is experimenter bias
When the experimenter knows/expects the outcome and can influence the results
What is the solution to experimenter bias?
Standardize experiment (ex do a blind experiment)
What is a single-blind experiment
When the experimenter doesnt know what the procedures and expected results are
What is a double-blind experiment
When the participants and the experimenter dont know what the procedures and expected results are
What are demand characteristics
Cues that tells the participants what the expected outcomes are or how they are expected to behave
What is participant reactivity
When a natural behaviour is modified to satisfy the requirements of a study because subjects know that they are being watched
Subject role: good
Wants to fit the hypothesis
Subject role: Negativistic
are trying to act contrary to the hypothesis
Subject role: Apprehensive
overly concerned about their personal characteristics being evaluated
Subject role: Faithful
attempts to follow the instructions and not act out on their suspicions abt the study
What is internal validity
When we can safely say that changes in X have caused the observed change in Y
What is external validity
to which extent results can extend to other settings/populations
What are the 4 sources of measurement error
1-Participants
2-Instrumentation
3-Testing environment
4-Scoring guidelines
What is the solution to measurement error
standardizing each problematic aspect of the experiment
What is a target population
group defined by researcher’s specific interests (not easily accessible)
What is an accessible population
population accessible to the researcher (from which the sample will be selected)
What is a biased sample
with characteristics noticeably different than the pop
What is sampling bias
a sampling procedure that favors the selection of some individuals
What says the law of large nbrs
a bigger sample is more reliable than a smaller sample (to a certain extent)
What is a power analysis
estimation of the sample needed to evaluate the pop
What are the characteristics of a probability sample
the odds of selecting each participants are the same, exact pop size is known, selection must be a random process
What are the characteristics of a nonprobability sample
Researchers do not know the exact size of pop, individuals do not have = chance of being selected, not using unbiased method of selection
What is simple random sample (P)
Define pop, list all members, use random process to select from list (with or without replacement)
What is systematic sampling(P)
list all ind, going down list from random point and choosing every nth individual
What is stratified random sampling(P)
Identify subgroups (strata) Use SRS in each strata
What is proportionate stratified random sampling(P)
identify subgroups
identidy their % in the pop
make sure their % in pop = % in sample
What is cluster sampling(P)
randomly selecting groups instead of individuals
What is combined-strategy sampling(P)
combine 2+ strategies
What is Quota sampling (NP)
establishing quotas for each sub group, then convenience sample in groups
What is convenience sampling (NP)
using individuals available to us
Purposive sampling (NP)
approaching eligible participants
Snowball sampling (NP)
find 1 person who fits criteria and ask to find more people
