PS11: experimental design Flashcards
cross-sectional study
sample is recruited based on both exposure and outcome simultaneously; observational study
longitudinal study
conducted over a long period of time; uses specific people
case-control study
individuals with and condition (cases) are matched to those without (controls) in order to identify factors that lad to their condition
confounding variable
variable aside from the independent variable that influences the dependent variable
moderating variable
affects the strength of the relationship between two variables
mediating variable
explains why two things are related
external validity
the degree to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations and people
internal validity
extent to which a causal conclusion based on a study can be warranted, which depends on the extent to which the study minimized systematic error or bias
face validity
extent to which a test is viewed subjectively as examining the concept that it claims to measure
content validity
extent to which a measure represents all aspects of a given social construct
construct validity
extent to which a test measures what it claims to be measuring
reliability
he overall consistency of a measure and whether the measure produces similar results under consistent conditions
hindsight bias
the tendency after an event has occurred to see the event as having been predictable, even if there is no objective evidence for predicting it
normalcy bias
causes people to underestimate the possibility of a disaster occurring and its potential impact
selection bias
occurs when the selection of subjects for analysis is not randomized, thereby resulting in a sample that is not representative of the population intended to be analyzed
reconstructive bias
related to memory, and the particular memory of interest may be difficult to recall when exposed to stress
social desirability bias
the tendency of survey respondents to respond to questions in a way that may be viewed favorably by others, which may lead to over-reporting positive behaviors and under-reporting negative behaviors
subject validation bias (personal validation effect)
cognitive bias in which a person considers a piece of information to be correct if it has personal significance to them
case study
subjects are hand-picked for a detailed analysis of their unique situation; random selection does not occur here
focuses on constructing a narrative arc about a single individual or handful of individuals, and does not include aspects such as experimental controls or statistical analysis
correlational study
attempts to determine if there is a relationship between two variables
hawthorne effect
occurs when individuals change an aspect of their behavior as a result of their awareness of being observed
negative controls
not expected to produce any results or difference in outcome
positive controls
known to produce a difference in outcome
cohort study
subset of a longitudinal study in which subjects are chosen because they have some shared characteristic or experience within a defined period of time
retrospective cohort study
the outcome has already occurred for the people in the cohort at the beginning of the study
prospective cohort study
the outcome of interest has not yet occurred for the people in the cohort at the beginning of the study
single-blinded study
participant is not told what group they are in to determine whether the independent variable impacts the outcome
double-blinded study
both the experimenters and the participants do not know which group the participants are in (prevents observer bias)
