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PSYC*2360 > PSYC*2360 Chapter 7: Correlational Research and Survey Design > Flashcards

PSYC*2360 Chapter 7: Correlational Research and Survey Design Flashcards

1
Q

What is a correlational study?

A

A research design that focuses on how variables relate to one another

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2
Q

T or F: Conducting a correlational study is not the same as calculating correlation.

A

True

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3
Q

Do correlational studies typically allow for the determination of cause-and-effect relationships?

A

No

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4
Q

What is a correlation?

A

A statistic that measures the linear relationship/ strength of an association between two variables

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5
Q

How is correlation typically denoted?

A

r

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6
Q

Which quantitative research strategy is typically employed for systematically collecting information from a group of individuals?

A

Surveys

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7
Q

T or F: Information obtained from surveys is typically generalized to a larger group of interest.

A

True

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8
Q

What is the difference between open-ended and closed-ended questions?

A
  • Open-ended: A question that participants answer using their own words
  • Closed-ended: A question that participants answer using a predetermined set of response options
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9
Q

Which measurement strategy assigns a number to represent the degree to which a person possesses or exhibits the target variable?

A

Scales

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10
Q

Why does a participant’s summated score on a scale provide a better measurement of the variable than a single question?

A

Because having multiple items tends to cancel out any random error

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11
Q

What is a summated rating/ Likert scale?

A

A scale where participants evaluate a series of statements using a predetermined set of response alternatives

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12
Q

How are items on a Likert scale phrased?

A

As statements to be judged rather than questions to be answered

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13
Q

What are double-barrelled questions?

A

Questions that prompt participants to provide a single response to an item asking two separate questions

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14
Q

What are response sets?

A

A response bias where the participant tends to give the same answer to most, if not all, items on a scale, regardless of the question being asked

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15
Q

What is an acquiescent response set?

A

A response bias where the participant tends to agree with most, if not all, items on a scale, regardless of the question being asked

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16
Q

What is the best way to avoid response sets?

A

Include reverse-coded items

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17
Q

Ideally, what proportion of items in a response set should be reverse coded?

A

About half

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18
Q

What is reverse-coding?

A

A scoring strategy where negative response alternatives are assigned higher numerical values and positive response alternatives are assigned lower numerical values

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19
Q

What is a forced choice scale?

A

A scale where a person must choose between only two response alternatives for each item

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20
Q

T or F: Forced response scales have high sensitivity in differentiating between options.

A

False. They have very low sensitivity.

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21
Q

What is an error of central tendency?

A

A response bias where participants tend to avoid using the extreme response alternatives on a scale

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22
Q

What is one way to improve precision and minimize errors of central tendency on scales?

A

Use more response alternatives

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23
Q

How many response alternatives are typically included in a Likert scale?

A

5-9

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24
Q

What is internal consistency reliability?

A

The degree to which the individual items on a scale are interrelated (measure the same underlying variable)

25
Q

What is test-retest reliability?

A

The ability to produce similar measurements across time (the temporal stability of a measure)

26
Q

In general, to properly evaluate test-retest reliability, how far apart should the tests be administered?

A

1-2 weeks

27
Q

What is alternative-form/ equivalent-form reliability?

A

A form of reliability that evaluated how well a measure correlates with a similar, but different measure of the same variable

28
Q

What is face validity?

A

The degree to which a scale appears, on the surface, to measure the intended variable

29
Q

What are two potential consequences if the face validity of a scale is too high?

A

It may introduce demand characteristics and social desirability bias

30
Q

What is content validity?

A

The degree to which items on a scale reflect the range of material that should be included

31
Q

A unit test that doesn’t cover much of the material learned in class is poor in which type of validity?

A

Content validity

32
Q

What is construct validity?

A

The degree to which the scale actually measures the desired construct

33
Q

How is construct validity established?

A

By evaluating convergent and discriminant validity

34
Q

What is the difference between convergent and discriminant validity?

A
  • Convergent: The degree to which measures of a variable correspond to measures of other, theoretically related, variables
  • Discriminant: The degree to which measures of a variable do not correlate to measures of unrelated variables
35
Q

How can scales establish convergent and discriminant validity?

A

By including additional items to measure other related and unrelated variables

36
Q

If a scale converges with measurements of similar variables and diverges from measurements of dissimilar variables, does it have high or low construct validity?

A

High construct validity

37
Q

If a scale converges with measurements of dissimilar variables and diverges from measurements of similar variables, does it have high or low construct validity?

A

Low construct validity

38
Q

What is criterion validity?

A

The degree to which a measurement relates to a particular outcome or behaviour

39
Q

How is criterion validity established?

A

By evaluating the concurrent validity or predictive validity of the measurement

40
Q

What is the difference between concurrent validity and predictive validity?

A
  • Concurrent: The degree to which a measurement corresponds with an existing outcome/ behaviour
  • Predictive: The degree to which a measurement corresponds with a particular outcome/ behaviour that occurs in the future
41
Q

What is the difference between non-directional and directional hypotheses?

A
  • Non-directional: Doesn’t make any specific prediction about how two variables are related
  • Directional: Makes a specific prediction about the exact nature of a relationship between two variables
42
Q

Why is it often best to include basic demographic questions towards the end of a survey?

A

If the participant decided to only complete half of the survey, they will likely have already answered the items that deal more directly with the research question

43
Q

What is evaluation apprehension?

A

Anxiety or concern participants may experience about how their answers or behaviours may appear to the researcher

44
Q

What are distractor items?

A

Items included in a scale to mislead participants as to the scale’s real purpose

45
Q

By providing participants with the opportunity to sign up to receive emails about topics related to the study, which type of validity can be examined?

A

Criterion validity

46
Q

What is area probability sampling?

A

A sampling strategy where researchers divide the population into subgroups based on geographic area, then randomly select participants from each

47
Q

What is the response rate of a survey?

A

The proportion of the invited sample that actually complete the survey

48
Q

Once responses from scales are collected, statistics are used to accomplish what four tasks?

A
  • Evaluate internal consistency reliability of the scales
  • Summarize and describe responses on each variable
  • Measure the relationship between variables
  • Decide if an association exists in the population as a whole and not just among participants
49
Q

What is Cronbach’s alpha?

A

A statistic used to evaluate the internal consistency reliability of a scale

50
Q

What does a Cronbach’s alpha of 0 mean?

A

There is no internal consistency among scale items

51
Q

What does a Cronbach’s alpha of 1 mean?

A

All items measure the same thing and the scale is redundant

52
Q

A scale with an acceptable internal consistency reliability has a Cronbach’s alpha of what value?

A

At least 0.70

53
Q

What is variability?

A

The degree to which individual measurements of a variable differ from one another and the mean

54
Q

What is standard deviation?

A

How much, on average, individual scores differ from the mean

55
Q

Does a large standard deviation indicate a greater or smaller degree of variability between scores

A

Larger SD means greater variability

56
Q

When both variables are continuous measurements, what type of correlation statistic is typically used?

A

Pearson r

57
Q

In terms of associations, what does “linear relationship” refer to?

A

The extent to which the measurement on one variable can be used to predict the measurement on another

58
Q

What is statistical hypothesis testing?

A

A procedure for evaluating the probability of obtaining certain results if, in reality, there is no association between variables

59
Q

What does it mean for results to be statistically significant?

A

It is highly probable that the results obtained were not due to chance

PSYC*2360 (7 decks)

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