psych ch 2 Flashcards
Objective measurements
the measure of an entity or behaviour that (within an allowed margin of error) is consistent across instruments and observers.
Validity
the degree to which an instrument or procedure actually measures what it claims to measure
Relativity
when it provides consistent and stable answers across different observations ad points in time
Generalizability
the degree to which one set of results can be applied to other situations, individuals, or events
Population
the group that researchers want to generalise about
Sample
a select group of population members
Random sample
a sampling technique in which every individual of a population has an equal chance of being included
Convenience sample
samples of individuals who are the most readily available
Ecological validity
the results of laboratory study can be applied to or repeated in the natural environment
Hawthorne effect
behaviour change that occurs as a result of being observed
Social desirability
people may respond in ways that increase the chances they will be viewed favourably by the experimenter
Placebo effect
a measurable and experienced improvement in health or behaviour that cannot be attributable to a medication or treatment
Single-blind study
participants do not know the true purpose of the study or treatment
Double-blind study
participants AND experimenter dont know what the exact treatment for any individual
Anecdotal evidence
an individual’s story or testimony about an observation or event that is used to make a claim as evidence
Research Design
a set of methods that allows a hypothesis to be tested
— Influence how investigators (1) organise the stimuli used to test the hypothesis (2) make observations and measurements (3) evaluate results
Qualitative research
examining an issue or behaviour without performing numerical measurements of the variables
Quantitative research
examining an issue or behaviour by using numerical measurements and/or statistics
Third variable problem
the possibility that a third, unmeasured variable is responsible for a well-established correlation between two variables
Confounding variable
a variable outside of the researchers control that might affect or provide an alternative explanation for the results
Independent variable
the variable that is manipulated to distinguish between two or more groups
Dependant variable
the observation or measurement that is recorded during the experiment and compared
Control group
the group that does not receive the treatment, they serve as a baseline to whciht he experinmnetalo group is compared
– opposite of the experimental group
Research ethics board (REB)
a committee of researchers and officials at an institution charged with the protetection of human research partcipants
Central tendency: a measure of the central point of a distribution
Mean: the average of set of number
Median: the 50th percentile (middle point)
Mode: catergory with highest frequency
