Psychological Research Methods and Statistics Flashcards
The small group of participants, out of total number available, that a researcher studies
Sample
Research method in which the psychologist observed the subject in a natural setting without interfering
Naturalistic observation
Research involves one or more participants
Case study
Research method in which information is obtained by asking many individuals a mix set of questions
Survey
Research method in which data are collected about a group of participants over a number of years to assess how certain characteristics change or remain the same during development
Longitudinal study
Research method in which data are collected from groups of participants of different ages and compare so that conclusions can be drawn about differences due to age
Cross – sectional study
The measure of a relationship between two variables of sets of data
Correlation
An educated guess about the relationship between two variables
Hypothesis
Any factor that is capable of change
Variable
The group to which an independent variable is applied
Experimental group
The group that is created in the same way as the experimental group except that the experimental treatment the independent variable is not applied
Control group
A situation in which a researchers expectations influence that persons own behavior, and thereby influence the participants behavior
Self-fulfilling prophecy
An experiment in which the participants are unaware of which participants received the treatment
Single-blind experiment
An experiment in which neither the experimenter nor the participants know which participants received which treatment
Double-blind experiment
A change in a participants illness or behavior that results from a belief that the treatment will have an effect rather than from actual treatment
Placebo effect
The branch of mathematics concerned with summarizing and making meaningful inferences from collections of data
Statistics
The listing and summarizing of data on a practical, efficient way
Descriptive statics
An arrangement of data that indicates how often a particular score or observation occurs
Frequency distribution
A graph of frequency distribution shaped like a symmetrical,
bell-shaped curve; a graph of normally distributed data
Normal curves
A number that describes something about the “average” score of a distribution
Central tendency
A measure of difference, or spread of data
Variability
A measure of variability that describes an average distance of every score from the mean
Standard deviation
Describes the direction and strength of the relationship between the sets of variables
Correlation coefficient
Numerical methods used to determine whether research data support a hypothesis or whether results were due to chance
Inferential statistics
