research ideas and methodsd Flashcards
what are the primary ways to come up with a research topic
- personal interests and curiosities
- casual observation of behaviour and stuff
- reports of other’s observations
- practical problems or questions
- finding a gap in already existing research
involves studies that are intended to solve theoretical issues
basic research
directed toward solving practical problems
applied research
integrates basic and applied research to test and develop treatments and interventions
translational research
behavioural theories
testing predictions that are part of a theory
the mass of published information worldwide
the literature
what are the two basic goals of a literature search
- gaining general familiarity with the current research
- finding a small set of studies to serve as the basis for your idea
firsthand reports in which the authors describe their own observations
primary sources
secondhand reports in which the authors discuss someone else’s observations
secondary sources
A set of statements that describe general principles about how variables relate
theory
______ guides systematic steps of thinking and solving a problem
theory
a good hypothesis is:
- logical
- testable
- refutable
- positive
what does it mean that a good hypothesis must be positive
nothing exists until proven that it does. it must make a positive statement about the existence of something
textbooks are an example of what kind of source
secondary sources
Hypothetical entities created from theory and speculation
constructs
what are operational definitions
methods of defining and measuring constructs -> variables that cannot be observed or measured directly
true or false: an operational definition cannot be the construct
true it cant be the construct itself
what is face validity
whether a measure appears superficially to measure what it claims to
what is concurrent validity
scores obtained from a new measure
Scores obtained from a measure accurately predict behavior according to a theory
predictive validity
Scores obtained from a measurement behave exactly the same as the variable itself
construct validity
what is convergent validity
strong relationship between scores obtained from two or more different methods of measuring the same construct
Showing little or no relationship between the measurements of two different constructs
divergent validity
The individual who makes the measurements can introduce simple human error
observer error