research methods

Question 1

independent variable

Answer 1

the manipulated variable, what the researcher controls

Question 2

dependent variable

Answer 2

the measured variable/outcome, what may be affected after exposure from the independent variable

Question 3

random assignment

Answer 3

a practice that ensures that no external variables impact the accuracy of the results of the study

Question 4

confounds

Answer 4

factors that hinder the ability to draw causal inferences from an experiment

Question 5

placebo effect

Answer 5

when study participants believe they are influenced by a false

Question 6

participant demand

Answer 6

when study participants behave a certain way based on what they believe the researcher expects/wants them to behave

Question 7

hindsight bias

Question 8

correlational studies

Answer 8

research that observes natural, pre-existing variables

Question 9

experimental design

Answer 9

a controlled research design in which a researcher introduces an independent variable

Question 10

correlation coefficient (r)

Question 11

qualitiative designs

Question 12

quasi-experimental designs

Answer 12

does not require random assignment to conditions

Question 13

longitudinal studies

Question 14

experimenter’s expectations

Question 15

operational definitions

Answer 15

how general concepts are defined, such as “happiness” or “intelligence”.

Question 16

p-value

Answer 16

measures the probability of obtaining the observed results, assuming the null hypothesis is true

Question 17

sample

Question 18

population

Question 19

generalized

Question 20

random sample

Question 21

margin of error

Question 22

cause-and-effect

Question 23

confidence interval

Question 24

distribution

Question 25

generalizability

Question 26

parameter

Question 27

statistic

Question 28

statistical significance

Question 29

Give an example of a research question that would be best addressed with an experimental design

Answer 29

How effective is this newly introduced drug? (give one group a placebo, give another group the actual drug)

Question 30

give operational definitions of anxiety

Answer 30

physiological, self-report

Question 31

covariance

Answer 31

IV changes associated with DV changes

Question 32

temporal precedence

Answer 32

IV manipulation precedes DV