Research methods

Question 1

type 1 error

Answer 1

false positive

(lenient levels of significance)

Question 2

type 2 error

Answer 2

false negative

(strict levels of significance)

Question 3

Hypothesis

Answer 3

Predicted statement

Question 4

alternate/experimental

Answer 4

IS difference

Question 5

Null

Answer 5

NO difference

Question 6

one tailed

Answer 6

directional

in cases of previous research

Question 7

two tailed

Answer 7

non directional
difference but unsure of what direction

Question 8

aim

Answer 8

intends to investigate

Question 9

field experiment

Answer 9

natural setting, IV manipulated

Question 10

Quasi

Answer 10

IV based on pre existing difference between people e.g age, gender. (not manipulated it simplt exists)
DV may be naturally occuring e.g exam results

Question 11

stratified sample

Answer 11

participants selected according to frequency in target population

e.g subgroups are identified (gender), percentages of these groups are reflective in the sample

Question 12

positive correlation

Answer 12

co variables rise or fall together

Question 13

negative correlation

Answer 13

one co variable rises the other falls

Question 14

mean

Answer 14

arithmetic average, add all scores and divide by amount there are

Question 15

median

Answer 15

middle value

Question 16

mode

Answer 16

most common

Question 17

range

Answer 17

measure of dispersion

difference between highest and lowest

Question 18

standard deviation

Answer 18

measure of dispersion

measure of average spread around mean. Larger the SD the more spread out the data

Question 19

histogram

Answer 19

bars touch one another as data is continuous

Question 20

probability

Answer 20

likelihood that certain events will occur 0.05

Question 21

percentage

Answer 21

divide by 100

Question 22

% to decimal

Answer 22

remove %
move decimal 2 to left

Question 23

decimal to fraction

Answer 23

work out number of decimal places

2 = denominator 100
3 = denominator 1000

find lowest common denominator

Question 24

normal distribution

Answer 24

symmetrical, bell curved

mean, median and mode all occupy mid point

Question 25

skewed distribution

Answer 25

lean to one side
positive- right
negative- left

Question 26

measures of central tendency

Answer 26

descriptive data statistics that depict an overall ‘central’ trend of a set of data

Question 27

measures of dispersion

Answer 27

Measures of dispersion describe the spread of data around a central value (mean, median or mode).

They tell us how much variability there is in the data.

There are two measures of dispersion: range (where you subtract the lowest score from the highest score) and standard deviation (SD) – which calculates the spread of scores around the mean

Question 28

content analysis

Answer 28

identify patterns in recorded communication, coverts qualitative into quantitative
uses coding units and tallies