Research Methods Flashcards
Vocabulary
Three types of theories
Biological, Cognitive, Sociocultural
Acronym for evaluating psychological theories
TEACUP
What does teacup stand for
Testable, Empirical Evidence, Application, Clearly defined variables, unbiased, predicts behavior
Sample of population that is most studied
WEIRD (White, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic)
Sample of population that describes university students
YAVIS (Young, attractive, verbal, intelligent, successful)
Sampling bias
Sample is skewed so that it becomes unrepresentative of the population
Random sampling
every member of a population has an equal chance of being selected
opportunity sampling
finding participants in a pre-exsisting group
Snowball sampling
Participants recruit other participants
Volunteer sampling
participants are volunteers
Systemic sampling
Choosing an “nth” member of a population
Purposive sampling
Participants are purposefully selected
Stratified sampling
Several members of each group is selected to represent the proportion in a population
Time sampling
Observation period is divided into interval, and whether or not behavior is carried out in each interval is recorded
Event Sampling
The number of times a behavior is carried out is recorded
Point sampling
Systematically selecting points in the duration of the study and monitoring presence or absence of a behavior
Operationalization
What is being measured which is meant to represent variables
Standardized
Easily replicable and detailed procedure
Inductive approach
Data is first collected and interpreted and conclusion has many possibilities
Deductive approach
Conclusion is derived based on the data collected
Quantitative Research
Emphasis on objective measurements and statistical analysis of data
Qualitative research
Gives insight into everyday psychological experiments and produces descriptive behavior. This may have one or more research questions
Structured interveiw
Schedule is standardized, rigid structure in questions, relatively easy analysis of data
Semi-structured interveiw
Interveiw follows a schedule but questions are open ended
Unstructured interveiw
Schedule only specifies topic and time, but is very open ended with regards to content
Survey
Collects information from a large and dispersed group, often consisting of close ended questions
Likert scale
Multiple choice scale (ex. never, sometimes, often, always)
Focus group
group interveiw of participants
Case study
researcher observes behavior of unique individual or group, recording very holistic data
Longitudinal case study
Data is recorded over time, multiple times
Cross-sectional
Data is recorded once
Retrospective
Deriving results when looking back on a case study
Prospective
Experiment and data collection takes place in the present and even the future
Limitation to case studies
Not all data will be recorded, susceptible to researcher bias
Repeated measures design
One sample of participants undergo every condition
Strength and limitation of repeated measures design
Strength: Participant variables are controlled
Limitation: More susceptible to demand characterics
Counterbalancing
Different groups recieve conditions in different order
Independent samples design
members of a sample is randomly allocated to one condition
Strength and weakness of independent sample design
S: Order effects are controlled and demand characteristics are limited
W: Participant variability is less controlled
Matched pairs design
Participants are pre-tested with regards to the variable, allowing researchers to ensure that every group then has a similar skill level
True experiment
Experiment aims to determine a casual relationship (must have a control group, random allocation of participants, manipulation of variables, standardization)
Lab experiment
Experiments are done in a controlled setting
Field experiment
Studies are done in “the real world”
Natural experiment
Researchers have no control over independent variable
Quasi experiment
Participants are grouped based on similar traits
Overt/Covert
Participants do and do not know that they are being observed
Descriptive statistics
methods and techiniques used to summarize key features of a dataset
Inferential statistics
Methods and techniques used to analyze samples to make predictions about target population
Postive distribution
Skewed towards left of mean, median is less than mean
Negative distribution
Skewed towards the right of mean, median is more than mean
Internal validity
The extent to which the design, conduct, and analysis of an experiment is able to answer the research question without bias
External validity
The extent to which findings can be generalized to other contexts
Construct validity
The extent to which operationalization of variables stays true to the variable it is attempting to measure
Ecological validity
The extent to which findings can be generalized to REAL LIFE settings
Populaiton validity
the extent to which findings of the sample can be generalized to the population
Method triangulation
Using multiple research methods or techniques in one study
Data triangulation
Researchers collect multiple types and form different sources of data
Researcher triangulation
Multiple researchers collect and analyze data
Demand characteristis
variables that may inadvertently influence participants’ behavior and response
Reactivity
Participant behaves differently due to knowing that they are being observed
Expectancy effect
Participant acts in a way that favors researcher’s hypothesis
Screw you effect
participant acts in a way that discredits researcher’s hypothesis
Social desirability effect
Participants try to market themselves as morally upstanding
Order effects
order in which conditions are carried out influences outcome
interference effect
taking part in one condition influences participant’s ability to take part in another condition
Practice effect
Participants do repetitive tasks across conditions and get better at the task
Filter task
A task participants complete in between conditions to clear mental palette
Double blind control
experimental and participants are clueless of the fact that they are in an experiment
P-hacking
Using experiment to find a different relationship than intended
Funding bias
Faking results so that it favors the experiment’s sponsors
Publication bias
faking results in hopes of getting the study published
Priming
Influencing participant behavior ahead of an experiment
Cognitive misers
tendency of humans to solve problems in less effortful ways
“I don’t care” “I don’t know” “I don’t have time”
Confounding variable
Variables that are correlated with both the independent and dependent variable, negatively affecting the clarity of their relationship
Intervening variable
comes between the independent and dependent variable in the casual chain, helping to explain how the two can be related
Extraneous variable
Variable that influences the responding variable aside from the independent variable
Bidirectional ambiguity
One cannot tell which variable is independent and which is dependent
contamination
unintended crossover between different experimental groups
Acronym for describing ethics
CARDUD (Consent, annoynymity, right to withdraw, deception, undue stress or harm, debriefing)
The purpose of having ethics
Protect participants from physical and psychological harm, which encourages participation as they are aware that their safety will be guarenteed
