research methods Flashcards
What must you always have when you start your research?
a clear aim
How do you always start righting aims?
the aim is to investigate…
what are the two types of variables?
independent and dependent
What is a dependent variable?
the variable being measured or tested in the experiment
What is an independent variable?
the variable that the researcher manipulates and is assumed to have a direct effect on the dependent variable
What must both variables be?
operationalised
What does operationalising variables mean?
making them measurable
What is the hypothesis?
a precise, testable statement of what the researchers predict will be the outcome of the study
Is a hypothesis directional or non-directional?
both
What does directional mean?
you predict the exact effect the iv will have on the dv
What does non-directional mean?
you predict there is some kind of relationship betweeen the iv and the dv
Is directional one tailed or two tailed
one tailed
is non-directional one tailed or two tailed
two tailed
Directional hypothesis
significant increase/decrease dv with iv in condition 1 than condition 2
Non- directional hypothesis
significant differences dv with iv from condition one than condition two
What are two key aspects of designing a good study?
reliability and validity
What are the two types of validity
internal and external
What are the two types of validity
internal and external
What are the three types of external validity?
ecological, population, time
What are the 5 types of sampling methods?
random, systematic, stratified, opportunistic, voulenteer
What are the 4 types of experiments?
laboratory, field, natural, quasi
What is operationalisation?
making variables measurable
What is a correlational hypothesis?
A hypothesis stating there will be a correlation between variable 1 and 2
What does correlation mean?
a relationship between 2 variables
What is the correlation coefficient?
the calculated score of correlation
What is the correlation coefficient between?
-1 and +1
What is the correlation of -1
perfect negative
What is the correlation of +1
perfect positive
What is the correlation of 0
no correlation
What is the correlation of -0.3
weak negative
What is the correlation of +0.3
weak positive
What is the correlation of -0.5
moderate negative
What is the correlation of +0.5
moderate positive
What is the correlation of -0.8
strong negative
What is the correlation of +0.8
strong positive
does correlation infer causation?
no
What is a null hypothesis?
a hypothesis that contrasts the experimental/alternative hypothesis
How many hypothesis must you always have?
2
How many hypothesis must you always have?
2
What is the purpose of the null hypothesis?
it states there’s no relationship between the 2 variables
What does descriptive stats mean?
the analysis of data that helps describe, show or summarise data in a meaningful way.
What do descriptive stats allow us to do?
identify patterns
What do descriptive stats prevent us from doing?
make conclusions beyond the data we have analysed or reach conclusions regarding our hypotheses.
What are two key aspects of designing a good study?
reliability and validity
What is ordinal data?
data that classifies variables into categories that have order or rank
What is interval data?
data is metered in a numerical scale that has equal intervals between adjacent values
What is nominal data?
data that can be labelled or classified into mutual exclusive categories within a variable
is the mean interval, ordinal or nominal?
interval
is the median interval, ordinal or nominal?
ordinal
is the mode interval, ordinal or nominal?
nominal
