Research Methods Flashcards
Scientific Method
The process of basing one’s confidence in an idea on systematic, direct observations of the world, usually by setting up research studies to test ideas.
Theory-Data Cycle
The process of the scientific method in which scientists collect data that can either confirm or disconfirm a theory.
Theory
A set of propositions explaining how and why people act, think, or feel.
Hypothesis
A prediction about what will happen based on the theory.
Data
A set of empirical observations that scientists have gathered.
Replication
When a study is conducted more than once on a new sample of participants and obtains the same basic results.
Variable
Something of interest that varies from person to person or situation to situation.
Measured Variable
A variable whose values are simply recorded.
Manipulated Variable
A variable whose values the researcher controls, usually by assigning different participants to different levels of that variable.
Operational Definitions
Specific ways of measuring or manipulating an abstract variable in a particular study (usually turning a variable into a number).
3 Types of Research Methods
1) Descriptive
2) Correlational
3) Experimental
Descriptive Research
A type of study in which researchers measure one variable at a time (tells us what do people do on average).
Correlational Research
Tells us what kinds of people do this or what’s associated with what. Measuring the degree to which two variables are related or predict one another (co-related).
Experimental Research
A study in which one variable is manipulated and the other is measured. Can provide evidence that one variable causes another (tells us why do people do this or what causes these behaviours). A means of determining the cause of events.
Sample
The group who participated in research and who belong to the larger group (the population of interest) that the researcher is interested in understanding. A limited number or people from the population.
Population of Interest
The full set of cases the researcher is interested in ex. New Zealand adults, North Americans, people who buy coffee at Starbucks, Twitter messages, and etc.
Random Sampling
A way of choosing a sample of participants for a study in which participants are selected without bias ex. by dialing random digits on the telephone or pulling names out of a hat.
Naturalistic Observation
An observational research method in which psychologists observe the behaviour of animals and people in their normal, everyday worlds and environments.
Observational Research
A descriptive research method in which psychologists measure their variable of interest by observing and recording what people are doing.
Case Study
An observational research method in which researchers study one or two individuals in-depth, often those who have a unique condition.
Correlational Research
A type of study that measures two (or more) variables in the same sample of people and then observes the relationship between them.
Positive Correlation
High scores on one variable go with high scores on the other (and low scores go with low). The variables tend to occur together (positive trend).
Negative Correlation
A relationship between two variables in which one variable increases as the other decreases and vice versa. The variables tend to occur at opposite times (negative trend).
Third-Variable Problem
For a given observed relationship between two variables, an additional variable that is associated with both of them, making the additional variable an alternative explanation for the observed relationship. A third variable causes the two other variables (Z causes X and Y).
Random Assignment
A procedure used in experimental research in which a random method is used to decide which participants will receive each level of the independent variable.
Experimental Group
In an experiment, a group or condition in which some proposed cause is present.
Temporal Precedence
One variable must clearly come before the other.
Validity
The appropriateness or accuracy of a conclusion or decision (how accurate is it?).