Research Methods

Question 0

Correlation Methods

Answer 0

Correlation is not causation; cannot control for all possible factors. A relationship between two variables without ascribing cause.

Question 1

Experiments

Answer 1

Cases and effect; researchers can focus on possible effects of one or more factors.

Question 2

Survey research

Answer 2

Collecting self-reported behavior or opinions in order to understand a topic better. The wording matters and you need to do random sampling.

Question 3

Naturalistic observation

Answer 3

Observing whatever group you’re studying. The goal is to get a realistic and rich picture of the participants behavior.

Question 4

Case studies

Answer 4

Study individual in depth to reveal universal principles.

Question 5

Independent variable

Answer 5

A variable that can be manipulated.

Question 6

Dependent variable

Answer 6

A variable that is measured by the independent variable. Cannot be controlled only predicted and then reassured after conducting and experiment.

Question 7

Confounding variable

Answer 7

Any difference between the experimental and control conditions; other factors between cause (independent variable) and effect/outcome (dependent variable).

Question 8

Control variables

Answer 8

Does not receive treatment from experiment.

Question 9

Random assignment

Answer 9

Each participant has an equal chance of being placed into any group.

Question 10

Random selection

Answer 10

The process of choosing the research participants from the population on equal terms. This happens before random assignment.

Question 11

Standard deviation

Answer 11

A measure of how spread out numbers are from each other.

Question 12

Operational definition

Answer 12

What do we mean by the terms we are using?

Question 13

Range

Answer 13

Distance between highest and lowest score in a distribution.

Question 14

Mode

Answer 14

Number that appears the most.

Question 15

Median

Answer 15

Number that is in the middle.

Question 16

Mean

Answer 16

The average

Question 17

Correlation coefficient

Answer 17

Strength of a correlation; a number between -1 and 1 describing the correlational relationship.

Question 18

Skewed

Answer 18

Distribution that isn’t symmetrical. The graph looks like a parabola with a long tail.

Question 19

Confirmation bias

Answer 19

Seeking out data that confirms your hypothesis.

Question 20

Participant bias

Answer 20

The tendency for research participants to act in the way they think the researcher wants them to.

Question 21

Normal distribution

Answer 21

A symmetrical parabola looking graph. Also known as the Bell curve.

Question 22

Double-blind study

Answer 22

Neither the participant nor the research assistants collecting data will know which group is receiving the treatment.

Question 23

Placebo

Answer 23

Thinking you are getting treatment.