Research Methods Flashcards
Hypothesis:
created to make sense
of phenomena and test them
-Educated guesses about the world
-Worded in an unambiguous form
◦ Testability
Confounding variable
factor making
results uninterpretable
Control group
people in experimental
group who are not exposed to IV
Sampling bias
◦ Distortion that occurs when experiment participants
have not been drawn randomly from the relevant
population
Population
Complete set of possible participants
Sample
Small portion of a population that is examined in a study
Internal validity
Confidence that
effects are due to the independent
variable
External validity
Extent to which
the findings are generalizable
Measuring methods
- Self-report measure: provide information about
one’s own behavior - Informant-report measure: someone who knows the
child well provides information
Structural brain imaging
- Magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) uses radio signals to
produce fine-grained analyses of
brain structures - Coaxial tomography (CT) scan
reveals various brain structures
Functional brain imaging
- Functional magnetic resonance
imaging (fMRI) registers neural
activity in functioning areas of the
brain - Positron emission tomography
(PET) scans assess cerebral
glucose metabolism
Positive correlation
higher scores in one variable = higher
scores on other variable
Negative correlation
reversed relationship between two
variables
Correlation coefficient
varies from –1.0 to +1.0
Epidemiological studies
Reveal the incidence and prevalence of a disorder in a particular population
Incidence
number of new cases in a given period
Prevalence
total number of cases in a given period
Longitudinal studies
Observe the same individuals on many occasions over a long period
Retrospective effect
(looking back) provides inaccurate picture of how a disorder may have developed over time
Double-blind control
participants and researchers unaware of placebo
Manipulated variable =
independent variable
Variable being observed =
dependent variable
Informed consent
◦ Competence
◦ Voluntarism
◦ Full information
◦ Comprehension
Response bias
Social desirability
Answering questions in a way that respondents think
makes them “look good” even if the responses are not
true
Experimenter expectancy effect
Intentionally or unintentionally treating participants in ways that
encourage particular types of responses
Reactivity
Behavior change that occurs when one becomes aware of being
observed
