Research Methods Flashcards
What is naturalistic observation?
Watching and recording the natural behavior of many individuals
Watching chimps in the jungle, videotaping parent-child relationships, observing ratial differences in seating in a cafeteria, etc.
What is a case study?
Analysis of specific individuals. Examines one or a few individuals very closely for specific information
What are some cons of relying solely on case studies?
You could end up studying an atypical sample of a population
What are self-report studies?
Surveys, questionnaires or polls in which respondents read a question and respond themselves without researcher interference. Asking about feelings etc.
Why is sampling so important?
In order to get relevant results, you must have a representative random sample, without that your results can be skewed
What is the correlation coefficient? What does the sign (+/-) indicate? What does the number value indicate?
The statistical measure of the relationship between two variables. +1.00 to -1.00
A -1.00 correlation, perfect negative, indicates that the frequency of (the X-Axis) was always accompanied by less of (the Y-Axis)
A +1.00 correlation, perfect negative, indicates that the frequency of (the X-Axis) was always accompanied by more of (the Y-Axis)
Can correlational research lead to causal explanations?
Correlation INDICATES the possibility of causation, but cannot prove such
Why do experiments allow us to detect cause-effect relationships?
Scientists can isolate the effects of one or more factors by manipulating the factors of interest and holding constant other factors
Experimental and control groups
Random assignment
What is a sample?
A portion of a population that hopefully in representative of the whole population.
What is a population?
All the cases in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn
What is random assignment and why is it so important?
It equalizes the two groups, hopefully having an equal distribution of the population in each group, without it you can get results from an atypical part of the population
What is an independent variable?
It is the same for all participants in the study, usually what is being tested
What is a dependent variable?
Experiments measure one or more independent variables on some measureable behavior, this is the dependent variable
What is an operational definition?
A statement of the procedures used to define research variables
Human intelligence may be operationally defined as “what an intelligence test measures”
What is an experimental group?
Exposed to the treatment/a version of the independent variable
