Research Methods Flashcards
How do scientific predictions change as instrumentation improves?
Become more imprecise (due to detection of increased variation)
What is the term for the belief that accurate knowledge of the world can be obtained by simply trusting the views and opinions of more experienced people?
Dogmatism
What is empiricism?
Belief that knowledge of world can be acquired be observing objects or events
What can be said about a measuring device that measures the same way each time?
It is reliable
What is a correlation coefficient?
Statistical measure of direction and strength of a correlation
What is the letter symbol used to represent the correlation coefficient?
r
What is correlation?
A pattern of covariation between two variables
What is the third-variable problem?
A causal relationship between two variables cannot be inferred from correlation due to the possibility of an infinite number of third variables
What is Fisher’s t-test?
Used to compare the means of two samples
What does it mean for something to be statistically significant?
Observed effect is not due to chance
What does explanation invoke?
Knowing why an event happened
What is the dependent variable?
The variable that is measured
What is the independent variable?
The variable that gets manipulated
What concept is generalisability synonymous with?
External validity
What is the operational definition of a property?
A description of an abstract property in terms of a concrete condition that can be measured
