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
What is predictive validity?
The tendency for an operational definition to be related to other operational definitions of the same property
What is constructive validity?
The tendency for an operational definition and a property to have clear conceptual relation
What is frequency distribution?
A graphic representation of the measurements of a sample that are arranged by number of times each measurement was observed
What is the benefit of a trial being double-blind?
Reduces bias due to prior expectations
What two groups are produced as a result of the IV being manipulated?
Experimental and control groups
What odds are typically used to determine if random assignment has failed in an experiment?
5% chance of failure
What is randomisation?
When participants have an equal chance of being in either the experimental or control groups
What law urges researchers to take large samples?
The law of larger numbers
What is triangulation?
Verifying one account with another to check reliability in qualitative research
What are three major ethical principals of psychological research?
Informed consent, debriefing, risk-benefit analysis
