research methods etc Flashcards
tendency to believe that you knew the outcome of something after finding out the results
hindsight bias
thinking that doesn’t blindly accept arguments and conclusions–> it examines assumptions assesses the source discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions
critical thinking
explanation using a set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events
theory
testable prediction often implied by a theory
hypothesis
carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in research study. EX. ‘human intelligence’ may be operationally defines as what an intelligence test measures
operational definition
repeating the essence of a research study usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances
replication
descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principals
case study
observing behavior from afar without manipulating or controlling the situation
naturalistic observation
technique for collecting self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group usually by questioning a representative, random sampling of the group
survey
flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample
sampling bias
all those in a group being studied from which samples may be drawn
population
a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of being sampled
random sampling
measure of the extent to which variables change together and thus of how well either variable predicts the other
correlation
statistical index of the relationship between two variables
correlation coefficient
graphed cluster of dots
scatterplot
perception of a relationship where none exists
illusory correlation
research methods in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process. by ‘random assignment’ of participants the experimenter aims to control other relevant variables
experiement
in an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable
experimental group
the group in an experiment NOT exposed to the change and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment
control group
assigning participants to experiments by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the different groups
random assignment
experiment in which both the research participants and the staff do not know about whether that participant has received treatment or not
double-blind procedure
experimental results caused by expectations alone. Any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inherent substance or condition which the recipient assumes and active agent
placebo effect
experimental factor that is manipulated
independent variable
factor other than the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the IV
confounding variable
the outcome factor in an experiment: what is being measured
dependant variable
extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to
validity
numerical used to measure and describe characteristics of groups. Includes measures of central tendency and measures of variation
descriptive stats
bar graph depicting a frequency distribution
histogram
most frequently occuring number in a distribution
mode
the average of a distribution
mean
middle score in a distribution
median
representation of score that lack symentry around the average value
skewed distribution
difference between the highest and lowest number in a distribution
range
computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score
standard deviation
“Normal distribution” a symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data
normal curve
numerical data that allows one to generalize- to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population
inferential statistics
a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance
statistical significance
enduring behaviors, ideas, attributes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next
culture
ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether to participate
informed consent
post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any description to it’s participants
debriefing
analyses of special individuals
case studies
watching and recording natural behavior of individuals
naturalistic observation
observe and record behavior
descriptive
to detect naturally occurring relationships; to assess how well one variable predicts another
correlation
