Research methods glossary Flashcards
Aims
What you want to achieve during the experiment/research.
Bar chart
A graph used to represent the frequencies of nominal (category) or discrete (discontinuous) data.
Behaviour categories
A way of operationalising behaviour by defining specific, objective, mutually exclusive observable components.
Bias
A systematic distortion.
Calculated value
A value of a test statistic calculated for a particular data set.
Case study
A detailed study of a single individual, institution or event.
Closed questions
Questions that have a predetermined set of answers from which respondents select one. Tend to produce quantitative data.
Confederate
An individual in a study who is not a real participant and has been instructed how to behave by the investigator.
Confidentiality
Concerns the communication of personal information and the trust that the information will be protected.
Confounding variable
A variable that isn’t the independent variable but does vary systematically with the independent variable. Changes in the dependent variable may be due to the confounding variable rather than the IV and therefore the outcome is meaningless.
Content analysis
A kind of observational study in which behaviour is observed indirectly in written or verbal material such as interviews, conversations, books, diaries or TV programmes.
Continuous variable
A variable that can take on any value within a certain range.
Control Group
Groups that have not experienced any of the manipulations of the IV that an experimental group might have. This allows the researcher to make a direct comparison between them.
Controlled observation
A form of investigation in which behaviour is observed under conditions where certain variables have been organised by the researcher.
Correlation
Determining the extent of an association between two variables. The co-variables may not be linked at all (zero correlation) or may both increase together (positive correlation), or as one variable increases the other decreases (negative correlation).
Correlation coefficient
A number between -1 and +1 that describes the strength of the association between two co-variables in a correlational analysis.
Cost-benefit analysis
A systematic approach to estimating the negative and positive impact of any research.
Counterbalancing
Used to overcome order effects when using a repeated measures experimental design. Ensures that each condition is tested first or second in equal amounts.
Co-variable
The two measured variables in a correlation analysis. The variables must be continuous.
Covert observation
Observing people without their knowledge. Knowing that behaviour is being observed is likely to alter a participant’s behaviour.
Critical value
In an inferential test, the value of the test statistic that must be reached to show significance.
Curvilinear correlation
A non-linear relationship between co-variables, that does not fall on a straight line.
Debriefing
A post-research interview designed to inform participants of the true nature of the study and to restore them to the physical and psychological state they were in at the start of the study.
Deception
A participant is not told the true aim of the study and thus cannot give truly informed consent.
Demand characteristics
A cue that makes participants unconsciously aware of the aims of a study or causes them to change their behaviour to match what they think is expected.
Dependent variable (DV)
An event, object or characteristic that is measured by an experimenter.
Directional hypothesis
States the direction of the predicted difference between the two conditions or two groups of participants.
Ecological validity
How well you can generalise a study to different places or settings.
Effect size
A measure of the strength of the relationship between two variables.
Ethical guidelines (code of conduct)
A set of principles designed to help professionals behave honestly and with integrity.
Ethical issues
Concern questions of right and wrong. They arise in research where there are conflicting sets of values between researchers and participants.
Ethics committee
A group of people within a research institution that must approve a study before it begins.
Event sampling
An observational technique in which a count is kept of the number of times a certain behaviour occurs.
Experiment
A research method in which causal conclusions can be drawn because an independent variable is deliberately manipulated to observe the effect on the dependent variable.
Experimental design
A set of procedures used to control the influence of factors such as participant variables in an experiment. How the participants are allocated to the different conditions of the IV.
External validity
The degree to which a research finding can be generalised to other settings (ecological validity); to other groups of people (population validity); over time (historical validity).
Extraneous variable (EV)
Any variable, other than the IV, which may affect the DV and therefore affect validity of the findings. Extraneous variables need to be controlled in an experiment wherever possible.
Field experiment
A controlled experiment conducted outside a laboratory. The IV is manipulated by the experimenter, but participants are usually unaware that they are being studied.
Fraction
A method of expressing part of a whole. E.g. ½ of the participants or 3/10 people.
Generalisation
Applying the findings of a study to the population, or to situations beyond the research context.
Histogram
A graph showing the frequency distribution of continuous data.
Historical validity
How well you can generalise a study to different times.
Hypothesis
A precise and testable statement about the predicted relationship between variables (in an experiment, between the IV and DV). It is essentially a prediction, but should be operationalised so that it is testable.
Independent group design
Participants are allocated to different groups, representing different conditions of the IV, preferably by random allocation.
Independent variable
An event, object or characteristic that is directly manipulated (changed) by an experimenter in order to test its effect on the dependent variable.
Informed consent
Participants must be given comprehensive information concerning the nature and the purpose of the research and their role in it, in order that they can make an informed decision about whether to participate.
Internal validity
The degree to which an observed effect was due to the experimental manipulation rather than other factors such as confounding or extraneous variables.
Inter-observer reliability
The extent to which there is agreement between two or more observers involved in observations of a behaviour.
Intervening variable
Variables that come in between two other variables and can explain their association.
Interview
A research method that involves a face-to-face, real-time interaction with another individual in order to collect data.
Interview bias
The effect of an interviewer’s expectations, communicated unconsciously, on a respondent’s behaviour.
Investigator effects
Anything that an investigator does that affects a participant’s performance in a study, directly (through interaction with the participant) or indirectly (through bias in the study design).
Laboratory experiment
An experiment carried out in a controlled setting. Lab experiments tend to have high internal validity because good control over all variables is possible. They tend to have low ecological validity because participants are aware they are being studied and also the tasks involved tend to be more artificial.
Linear correlation
A systematic relationship between co-variables that fits a straight line.
Matched pairs design
Pairs of participants are matched on key variables. One member of each pair is randomly allocated to each experimental condition.
Mean
The average. scores/values are added up to come to a total amount and then divided by the amount of participants that took part in the study, resulting in a mean average score.
The arithmetic average of a data set.
Measure of dispersion
A descriptive statistic that provides information about how spread out the data is in a data set.
Measure of central tendency
A descriptive statistic that provides information about a ‘typical’ value in a data set.
Median
The middle piece of data collected once put in order (e.g. from highest score to lowest score then choosing the middle value).
Meta-analysis
A research method in which a researcher statistically analyses the findings of a number of different studies to investigate the overall effect.
Mode
The piece of data in which appears the most out of all of the evidence collected.
The most frequently occuring value or category in a data set.
Mundane realism
The degree to which experiences encountered in the research environment mirror those in the real world.
Natural experiment
A research method in which the experimenter has not manipulated The IV directly for ethical or practical reasons.
Naturalistic observation
An observation carried out in an everyday setting, in which the investigator does not interfere in any way but merely observes the behaviour(s) in question.
Negative correlation
As one variable increases the other decreases.
Negative skewed distribution
Most of the scores are bunched to the right. The mean is affected by extreme scores in the longtail to the left, so the mean is to the left of the mode.
Non-directional hypothesis
Predicts that there is a difference between two conditions without stating the direction of the difference.
Non-participant observation
The observer is separate from the people being observed.
Normal distribution
A symmetrical bell-shaped frequency distribution curve. The mean, median and mode are at the midpoint.
Observer bias
Observer’s expectations affect what they see or hear. This reduces the validity of the observations.
One-tailed test
Form of test used with a directional hypothesis.
Open questions
Questions that invite respondents to provide their own answers. Tends to produce qualitative data.
Operationalise
Making everything quantifiable and precise so that anyone can measure it precisely - making it specific.
Ensuring that variables are in a form that can be easily tested.
Opportunity sample
A sample of participants produced by selecting people who are most easily available at the time of the study.
Order effect
In a repeated measure design, an extraneous variable arising from the order in which conditions are presented, e.g. a practise effect or fatigue effect.
Order of magnitude
A means of comparing numbers by focusing on the overall size (magnitude). This may be done by expressing the number in standard form (powers of 10).
Overt observation
Observational studies where participants are aware that their behaviour is being studied.
Participant obseravtion
Observations made by someone who is also participating in the activity being observed, which may affect their objectivity.
Peer review
The practise of using independent experts to assess the quality and validity of scientific research and academic reports.
Percentage
A method of expressing parts of a whole e.g. 23% or 67%.
Pilot study
A small scale trial run of a study to test any aspects of the procedure, with a view to making improvements.
Population
The group of people that the researcher is interested in studying, from whom a sample is drawn, and about whom generalisations can be made.
Population validity
How well you can generalise a study to different people or populations.
Positive correlation
When two variables increase together.
Positive skewed distribution
Most of the scores are bunched to the left. The mean is to the right of the mode because it is affected by the long tail on the right.
Presumptive consent
Dealing with a lack of informed consent or deception, by asking people who are similar to the participants whether they would agree to take part in the study. If they consent, it is presumed that the real participants would also agree.
Primary data
Information observed or collected directly from first-hand experience.
Privacy
A person’s right to control the flow of information about themselves.
Probability (p)
A measure of the likelihood or chance that certain events will occur.
Protection from harm
During a research study, participants should not experience negative physical or psychological effects, such as physical injury, lowered self-esteem or embarrassment.
Qualitative data
Non-numerical data.
Quantitative data
Data measured in numbers.
Quasi-experiment
A research method in which the IV is a characteristic of the individual, and cannot be manipulated by the experimenter.
Questionnaire
Data is collected through the use of written questions.
Random allocation
Allocating participants to experimental conditions or groups using random techniques.
Random sample
A sample of participants produced by using a random technique so that every member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected.
Range
The difference between the highest and lowest item in a data set. Usually 1 is added as a correction.
Ratio
A method of expressing parts of a whole.
Repeated measures design
Each participant takes part in every condition under test i.e. each level of the IV.
Review
A consideration of a number of studies that have investigated the same topic in order to reach a general conclusion about a particular hypothesis.
Right to withdraw
Participants can stop participating in a study if they are uncomfortable in any way. This is especially important in cases where it was not possible to give fully informed consent. Participants should also have the right to refuse permission for the researcher to use any data they produced.
Sampling
The method used to select participants, such as random, opportunity and volunteer sampling, or to sample behaviours in an observation, such as event or time sampling.
Scattergram
A graphical representation of the association (i.e. the correlation) between two sets of scores.
Secondary data
Information used in a research study that was collected by someone else or for a purpose other than the current one, such as published data or data collected in the past.
Sign test
A statistical (inferential) test to determine the significance of a sample of related items of data.
Significance
A statistical term indicating that the research findings are sufficiently strong for us to accept the research hypothesis under test.
Significant figure
Refers to the number of important single digits used to represent a number. The digits are ‘important’ because, if removed, the number would be quite different in magnitude.
Skewed distribution
A distribution is skewed if one tail is longer than another, signifying that there are a number of extreme values to one side or the other of the mid-score.
Social desirability bias
A distortion in the way people answer questions - they tend to answer questions in such a way that presents themselves in a better light.
Standard deviation
Shows the amount of variation in a data set. It assesses the spread of data around the mean.
Standardised procedures
A set of procedures that are the same for all participants in order to be able to repeat the study.
Stratified sample
A sample of participants produced by identifying subgroups according to their frequency in the population. Participants are then selected randomly from the subgroups.
Structured interview
Any interview in which the questions are decided in advance.
Structured observation
A researcher uses various systems to organise observations, such as behavioural categories and sampling procedures.
Systematic sample
A sample obtained by selecting every nth person (where n is any number). This can be a random sample if the first person is selected using a random method; you then select every nth person after that.
Table of critical values
A table that contains the numbers used to judge significance. The calculated value of the test statistic is compared to the number in the table (called the critical value) to see if the calculated value is significant.
Test statistic
A statistical test is used to calculate a numerical value. For each test this value has a specific name such as S for sign test.
Time sampling
An observational technique in which the observer records behaviours in a given time frame, e.g. noting what a target individual is doing every 15 seconds or 20 seconds or 1 minute. The observer may select one or more behavioural categories to tick at this time interval.
Two-tailed test
Form of test used with a non-directional hypothesis.
Unstructured interview
The interview starts out with some general aims and possibly some questions, and lets the interviewee’s answers guide subsequent questions.
Validity
How well the study measures what it claims to do.
Whether an observed effect is a genuine one.
Volunteer bias
A form of sampling bias (distortion) because volunteer participants have special characteristics, such as usually being more highly motivated than randomly selected participants.
Volunteer sample
A sample of participants that relies solely on volunteers to make up the sample. Also called a self-selected sample.
Zero correlation
A correlation where the co-variables are not linked.
