Research Methods I Flashcards
What are the seven steps to the scientific method?
Construct a theory, generate a hypothesis, construct a research method, collect data, analyze data, report findings, and revise existing theories.
Back in 1543, it was believed that the Earth was at the center of the universe. Currently, that is no longer the belief. What is the concept behind this?
This example describes the paradigm shift. The paradigm shift is when there is a dynamic change in our way of thinking.
What form of evidence is not good enough to draw scientific conclusions from?
Anecdotal evidence is insufficient to draw conclusions from. This is when evidence is gathered from others or self experience.
In terms of conducting scientific experiments, what is the independent variable and dependent variable?
Independent variable is the variable manipulated by the scientist and dependent variable is the variable observed by the scientist.
What type of design leads to the practice effect?
This typically occurs during within-subjects design which is when the independent variable is manipulated within each participant to minimize the effect of external variables on the dependent variable. This type of design can be time consuming, costly, and lead to the practice effect.
What is the practice effect?
Practice effect is when improved performance over the course of entertainment due to being more experienced. This reduces the control of the experiment since it is hard to separate natural improvement from the effect of changing the independent variable.
Define between-subjects design? What is a disadvantage of this design?
Between-subjects design is when one group receives experimental manipulation while the other acts as the control group. A disadvantage is the presence of confounding variables, which are the variables other than the independent variable that has an effect on the results.
A researcher is putting his experiment together and decided to randomly assign subjects to the experimental group or the control group. Why do you think he comes to this decision?
By randomly assigning individuals to the two groups he is avoiding any biases that may cause differences between the groups. This idea is called random assignment.
What is the difference between the participant’s bias and the experimenter’s bias?
Participant’s bias is when a participant’s actions in an experiment influence the results outside of the manipulations of the experimenter. Experimenter’s bias is when the experimenter intentionally or unintentionally does something to promote the result they hope to achieve.
