Research Methods in Psychology by Rajiv Jhangiani, Carrie Cuttler and Dana C. Leighton

Question 1

What are the five Methods of Knowing?

Answer 1

Intuition (Guesswork)
Authority (Information from others)
Rationalism (Logic and Reason)
Empiricism (Observation and Experience)
The Scientific Method (Systematic Empiricism guided by Reason)

Question 2

What are the three defining characteristics of science?

Answer 2

Science must be based on observable measurements.
Science must ask questions that can be answered conclusively.
Science must be published to the world.

Observational, Falsifiability, Publishable.

Question 3

What are the three ambitions of science?

Answer 3

The first function is to accurately describe the world. The second is to explain how or why phenomena occur. The third is to predict what phenomenon will occur under certain circumstances.

Question 4

What is the difference between Basic and Applied Research?

Answer 4

Applied Research is completed to solve a problem whereas Basic Research is completed so that the findings can be accessed by applied researchers.

Question 5

What are the three types of Research?

Answer 5

Generating Information
Collating Information
Analysis of Information

Question 6

Why do we study Research Methods?

Answer 6

The Research Methods used in a study determines what we can learn from that study. This means that we must understand their methods before we can determine whether conclusions are valid.

Question 7

What is the Demarcation Principle?

Answer 7

Whatever cannot be falsified is not scientific; Science must be falsifiable.

Question 8

Where do we get Research Questions from?

Answer 8

Observations
Problems
Previous Research

Question 9

What are the two types of Previous Research?

Answer 9

Professional Journals (Research Reports, Review Articles and Theoretical Articles)
Scholarly Books

Question 10

What are the three criterion of a good Research Question? What is the additional requirement for Research Question?

Answer 10

The Question should:
Advance our Knowledge
Have practical Applications
Not already be answered.

The Question must:
Be feasible to accomplish

Question 11

What are Theories?

Answer 11

Organised structures of arguments that explain events in the natural world.

Question 12

What is a Hypothesis? What are their three core characteristics?

Answer 12

Hypotheses are testable statements that can support or refute a theory. They must be Logical, Falsifiable and must intend to introduce an argument to science.

Question 13

What are Confounds?

Answer 13

Variables that systematically effect the Dependent Variable; They give alternative explanations for why changes have occurred.

Question 14

What are the concepts of Internal and External Validity?

Answer 14

Internal Validity refers to how certain we can be of a casual relationship between variables; External Validity refers to how certain we can be that a study’s conclusions can be applied to the population.

Question 15

What are Descriptive and Inferential Statistics?

Answer 15

Descriptive Statistics organize and summarize the results of a study. Inferential Statistics relate to statistical significance and the theories that the study supports or refutes.

Question 16

Why can a theory never be technically proven?

Answer 16

We cannot be certain that we have witnessed all phenomenon the theory predicts; There may be a cave in Norway that gravity cannot reach or a dragon flying above Taiwan that denies aerodynamics.

Question 17

What are Psychometrics? What core aspects should they have?

Answer 17

Psychometrics are measurements within Psychology. They must be Systematic, meaning that they are the same for every participant at any time.

Question 18

What are Constructs?

Answer 18

Variables that cannot be measured with direct observations. They represent topics like emotions, personality traits or tendencies towards certain behaviours.

Question 19

What are Conceptual Definitions of Constructs?

Answer 19

Agreements about which behaviours are to be found within a singular Construct.

Question 20

What are Operational Definitions of Constructs?

Answer 20

Agreements by which we can measure the behaviours outlined within Conceptual Definitions.

Question 21

What are the four methods of measurement?

Answer 21

Nominal (Categories)
Ordinal (List from First to Last)
Interval (Equal Distances between each element)
Ratio (True Zero Point so comparisons can be made).

Question 22

What is Reliability within Psychometrics? How could we assess Reliability?

Answer 22

Measurements must produce the same results under the same circumstances– They should be consistent over time and over different researchers. They also be consistent with already established measurements of the same Construct.

Question 23

What is Validity within Psychometrics? What are the three types of Validity?

Answer 23

Measurements should accurately measure the Construct we want to measure. Face Validity refers to common sense logic of the measurement. Content Validity refers to how much of the Construct is measured and Criterion Validity refers to how much the measurement correlates with other Constructs.

Question 24

What are the four steps of creating a Psychometric?

Answer 24

Create a Conceptual Definition of a Construct
Create an Operational Definition of a Construct
Create the Psychometric
Analyze the effectivity of that Psychometric.

Question 25

What types of Measurement are Qualitative?

Answer 25

Categorical.

Question 26

What types of Measurement are Quantitative?

Answer 26

Ordinal, Interval, Ratio.

Question 27

What are the five steps of Cognitive Model of Survey Reply?

Answer 27

Decide what the Question is about.
Search Memory for Answer.
Determine Answer.
Select Closest Response Option.
Determine Whether you want to Share this Answer.

Question 28

What is the most prevalent Context Effect? How can it be minimised?

Answer 28

The Order of Items Effect changes our perception of a question based on the order questions are presented. We can randomise the order.

Question 29

What is the Likert Scale?

Answer 29

The Survey Method that makes a statement and asks participants how much they agree with that statement.

Question 30

What two concerns characterize Survey Research?

Answer 30

Sampling Bias occurs when we do not collect a sample that represents the population. Non-Response Bias is when participants do not respond, which hides a subpopulation or respondents.

Question 31

What are the five characteristics on which a Survey should be measured?

Answer 31

BRUSO:

Brief, Relevant, Unambiguous, Specific, Objective.