RESEARCH METHODS, MEASUREMENT, AND STATISTICS Flashcards
Control group
The group of subjects in an experiment that receives the same treatment and is treated exactly like the experimental group, except with respect to the independent variable (they don’t get the IV).
Correlation coefficient
A measurement that indicates the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables. In a positive correlation, one variable increases as the other increases. In a negative correlation, one variable decreases as the other increases.
Correlational research method
A research method that provides information about the relationship between variables. It is also called a descriptive research method.
Dependent variable
The variable that is observed in an experiment and that may be affected by manipulations of the independent variable.
Descriptive statistics
Numbers that researchers use to describe their data so it can be organized and summarized.
Double-blind
A procedure in which neither the subjects nor the experimenter knows which subjects belong to the experimental and control groups.
Ethics
A system of moral values.
Experiment
A research method that provides information about causal relationships between variables.
Experimental group
A group of subjects in an experiment for whom the independent variable is manipulated.
Experimenter bias
A source of error that arises when researchers’ preferences or expectations influence the outcome of research.
Extraneous or confounding variable
A variable other than the independent variable that could affect the dependent variable. It is not part of the hypothesis.
Falsifiability
The ability of a theory or hypothesis to be rejected.
Independent variable
The variable that is manipulated in an experiment.
Inferential statistics
Statistics used to determine the likelihood that a result is just due to chance.
Informed consent
A subject’s voluntary agreement to participate in a research study, given after he or she has learned enough about the study to make a knowledgeable decision to participate.
Laboratory observation
An observational research method in which information about subjects is collected in a laboratory setting.
Mean
The arithmetic average of a set of scores.
Measures of central tendency
The mean, median, and mode. Used to describe the typical or average score in a distribution
Median
The middle score in a set when all scores are arranged in order from lowest to highest.
Mode
The most frequently occurring score in a set of scores.
Naturalistic observation
A method of collecting information about subjects in a natural setting without interfering with them in any way.
Negative correlation
A relationship between two variables in which one variable increases as the other one decreases. The variables move in opposite directions related to one another.
Negatively skewed distribution
A data distribution with a few very low scores.
Normal distribution
A symmetrical bell-shaped curve that represents how characteristics such as IQ are distributed in a large population.
Norms
Data that provide information about how a person’s test score compares with the scores of other test takers.
Operational definition
A way of stating precisely how a variable will be measured.
Placebo effect
The effect on a subject of receiving a fake drug or treatment. Expectations of improvement contribute to placebo effects.
Population
The collection of individuals from which a sample is drawn.
Positive correlation
A relationship between two variables in which as one variable increases, the other does too. Or, as one decreases, the other does too. The variables move in the same direction related to one another.
Positively skewed distribution
A data distribution with a few very high scores.
Random assignment
A way of placing subjects into either an experimental or a control group such that subjects have an equal chance of being placed in either one group or the other.
Replicability
The ability of research to repeatedly yield the same results when done by different researchers.
Sample
A collection of subjects, drawn from a population, that a researcher studies.
Sampling bias
A source of error that arises when the sample is not representative of the population that the researcher wants to study.
Scientific method (HDCAR)
A standardized way of making observations, gathering data, forming theories, testing predictions, and interpreting results.
1) Hypothesis
2) Design Study
3) Collect Data (Run the Study)
4) Analyze the Data (Draw Conclusions)
5) Report Your Findings
Single-blind
A procedure in which subjects don’t know whether they are in an experimental or control group.
Social desirability bias
The tendency of some people to describe themselves in socially approved ways.
Standard deviation
The use of uniform procedures when administering and scoring tests.
Statistical significance
- The likelihood that a result was not due to chance.
- Chance is represented as P.
- The role of chance (accidental change in the variables) typically needs to be lower than 5% (a one in twenty possiblility that the results are accidental).
- This idea is expressed as P<0.05
Statistics
The analysis and interpretation of numerical data.
Subject
An individual person or animal that a researcher studies.
Subject bias
Bias that results from the subject’s expectations or the subject’s changing of his or her behavior.
Survey
A method of getting information about a specific behavior, experience, or event by means of interviews or questionnaires, using several participants.
Theory
An explanation that organizes separate pieces of information in a coherent way.
Variable
An event, characteristic, behavior, or condition that researchers measure and study.
Case study
A research method in which an individual subject is studied in depth.
Hypothesis
A testable prediction of what is going to happen given a certain set of conditions.
Representative sample
A sample that corresponds to the population from which it is drawn in terms of age, sex, and other qualities on the variables being studied.
Bias
The distortion of results by a variable that is not part of the hypothesis.
Determinism
- The idea that all events are governed by some sort of law(s).
- If we can uncover these laws, then we can understand, control, and predict.
Experimental research
A scientific method that seeks to confirm cause and effect relationships by introducing independent variables and observing their effects on dependent variables.
Hypothesis testing
What inferential statistics does. Determining if observed findings support the hypotheses.
Key ethical principles in research
- Informed consent
- No exposure to harmful/dangerous research procedures
- Full explanation
- Right to Privacy
- Animal use must be thoroughly explained and justified
- Approval is needed prior to beginning studies
Range
The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a set of scores.
Advantages of Experimental research
- Control over the variable.
- Can determine cause/effect relationships.
Disadvantages of Experimental research
- A controlled environment is a fake environment
- Unethical to study some topics in a labratory environment
- Cost prohibitive (Too Expensive) in some cases
Quantitative Research
Research that uses mathematics and numeric data to test a hypothesis.
Qualitative Research
Research that uses language, questions, interviews, etc. (words) to test a hypothesis or gain understanding of some kind of event/phenomena.
