RESEARCH METHODS MODULE 2 APPENDIX A

Question 1

Hindsight bias

Answer 1

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one 
would have foreseen it
– “I knew it all along” 
– Monday morning quarterbacking
– stocks, sports, relationships

Question 2

Overconfidence

Answer 2

– we tend to think we know more than we do
– How long would it take you to unscramble the anagrams below?
WREAT WATER
ETRYN ENTRY
GRABE  BARGE
– Knowing the answer in advance skews our confidence

Question 3

Theory

Answer 3

an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations
and predicts behaviours or events
– ex: sleep boosts memory
– a good theory produces testable predictions; must be put to the test

Question 4

Hypothesis

Answer 4

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory
– when people are sleep deprived, they remember less from the day before
– how well do these people remember course materials studied before a good night’s
sleep or before a shortened night’s sleep
– results will either support our theory or lead us to revise or reject it

Question 5

Operational definition

Answer 5

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures
(operations) used in a research study.
this makes it possible for other researchers to replicate (or repeat) the
study with different participants/ circumstances/ etc.

Question 6

Meta-analysis

Answer 6

a statistical procedure for analyzing the results of multiple
studies to reach an overall conclusion
– analyzes a body of scientific evidence

Question 7

Case study

Answer 7

a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied
in-depth in the hope of revealing universal principles
– one of the oldest research methods

Question 8

Naturalistic observation

Answer 8

a descriptive technique of observing and recording
behaviour in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control
the situation
– parent-child interactions
– smart phones/ activity trackers
– limitations: does not measure data, only describes it; doesn’t tell us why

Question 9

Survey

Answer 9

obtains self-reported attitudes or behaviours of a particular group,
usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

Question 10

random sample:

Answer 10

fairly selects from the population, everyone has an equal
chance of being included
– randomly select names from the entire list of enrolled students
– if not random sampled skewed results

Question 11

Correlation

Answer 11

a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, how
well either factor predicts the other
– correlation coefficient: the statistical index of the relationship between two
things

Question 12

positive correlation

Answer 12

direct relationship; both factors increase or decrease

together (0 to +1.00); height & weight

Question 13

negative correlation

Answer 13

inverse relationship; as one factor increases, the other
decreases (-1.00 to 0); the higher you climb in altitude, the lower the
temperature

Question 14

no correlation

Answer 14

no relationship between two factors; amount of tea consumed
and IQ
■ still doesn’t tell us why

Question 15

Experiment

Answer 15

investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent
variables) to observe the effect on some behaviour or mental process (dependent
variable)

Question 16

experimental group

Answer 16

the group that receives the treatment

Question 17

control group

Answer 17

the group not exposed to treatment; serves as a
comparison for evaluating the effectiveness of the treatment
■ often given a placebo: inert treatment that the participant believes is active;
fake treatment/ no treatment
to minimize any preexisting differences, researchers randomly assign
people to the 2 conditions
■ assigns participants to experimental and control groups by chance; equalizes
the two groups

Question 18

blind study

Answer 18

the participant doesn’t know which group they are in (experimental
or control)

Question 19

double blind study

Answer 19

neither the participant nor the researcher knows who gets
the treatment
– most Rx studies follow this method

Question 20

Placebo effect

Answer 20

experimental result caused by expectations alone
– decaf versus regular coffee
– alcohol content

Question 21

Independent variable (IV)

Answer 21

the variable being manipulated/ whose effect is

being manipulated

Question 22

dependent variable (DV)

Answer 22

the outcome being measured, the variable that may

change when the IV is manipulated

Question 23

confounding variable

Answer 23

a factor other than the one being studied that could
influence a study’s result
– age, weight, height, medical issues, location, etc.

Question 24

informed consent:

Answer 24

giving potential participants enough information about a study to enable
them to choose whether or not they wish to participate
– protect participants from greater than usual harm and discomfort
– keep info confidential

Question 25

debrief

Answer 25

the post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any
deceptions, to its participants

Question 26

Measures of variation

Answer 26

how similar or diverse is the data

Question 27

standard deviation

Answer 27

how much scores vary from the mean

Question 28

normal curve/ distribution

Answer 28

a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the
distribution (or spread) of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (68% of
scores will fall within 1 SD ofX)and fewer and fewer are near the extremes; also
called a bell curve
– height, IQ, life expectancy

Question 29

statistical significance

Answer 29

a statement of how likely it is that the result is not due to
chance; p< .05
– does not measure the importance of the result