RESEARCH METHODS MODULE 2 APPENDIX A Flashcards
Hindsight bias
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
Overconfidence
– 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
Theory
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
Hypothesis
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
Operational definition
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.
Meta-analysis
a statistical procedure for analyzing the results of multiple
studies to reach an overall conclusion
– analyzes a body of scientific evidence
Case study
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
Naturalistic observation
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
Survey
obtains self-reported attitudes or behaviours of a particular group,
usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group
random sample:
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
Correlation
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
positive correlation
direct relationship; both factors increase or decrease
together (0 to +1.00); height & weight
negative correlation
inverse relationship; as one factor increases, the other
decreases (-1.00 to 0); the higher you climb in altitude, the lower the
temperature
no correlation
no relationship between two factors; amount of tea consumed
and IQ
■ still doesn’t tell us why
Experiment
investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent
variables) to observe the effect on some behaviour or mental process (dependent
variable)
experimental group
the group that receives the treatment
control group
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
blind study
the participant doesn’t know which group they are in (experimental
or control)
double blind study
neither the participant nor the researcher knows who gets
the treatment
– most Rx studies follow this method
Placebo effect
experimental result caused by expectations alone
– decaf versus regular coffee
– alcohol content
Independent variable (IV)
the variable being manipulated/ whose effect is
being manipulated
dependent variable (DV)
the outcome being measured, the variable that may
change when the IV is manipulated
confounding variable
a factor other than the one being studied that could
influence a study’s result
– age, weight, height, medical issues, location, etc.
informed consent:
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
debrief
the post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any
deceptions, to its participants
Measures of variation
how similar or diverse is the data
standard deviation
how much scores vary from the mean
normal curve/ distribution
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 ofX)and fewer and fewer are near the extremes; also
called a bell curve
– height, IQ, life expectancy
statistical significance
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
