Research Methods Vocab Unit 1 Flashcards
Independent Variable
The variable that is manipulated or changed in an experiment to observe its effect on the dependent variable.
Dependent Variable
The variable that is measured or observed to see how it changes in response to the independent variable.
Participant Variables
Characteristics or traits of participants (e.g., age, gender, health) that may influence the results of the experiment.
Debriefing
Providing participants with an explanation of the study after it is completed, including any deception used.
Confidentiality
Ensuring that participants’ personal information is kept private and not disclosed without permission.
Lack of Deception
The ethical requirement that participants are not misled about the true nature of the study unless absolutely necessary, and even then, they must be debriefed.
Right to Withdraw
The right of participants to leave the study at any time without penalty.
Informed (Valid) Consent
Ensuring that participants are fully aware of the nature of the study and voluntarily agree to participate.
Minimizing Harm
Ensuring that participants are not exposed to unnecessary physical or psychological harm during the research.
Questionnaire
A method of collecting data through written questions that participants answer.
Semi-structured Interview
An interview with a mix of predetermined and open-ended questions, allowing for flexibility.
Unstructured Interview
An interview with open-ended questions that allows for more flexible and spontaneous conversation.
Structured Interview
An interview with a set of predetermined questions that are asked in a fixed order.
Self-Report
A data collection method where participants report their own behaviors, attitudes, or experiences.
Matched-Pairs Design
A research design where participants are paired based on similarities before being assigned to different conditions.
Repeated Measures Design
A research design in which the same participants are exposed to all conditions or treatments.
Independent Measures Design
A research design in which different participants are assigned to each condition or group.
Lab Experiment
An experiment conducted in a controlled environment, typically a laboratory.
Field Experiment
An experiment conducted in a natural setting rather than in a laboratory.
Experiment
A research method that manipulates one or more variables to observe their effect on another variable.
Correlational Study
A research method that examines the relationship between two or more variables but does not imply cause-and-effect.
Case Study
An in-depth investigation of a single individual or group, often over a long period of time.
Overt Participant
An observation in which the participants know they are being observed.
Covert Participant
An observation in which the participants are unaware that they are being studied.
Observation
A research method where behavior is observed and recorded without intervention.
Cohort Effects
Differences between groups that are caused by the specific time period or group they belong to rather than the experimental manipulation.
Cross-Sectional Study
A research design where different groups of participants are studied at a single point in time.
Longitudinal Study
A research design that involves studying the same group of participants over a long period of time.
Standard Deviation
A measure of how spread out the values in a data set are, showing the variability of the data.
Range
The difference between the highest and lowest values in a data set.
Mode
The value that appears most frequently in a data set.
Median
The middle value of a data set when it is ordered from lowest to highest.
Mean
The average of a set of numbers, calculated by adding all values and dividing by the number of values.
Quantitative Data
Data that is numerical and can be measured or counted.
Qualitative Data
Data that is descriptive and non-numerical, often involving words or observations.
Control Groups
A group of participants who are not exposed to the independent variable, used for comparison with the experimental group.
Experimental Group
The group of participants exposed to the independent variable in an experiment.
Demand Characteristics
Cues or signals in an experiment that might influence participants’ behavior or responses, often leading them to guess the study’s purpose.
Order Effects
The effects that the sequence of conditions or tasks can have on participants’ responses (e.g., practice or fatigue effects).
Randomization
The process of randomly assigning participants to different conditions or groups to ensure that each participant has an equal chance of being in any group.
Split-Half Reliability
A method of testing reliability by dividing a test into two parts and checking for consistency between the two halves.
Test-retest Reliability
The consistency of results when the same test is administered to the same participants at different times.
Inter-rater Reliability
The degree to which different observers or raters agree on the measurements or observations.
Generalizability
The extent to which the findings of a study can be applied to other populations or settings.
Internal Validity
The extent to which a study accurately measures the relationship between the independent and dependent variables, free from confounding variables.
Ecological Validity
The extent to which findings can be generalized to real-world settings.
Validity
The extent to which an experiment or test measures what it claims to measure.
Reliability
The consistency or stability of the measurements or results over time.
Volunteer Sampling
Sampling individuals who self-select to participate in the study.
Random Sampling
Sampling where every individual in the population has an equal chance of being selected.
Opportunity Sampling
Sampling individuals who are easily accessible or available to the researcher.
Population
The entire group of individuals that the research is concerned with, from which the sample is drawn.
Sample
A subset of individuals selected from a larger population to participate in the study.
Non-Directional Hypothesis
A hypothesis that predicts an effect or relationship, but not the direction (e.g., there is a relationship, but not specifying whether positive or negative).
Directional Hypothesis
A hypothesis that predicts the direction of the effect or relationship (e.g., one variable will increase as the other increases).
Alternative Hypothesis
A hypothesis stating that there is a significant effect or relationship between variables.
Null Hypothesis
A hypothesis stating that there is no significant effect or relationship between variables.
Aim
The objective or purpose of the research or experiment.
Standardization
Ensuring that procedures and conditions are the same for all participants in a study to reduce variability.
Operationalization
Defining variables in such a way that they can be measured or tested in a practical, consistent manner.
Confounding Variable
A variable that interferes with the relationship between the independent and dependent variables, making it unclear if the independent variable caused the effect.
Extraneous Variable
A variable that is not of primary interest but could still affect the dependent variable and introduce unwanted variability in the results
Minimizing Harm
Ensuring that any harm (physical or psychological) to participants (human or animal) is reduced to the absolute minimum during research.
Replacement
The ethical principle that researchers should avoid using animals in experiments when a non-animal alternative (such as computer models or simulations) can be used instead.
Species
Refers to the type of animals used in research. Ethical considerations include ensuring that the chosen species is appropriate for the specific research question.
Numbers
The principle of using the fewest possible animals necessary to obtain valid results, minimizing the number of subjects in the experiment to reduce harm and suffering.
Pain/Suffering (procedures)
Ethical guidelines require that research procedures should cause as little pain or suffering as possible to animals, and in some cases, procedures that cause pain should be avoided or minimized.
Housing (procedures)
Refers to the conditions in which animals are housed during an experiment. Ethical standards ensure that animals are kept in appropriate, comfortable conditions that meet their physical and psychological needs.
Rewards, Deprivation, and Aversive Stimuli (procedures)
Ethical guidelines require careful consideration of how animals are exposed to rewards, deprivation, or aversive stimuli (such as discomfort or punishment) in experiments, ensuring that these procedures are not excessively harsh or harmful.
