Semester 1 Flashcards
Qualitative Data
Analysing words and describing text
Can’t be numerically ranked i.e.; interviews
Quantitative Data
Can be quantified numerically i.e., One’s height
Ways of Knowing
Intuition
Authority
Rationalism
Empiricism
Theory
A coherent explanation or interpretation of one or more phenomena. They incorporate variables, structures, processes, functions or organising principles that have not been observed directly.
Hypothesis
A specific prediction about a new phenomenon that should be observed if a particular theory is accurate
Hypothetico- deductive method
The primary method that scientific researchers use theories
Variable
A quantity of quality that varies across people or situations i.e., people’s height
Quantitative Variable
Measure by assigning a number i.e.; number of siblings
Categorical Variable
A quality that is typically measured by assigning a category or label to each individual i.e., one’s nationality
Operational Definition
A definition of the variable in terms of how precisely it is to be measured
Population
A very large group of people that you are researching i.e., all students in Ireland
Sample
The group of people that the research is actually carried out on
Simple Random Sampling
Every person in the population has an equal chance of being selected for a sample i.e., asking voters of the voting register who they are voting for
Convenience Sampling
Sampling individuals who are nearby and are willing to participate i.e., 1rst year psych students
Independent Variable
The variable that the experimenter manipulates i.e., the presumed cause
Dependent Variable
The variable that the experimenter measures i.e., the presumed effect
Extraneous Variables
Any variable other than the dependent variable
Confounding Variable
Specific types of extraneous variables that systematically vary along with the variables under investigation and therefore provides an alternative explanation for the results
Lab Study
Conducted in a lab enviroment
Field Study
Conducted in the real world/ natural environment
Internal Validity
The degree to which we can confidently infer a causal relationship between variables
External Validity
The degree to which we can generalise the findings to other circumstances or settings
Features of Science
Systematic Empiricism
Empirical Questions
Public Knowledge
Features of Pseudoscience
- use of vague, exaggerated or untestable claims
- improper collection of evidence i.e., biased sampling
-lack of openness to testing by other experts
-absence of progress - personalisation of issues
-use of misleading language - undisclosed interests i.e., trying to sell something