statistics and research details Flashcards
Reliability
Reliability refers to the likelihood that results could be replicated.
Ecological validity
Ecological validity refers to how findings from an experimental setting can be generalized to the environmental considerations in the real world. It is not reliability because that refers to the likelihood that results could be replicated.
construct validity
Construct validity refers to whether measures actually do assess the variables that they are intended to assess. for example, issues with how verbal abuse was defined in this study might pertain to construct validity.
graphs incidence versus prevalence
prevalence= the percentage of people currently diagnosed with a disease
incidence =the percentage of people newly diagnosed each year
What is the difference between incidence and prevalence?
This table measures prevalence (the percentage of people currently diagnosed with a disease), not incidence (the percentage of people newly diagnosed each year). Even if we assume that this sample is representative, if 2.8% of all individuals polled currently have BPD, it would be unreasonable to expect that same number to be newly diagnosed in a single year.
When an experimental relationship is depicted in graph form, which axis usually corresponds to the independent variable(s)?
The x-axis, and the dependent variable(s) are graphed on the y-axis
Since the values of an independent variable are controlled by the experimental procedure, it is typically plotted along the x-axis. In contrast, the quantity or extent of a dependent variable relies upon its relationship with the independent variable. As a result, it is most sensible to graph it along the y-axis, where a quick glance can compare the difference between higher and lower values.
In a particular relationship, doubling thing A is shown to halve thing B, while reducing thing A notably increases thing B. How can this interaction be described?
A.
The two factors are positively correlated, and thing A is the dependent variable.
B.
The two factors are negatively correlated, and thing A is the dependent variable.
C.
The two factors are positively correlated, and thing A is the independent variable.
D.
The two factors are negatively correlated, and thing A is the independent variable.
D.
The two factors are negatively correlated, and thing A is the independent variable.
D is correct. A negative correlation implies that as one variable increases, the other decreases. This inverse relationship is displayed here. Additionally, a dependent variable is one that varies due to intentional changes to an independent variable. From this definition, we know that thing B is dependent, while thing A is independent.
operationalized means….
operationalized is a way to say you move it from a more theoretical realm to a more concrete practical inaction* so they had this idea they wanted to study altruism, how are they goign to do that* they did it by creating a survey, so they operationalized their desire to study altruism by making a survey hte follow through on an idea
“Alturism was operationlaized to….”
confounding variable
confounding variable relationship btw a nad B third thing C that impacts A and B can confound whatever you are going to say abotu A and/or B usually things ppl try to control for, if you are trying to study a relationship between age and smoking behavior, may be a relationship but also may be that socioeconomic status is v important to smoking behavior lurking in the background, ppl of certain behaviors are more likely to smoke, can muddy the waters if some other third variable important to study
Correlational 1
= two variables moving in the same direction being correlated, negative or positive* patterned relationship to each other, either both go in same direction or one goes up and hte other goes down*
Correlational study (2)
Correlational study: a study designed to see if two or more variables are related (i.e., show positive, negative, or no correlation). Rather than define a cause-and-effect relationship between variables, correlational studies only look to see if the variables are related to each other.
ex. marginaring purchases and divorce rate in maine, not causally related ice cream crime rates in summer; all you can say is when one goes up the other goesup and that is all you know
Case study
a study that investigates a single person or small group as a whole. Case studies can produce quantitative or qualitative data. Case studies are particularly useful when looking at rare phenomena (like rare diseases).
Ethnography
Ethnography: a holistic study on the culture of a group of people. An ethnography is a type of case study.
• E.g., E.E. Evans-Pritchard conducted an ethnography of Nuer pastoralists in southern Sudan when he investigated how their political and religious institutions were related to their mode of subsistence.
Anthropologie method, looking more hollistcally at culture, like a big case study
Observational study
a study that uses a sample to draw conclusions about a population. In an observational study, the researcher does not control the independent variable or manipulate the environment in any way; the researcher only observes subjects. Like correlational studies, observational studies cannot prove cause-and-effect relationships, but can only show that variables are (or are not) related.
-opposite is an intervention, where resetcher controls the indepdent variable
Case-control study
-a study that compares a group of people with a particular outcome against a group of people who do no have that outcome. Case-control studies are a type of observational study and are common in medical research.
• E.g., a famous case-control study demonstrated the link between smoking tobacco and lung cancer. Drs. Doll and Hill interviewed people diagnosed with lung carcinoma and another group of people diagnosed with other, non-cancer diseases and found that those with lung cancer were more likely to be heavy smokers.
Very useful for medical research* if see ppl who do have lung cnacer way more are
smokers adds up to evidene, not causal but something you can do to start establishing a connection
