Stats Flashcards

1
Q

Law of parsimony

A

The simplest explanation is often the best one

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Empiricism

A

Studying things by collecting data

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Case study

A

One individual is studied in great detail

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Survey

A

Yields a lot of data about many different people

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Representative sample

A

A sample representative of the population

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Courtesy bais

A

People give socially acceptable answers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Naturalistic observation

A

Observing people/animals in their natural environments

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Observer effect

A

People behave differently when watched

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Participant observation

A

When researchers participate in a group in order to observe it without the observer effect

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Observer bias

A

The observer’s opinion on what they expect to see interferes with their conclusion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Blind observers

A

People who observe a study without knowing the control/experimental groups

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Correlation

A

Measure of the relationship between two or more variables

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Correlation coefficient

A

The direction and strength of correlation (always between -1 and 1)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Experiment

A

Only method that allows researchers to determine cause

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Operational definition

A

Clearly and indisputably defines how the variables of an experiment will be measured

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Hawthorne effect

A

Behavior changes as a result of being part of a study

17
Q

Confounding variables

A

Variables that interfere with each other (like how people studying more might change the results of that coffee experiment)

18
Q

Placebo effect

A

Expectations interfere with behavior

19
Q

Experimental effect

A

Same as observer bias but in an experiment

20
Q

Single-blind study

A

Patients don’t know who’s the control group and who’s the experimental group

21
Q

Double-blind study

A

Neither the patients or the researchers know who’s the control group and who’s the experimental group

22
Q

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

A

Groups of psychologists and other professionals who make sure studies are ethical before they can be conducted

23
Q

Common ethical guidelines:

A

Rights of participants must be weighed against the value of the study, participants must make an informed decision about their participation, any deception must be justified and followed by debriefing, participants can withdraw at any time, participants must be protected from risk, data must be confidential, and the researcher is responsible for helping any patients overcome negative consequences of the experiment

24
Q

Informed consent

A

Parents give consent for their young children

25
Statistical analysis
Accounting for error in data
26
Descriptive statistics
Organizing numbers so they can be understood (included Measures of Central Tendency and Measures of Variability)
27
Frequency distribution
A table/graph that shows how numbers appear on a set
28
Histogram
Bar graph
29
Polygon
Line Graph
30
Normal curve
Bell curve
31
Skewed distribution
When the numbers are concentrated to the left (positive) or to the right (negative)
32
Bimodal distributions
When there are two number "peaks" in a graph
33
Measure of Central Tendency
Number that best represents the central part of frequency distribution (mean, median, and mode)
34
Standard deviation
Measures how useful the mean is. The smaller the better, ALWAYS positive
35
t-test
Measures if results are statistically significant, must be below 0.05 to be significant
36
Inferential statistics
Allows researchers to determine the difference between meaningful results and chance variations