Terminology Flashcards
Independent Variable
A variable thought to be the cause of some effect. In research, usually describes variable that researchers manipulated
Dependent Variable
Variable thought to be affected by changes to independent variable
Predictor Variable
A variable thought to predict an outcome. Basically an independent variable.
Outcome Variable
A variable thought to change as a function of change in a predictor variable. AKA dependent variable.
Hypothesis
A prediction about something
Between Subjects Design
An experimental design where different treatments used different organisms. i.e. Group A gets treatment A and group B gets treatment B
Within Subjects Design
An experimental design where different organisms receive more than one different treatment. i.e. Group A gets treatment A and treatment B
Categorical Variable
A variable made up of categories of objects. E.g. UK degrees 1, 2:1, 2:2, 3
Binary Variable
Type of categorical variable. Must fall into one of two distinct categories e.g. yes or no, pregnant or not pregnant
Nominal Variable
Where numbers represent names. E.G. sports jerseys. Number one not necessarily better than number two.
Ordinal Variable
Tells us things and the order that they occur in. e.g. bronze, silver, and gold medals
Continuous Variable
A variable that can be measured to ANY level of precision. e.g. time
Interval Variable
A variable consisting of interval data. Example a 5 star rating system where the interval between 2-3 and 4-5 are the same.
Ratio Variable
In interval variable, but ratios are also meaningful. e.g. a rating of 4 should be twice as good as a rating of 2, and 2 twice that of 1
Discrete Variable
A variable that only takes on certain numbers in a scale, usually whole numbers
Measurement Error
The discrepancy between the numbers used to represent a thing were measuring and the actual value of the thing were measuring
Validity
Did a test measure what it set out to measure
Reliability
Ability of a measure to produce consistent results when performed under different conditions
Correlational Research
A form of research where you observe what happens without interfering with it. Data will be analyzed to look at relationships between naturally occurring variables rather than statements about cause and effect
Experimental Research
Where one or more variable is manipulated to see their effect on the outcome variable
Ecological Validity
Evidence that the results of a study, experiment, or test can be applied, and allow inferences, to a real world connection
Systematic Variation
variation due to some genuine effect. Either the researcher doing something to all the participants in one sample, but not the other, or due to natural variation. Can be explained by model we fit to our data.
Unsystematic Variation
Variation that isn’t due to the effect we’re interested in. Variation that can’t be explained by whichever model we’ve fit to the data.
Counterbalancing
Process of systematically varying the order in which events are conducted. Example half the participants do condition A then B, other half does condition B then A.
Research Question
A question that research sets out to answer
What is normal distribution?
If a line was drawn through middle, would be the same on both sides. Bell shaped. Majority of scores lie around centre of distribution.
What is skew?
Lack of symmetry. Positive skew=scores at lower end, Negative skew=scores at higher end
What is kurtosis?
Degree to which scores cluster in middle. Positive (leptokurtic) = pointy middle. Negative (platykurtic)=flat middle
What is central tendency?
Where the centre of a frequency distribution lies
Mean
Average score
Median
Middle value. Or average of two middle most values