The Research Process Flashcards
dependent variable
represent the measures that reflects the outcomes of a research study
other terms for dependent variable
outcome variable, results variable, criterion variable
independent variable
represents the treatments or conditions that the researcher has direct or indirect control over to test their effects on a particular outcome; manipulated or changed to examine its effects upon the dependent variable
other terms for independent variable
treatment variable, factor, predictor variable
control
a variable that has potential influence on the dependent variable; consequently, the influence must be removed or controlled
another term for control
restricting variable
extraneous
a variable that has an unpredictable impact upon the dependent variable
another term for extraneous
threatening variable
moderator
a variable that is related to the variables of interest masking the true relationship between the dependent and independent variables
another term for moderator
interacting variable
factorial designs
experiments that include more than one independent variable
confounding
when variables compete to explain the effect
what is the best independent variable?
one that is independent of any other variable that is being used in the same study
what is the best dependent variable?
one that is sensitive to changes in the different levels of each independent variable
most important role of hypothesis
to reflect the general problem statement or the question that was the motivation for undertaking the research study
null hypothesis
statements of equality and statement of no relationship between variables
chance
the random variability introduced as a function of the individuals participating as well as many unforeseen factors; and is the most likely explanation for differences between two groups
research hypothesis
statements of inequality and statement of the relationship between two variables
nondirectional research hypothesis
reflects a difference between groups but the direction of the difference is not specified
directional research hypothesis
reflects a difference between groups, and the direction of the difference is specified
which hypothesis refer to population
null hypothesis
which hypothesis refer to sample
research hypothesis
which hypothesis is indirectly tested
null hypothesis, thus an implied hypothesis
which hypothesis is directly tested
research hypothesis, thus an explicit hypothesis
how are null hypotheses stated
using Greek symbols
how are research hypotheses stated
using Roman symbols
5 criteria of a good hypothesis
- stated in declarative form and not as a question, 2. posits an expected relationship between variables, 3. reflect the theory or literature upon which they are based, 4. should be brief and to the point, 5. are testable hypotheses
population
a larger group
sample
a smaller group selected from a population
generalizability
when the sample does represent the population
goal of selecting a sample
to have the sample resemble the population as much as possible
significance
a measure of how much risk we are willing to take when reaching a conclusion about the relationship between variables, probability that error might occur
significance level
the risk associated with not being 100% confident that the difference is caused by what you think and may be due to some unforeseen factor
