Unit 1 Flashcards
What are the 6 steps of the Scientific Method?
Research Question, Hypothesis, Design a Study, Record your Data, Analyze & Draw a Conclusion, and Report to Journal.
What is Qualitative Research?
Involves collecting & evaluating non-numerical data.
What is Quantitative Research?
Involves collecting & evaluating numerical data.
What are the Pros of Experimental Research?
It is the best type of research as it establishes causality (cause & effect).
What are the Cons of Experimental Research?
It is expensive & hard to set up, you have to ask for consent, it can look artificial, and can unintentionally overstep personal barriers such as personal space, other trauma, etc.
What is the Independent Variable?
The variable we want to change to provoke response
What is the Operational Definition?
The actions of operations that are used to measure/control a variable (for replication purposes).
What is Dependent Variable?
The variable that we measure to see if the Independent Variable made a difference.
What is an Extraneous Variable?
A variable other than the Independent that seems likely to influence the Dependent.
What is a Confounding Variable?
Any difference between the Experimental and Control conditions, except for the Independent Variable, that might affect the dependent variable.
What is the Third Variable Problem?
A confounding variable that affects both the Independent and Dependent variables to make them seem correlated when they are not.
What is the Control Group?
The experiment that does not have the different treatment.
What is the Experimental Group?
The experiment that does have the different treatment.
What is Random Selection?
Everyone in the population has an equal chance of being selected.
What is Random Assignment?
Everyone selected has the same chance of ending up in the Control Group or Experimental Group.
What is the Population?
The group of people that are being studied.
What is Sample?
The process by which participants for research are selected.
What is Convenience Sampling?
Involving the use of subjects that are “convenient to the researcher.”
What is Sampling Bias?
A bias where a sample is collected in a way that didn’t give everybody an equal chance of being selected.
What is a Single Blind Experiment?
The experimenters know who is getting the treatment & not the subjects.
What is a Double Blind Experiment?
Neither the experimenter nor the subject know who is getting the treatment.
What is Placebo?
The belief that something is real or can affect you in some way but actually does not. Is most commonly used for medicinal testing.
What is the Placebo Effect?
When somebody believes that they are being affected in some way because of a placebo treatment, when their false belief is enough to make them truly believe it’s real.
What is Experimenter Bias?
When researchers treat members of the groups differently to increase the chance of confirming their hypothesis.
What is the Hawthorne Effect?
An unnoticed bias, such as trying harder when the coach walks by.
What are the advantages of Descriptive Correlational Research?
It is useful when experimentation is not possible, and has no ethical concerns.
What are the disadvantages of Descriptive Correlational Research?
The Hawthorne Effect, Social Desirability Bias, Response Set, and the Halo Effect.
What is a Case Study?
An in-depth study of a unique individual or extremely specific group.
What is Naturalistic Observation?
The study of realistic behavior but has a major problem with the Hawthorne Effect.
What is a Survey?
A collecting of opinions or attitudes
What is Social Desirability Bias?
When a subject does not answer correctly to seem more socially desirable.
What is the Mean?
The average.
What is the Median?
The middle.
What is the Mode?
The most abundant piece of data/info.
What is Regression toward the mean?
If one sample of a random variable is extreme, the next sampling of the same random variable is likely to be closer to its mean.
What is the Range?
The range of data points.
What is Standard Deviation?
A measure of how dispersed the data is in relations to the mean.
What is Positive Skew (Skew right)?
When the data lumps to the left and drops off to the right.
What is Negative Skew (Skew left)?
When the data lumps to the right and drops off at the left.
What is Correlation Coefficient?
A statistic ranging from 0 to 1 indicating the strength of the relationship. The farther the number is from 0, the stronger the relationship.
What is Effect Size?
How meaningful the relationship between variables or the difference between groups is.
What is Normal Distribution?
It helps to calculate percentile ranks on standardized tests.
What is Statistical Significance?
When the results gained would very rarely occur by chance alone.
What is the T-test?
An inferential statistic used to determine if there is a statistically significant difference between the means of two variables.
What are the main flaws in research?
Ethics, Deception/Debriefing, Informed Consent, Animal Research, Confidential Information, Harm to the subject, Peer Review, and Replication.
