unit 2 Flashcards
- measurement and description 2. understanding and prediction 3. application and control
goals of the scientific enterprise
tentative statement about a relationship between 2 or more variables, test 2 or so at a time
hypothesis
any measurable conditions, characteristics or behaviours that are controlled or observed in a study
variables
must be testable, set of interrelated ideas used to explain observations. from description to understanding
theory
describes the actions or operations that will be used to measure or control a variable (methods?)
operational definition
persons or animals whose behaviour is systematically observed in a study
participants/subjects
procedures for making empirical observations and measurements
data collection techniques
watch and record behaviour objectively, stopwatch and video recorder
direct observation
subjects answer written questions about aspects of their attitudes, opinions, aspects of behaviour
questionnaire
face-to-face dialogue, obtain information about a subject’s behaviour
interview
standardized measure to obtain a sample of behaviour, Mental abilities or personality traits
psychological test
monitor or record physiological processes (heart rate, brain activity…)
physiological recording
researcher analyzes existing archives (medical, economic, educational, legal…)
examination of archival records
- formulate a testable hypothesis 2. select the research method and design the study 3. collect the data 4. analyze data and draw conclusions 5. report findings
steps to a scientific investigation
periodical that publishes technical and scholarly material, niche
journal
various approaches to observation, measurement, manipulation, control of variables
research methods
research method where a variable is manipulated in controlled conditions and observes any changes in a second variable
experiment
what is manipulated in an experiment to see the impact on another
independant variable
what is being observed for potential change from the manipulated variable
dependant variable
group in an experiment with special treatment (independent variable)
experimental group
group in an experiment that does not receive any special treatment
control group
variables other than the independent that seem to influence the dependent
extraneous variables
when 2 variables are linked in a way that it is difficult to identify their specific effects
confounding of variables
when all subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to any group or condition
random assignment
subjects serve as their own control group
within-subject design
two of more independent groups of subjects are exposed to a manipulation of an independent variable
between-subject design
research experiments in settings very similar to real life, or in real life
field experiment
more applicable results to real life
generalizability
observation of behaviour without intervention
naturalistic observation
when a subject’s behaviour is altered by the presence of an observer
reactivity
in-depth investigation of a particular subject
case study
case study of victims of suicide
psychological autopsies
questionnaires or interviews to gather information about a participants’ behaviour
survey
using math to organize, summarize, and interpret data
statistics
organize and summarize data
descriptive statistics
median, mea, mode
measures of central tendency
score in the exact centre of a distribution of scores
median
arithmetic average of scores, most useful
mean
most frequent score in a distribution
mode
line figure used to present data from a frequency distribution
frequency polygon
arrangement of scores indicating the frequency of each/groups of scores
frequency distribution
tail points to negative, scores pile up at the high end of the scale
negatively skewed distribution
tail points to positive, scores pile up at the low end of the scale
positively skewed distribution
three measures of central tendency converge
symmetrical distribution
how much the scores in a data set vary from each other and from the mean
variability
difference from the highest and lowest scores
range
index amount of variability is a set of data (high variability, high standard of deviation)
standard deviation
symmetrical bell shaped curve, represents human characteristics
normal distribution
% of people at or below a particular score
percentile score
two variables are related to each other (quantify strength of relationship)
correlation
numerical index of the degree of relationship between two variables (+ or -)
correlation coefficient
2 variables covary in the same direction
positive correlation
2 variables covary in the opposite direction
negative correlation
strength of correlation (- or +1 is perfect 1 to 1 relationship)
size of the coefficient
stats used to interpret data and draw conclusions
inferential statistics
exists when the probability that chance is very low (5 chances in 100, 0.05 level of significance)
statistical significance
repeat a study to see if results are duplicated
replication
combo of stat results of many studies with the same question, estimate of the size and consistency of a variable’s effects
meta-analysis
sample is misrepresenting the population
sampling bias
the larger collection from which the sample is drawn, what researchers want to study
population
participants’ expectations influence what they experience
placebo effect
tendency to respond to a question in an unrelated way (agree with everything for example)
response set
experimenter’s result preferences influence the results of an experiment
experimenter bias
neither subjects nor experimenters know which group is the control group and which is the experimental group
double-blind procedure
studies where data is collected on the internet
internet-mediated research
- respect for dignity of persons 2. responsible caring 3. integrity in relationships 4. responsibility to society
code of ethics (canadian)
