Unit 2: Research Methods Flashcards
Convenience Sample
use anyone who is readily available and who consents to participate
Representative Sample
strive to ensure that, collectively, their participants resemble the entire population of people who are of interest
Volunteer Bias
of the people invited to participate, those who do participate may differ from those who don’t
Correlations
describe patterns in which change in one event is accompanied to some degree by change in another
Experiments
provide straightforward information about causes and their effects because experimenters create and control the conditions they study
Self-Reports
ask people about their experiences
can be obtained through written questionnaires, verbal interviews, or even diaries
Social Desirability Bias
distortion that results from people’s wishes to make good impressions on others
Ecological Momentary Assessment
uses intermittent, short periods of observation to capture samples of behavior in real time as they actually occur
Reactivity
people may change their behavior when they know they are being observed
Archives
stores of data collected by other researchers
Open Science
research materials and data are shared with other scientists who wish to replicate one’s work
Meta-Analyses
studies that statistically combine the results from several prior studies
What are Indigenous concepts of gender?
gender is more likely to be considered fluid in Indigenous communities than in colonial societies
gender roles were clearly defined, but equally values, and unique to each tribe
Indigenous women held a high degree of political power
many communities had special roles for people falling into alternative gender categories (e.g., cross-gendered), and were accepting of gender changes
sexuality and gender considered separate
What are convenience samples?
easy to access and contact
more likely to participate
not representative of the population
What are representative samples?
everyone in the population has equal probability of being selected
What is volunteer bias?
there may be a difference that causes people to volunteer or not
What are issues with obtaining participants?
WEIRD samples: Western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic
relationships between variables: causal or correlations, non-representative samples can establish relationships and correlation
What population is used in many research studies?
many research studies on relationships include university students as participants
however, the number of Canadians who complete a university degree (or higher) is small
How might the characteristics of those people who never attended university differ from those who attend university or complete a degree?
differences in how they were raised
desire for education
socioeconomic status
location (not as many rural people)
What are cross-sectional designs?
compares different people at different stages/ages
What are longitudinal designs?
follow the same people over time: rule out confound of different historical events
cultural changes and age can be confounded
logistical difficulties: moving, death, break-ups
possible attrition: when people drop out of the study, even if they have representative sample at the start it might not be at the end because there might be a certain type of person to drop out
What are sequential designs?
combine cross-sectional and longitudinal designs
What are retrospective designs?
ask people to recall experiences
memory isn’t perfect: still good at remembering discrete, recent events
contaminated by recent events?
What is high tech role play?
immersive virtual environments: super expensive and complicated
participants know it isn’t real
an absorbing experience
allow researchers control
