Unit 2 - Research Methods Flashcards
Hindsight Bias
the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it
“I knew it all along . . .”
after an event occurs, it is relatively easy to explain why it happened
scientific research should predict what will happen in advance
Applied Research
scientific study that aims to solve practical problems
research that has clear, practical applications
Basic Research
pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base
explores interesting questions but does not have immediate, real-world applications
Hypothesis
a statement that expresses a relationship between two variables
Theory
an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events
aims to explain some phenomenon and allows researchers to generate testable hypotheses to collect data that supports their theory
Operational Definition
a statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables
an explanation of how variables are measured
Validity
the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to
good research is both valid and reliable
**valid **- when it measures what the researcher set out to measure (accurate)
reliable - when it can be replicated (consistent)
Reliability
the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on more than one testing of the experiment
Replication
repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances
Sampling
the process by which participants are selected
the individuals on whom the research is conducted are called participants (or subjects)
Population
the group from which a sample is selected
the population includes anyone or anything that could possibly be selected to be in the sample
Random Selection
a method of selecting a sample from a population
every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected
increases the likelihood that the sample represents the population and that one can generalize the findings to the larger population
Stratified Sampling
a process that allows a researcher to ensure that the sample represents the population on some critera, such as age or race
Experiment
a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors - independent variables - to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process - the dependent variable
experiments compare at least two groups: an experimental group and a control group that differ based on the independent variable
Confounding Variable
any difference between the experimental and control conditions (such as time of day)
a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment
Assignment
the process by which participants are into either an experimental or a control group
Experimenter Bias
the unconscious tendency for researchers to treat members of the experimental and control groups differently to increase the chance of confirming their hypothesis
experimenter bias is not a conscious act - if researchers purposely distort their data, it is called fraud, not experimenter bias
Double-Blind Procedure
method followed such that neither the participants nor the researcher are aware of who is in the experimental or control groups while the experiment is going on
a method used to eliminate experimenter bias
Participation (Response) Bias
tendency for subjects to behave in certain ways based on their perception of an experiment
Single-Blind Procedure
participants do not know whether they are assigned to an experimental or control group
a method used to eliminate participation** (response) bias**
Hawthorne Effect
being selected to be in a group of people to participate in an experiment will affect the performance of that group, regardless of what is done to those individuals
selecting a sample of people will affect performance as the chosen individuals will try to please the researcher
Correlation
a statistical measure of a relationship between two variables
“correlation does not imply causation”
Causation
the act of causing something
Scatter Plot
a graph of correlated data
the closer the points come to falling on a straight line, the stronger the correlation
a line that slopes upward, from left to right, indicates a positive correction - a downward slope evidences a negative correlation
Survey Method
asks people to fill out surveys
used to gather opinions or attitudes and for correlational research
Naturalistic Observation
research method that involves observing participants in their natural habitats without interacting with them
the goal is to get a realistic picture of a participants’ behavior
cannot establish cause and effect relationships between variables
Case Study
a research method used to get a full, detailed picture of one participant or a small group of participants
the focus means that the findings cannot be generalized to a larger population
Descriptive Statistics
ways of describing a set of data
common measures: mean, median, and mode
Measures of Variability
a type of descriptive statistical measure that attempts to depict the diversity of the distribution
range, variance, and standard deviation are measures of variability
Range
the distance between the highest and lowest score in a distribution
Variance
random variable - a measure of its statistical dispersion, indicating how far from the expected value its values typically are
real-valued random variable - its second central moment, and it also happens to be its second cumulant
random variable - the square of its standard deviation.
Standard Deviation
the square root of the variance
essential relate the average distance of any score in the distribution from the mean
Normal Curve
a bell-shaped curve that represents a distribution of scores that is normally distributed
intelligence quotient (IQ) has a normalized distribution with mean 100 and standard deviation 15
Inferential Statistics
statistics that can determine whether or not findings can be applied to a larger population from which the sample was selected
used to determine whether results are statistically significant
Statistical Significance
a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance
5 percent (0.05 %) is the cutoff for statistically significant results
researchers use inferential statistics to determine whether results are statistically significant
APA Ethical Guidelines for Human Research
Guidelines for human research:
- Coercion
- Informed consent
- Anonymity/Confidentiality
- Lack of risk
- Debriefing procedures
academic research must first propose the study to the ethics board or institutional review board (IRB) at the institution
APA Ethical Guidelines for Animal Research
Guidelines for animal research:
- Have a clear scientific purpose
- Care for and house animals in a humane way
- Acquire animal subjects legally
- Design experimental procedures that employ the least amount of suffering feasible
