Week 1 Lectures (Good research practice) Flashcards
What are the stages of the research process
Initial observation
Generate theory
Generate hypothesis
Collect data to test theory
Analyse data
What is a theory
A hypothesized general principle or set of principles that explains known findings about a topic and from which new hypotheses can be generated
What is a hypothesis
A prediction from a theory
What is falsification
The act of disproving a theory or hypothesis
What is the criteria for an independent variable
The proposed cause
A predictor variable
A manipulated variable in experiments
What is the criteria for a dependent variable
The proposed effect
An outcome variable
Measured in experiments
Types of categorical measurements
Binary variable (Two categories)
Nominal variable (More than two categories)
Ordinal variable (More than two categories where the categories have a logical order)
What are the types of continuous measurements?
Interval variable
Ratio variable
What is an interval variable?
Equal intervals on the variable represent equal differences in the property being measured
What is a ratio variable?
The same as an interval variable but the ratios of the scores on the scales must also make sense
What is the definition of measurement error?
The discrepancy between the actual value were trying to measure and the number we use to represent that value
What is the definition of validity?
Whether an instrument measures what it is set out to measure
What is content validity?
Evidence that the content of a test corresponds to the content of the construct it was designed to cover
What is ecological validity?
Evidence that the results of a study experiment or test can be applied, and allow inferences, to real world conditions.
What is the definition of reliability?
The ability of the measure to produce the same results under the same conditions
Test-retest reliability
The ability of a measure to produce consistent results when the same entities are tested at two different points in time
What is correlational research?
Observing what naturally goes on in the world without directly interfering with it
What is cross sectional research?
This term implies that data comes from people at diferent age points, with people representing each age point.
What is experimental research?
One or more variable is systemically manipulated to see their effect on an outcome variable
Statements can be made about cause and effect
What is a histogram/frequency distrubution?
A graph plotting values of observations on the horizontal axis, with a bar showing how many times each value occured in the data set
What does a positive skew look like?
Scores bunched at low values with the tails pointing to high values
What does a negative skew look like?
Scores bunched at high values with the tails pointing to low values
What is kurtosis on a distribution graph
The ‘heaviness’ of the tales
What does leptokurtic mean?
Heavy Tails
